Brian & Diane's '70 Autostick Coupe "Zip"

[kingkarmann]

[Turk.380]

Nothing much to report I guess... Zip has been out of winter hibernation and gets at least a weekly drive.

Lots of rain in St. Louis though. and a lot of "dirty rain" in the spring which put my spray & wipe detailer to a lot of use!

Luckily for last week's EF3 tornado it was inside at the shop! the tornado touched down literally walking distance from our house!
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[kingkarmann]

Aren't those check straps fun?
Nothing more satisfying than an adult refreshment after wrenching on a Ghia.
Great work!
Here's to better weather

[sputnick60]

I dig it when good stuff happens.

Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Turk.380]

Man, I guess it's been a minute since I updated this thread!
seeing as how it's the middle of winter here and everything's been covered in about 6" of ice here in STL for the last month.. along with all the salt on the streets.. there hasn't been any driving done but there has been a lot of small incremental tasks to talk about!

I guess it was all the way back in November when I finished up the new steering coupler, upper shaft bearing, and horn button... good news! The new upper bearing solved the intermittent horn honking during turning and the new coupler really transformed the driving feel. Job was topped off with a new repro horn button

Next was Wife High-Priority Request #1: seat belts that work. I was able to find a pair of new retracting seat belts and installed with an "L" bracket on the floor in the OEM bolt hole. Finished off with new roof hangars for the hasp.

Then there was Wife High-Priority Request #2: new door check straps.
Got the repros from AirHead Parts and they installed rather easily. I have doors that stay open now!!
I still need to finish this job though with a new vapor barrier on the doors before the door cards go back on.

Got a new "Rain Bucket" and drain tubes and other related bits for Christmas/Birthday and I installed those just yesterday:

Another birthday gift was a new (BBT repro) fuel level sender.. I put that in and HEY!!! I have a working fuel gauge now!!

This one I'm really excited for as "Orange County Ryan" still has my old fuel gague after almost a year.. turns out this cheap ebay 12/69 gauge I got to fill the hole actually works!

So, I think that's about it for now.. Hopefully there's a good rain soon to wash away the ice and salt that's left and I can get out for a good winter drive

Really missing this little yellow guy!

Until then, I'll just have to drink at it.

_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Turk.380]

[Marcdeb]

After seeing that brand new cracked steering coupler fresh out of the package, I wouldn't trust a replacement from the same manufacturer. That's ridiculous! This is way more than a quality issue, it's a safety issue. I'd get a totally different manufacturer.
_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[Turk.380]

Well, i figured out the reverse light problem.. and it was so, so, very stupid.
The Previous Owner for some reason, had swapped the positions of the reverse light switch, and the hi/li gear oil temp selector switch. :::facepalm:::
something I only realized accidentally after going to move the spare transmission I pulled a reverse switch from.

switches as they were in my trans:

Spare trans:

After figuring that out, I was feeling froggy and decided to finally install my new upper steering shaft bearing (the root of my horn issues I hope). that involved taking out the old coupler guibo.. I knew it was cracked and was prepared to replace it but once it was out.. OH MY!

but then I opened up the new one and it was cracked through right out of the box!!

well, dead in the water.. I decided I may as well work on some cosmetic items, and installed the new lower dash knee bolster from Airhead Parts:

and then installed the Sapphire radio I picked up at a swap meet earlier in the summer. still need to find good knobs for it..
It's just to fill the hole. I don't intend to actually try and use it.

waiting on my replacement steering coupler now. Stuck in the garage until then.
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Turk.380]

been a minute since I been on the forum here.. not much to report on the Ghia (until now) just been driving and enjoying!

But today I thought I would get my reverse lights working finally, and swapped in the new good switch I procured over Labor Day..

and still nothing!
jumped the leads - I got lights, so I know they work.
tested the old switch I took out.. it tests good! WTH??

so then, after much fussing.,. and it started to get dim at dusk... I finally figured out.. the reverse lights are coming in 1!!! but no other gear!
- remember, this is an Autostick -

So I guess all this time, hundreds of miles and months of almost daily driving.. my reverse lights have been on fort most of the time, and no one told me!!???

OK illuminati.. why is this?

it shifts into all the gears just fine. no grinding and no "duck call". smooth as buttah.

I'm baffled.
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Turk.380]

[todmeg]

Oh yeah... And whenever I run into someone from the Show Me State, I always have to ask... Missoree or Missorah? My mom born and raised in STL and my dad was from Joplin. Both said Missorah.
_________________
1770 DP Bad ass heads dual weber 40mm 010 headers and glass pack. Rivieras. 1971!!!

[todmeg]

71 Ghia here. When it comes to windshields, I had grabbed any that became available. I found that official VW windshields are easier to install than aftermarket ones. If I still lived in St. Louis, I would buy the beer for you and your crew next time I needed that kind of help. Might even spring for Ted Drews! Used to live near Tower Grove Park.
_________________
1770 DP Bad ass heads dual weber 40mm 010 headers and glass pack. Rivieras. 1971!!!

[Marcdeb]

You've done a lot of nice work and really made a huge difference. The new dash looks so much nicer. Enjoy.
_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[crocteau]

Nice!

[Turk.380]

whelp [Midwest Knee Slap]

It's not 100% but I think we're putting a fork in this project for now and calling it Done Enough. Mama gettin' antsy for her summer Ghia adventures.

This past Saturday was the maiden voyage and shakedown cruise for the '70 AutoStick! We did a full day of weekend errands including a dog park visit so hopefully the Border Collie associates the car with fun adventures.. she's not usually thrilled with car rides, but tolerates them.
Momma gives her seal of approval, but I have been given a directive that the next repair list item is new door stays.

I have to say, this whole AutoStick thing... it doesn't suck. I feel like I've been lied to a little for my whole ACVW life.

In addition to the door checks, I still need to figure out this whole dang horn business but I'm reasonably sure it's that upper bearing & bushing things that's unique to 68-70.

But, I'll be taking a step back from it for a bit here to just enjoy it for a while, whilst I move on to our new '74 RHD doublecab project!
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Turk.380]

Been down with pneumonia for the last week or so, so not much progress has been made on Zip.
On Sunday however, I was feeling decent and made a trip over to the shop. After 1st discovering that my daily driver RAV4 that I hadn't touched in a couple weeks had a stone-dead battery, and then getting to the shop to discover that one of the gallon jugs of used oil sitting in the corner had sprung a leak and flooded a chunk of the floor in dirty oil...
then a friend showed up which made the dog go BERSERK and of course she immediately ran through and slipped in the oil slick... and well.. you can probably use your imagination of the aftermath of that..
and it was about a heat index of 110F that day...

Yeah.. I over-did it and by the end of the day I was really out of sorts.

But, we did manage to install the new plastic glove box liner, with the OEM trunk release mechanism pop riveted into it, with a new release cable and sheath. The plastic glove boxes do not follow the same contours as the OEM cardboard, and that is plainly evident when you try to fit the OEM trunk release.. one of the holes in the plastic assembly broke soon after install, but the rest are still holding.

We also installed a secret "Safety Release" with some stainless wire and ring exiting in a strategic location under the right fender.

With "Corona Ryan" still working on my fuel guage I got tired of waiting and took a chance on a mystery condition gauge from eBay. Turns out it was also a 12/69 production date same as my original! Sadly though it does not work either. it jumps when you turn the ignition, but doesn't read a level. Good to have the hole filled though.

Other objectives were installing the new trunk seal - I just have it in place with the trunk closed on it to form the shape for a bit, but not glued in yet.

I also re-installed the steering wheel and horn ring. and hoo boy.. the gorram horn STILL sounds when you turn the wheel *just so*
I would normally suspect an upper bushing like when my Thing did this, but in this case the shaft seems very solid with little wiggle and I CANNOT force it by pushing/pulling on the wheel at all. It ONLY seems to go when you turn the wheel to a certain point, and only for a small band of the turn radius. Before the spot it's fine, after the spot it's fine.

And remember, this year has the horn wire that exits the shaft near the turn signal wires and travels up behind the dash with that bundle. I'm not really familiar with the assembly itself and of course the Bentley illustration was vague as ever.

Any tips here?
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Turk.380]

Was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend so I put myself on "light" duty, and decided to spend my Sunday afternoon in the shop working on the dash some more.
Still on my to-do list was cutting out the hole for the glove box in the new veneer, and wrapping the glove box door.

With a lot of pictures and help over the phone with friend Bill Bowman who also has a '70 Ghia Coupe, I got the wrapping of the edges figured out.

I put down some painter's tape to help protect the rest of the veneer, and cut out the opening with a hot knife, trying to leave about 1/2" around the flange, and cut out the holes for the hinges and rubber bumpers.

With Bill's help, it seemed that the factory method was to completely wrap the veneer around the glove box opening flange. Using a heat gun, and with my welding gloves on, I carefully softened the veneer and rapped it completely around the flange as tightly as I could.

Looking at my original glove box door, it did not appear that the veneer was ever glued down at all, just held in by the clamping of the back panel and the wrapping around the edges, so I did the same.. no glue.

the new veneer is quite a bit thicker than the OEM material, so it took a lot of massaging and clamping to get it to stay down flat while it cooled into position.

next was mounting, and I had to run out to the Orange Box Store to buy some e M5x.08 bolts... the last 4 they had on hand!

Bolted the hinges up and a few adjustments later we're in business!

After that I took a swipe at my headliner. the edge at the top of the windshield was torn away and no longer glued/clamped in. For this I'm trying some brush-on super glue, and then used neodidlyum magnets to hold the headliner in place while it cured. I got my new sun visor clips installed, vistors re-installed, and my rear view mirror all put back into place.

I was pretty much done for the day here.. and next on the agenda is figuring out how & where to mount the truck release mechanism in the new glove box liner... and I have to still procure a new cable assembly.
_________________
Brian W
St. Louis, MO
'64 SO-33 Hatch Top Westy | '74 RHD DoubleCab | '87 Syncro Westy: Subaru EZ30D powered | 2002 VW Winnebago Vista
'70 Karmann Ghia AutoStick coupe.

[Marcdeb]

You're welcome. I have received lots of help from members so I'm always happy to help when I can. You're detailed approach is the way to go. Excellent work.
_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[Turk.380]

[Marcdeb]

Doesn't sounds like your wire is the one I'm thinking of, but here's a picture of a 70 Ghia I found in the gallery.

And another picture with those wires swapped so maybe they can be swapped.

_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc