Ghia rear & front chin spoiler.

[David Follett]

First time on the Forum. I recently purchased a '69 Ghia coupe. Is not and probably will not ba a shoiw car but it is a great driver. I'd like to do a few things to give it a track car look but not take too much away from the Ghia style.
Any help or knowledge about installing a rear spoiler, front chin spoiler and air scoops at the front of the rear quarter panels, just before the door opening, would be appreciated.

[NOVA Airhead]

[Altema]

[sactojesse]

^
Agreed. A '69 has the small bumpers, small taillights, but is the first year of the independent rear suspension. Plus, it came stock with front disc brakes. IMO, resto-custom is where it's at. Keep the looks simple and clean. Retain the stock chrome trim on the sides. Lower it slightly, but keep the stock width front beam. Wider wheels and tires. Add a larger front sway bar and a rear sway bar. Build yourself a nice high performance engine. Pro street transmission. The sky's the limit, but keep the body essentially stock in form. Color change is fine. I would get rid of the stock fake woodgrain vinyl dash, fill the holes, and paint the dash body color though.
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1966 Karmann-Ghia convertible

[spectre6000]

Don't let the naysayers discourage you. There's a thread or two on STF for this sort of stuff. More engineering/open-minded over there. There have been a number of Ghias used (successfully) as race cars. I will likely do one myself one of these days. They're perfect for racing!
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Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[David Follett]

Great site. Thanks for all the replays both pro & con. This is my 3 rd Ghia in 43 yrs with VW service. No gonna mess it up but want something a little different.

[retrowagen]

[Greezy Joe]

Something like this I like it. Could be photo shopped but cool. But better have the GO to go to the Show

_________________
Current:74 Ghia Coupe w/ 2276
71 Ghia Vert w/ 1835
07 GMC Truck
12 Jeep Wrangler
73 Harley FLH 93 cid
89 Harley 883 Sportster (1200)


Owned before: 58, 69 Ghia Coupes, 64 Canvas Sunroof, 68, 72, 73, & 74 Bugs, 63 Single Cab, 65 Bus, 66 & 70 Camper
" Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it'll muffle the sound".

[spectre6000]

There's a thread on STF (and maybe duplicated here) about wool tuft testing a ghia. The tests haven't been completed yet, but I just got my '57 Ghia up here for testing an early model (it needs some mechanical and electrical attention before I can do said tests), and Jeromerino has a 60s model for testing a later. I've been out of the scene up here, and don't know anyone with a 70s model. Hopefully we'll be able to get something going soon. Regardless, head over there to see what has already been done and discussed on the subject.
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[Altema]

[Altema]

[KGCoupe]

There is an old urban legend that says that because the profile of the Karmann Ghia design is so similar to the cross section of an airplane wing, that the body will actually generate enough lift at high speeds to lift the body completely off the roadway (or would that be "runway") surface.

A few years back, there was a thread in here - Coefficient of drag - that had a lot of really good info regarding the aerodynamics of the Karmann Ghia.
As a teenager, I recall reading about the two different types of aerodynamic design - stylized aerodynamics, and true aerodynamics.
Some cars that look as though they must certainly be very slippery in the wind (such as the Porsche's old flagship 928) are only stylized aero, and actually have a relatively high coefficient of drag.
I suspect the Karmann Ghia falls in that category.

[John Moxon]

Larry Monreal's Ghia has done 168mph at Bonneville...air dam and spoilerless.
_________________
John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[aero3113]

What does he have under the front hood? I see he has louvers stamped in.

[John Moxon]

[KGCoupe]

[John Moxon]

[Altema]

[TwinkyZulu]

I have a question or an idea on the note of air piling up under the gas tank and in the wheel wells in the front of a ghia which creates lift at high speeds.
If the solution is a o let the air out of the wheel wells, couldn't you just put louvers on top of the front fenders behind the headlights do draw that air out?

[sancho58]

Wow ! You could say he was the Burt Munroe (world fastest Indian)
Of his time