TheSamba.com :: View topic - December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project

Sun Apr 13, 2025 6:40 pm

This is an absolutely beautiful level of TLC put in the project. Loving the outcome.

Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:17 pm

I have finally fit all the tin on the engine and cut the cylinder tins for the WW Okrasa manifolds. This took way more time than I thought it would. A lot of fine tuning to get all of the tins to fit properly and trimming the cylinder tins took forever. Im using the SCP carb linkage so the balance tube goes behind the fan shroud, eliminating the stock thermostat and cooling ring. A friend helped me out with a Porsche 356 cooling ring that I am welding to the back of the fan shroud. This is supposed to help with cooling. Once the tins are painted I will go into a more in depth description of what modifications and parts I'm using. The engine will be a mix of new, good used and NOS parts.

Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:44 pm

Looking good! Will those pea shooters clear the apron? They look awfully high.

Thu Jun 05, 2025 6:51 pm

I was thinking the same thing. I have seen photos of other Ghias with this exhaust and it does fit, but it looks like a really small gap between the exhaust and the rear apron. Guess I will just have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Thu Jun 05, 2025 7:58 pm

Well Done ….

Looks fantastic

Fri Jun 06, 2025 12:46 pm

Looking great, Loren.

Regarding the Vintage Speed exhaust; those pea shooters do look high. They do offer two styles of 36 hp mufflers; one for cars "with apron cutouts" and the other for cars without. It looks like you may have the one for aprons with cutouts, which places the shooters higher towards the center of the muffler. Link below to your exhaust for cars without cutouts, which basically looks like it flips the shooters and support brace attachment points. I think for a KG you want the exhaust for cars without the apron cutout.

https://store.vintagespeed.com.tw/TYPE-1-ENGINE-HI...p132800909

When comparing yours to the Abarth-style VS exhaust I used to have may give any idea of where your tips will be; yours look to exit the muffler inline with the two vertical baffle spot welds that are close together in the middle of the muffler. You can see in the photo below about where that would put your exhaust tips in line with my bumper (on the far left you can just make out the top spot weld just below the bumper).

I loved the craftsmanship and appearance of my VS exhaust, but I'm much happier with the A-1 Sebring I have now. The polished stainless muffler really radiates heat, and my rear apron/center section would get super HOT after driving. The Sebring muffler boxes don't tuck as high into the apron, and with the black Cerakote it's a noticable improvement. Considering the paint perfection of your car it may be something to consider. The fiberglass sleeve the VS offers for the C-pipes may be an an option to help limit some of that effect.

Sat Jun 07, 2025 2:36 pm

I had the same concern about the muffler. I bought this Vintage Speed 36hp Beetle/Ghia muffler 11 years ago so it might be an older design. I measured my 59 Ghia coupe and from the top of the breast plate tin to the bottom of the rear apron and it's 4.5". Then I took a measurement from the top of the breast plate tin on my new engine to the top of the VS exhaust pipe and it's 5.5", so I should have around 1" of clearance between the pipe and the apron. Getting the exhaust black ceramic coated is an interesting idea. I did some research on line and it looks like this should help with radiant heat and it would make the exhaust less noticeable, which might be good too. I would leave the exhaust pipes polished stainless steel. Now that I am confident that the exhaust pipes will have plenty of clearance I think I will move forward with this exhaust and hope it works out. I am strongly leaning towards getting it ceramic coated too. Thank you so much for posting your concerns. I always love feedback and this forum has been a great help with correcting details and avoiding some missteps along the way.

Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:33 pm

The engine mockup is already looking fantastic :twisted:
Antoine

Tue Jul 22, 2025 3:51 pm

I am still toiling away on the Ghia. The body is painted and I'm just waiting for it to get cut and buffed. I should be getting it back in late August. The engine tins are all painted, but I'm still waiting to get the muffler and heater boxes back from getting ceramic coated. Hopefully, I can get the engine assembled for the final time and back to the engine builder by the end of August so he can break it in and tune it.

In the mean time I have been assembling the front seat frames and getting them ready to take to an upholstery shop. I was considering covering them myself, but now that I have two little ones, I just don't have the time to do it myself.

As a reminder here is where I started. Many years ago I was lucky enough to find a really nice pair of original upholstery front seats, in my color combination too.

I had the seat frames and springs sand blasted and Jason did a little work on the frames replacing a few broken tabs. Once he was done with them I had the frames painted and the springs powder coated.

Once the frames were back together is was time to add some fabric to the top of the seat springs so the padding wouldn't wear through them. I don't know why the factory didn't do this, but it makes a big difference in the longevity of the padding. I used binder spring clips to keep the fabric taut and in place while I sewed it by hand using strong upholstery thread.

The final step was adding the backing boards to the seat backs. This turned out to be much harder than I expected. After a lot of searching I was finally able to source an exact replacement for the backing board. It's a hard cardboard panel board that is water resistant and mildew resistant. Luckily, the original boards from my seats were not too damaged, just warped out of shape with a few broken pieces where the securing prongs came through. I flattened an original panel in a heat press and it made a great template for new boards. It's also worth noting that the original boards were beveled on the top and side edges to soften the transition to the frames.

I traced the original panel to make two cardboard templates. I attached these to the back of the seat frames to make sure the fit was good and to poke the securing tabs through, so I could mark their locations on the final boards. With the cardboard templates done I could transfer these to the new panel boards. The final step proved the most difficult, bending the outer edges to conform to the curvature of the seat frames. Before I cut the panel boards to their final shape I had to bend the sides and I needed the excess board to help form the curve. To make the curved sides I cut a 2' piece of black 3" diameter ABS plastic pipe in half and I filed down the inside of the cut so it wouldn't damage the board. Next I used a 2' piece of 2" diameter ABS pipe together with the 3" half pipe to make a vice. I marked a line on the new board where the top of the curve needed to be, then I wet the back and front of the panel and clamped it using the two pieces of pipe. I let it dry for 24 hours to make sure it was dry. It took a few tries on the first one, but by the second one I had it down and it went much quicker.

Once the curves were formed and the location of the securing tabs were transferred I was able to cut the panel to the final shape and bevel the edges. Next, I put it on the seat frame and bent/hammered the tabs down. Finally, I added small squares of black book binding tape over the exposed tabs. The factory didn't do this, but I think it will help prevent the tabs from wearing through the padding over time and help reinforce the surrounding panel from wear or tearing.

Here is the final product

Wed Jul 23, 2025 1:45 am

Loren - Excellent attention to detail & thanks for spending the time to document your process & issues you have.

Can you also confirm the paint code used on the seat frames.

Tim

Wed Jul 23, 2025 9:14 am

I used a Silver Beige match for the seat frames. I had a few parts with original paint, so the painter matched them and had the color mixed. I tried the WW spray paint, but the match wasn't very good and it's not as durable. If you want I can see if he has the mixing code?

Wed Jul 23, 2025 6:25 pm

Nice job explaining/showing all that. Thank you!

Thu Jul 24, 2025 1:33 am

Loren wrote: I used a Silver Beige match for the seat frames. I had a few parts with original paint, so the painter matched them and had the color mixed. I tried the WW spray paint, but the match wasn't very good and it's not as durable. If you want I can see if he has the mixing code?

Hi Loren - I would be interested in the paint mixing code as there is always the discussion on the Silver beige code L277 or L466 dependent on switch over dates.

Tim

Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:46 pm

Today is a huge milestone for my Ghia project. After 25 years of ownership it’s finally back to its original color and back in my garage! It couldn’t have happened without the help of two people: Jason Wrenn and Mitch Case. Together they have brought the Ghia back to its original glory and I can’t thank them enough.

Jason and Mitch loading up the Ghia for the return trip home

The Ghia back in my garage.

Sun Aug 10, 2025 6:23 pm

Loren wrote: Today is a huge milestone for my Ghia project. After 25 years of ownership it’s finally back to its original color and back in my garage! It couldn’t have happened without the help of two people: Jason Wrenn and Mitch Case. Together they have brought the Ghia back to its original glory and I can’t thank them enough.

Jason and Mitch loading up the Ghia for the return trip home

The Ghia back in my garage.

Truly awesome, congratulations.

Mon Aug 11, 2025 7:03 am

What a feeling you must have! Congratulations!

Mon Aug 11, 2025 7:47 am

FANTASTIC!! 8)

Mon Aug 11, 2025 9:26 am

It was a pleasure , for sure :D

Fri Aug 15, 2025 12:45 am

Beautiful.

Sat Aug 16, 2025 7:16 pm

Congrats Loren, its absolutely stunning!