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OTO X58
Samba Member
Joined: March 27, 2004
Posts: 3103
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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 Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:44 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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I pulled the distributor, fuel pump, and carburetor off to get them all cleaned up and rebuilt.
The fuel pump had a handful of rusty dirt in it. So the carb had some junk in it too. Not terrible, and easy to clean.
New brushes in the generator. Unfortunately, I munched the cloth sheathing on the green wire. I'll have to find some green shrink wrap or something.
Both brass fittings, from the fuel pump and the carburetor, pulled out with almost zero effort. I peened and loctite'd them, and pressed them back in.
went with an Optima 6V redtop.
I also pulled off the fan shroud so that I could re-torque the top head nuts. While I was that far, I couldn't help but pull the rest of the tins and the manifold, to give them a scuff and a fresh shot of paint.
I don't really want to repaint the air cleaner because I like the patina. I tried buffing it out, and it came out so-so. I might repaint a few parts of it such as the clamp on the carb.
Sadly, the firewall insulation was bowed really badly and actually touching the fan itself in the back. It was so brittle, I couldn't press it back in place without shattering it. I wanted to just cut out the area around the fan, but in trying that it just fell apart in my hands. I reluctantly removed it. Does anyone make a good reproduction?
Before:
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RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11022
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:10 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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None of the tar boards for Ghias sold in the US are worth a damn. The kit Airhead sells is a disgrace, it’s made of floppy rubber it seems. Utterly useless garbage.
If you come across that situation again use a heat gun to soften the material first then shape with a leather glove.
I am attempting to make my own board with waterboard and roofing material.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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OTO X58
Samba Member
Joined: March 27, 2004
Posts: 3103
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:38 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| Braukuche wrote: |
None of the tar boards for Ghias sold in the US are worth a damn. The kit Airhead sells is a disgrace, it’s made of floppy rubber it seems. Utterly useless garbage.
If you come across that situation again use a heat gun to soften the material first then shape with a leather glove.
I am attempting to make my own board with waterboard and roofing material. |
ugh. I was afraid of that. Thanks for the heads up. In that case I'll just try and clean off the glue and leave the firewall bare. Let me know how your roofing material attempt goes!
I also want to experiment with stuff that might soften the undercoating. Carb cleaner seemed to do the trick, but it also affected the original paint. I need something a little less harsh.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find |
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Deluxe Lowlight Ghia
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Joined: March 26, 2006
Posts: 1037
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:03 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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Such a neat Ghia you found. Are you going to mount the battery in the engine bay or relocate under the back seat?
_________________
These vws are cool but the people who own them are far more valuable. Keep friends close they can be taken away overnight.
57 ghia
59 patina ghia
61 patina Ghia
71 bus
73 super beetle
74 thing
75 half bug |
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PeteSC
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Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 881
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OTO X58
Samba Member
Joined: March 27, 2004
Posts: 3103
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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OTO X58
Samba Member
Joined: March 27, 2004
Posts: 3103
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 5:42 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| Deluxe Lowlight Ghia wrote: |
| Such a neat Ghia you found. Are you going to mount the battery in the engine bay or relocate under the back seat? |
Thanks man! I was just reading about your blue one- quite the gem!
I mounted the battery in the engine bay using the stock threaded mounting stud:
In the process, I discovered this cloth sound insulation pillow laying in the bottom of the passenger quarter panel, behind the battery:
The engine has W145T6 spark plugs, which I believe are discontinued.
I finished putting the motor back together, did an oil change, and built a small engine wire harness because the original was spliced to death. I got the engine to run briefly and it sounded fine with no knocking, but discovered a few things that need attention.
My new needle and seat doesn’t appear to be working because it’s geysering fuel out the top of the carb through vent tube.
The throttle shaft in the carb is shot, and was dripping fuel.
The voltage regulator is likely bad, probably from having been hooked up as positive ground. I polarized the generator, but couldn’t get any charge out of it.
The generator shaft threads have been rounded off, so the nut kept coming loose. I ordered a new nut and ran a die over the threads- hopefully it’s salvageable.
The headlights and wipers worked! But no high beam, tail or stop lights, no turn signals or horn. The horn relay clicks, though. One weird thing- the turn signal light stays on all the time, and even glows dimly with the key removed. I noticed the turn signal stalk is loose- there may be an issue in there.
The old brakes are even holding together. Rubber hoses looked to have been done recently. The PO said he did the brakes a few years back. But I’ll still have a look at them.
All in all, it was a successful day! I didn’t drive it around the block, but I got close. The engine runs, no knocks or other bad sounds, clutch works, some electrical is good, etc. Best of all, I have a handle on what’s still wrong with it.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find |
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Deluxe Lowlight Ghia
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2006
Posts: 1037
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 7:50 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| OTO X58 wrote: |
| Deluxe Lowlight Ghia wrote: |
| Such a neat Ghia you found. Are you going to mount the battery in the engine bay or relocate under the back seat? |
Thanks man! I was just reading about your blue one- quite the gem!
I mounted the battery in the engine bay using the stock threaded mounting stud:
In the process, I discovered this cloth sound insulation pillow laying in the bottom of the passenger quarter panel, behind the battery:
The engine has W145T6 spark plugs, which I believe are discontinued.
I finished putting the motor back together, did an oil change, and built a small engine wire harness because the original was spliced to death. I got the engine to run briefly and it sounded fine with no knocking, but discovered a few things that need attention.
My new needle and seat doesn’t appear to be working because it’s geysering fuel out the top of the carb through vent tube.
The throttle shaft in the carb is shot, and was dripping fuel.
The voltage regulator is likely bad, probably from having been hooked up as positive ground. I polarized the generator, but couldn’t get any charge out of it.
The generator shaft threads have been rounded off, so the nut kept coming loose. I ordered a new nut and ran a die over the threads- hopefully it’s salvageable.
The headlights and wipers worked! But no high beam, tail or stop lights, no turn signals or horn. The horn relay clicks, though. One weird thing- the turn signal light stays on all the time, and even glows dimly with the key removed. I noticed the turn signal stalk is loose- there may be an issue in there.
The old brakes are even holding together. Rubber hoses looked to have been done recently. The PO said he did the brakes a few years back. But I’ll still have a look at them.
All in all, it was a successful day! I didn’t drive it around the block, but I got close. The engine runs, no knocks or other bad sounds, clutch works, some electrical is good, etc. Best of all, I have a handle on what’s still wrong with it. |
thanks man I like how’s yours is turning out. I’m mounting my optima under the seat for 2 reasons, I think it looks a little cleaner and my tray is rusty
_________________
These vws are cool but the people who own them are far more valuable. Keep friends close they can be taken away overnight.
57 ghia
59 patina ghia
61 patina Ghia
71 bus
73 super beetle
74 thing
75 half bug |
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calexican
Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 730
Location: El Paso, TX
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:08 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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I went under the seat with mine for similar reasons. The Gazelle is coming together really nice. Pretty rare to find a sock, very cool! |
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kingkarmann
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2003
Posts: 4118
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:18 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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Great thread and beautiful save 
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"Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”
Mike Gerson
What is your "Bespoke Reality"? |
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Trylon
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Joined: August 16, 2019
Posts: 4854
Location: Connecticut
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Rome
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 9696
Location: Pearl River, NY
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:55 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| Braukuche wrote: |
None of the tar boards for Ghias sold in the US are worth a damn. The kit Airhead sells is a disgrace, it’s made of floppy rubber it seems. Utterly useless garbage.
If you come across that situation again use a heat gun to soften the material first then shape with a leather glove.
I am attempting to make my own board with waterboard and roofing material. |
Brau, many years ago one of our local Ghia enthusiasts Vince V, who was the original owner of his '65 Cabrio and unfortunately recently passed away, told me that he found that the sound insulation from the back of an old washing machine worked very well. My concern there would be that if such insulation had the fiberglass mat strand material such as house wall insulation, ambient humidity when the car is outside could flatten it and possibly degrade it. He found a good large piece from a scrapped machine and it worked really well on his car. I also covered my existing, partly cracked factory firewall piece with roofing paper; just make sure you use a wallpaper roller to run over the paper once it's glued down to work out any air bubbles/voids.
I wonder if the waffle-pattern repro rubber insulation would work well on a stiff piece of waterproof marine hardboard- possibly the "waterboard" you mention- so that the insulation stays in place when glued to the hardboard and not flop down. Benefit of marine hardboard is that you can easily cut the thin slots needed to fasten the board to the firewall triangular retaining tabs. If you glue the waffle insulation to a piece of say 1/8" thick aluminum or a large, scrapped street sign so that the waffle stays in place, it might be harder to cut slots into the aluminum in the exact locations for the retaining tabs. |
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Doug914
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2009
Posts: 96
Location: Northern New Jersey
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 7:43 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| OTO X58 wrote: |
| Braukuche wrote: |
None of the tar boards for Ghias sold in the US are worth a damn. The kit Airhead sells is a disgrace, it’s made of floppy rubber it seems. Utterly useless garbage.
If you come across that situation again use a heat gun to soften the material first then shape with a leather glove.
I am attempting to make my own board with waterboard and roofing material. |
ugh. I was afraid of that. Thanks for the heads up. In that case I'll just try and clean off the glue and leave the firewall bare. Let me know how your roofing material attempt goes!
I also want to experiment with stuff that might soften the undercoating. Carb cleaner seemed to do the trick, but it also affected the original paint. I need something a little less harsh. |
Actually Chris Vallones's from Classic VW Bugs is pretty nice. I bought it for my 59'. I haven't installed it yet but it looks and feels pretty nice. Has a waffle pattern to it.
Here's a youtube video of his showing it off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhPsWonTypI
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1959 Karmann Ghia
1960 Single Cab
1956 Beetle Oval Window |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11022
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 8:16 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| Doug914 wrote: |
| OTO X58 wrote: |
| Braukuche wrote: |
None of the tar boards for Ghias sold in the US are worth a damn. The kit Airhead sells is a disgrace, it’s made of floppy rubber it seems. Utterly useless garbage.
If you come across that situation again use a heat gun to soften the material first then shape with a leather glove.
I am attempting to make my own board with waterboard and roofing material. |
ugh. I was afraid of that. Thanks for the heads up. In that case I'll just try and clean off the glue and leave the firewall bare. Let me know how your roofing material attempt goes!
I also want to experiment with stuff that might soften the undercoating. Carb cleaner seemed to do the trick, but it also affected the original paint. I need something a little less harsh. |
Actually Chris Vallones's from Classic VW Bugs is pretty nice. I bought it for my 59'. I haven't installed it yet but it looks and feels pretty nice. Has a waffle pattern to it.
Here's a youtube video of his showing it off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhPsWonTypI |
Looks thin? I wonder if the pieces behind the battery will stay up? The waffle pattern is odd too. Seems like all the Ghias I have have just a plain texture.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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Doug914
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2009
Posts: 96
Location: Northern New Jersey
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 8:30 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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He uses that waffle pattern for all his early bugs too. My 56’ Oval had that sorta pattern. I questioned wether thats what was used on a lowlight. But it is pretty stiff stuff. I do like the look of the smooth style better myself.
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1959 Karmann Ghia
1960 Single Cab
1956 Beetle Oval Window |
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John Moxon 
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Joined: March 07, 2004
Posts: 13967
Location: Southampton U.K.
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11022
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:56 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| OTO X58 wrote: |
Wow, nice! Thanks for the heads up, that car is excellent.
I Can’t wait to paint my wheels. The copper brown/ gazelle combo looks great. |
TCP Global has the formula for the wheel color. I had them match it to the painted emblem on my one original hubcap. It’s VW Brown.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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OTO X58
Samba Member
Joined: March 27, 2004
Posts: 3103
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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I gave it a little shine!
Wet sanded it with 1000 then 1500 grit, then buffed it with cutting compound, then cleaner wax. Turned out better than expected!
I also chipped and sanded off the flaking paint on the driver's fender and the nose, which seem to be the two main areas with past bodywork. I haven't gotten after it with the hammers and dollies yet, but I wanted to cover the bare metal until I can get to it. So I covered it in high build SEM tan primer. That will do for now and allow me to address a few other things.
I also sanded through that primer a bit so it would blend in just a little better. Once I do a bit of metalwork especially on the nose, I'll get a can of Gazelle Beige made up and blend in those areas. I don't have any intention of painting the car, just blend-in a few areas.
I also got it running and took it on a test drive to get an inventory of how everything is doing. The good news is that it made it about ~2 miles to the liquor store and the gas station! And most everything functions as it should.
The bad news is that the split case trans sounds pretty loud. And the clutch is a bit slippy as well. The PO did the brakes about 5 years ago, and they actually feel pretty good. Regardless, I will pull all the drums off and have a look, replace the rubber hoses, etc. It could also use shocks, and those tires just really need to go ASAP.
The biggest problem I discovered is that the carb drips fuel from the throttle shaft after I shut it down. The throttle shaft is super worn, so I may need to send the carb off to be bushed. Does anyone even do that anymore? I'll have to research.
All in all, pretty positive drive! It's really in pretty good shape. I think I might even tow it down to Kelley Park this weekend, unload in the back lot and drive it into the show.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11022
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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TCP Global mixed up the Gazelle Beige for my car so they have the correct formula in single stage.
Split case transmissions are naturally noisy as hell. Is it jumping out of gear or failing to go into gear? It’s hard to find parts for those early split case transmissions, hopefully it’s just low on oil?
Car cleaned up super nice. Blending in is a great idea. What a nice find!
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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Big Bill
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 1788
Location: Fortuna Calif.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2022 6:50 am Post subject: Re: 1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia Find |
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| Wow you have been on a tear with that Ghia, from towing it home to running around town with it. And in a short amount of time, that 62 Long Roof Chevy is pretty cool too, my Dad had a 63 that looked just like yours color was the same too. |
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