TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed May 30, 2007 9:13 pm

[Mod edit: These first photos are now blocked by Photobucket. The rest of the thread is nonetheless quite interesting.]
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c339/rarefinds_1954/53ghiadsh.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c339/rarefinds_1954/53ghia.jpg

This might be a repost. I wanted to share these pictures of the 1953 Ghia prototype.

(Mod edit, due to Photobuckets new policies of preventing photos from displaying, I posted some photos from another thread..........)

theghiagirl wrote: Hi John, I'm so sorry for your bad experience. You would think that these Prototypes would have been the centerpieces of the show...doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

I took these pictures a few years ago at the Karmann Museum.

Other photos added......

Wed May 30, 2007 9:22 pm

I guess that bus length shifter was eliminated by the time production rolled around... LOL

Wed May 30, 2007 9:24 pm

I see you got the 100 years of karmann book.

that car is funky stuff. I like the refinements that they made for the production versions.

the car is in the Karmann museum of course.

Wed May 30, 2007 9:29 pm

I did a search in the gallery before I posted. There are a few other pictures of the car but none were of the dash. Very different than the production models. My best regards go out to Mr. Carter for sending me that book a few years ago. Pretty interesting stuff

Wed May 30, 2007 9:53 pm

My favorite details are the wood strip on the top edge of the door, and the way the door glass and quarter window meet up with no trim.

Wed May 30, 2007 10:23 pm

It has a very Porsche-like level of fit and finish. Leather seats, chrome trim on the door pillar, the little leather pull for the map pocket...
I really like that dash, too. You can image that if the car went into production with all the accoutrements of the prototype, it would hardly have been an economy car.

Thu May 31, 2007 6:07 am

That interior trim on the windshield would have been murder on a sunny day.

Thu May 31, 2007 6:12 am

What a beauty! It's much more obvious in the prototype(s) that the car comes from an Italian design firm. LOTS of cues from other cars by Ghia on the first versions.

SWEET ! !

Thu May 31, 2007 8:03 am

jason_hamilton wrote: , it would hardly have been an economy car.
It's hard to call the Ghia an economy car when in it's full production guise! :)

Thu May 31, 2007 10:45 am

I adore the needles on the instruments, reminds me of a Swiss watch.

Chris.

Thu May 31, 2007 11:43 am

"Luigi, you salami-head, you're supposed to put the chrome trim on the OUTSIDE of the windshield!" :)

If this car never went into production when it did, and somebody would have discovered the prototype and made a limited run of the body on a current chassis, I still think the public would be impressed by the lines and curves of the body. Incredible talent to come up with a body design that is still very appealing over 1/2 a CENTURY later.

Its headlamps look TINY- are they not 7"? Or is it just the lack of the "nipple" blinkers underneath that we're used to seeing, that makes the headlamps look "lost" at the front of the fenders?

Thu May 31, 2007 12:13 pm

8)

Thu May 31, 2007 2:06 pm

Rollo Tomasi wrote:

8)

Oh wow :shock: :shock: :shock: how cool is that!!! Hey, look at the window crank and the door latch. They are quite large!!.

Very special picture!!!

Quote: Its headlamps look TINY- are they not 7"? Or is it just the lack of the "nipple" blinkers underneath that we're used to seeing, that makes the headlamps look "lost" at the front of the fenders?

European models did not require the larger headlamps. I believe US regulations required the larger lamps

Thu May 31, 2007 2:33 pm

Thanks, I also asked for a ride but the Karmann Museum didnt like the idea :D

Thu May 31, 2007 5:23 pm

Great pictures.

Don't they let you sit in the Ghia anymore? It has been 10 years since I last visited the museum but I too got to sit in the car. We had a private audience for our group of 6 people, followed by a tour and then lunch in their dining room. It was great.

Door handles.

You have to see the Chrysler D'Elegance. Door handles I think are exactly the same. Adds a little credibility that Ghia might have stolen some body lines from Chrysler (or the othe way around). I have some pics of the Chrysler. If I can find them I'll up load them.

The 53 Ghia started off as a Beetle that was stripped down and became the basis for the Ghia.

Thu May 31, 2007 5:27 pm

I'd rather see the gal in rarefind's avatar sitting in that ghia. Tho sets of gorgeous curves. Oh goodie!!!!! :P :P :P :P

Thu May 31, 2007 5:29 pm

I also like the sun visors. Did the production version ever have those inside door handles?

Thu May 31, 2007 5:36 pm

Rollo Tomasi wrote:

8)

There is no quarter window post, and the quarter window overhangs the door opening.

Is the entire door jamb area covered by one large trim piece???

Thu May 31, 2007 5:45 pm

I have pictures of the engine, (not in this computer). K manifold, 54-55? type 1 airclener, sealed in the middle air box, 383 dist with black cap,

Thu May 31, 2007 6:08 pm

Kaiser_sose wrote: I have pictures of the engine, (not in this computer). K manifold, 54-55? type 1 airclener, sealed in the middle air box, 383 dist with black cap,

Post those!!