Introducing the Ghiapet

[Evil_Fiz]

[didget69]

... hey!!!!!

I know that Ghia! And the Beat.

Great to have crashed the British Car Show today -

bryan
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[NoDents]

Even the Luxury crowd have been inspired by the Ghiapet!

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No Dents

1963 Bug - Sold in 1980
1966 Karmann Ghia Convertible - Stolen in 1988
1971 Karmann Ghia Convertible, resto/mod COMPLETED 10/2020

[TDCTDI]

Today I got the bright idea of trying to fit skid plates to reduce the possibility (OK, probability) of yet another case/exhaust strike. I grabbed a sand rail engine cage that I laying around & contemplated how I was going to mount it.

Unfortunately, I determined that I needed to address the bent rear bumper before I started tying into it with the cage.

Most of y'all only scrape the bumper when you get too close to a curb.

I'm pretty sure that I straightened that apron the last time the engine was out.

First, I unbolted the bumper from the bracket so I could straighten the bracket & also so that I could remove the outer towel bar.

Using a C-clamp & a piece of angle iron, I slowly worked a majority of the damage out of the bumper.

While I was at it, I moved on to the center section...

Here's just how badly dented it was.

I slowly worked the clamp back & forth so as not to cause a dent from the other direction.

And finally got the bumper close enough.

Then I reassembled it.

_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[KGCoupe]

Not sure how much actual protection they would provide, but the VW Thing came factory equipped with some skid plate type of protection ...

[TDCTDI]

This morning I continued to fit the rear cage. I removed the rear bumper yet again & fitted the cage to the car.

I jacked the cage up a bit higher than needed to “clearance” the sled tins a bit.

Then I welded tabs onto the ends to bolt to the transmission cradle. Once on, I could determine how it would fit to the body.

Initially, I thought I would need to remove the horizontal tube & place it lower but I decided to leave it & cut the upper tubes off.

It is now hidden behind the bumper.

_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[jeffrey8164]

Pretty Slick.
_________________
Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[TDCTDI]

Today I continued my quest to install the cage so I removed the bumper yet again so I could remove the filler trim pieces on the bumper brackets.

This is when I realized just how bent the passenger side bracket really was...

It looks nothing like the driver side.

Something tells I should just leave it alone but I proceeded to beat, bend, & tweak it back into it’s original shape. I started by putting it in the press to straighten the bracket, and then coerce the inboard end back into shape.

Then, I straightened the hard angle in the other side & manipulated it back into shape also.

Of course, this led me to have to straighten & correct the bumper also.

Now that the bumper fits the body correctly, I’ll need to repair the towel bar supports.

But I can also continue with building & installing the cage.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[didget69]

If your cage description doesn't contain the word 'exoskeleton', I shall be disappointed...

Bryan
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[jeffrey8164]

How did you know which side was bent incorrectly?
_________________
Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[TDCTDI]

[TDCTDI]

[TDCTDI]

Wait! What the hell was that?!?

FU#&!!!... FU#&, FU#*...., Fu#&ity, FU#&, FU&#, FU#&!!!


Yesterday my ignition switch did something strange, then, with that same noise of a lit fuse of a bomb from the morning cartoons, smoke started billowing out of the column & then, moments later, out of the dashboard.

The ignition switch locked up (so I couldn't even turn it off.) & somehow sent voltage through the new turn signal switch melted the ground wire to the back of the cluster.

Fortunately, I had just gotten back to the shop & managed to scavenge a ignition switch & turn signal switch off a parts car.

It can always be worse though, on the way home, I got to see some guy get run over....

By his own car

He was apparently having his own car issues & his car was blocking the intersection at the top of the off-ramp, a local officer helped him push the car out of the intersection & that's where it all went downhill... literally. The guy managed to keep up for the first 150 feet or so but then got caught by the rear tire which just sucked him under. The car continued another 200 feet on it's own before crashing the gate in front of the town's municipal building. After making sure that he was OK-ish (Good thing it was a Honda.) I couldn't help but to be amused at the tire track up the inside of his thigh, up his chest & over his shoulder. I left as he was telling the officer that he really didn't need the EMS even though he thought he had a few broken ribs.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[TDCTDI]

So... who has the most driven Ghia in the forums? I rolled another 1,000 miles...

Who has the hardest worked Ghia?

Yup, me.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[kgj]

Hardest working Ghia? You win.
Love the ongoing story.
J
_________________
1958 coupe

[c21darrel]

[TDCTDI]

Since a daily driven antique VW experience wouldn’t be complete without a breakdown & roadside repair, and the fact that I was literally thinking “This little car has been almost maintenance free since getting it up & running again”, the Ghiapet punished me for not being a bit more on top of some of the maintenance items. While driving home, about 11:30 at night, after spending the last three days replacing the roof on the building, I felt a misfire. Then several more as I came to a traffic light. When the light turned green, the beast barely made it across the intersection (The same one I like to launch the car through.) so I coasted another 300 yards, made a turn & coaxed it into the well lit lot of a local dealership & popped the distributor cap.

Yup, the points had almost no gap & the contacts were just about nonexistent. I tried to adjust them but the car was still running rough so I grabbed my spare distributor, tossed it in & continued on my way.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[didget69]

Maintenance? Points? What are 'points'?

Isn't an oil change & wash/wax enough maintenance?

bryan
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[didget69]

[TDCTDI]

For those of y’all that like watching while I explore new trails, here’s one I took this morning after I saw a path through a primordial Eastern NC forest. Sorry about the quality, it was wet & humid & got even worse once the heat exchangers got submerged (& they’re 12” off the ground.).

Link


It’s hard to see in the video but the climb at the 5:30 mark is a good 35°-40° grade.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.