Saving Emiko: 68 RHD Restoration in New Zealand

[chickenfillet]

Hi Chris,

Sorry for the delay in getting the interior shot across, let me know if you wanted to see anything in particular.

Cheers,
Kevin

[kiwighia68]

[mcdonaldneal]

[c21darrel]

That light may be a brake warning light, i only see wipers and headlights on the dash.
This one looks very nice and it made me think. I just noticed the shift pattern, a RHD car has the same pattern as LHD. I would love to drive one. Shifting with the left hand while driving on the unfamiliar side of the road, sounds like fun. At least I will not have to retrain my feet too.
I know ghia seats kind of twist you toward the pedals on a LHD, is it the same on RHD? Has anyone flipped seat backs from side to side? It doesnt work on LHD.
_________________
GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
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[chickenfillet]

Hi Phil,

The light under the gauge is just the immobiliser LED. I'm not too sure about the seats being able to be changed side to side but my guess is they are the same as the US model.

Here is a pic of the backend/side and our big dog taking up the back seat!

Kevin

[c21darrel]

What a great looking Ghia! Im just going to assume that is a "personalized" lic plate.
Look at all the VW's in that pic
_________________
GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[kiwighia68]

[kiwighia68]

Watching Superbowl with one eye. I don't understand the game - we play a much rougher style of football down here, but I did recognise some of my favourites: Springsteen, Cold Play and Lady Gaga.

Boredom - so many ad breaks! - drove me to my garage to continue refurbishing my car's original speedo. I needed a small green lens for the indicator (flasher) light. My $2 dollar solution was to buy a small pencil sharpener at the Two-Dollar Shop and cut and shape the little square to fit. Tools required - Dremel with cutting disk, superglue, file, pocket knife.

End position:

I'm waiting for new glass and chrome before fitting the lights and installing the speedo where it belongs.

Back in time for the second half of Superbowl.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[JLSylvester]

"You make a fair point, Angus. I taught my sons from when they were little - they now tease me about it - that every morning when you get out of bed you have to make 2 lists. One for the things you HAVE to do, and another for the things you WANT to do. And you don't get to the second list until you've completed all the work on the HAVE-to-do list.

Well, I have now completed the work on my car's have-to-do list, when I finished the repairs and had the car passed and registered. It's time now for the want-to-do list."

I teach my kids the same thing. Work first play later. Also to go along with what Angus said. I was raised in a Conservative Baptist church and they always said "If you have 12 Baptists in a room you have 13 opinions."
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'65 Karmann Ghia (project)
'73 Thing (next project)
There are no dumb questions. Just dumb people asking obvious questions.

[kiwighia68]

Got my Ghia back today. EMPI 2.5" dropped spindles with EMPI beam adjusters, the front now 5.5 inches and the back 6 inches from the ground, measured at the bottom edge of the sill. Steering box tightened. Car feels good.

Two questions: I'm rebuilding the original speedo. 1. What lubricant do I use for the internals of the speedo? 2. What lubricant, if any, do I use for the speedo cable? It sounds a little scratchy to me, and is brand new.

Thanks.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

I'm tinkering with small things at the moment. One of them is the concern I picked up from others here about what one can do to open the rear decklid if the release cable should break. I have been experiencing some problems getting the latch to release - I need my wife to lift the lid while I pull the knob under the back seat.

After looking for alternative routes for a second - emergency - cable, I decided to apply Occam's Razor. Occam's Razor is a theory that says when several possible solutions are available, the right one is the one that requires the fewest steps. So, here's the latch mechanism from above:

I cut a slot in each of the screws like this: (The red stuff is Copper Anti-seize.)

The screws are accessible from underneath and a screwdriver should do the trick.

_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[Brassneck]

That's pretty brilliant!

Or you can do like I do, and not connect the cable at all...simply lift the lid. Ha ha. I've not connected the latch for the last 3 years and even forget that it can be locked...never had any issues...but I know there's always a risk.

Oh, I've been meaning to ask...do we ever get to know the end of the story?

[kiwighia68]

[Brassneck]

[Bloku]

Amazing job on the resto! It really did turn out stunning. You were saying that you want to raise the front? I once had those problems of rubbing and scraping but I got 2 pairs of caster shims and it raised the front about 4cms and made it no longer scrape (on most things here) and also it tracked better and rubbed no more. You would also need some extended bottom beam bolts. Best of luck to you
_________________
1971 Karmann Ghia
1975 Porsche 914
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1975 BMW 2002
1976 BMW 2002 (Bored and Stroked w/ 5-Speed)
1981 BMW E21
1986 Toyota 4Runner (Dead engine and trans)
1989 Toyota 4x4 PU
1994 BMW E36 (Daily)

[kiwighia68]

[kiwighia68]

Okay, so my car is finally up and running - although spluttering a bit when started from cold - with a long list of finishing items to attend to. First on the list: Those awkward '69 only front seats. They are much too big and clumsy, and also too high. I'm not a big guy (only 1.82m or just short of 6 feet) but I don't like the idea that my hair should touch the headliner.

I found 2 old Porsche seats nearby. This is what they look side by side next to the Ghia seat.

The seat height at the hip is 20cm (8") on the Porsche seats (mounted on standard Ghia seat runners) and 28cm (11") on the Ghia seat.

From the front, measured from the floor to the front of the seats, the difference is equally pleasing - 15cm (6") versus 23cm (9").

I'm not only lowering the car, I'm also lowering the seats.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

A comparison of seat widths at the shoulder shows a similar reduction in size. Porsche seat, 38cm (15") and the Ghia seat, 50cm (20").

This is one of the main problems with the standard Ghia seat: It's near impossible to wrestle the seat belt through the small gap between the shoulder of the seat and the door pillar. (In defence of the manufacturers, they only had lap belts at the time.)

The Porsche seat also declines much further than the Ghia seat. (Good for a bit of mischief, eh, since the backseat is no good?)

I'll deal with the refurbishment and re-upholstering of the Porsche seats later. I have the matching vinyl and velour from TMI (via KGP&R) and have found an upholsterer in South Africa - where I'm heading next week - who will manufacture the seat covers for about US$ 160 for the pair.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

The Porsche seats will be bolted onto Ghia seat runners.

I refurbished the first seat bottom by removing the tired foam and using upholstery adhesive to glue new foam over the sides and seat pad.

Job done.

One more to go.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[mcdonaldneal]

Those will look great Chris! A real improvement, and only detectable by a very experienced eye!
I presume you have tried sitting in them? I only ask because the seat base looks a little flatter in the Porsche seats, and if you needed to set it at an angle on the runners, now would be the time!
Good luck with the SA trimmers, are you taking them as outsize baggage?
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

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