| Author |
Message |
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 1:28 pm Post subject: Our Ambitious Karmann Ghia Project |
 |
|
After quite a bit of investigation and at least one false start, my son and I are embarking on our project Ghia. If we achieve nothing more than us both having a great time together building something we're both proud of, it'll be a worthwhile endeavor, but we have a great deal more in mind. We hope to take a generic later-model Ghia and transform it into something more modern both mechanically and aesthetically, while retaining the Ghia's classic charm and appeal. We'll tip the scales towards performance as opposed to comfort, with the intent to build a streetable car that feels right at home on the track.
Key elements of our plan include:
- Subaru EZ30R powerplant and 5 speed gearbox
- Mendeola suspension both front and rear
- Racetrack ready braking and safety systems
I've put together a build site (http://krzykg.wordpress.com) which details what we've got planned. I'll use the site to document our progress in detail and add summary updates in this thread. I look forward to interacting with you all, picking your brains, addressing your comments and making good use of all the great info and build ideas I've already plucked from "The Samba". The time for lurking is over.  It's time to get serious  and to move  . |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
noslzzp
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2011
Posts: 147
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DorianL
Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2013
Posts: 717
Location: Belgium
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 1:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| noslzzp wrote: |
Oh dear.  |
x2  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cracker666
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2012
Posts: 156
Location: UK
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
X3 oh no 
One word= WHY |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
noslzzp
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2011
Posts: 147
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| cracker666 wrote: |
X3 oh no
One word= WHY |
Why? Why is a really broad question. Why use a Suby driveline? Why change the Ghia's bodywork? Why not just go buy a Vette? I'm happy to give specific answers to any of such specific "why" questions, but I guess the general answer is that in my mind, a "build car" is supposed to match the personality and sensibilities of its owner/builder, and the car I've described on my build site matches mine.
Side story: When I was 8 years old, my Mom bought an old upright piano for our family. It had once had a very ornate, carved front panel over the soundboard, but a prior owner had sanded down the carvings, making an otherwise valuable piano pretty worthless. My mom painted it orange. Everyone was shocked. How could you paint such a beautiful instrument orange? If it had been in its original, rare and somewhat valuable condition, my mother would have restored it like new. Given that it was no longer rare nor valuable, she saw fit to make it fit the decor in our bonus room. I never liked the color, but I understood why she felt free to paint the canvas as she saw fit.
When the day comes that "I strip away the old debris" that hides this shining car...:
...I'll show deference to the automotive gods and be sure to treat it with the reverence it deserves by keeping it as Enzo himself would have kept it. With a 71 Karmann Ghia, I think a little latitude is a good thing. Nuf' said. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
...and a hearty congrats to you for bringing your own personal "Frankenstein's Monster" to life. I look forward to that moment on my build off in the hopefully not too distant future. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TheGhia74
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2013
Posts: 15
Location: Houston, Texas
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 5:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I wanna do this so bad but dont have the funds right now being in high school! Maybe one day... With a build like this your bound to piss off the purists haha. Go for it! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| TheGhia74 wrote: |
| With a build like this your bound to piss off the purists haha. Go for it! |
It will be expensive and take along time. Many have started with grand schemes, given up along the way, left parts scattered and taken only a realisation that the path is difficult. It would be unfair to be pissed off about that. Maybe regret that a Ghia got wasted.
However, if carried through to completion a customisation can be wonderful. We all enjoy the Bader Racing Ghia and there are many more like it worthy of admiration.
Go for it and keep the momentum going to the finish!
I can only suggest getting the body work to primer stage should be the highest priority to compete. It is easy to get distracted with shiny ideas and forget the fundamentals. The false start tells me you already know that.
Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
coolrydes
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2004
Posts: 1573
Location: San Diego
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: Our Ambitious Karmann Ghia Project |
|
|
| KGKrzy wrote: |
After quite a bit of investigation and at least one false start, my son and I are embarking on our project Ghia. If we achieve nothing more than us both having a great time together building something we're both proud of, it'll be a worthwhile endeavor, but we have a great deal more in mind. We hope to take a generic later-model Ghia and transform it into something more modern both mechanically and aesthetically, while retaining the Ghia's classic charm and appeal. We'll tip the scales towards performance as opposed to comfort, with the intent to build a streetable car that feels right at home on the track.
Key elements of our plan include:
- Subaru EZ30R powerplant and 5 speed gearbox
- Mendeola suspension both front and rear
- Racetrack ready braking and safety systems
I've put together a build site (http://krzykg.wordpress.com) which details what we've got planned. I'll use the site to document our progress in detail and add summary updates in this thread. I look forward to interacting with you all, picking your brains, addressing your comments and making good use of all the great info and build ideas I've already plucked from "The Samba". The time for lurking is over. It's time to get serious and to move . |
I can supply all the Key elements 
_________________
Kevin "Coolrydes" Zagar
COOLRYDES So-Cal CUSTOMS
MENDEOLA SUSPENSION
THE HOME OF STYLE AND PERFORMANCE
www.CoolRydescustoms.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
FRNKNSTNGHIA
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2010
Posts: 411
Location: Kissimmee, FL
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Your ambitions are clearly limited by your wallet and actual skill set. I personally am budget restricted as to how far or creative I can go with my 70 ghia. Over 2 years in counting and I have yet to finish my car....
Though in 2 years I have accomplished:
Completely replaced both floor pans
All new brake components
All new suspension
Removed all signs of rust by:
replacing inner quarters, heater channels, rocker panels, battery tray, etc.
Body is pretty much at final point before complete 2k primer and paint.
All work has been completed by my Father and myself. I have literally saved anywhere from 5-10k in bodywork and paint.
In one of my guest bedrooms, I have close to 3k in parts: new rubber seals for whole car front to back, carpet kit, door panels, engine tins, and the list goes on and on......
Trust me if money wasn't an issue it would probably have been road worthy over a year ago..... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ivwshane
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 1920
Location: Sacramento ca
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
OP, have you seen this one?
http://www.basilari.com
_________________
77 westy 2.0 FI
69 ghia coup 1600dp
70 single cab |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yes... if you check my build site, you'll find it littered with pictures of the work that Keith and Kevin have done on the Basilari 306R. I'll be following the same recipe with many of the same ingredients, but with a few "secret herbs and spices" to ensure that my car has a unique flavor all its own. I'll also be doing my own engine prep, though I'll farm out most of the machine work. My pockets are quite possibly not as deep as Keith's, but I have the money I need to purchase most of the big pieces up front, so I'll have plenty of toys to play with.
In any case, thanks for the heads up, ivwshane. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ivwshane
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 1920
Location: Sacramento ca
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Cool! Some day I'll have my own custom subi ghia powered thread too;)
_________________
77 westy 2.0 FI
69 ghia coup 1600dp
70 single cab |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| FRNKNSTNGHIA wrote: |
Your ambitions are clearly limited by your wallet and actual skill set. I personally am budget restricted as to how far or creative I can go with my 70 ghia. Over 2 years in counting and I have yet to finish my car....
Though in 2 years I have accomplished:
Completely replaced both floor pans
All new brake components
All new suspension
Removed all signs of rust by:
replacing inner quarters, heater channels, rocker panels, battery tray, etc.
Body is pretty much at final point before complete 2k primer and paint.
All work has been completed by my Father and myself. I have literally saved anywhere from 5-10k in bodywork and paint.
In one of my guest bedrooms, I have close to 3k in parts: new rubber seals for whole car front to back, carpet kit, door panels, engine tins, and the list goes on and on......
Trust me if money wasn't an issue it would probably have been road worthy over a year ago..... |
Your right that my ambitions are somewhat limited by both my wallet and by my skill set. Fortunately, I do have some money to get this party started, and I come to the party having built a few really nice muscle cars and a fair number of high performance street and racing engines, including both VW and Subaru H4's, so I'll save time and money on the powerplant build.
In one respect, I am at square one, since I am actually in the process of acquiring a 'new' Ghia to serve as the platform for this build. On the other hand, I have a clear blueprint for what I want to do and enough money to purchase many of the major pieces up front, which should hopefully give my son and I enough parts and components to work on for a long time to come. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KGKrzy
Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:43 am Post subject: Re: Our Ambitious Karmann Ghia Project |
|
|
| coolrydes wrote: |
| KGKrzy wrote: |
After quite a bit of investigation and at least one false start, my son and I are embarking on our project Ghia. If we achieve nothing more than us both having a great time together building something we're both proud of, it'll be a worthwhile endeavor, but we have a great deal more in mind. We hope to take a generic later-model Ghia and transform it into something more modern both mechanically and aesthetically, while retaining the Ghia's classic charm and appeal. We'll tip the scales towards performance as opposed to comfort, with the intent to build a streetable car that feels right at home on the track.
Key elements of our plan include:
- Subaru EZ30R powerplant and 5 speed gearbox
- Mendeola suspension both front and rear
- Racetrack ready braking and safety systems
I've put together a build site (http://krzykg.wordpress.com) which details what we've got planned. I'll use the site to document our progress in detail and add summary updates in this thread. I look forward to interacting with you all, picking your brains, addressing your comments and making good use of all the great info and build ideas I've already plucked from "The Samba". The time for lurking is over. It's time to get serious and to move . |
I can supply all the Key elements |
Be careful what you wish for! Oh, and check your email. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32634
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
Well, the Ghia forum is MUCH more accepting of modification than other forums such as the Beetle Split/prewar forum is.
We have seen many modifications done to these and many are good. The supply isn't as finite as the original Beetles but the numbers are indeed dwindling!
I'll be honest,
It does pain me a bit to see an old valuable low light hacked into someones personal vision of "cool". I see many dollars spent, never to be recovered. A car hacked, never to see it's old life again.
But alas, it is theirs to do with as they see fit.
So relax, there will be no mobs with pitchforks descending upon your garage!
Engine swaps? The Vanagon forum is FULL of them! Porsche, subarau, Ford, VW, Diesel, to name just a few.
You may even browse there and see what is done and how, there is a whole sticky for engine swaps.
Keep us posted as you destroy yet another pristine Ghia!
Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos
Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473
Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537
Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
noslzzp
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2011
Posts: 147
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
| djkeev wrote: |
I'll be honest,
It does pain me a bit to see an old valuable low light hacked into someones personal vision of "cool". I see many dollars spent, never to be recovered. A car hacked, never to see it's old life again.
|
Wait, you mean the valuable old low light that sat in an Arizona desert for years with a smashed up rear end? Or maybe the *completely* rusted lower half, basket case low light with hacked up later model nostrils that sat in a farmer's field for 15 years (featuring the now vogue raccoon shit, horse hair interior)?
This mock "pain" of losing valuable low lights is pretty comical at times. If anything, most low lights are already "lost" as you put it, "never to see it's old life again". I actually saved one (although it's not your narrow definition of "saved") and put the second to good use. How many low lights have you saved? Purists should be ecstatic with the perception of dwindling inventory. You do understand the market dynamics, right?
And, as far as money goes, how many purists are in the business of flipping low lights? I sincerely doubt John Moxon would ever sell his beautiful car. So why not ask him how much money he'll never recover? If you think we are doing these builds or buying these cars to "recover" money then you have a poor understanding of return on investment and the desires of humans.
Sorry to vent..but this misconception about "destroying pristine Ghias" is a joke.
_________________
Introducing the Basilari 306R.. A low light Ghia, performance chassis and 300HP boxer six.
http://www.basilari.com/category/buildupdates/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CiderGuy
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| noslzzp wrote: |
| djkeev wrote: |
I'll be honest,
It does pain me a bit to see an old valuable low light hacked into someones personal vision of "cool". I see many dollars spent, never to be recovered. A car hacked, never to see it's old life again.
|
Wait, you mean the valuable old low light that sat in an Arizona desert for years with a smashed up rear end? Or maybe the *completely* rusted lower half, basket case low light with hacked up later model nostrils that sat in a farmer's field for 15 years (featuring the now vogue raccoon shit, horse hair interior)?
This mock "pain" of losing valuable low lights is pretty comical at times. If anything, most low lights are already "lost" as you put it, "never to see it's old life again". I actually saved one (although it's not your narrow definition of "saved") and put the second to good use. How many low lights have you saved? Purists should be ecstatic with the perception of dwindling inventory. You do understand the market dynamics, right?
And, as far as money goes, how many purists are in the business of flipping low lights? I sincerely doubt John Moxon would ever sell his beautiful car. So why not ask him how much money he'll never recover? If you think we are doing these builds or buying these cars to "recover" money then you have a poor understanding of return on investment and the desires of humans.
Sorry to vent..but this misconception about "destroying pristine Ghias" is a joke. |
To be honest, the next line of what he said, changed the entire meaning of what you quoted and jumped on .....
| djkeev wrote: |
But alas, it is theirs to do with as they see fit.
So relax, there will be no mobs with pitchforks descending upon your garage!
Dave |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
noslzzp
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2011
Posts: 147
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
| CiderGuy wrote: |
| noslzzp wrote: |
| djkeev wrote: |
I'll be honest,
It does pain me a bit to see an old valuable low light hacked into someones personal vision of "cool". I see many dollars spent, never to be recovered. A car hacked, never to see it's old life again.
|
Wait, you mean the valuable old low light that sat in an Arizona desert for years with a smashed up rear end? Or maybe the *completely* rusted lower half, basket case low light with hacked up later model nostrils that sat in a farmer's field for 15 years (featuring the now vogue raccoon shit, horse hair interior)?
This mock "pain" of losing valuable low lights is pretty comical at times. If anything, most low lights are already "lost" as you put it, "never to see it's old life again". I actually saved one (although it's not your narrow definition of "saved") and put the second to good use. How many low lights have you saved? Purists should be ecstatic with the perception of dwindling inventory. You do understand the market dynamics, right?
And, as far as money goes, how many purists are in the business of flipping low lights? I sincerely doubt John Moxon would ever sell his beautiful car. So why not ask him how much money he'll never recover? If you think we are doing these builds or buying these cars to "recover" money then you have a poor understanding of return on investment and the desires of humans.
Sorry to vent..but this misconception about "destroying pristine Ghias" is a joke. |
To be honest, the next line of what he said, changed the entire meaning of what you quoted and jumped on .....
| djkeev wrote: |
But alas, it is theirs to do with as they see fit.
So relax, there will be no mobs with pitchforks descending upon your garage!
Dave |
|
yeah so that's like being slapped by someone who immediately says "sorry, carry on, didn't mean it.". The point is, it's out there and in today's world perception is reality.
_________________
Introducing the Basilari 306R.. A low light Ghia, performance chassis and 300HP boxer six.
http://www.basilari.com/category/buildupdates/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
