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anubiscrs Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2007 Posts: 182 Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:21 am Post subject: What did you do to your ghia this week? |
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well I bought my first ghia and got to build the front beam before I could tow it home (110 miles with a tow bar). while the tires were not straight and I got about 30 miles and checked the ghia and the front tires inner side was stripped of thread and showing metal. I made it to the next exit and started calling around (u-haul, buget ect) to find a trailer. Well at 4:55pm I found one and they closed at 5:00pm. Long store short, got the trailer and got home safe. I love the car!! |
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boat_builder Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2007 Posts: 610 Location: Republic of Ireland
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:31 am Post subject: |
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Re-fitted the bumpers
Fitted new retractable seatbelts
Fitted new rear rain catcher and pipes
Re-fitted wipers/wiper motor
Fitted rear license light assembly
Fitted front bonnet drain tubes
Fitted new rubber on pop-out windows
Fitted interior light
Fitted door buttons
Cleaned fuse box terminals with emery paper
(this fixed the non-working horns and rear brake lights)
Next to do:
Fit new upper and lower rubber to both doors
Fit underdash radio bracket
Wire in new radio and speakers
Fit radio antenna
Fit new door striker plate to driver's door
Adjust doors and glass position |
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73Cabrio Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2006 Posts: 46
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:00 am Post subject: |
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dissembled a spare top frame for my '73, had been oiling the rusty bolts for 18mos to no avail, had to do alot of drilling, easy outs failed also. always good to have extra parts!! |
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Achilles3588 Samba Member
Joined: February 11, 2005 Posts: 633 Location: Bradenton, Florida, USA
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Rewired license plate light bulb holder
Installed new LP light housing trim
Powdercoated/painted misc. steering column parts and began column reassembly _________________ Larry V.~
'91 Syncro Doka 1.9L TDI 'AFN' |
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boat_builder Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2007 Posts: 610 Location: Republic of Ireland
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:18 am Post subject: |
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Achilles3588 wrote: |
Installed new LP light housing trim
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Did you use new clips for the chrome trim, or did you re-use the old ones?
I tried to re-use the old ones and they just broke off. |
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hosspowerinc Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2005 Posts: 391 Location: Murphy NC
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:21 am Post subject: |
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I pushed it from the corner to the center of the shop, had to go out of town, and pushed it back to the corner when I returned. Its really racking up the miles |
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snookerdude Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2004 Posts: 914 Location: central florida
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:02 am Post subject: this week |
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i installed my tow bar and magnetic based lights and towed it to the east coast treffen in stone mountain georgia from lakeland florida. there, allen, along with his wife and vince and a few others led us in a great show and round the mountain trek. after a much needed thunder shower i re-installed the tow bar and lights and took it to marietta, georgia, drove around there for a couple of days; hooked up again and towed it back to florida. i wanted to drive it the entire trip but have a new, unproven engine in it (2 days before the show). i spent 3 times the money on gas than i paid for my first karmann gia in 1962. my ghia spent the night back in its home [air conditioned, carpeted garage] and he is waiting for me to romove the tow bar so he can do his daily driver stuff. |
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DesmoDog Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2005 Posts: 59 Location: Michigan, USA
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:31 am Post subject: |
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A little background first. The car is a 1960 Cabriolet. Roughly 6 years ago I started to rebuild the brakes on it. Figured it'd take a day or two. It hasn't been driven since - project creep took hold. In the time it's been in storage it's gotten a new front beam assy/tie rods/steering damper/wheel bearings installed and the brakes rebuilt/modified three times - added Porsche drums up front one of those times, dual circuit master cylinder the next. Last fall I finally got it to the point I could drive it again.
So now what I did this week:
Put some miles on it to figure out my next steps. Decided the "new" front beam has issues - it's ultra stiff, as in I don't think it gives AT ALL. Pressing down on the front flexes the tires and that's about it. I thought it might loosen up with use but after about 50 miles of somewhat bumpy roads it's still frozen. Yes it was greased after installation. Shocks are new.
Ordered new wheels/tires to replace the 25+ year old white walls it's got now. They were backordered but are supposed to arrive sometime this week... I'm not feeling too confident about that though.
When the new wheels arrive I'm going to figure out if I should fix the "new" beam or rebuild the old one. If I rebuild the old one I may go with disk brakes up front and dropped spindles. That would mean ditching the Porsche drums obviously... Also need to get the alignment done but want to decide on the beam situation first. It may need a new steering box, but I could swear I checked that when I changed the beam. Some play in the steering though.
Started to finalize my plans for an engine. The stock 36hp mill just isn't going to cut it. Now the choices are - continue down the path of rebuilding a Porsche 1600N engine for it (I've had one sitting around in pieces for years), buy a used running 356 engine, or build/buy a 1776 VW engine for it. I pulled out all the 356 parts I have to get an idea of what I'd need engine-wise. Time to make some cost estimates.
Finally washed about ten years of dirt/dust off of it.
DROVE IT more to get a feel for what it still needs. Hit an indicated 65mph - the fastest it's gone under it's own power in at least ten years.
Took it out to run an errand on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon and got more looks and comments than I was expecting... first one was from a guy I would have thought was too young to even know what a Karmann Ghia was. _________________ -Craig
Team YIKES! Motorsports |
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shok Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2007 Posts: 482 Location: Salinas, California.
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jwvert Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2004 Posts: 138 Location: Texas.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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Continued wet-sanding and taping the body for final paint.
JW |
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tstracy39 Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2008 Posts: 3294 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Rebuilt the carburetor, did a compression test (140-140-140-145!), vacuum test (21 inches of mercury at 2000 RPM on an industrial style, non-automotive gauge!), found TDC for the #1 piston, bead blasted and painted a recently bought set of fan shroud flaps, looked all over the internet for a cheap replacement for the missing thermostat (to no avail), installed a tachometer ($30.00 for a returned one at amazon.com), tried out a newer carburetor that I couldn't get to idle. The engine had been sitting for more than three years without heater boxes on it. Since it turned out to be in great shape my next mission is to get that thermostat right away before it starts wearing out (I'll never be able to afford a new engine, even one hundred thousand miles from now) |
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stripboat99 Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 10 Location: Shoreline, WA
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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Decided to take care of that 'little dent' on the nose.......Bondo all the way to the nostrils. This should be interesting............. |
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72Ghia Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2007 Posts: 1253 Location: Baltimore Maryland
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DerekR Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2004 Posts: 384 Location: Riverton, Utah
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: |
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Last night, disassembled the front suspension to install new spinals, ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stabilizer, master cyl and all new brake lines. Saturday installed new dash face, pad, gauges, stereo and windshield. Everything went great until I cracked the windshield. _________________ 63 Ruby Red Double Cab
60 SO 23 Westfalia SWR/BG Camper
59 Dove Blue Standard Kombi |
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R.R. Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2008 Posts: 299 Location: Pensacola, Florida
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:25 am Post subject: |
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Finally got my floor pans welded in. _________________ As if my 68' Ghia resto wasn't enough.... I just bought a 68' bug too...!!! |
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boat_builder Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2007 Posts: 610 Location: Republic of Ireland
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:45 am Post subject: |
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I just put new lower door seals on the driver's door yesterday...I used a contact glue called Terokal-2444...have to tackle the upper door seal tonight.
http://www.loctite-europe.com/int_henkel/loctite_e...20Adhesive
Does anyone have a photo of how the upper seal and the lower seal meet each other on the A and B posts? |
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Achilles3588 Samba Member
Joined: February 11, 2005 Posts: 633 Location: Bradenton, Florida, USA
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:01 am Post subject: |
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boat_builder wrote: |
Achilles3588 wrote: |
Installed new LP light housing trim
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Did you use new clips for the chrome trim, or did you re-use the old ones?
I tried to re-use the old ones and they just broke off. |
That's odd. I used new clips but I think I could've used the old. They seem to be in good shape. KGPR has them.
The tough part is twisting the tabs that push thru the holes on the LP light housing. (This is how they keep tension on the trim). Bend the tabs a little before installing, so that they point 'up' after they pass thru the hole - then use a pair of needle nose vise grips to clamp down on each tab and give a twist. Bending the tabs 'flat' or using a punch to bend them is a bad move - if will put a divot in the light housing it you're not careful.
I placed the chrome facing down on a piece of packing foam to avoid scratching while I applied downward pressure. _________________ Larry V.~
'91 Syncro Doka 1.9L TDI 'AFN' |
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Chuck Fryer Samba Member
Joined: May 18, 2004 Posts: 134 Location: Harvard IL
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:25 am Post subject: |
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I managed to make brackets and install deck lid struts ala Mike Lawless in Hot VW's. I also buttoned up the short block on my 2332, just need rings to finish the top end. I also started plumbing the fuel front to rear. |
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turboghia Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2004 Posts: 210 Location: Long Beach, Ca.
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:04 am Post subject: |
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Had a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust when I let off the gas. Found out the turbo shaft bearings were going out so we rebuilt the turbo and installed it on the car yesterday. I'm letting all the hi-temp sealant cure overnight and I hope that solves the problem, should know today.
Steve |
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boat_builder Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2007 Posts: 610 Location: Republic of Ireland
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Tried to tune my carb last night, but couldn't get it to idle at all and it was really spluttery. I took the carb apart and found lots of "sandy grit" in the float bowl. I cleaned it all out and all the passageways with compressed air. I also put a fuel filter on the engine and refitted the carb......runs really well now |
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