Adventures with a 1971 Karmann Ghia convertible

[craigolio1]

I finished fixing the front seats. That’s on the bottom of page 2. And I’ve begun prepping for the alternator swap. There’s also some thoughts on a future dual carb upgrade.

Have a great day!
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 14: dual carb install

Ok this will be a big one and is likely about two years away, but I’ll start it now as I’ve gone down the rabbit hole and that’s part of the journey…. So here goes.

Dual carbs are definitely in the future of this car. Why? Mostly because I think they look so cool. I’ve read that they improve mileage and fuel economy as well (cause this car is such a pig, hahaha) which are bonuses and make it even easier to justify. I mean, they’ll pay for themselves, right?!

After reading MANY threads on this forum and attending MANY classes at YouTube University, I believe I’ve settled on dual Weber 40IDFs. Originally I was headed in the direction of 34ICTs. The decision to use the 40IDFs largely came from reading a ton of material that John from Aircooled.net posted and that gave me great confidence. A chat with CB Performance helped too.

On that note I think I’ve decided to get them from CB Performance. Everything I read emphasis the importance of the linkage and there are many reviews that I’ve read saying CB Performance’s linkage is quite good. They will also substitute air filters in the kit that fit the Ghia, AND their kit does not require my replacing the heater shroud. I could buy a cheaper kit from CIP1 here in Canada but maybe I still need to buy better linkage? And I definitely need to buy a new fan shroud so do I really save? Time will tell. The current political climate makes it cost prohibitive to import these from the US and I have a lot to learn about the car before I start mucking with this stuff. I want to master tune ups and gain some familiarity with the current Solex carb first. Hence the longer time line.

When I do the carb upgrade I think I’ll also do an electric fuel pump up front, and a pressure gauge back at the engine because it looks awesome.

I’m also flirting with the idea of installing a 2” section of exhaust pipe between my header and muffler with a bung for a O2 sensor so I can use a wide band AFR to help with tuning. I have watched sooooo many videos. My brain needs a break.

To be continued!!!
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 13: Alternator upgrade

Parts arrived!! This is the 90A Compufire option.

In addition to the kit, I also ordered a few other things I’ve seen people need, a 10mm carb spacer for example, in hopes that I can do this all in one day. I don’t want to get get stuck waiting for a part I didn’t know about.

I’ve learned that my car already has the alternator style fuel pump so that won’t need to be changed. Bonus!

My plan is to do the conversion with the engine in the car. I know it will be “easier” with the engine out but I’m just not ready to do that yet. I’ve watched enough videos that show it’s possible so I plan to do that.

Before I get started I need to investigate if the car has a thermostat, which will need to be disconnected to lift the fan shroud, and I need to procure a set of internal pipe wrenches. In my order of parts I got the Empi oil fill neck removal tool but further research has shown that it’s meh at best. So internal pipe wrench it is!

Update Dec 17, 2025

I’ve decided on a colour scheme for the engine compartment. It’ll stay orange, eventually I’ll do the tin and fan shroud metallic silver, the engine will be black with bare metal, polished aluminum a bit of chrome.

So for the alternator I decided it would be black. This required a bunch of masking as it grounds through the stand. I assembled it on the stand with the strap in place.

and scribed lines where everything made contact.

I then makes off anything to do with electricity, and stand contact, and shot it gloss black.

I also painted the stand, back plate and strap. On the stand I masked the surfaces where it contacts the engine and the alternator.

For the strap I masked the inside so it would have full bare metal contact all the way around.

Everything now looks black but has all of the same bare metal contact as it would if left as it came.
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Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

[kingkarmann]

Nice work
Creative and smart solution to relocate the fuel filter.

We had snow.

[craigolio1]

Some parts came in the mail and I was finally able to finish relocating the fuel filter. Not terribly exciting but for those who are interested in the project it’s on this page above this reply.

For those of that have it… enjoy the snow!! For those who don’t…. I’m not talking to you right now.

Craig.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 12: relocate fuel filter to underneath the car.

I had this in my head as something to take care of eventually, but a reply to an engine question in another thread, where a fellow Samba user reminded me of the risk, prompted to me get this done before I drive the car again in the spring.

Currently it’s located beside the distributor.

The fuel lines appear to be in decent shape. I do a see a crack in the end of the one feeding the filter. They’ll all get replaced anyway.

I had a hard time finding 5.5mm fuel line locally and don’t feel like ordering it from CIP1 right now. A trip to visit Joe (Joe runs West End Cycle in Caledon Village and is an awesome dude and excellent motorcycle mechanic - www.westendcycle.ca) yielded a meter of 3/16” hose. Thanks Joe!

Call me lame but I think it’s cool that the hose has an orange stripe.

Next up I need to fashion a bracket to hold the filter.

On the subject of fuel filters…. How often do I need to change it? Is this a yearly thing? Is there a reason CIP1 sells them in a 10 pack?

https://www.cip1.ca/c13-9100-mann/

These filters are for a 1/4” ID line. Online I’ve read that 1/4” line is too large and at risk of slipping off. While I did get 3/16 fuel line…. I can’t find 3/16” filters.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this contradiction.

Have a great day everyone!!

Craig

Update: Feb 23, 2025

I tried the “3/16” fuel line I bought out on an old factory metal fuel filter and it was a loose fit. I think it’s probably 1/4”. Doesn’t seem like a big deal but I want a tighter fit, so I’ve order some correct 5.5mm fuel line.

While I await that, I’m working on the mounting bracket. There are a couple of nice options available in the classifieds here, but once I pay shipping, exchange, and tariffs… they get pretty expensive. Other than nice looks and convenience there is anything particularly special about them so I looked for a DIY option. I found this YouTube video which struck me as perfect as I had almost everything in the garage.

https://youtu.be/f8W45EfePVU?si=mDHrrLNbOdLRy681

I ordered the conduit clamp from Amazon. In the video he uses a 1”. I measured my filter and felt a 1 1/4” would fit better.

https://www.amazon.ca/Hubbell-2055-15-Hanger-Conduit-2-Inch/dp/B00NLOJ5YE

I ended up using a larger L bracket to properly align my assembly with the fuel line. I also used Nylock nuts on mine and shot the assembly with rubberized undercoat so it would weather better.

Here’s what I ended up with.

Ready to go in the car once the fuel line and a new filter arrives.

Update: Dec 10, 2025

Part came this week!

First I applied a hose clamp at the fuel tank and where the fuel line changes to hard line at the fire wall

Here’s my son installing the other clamp.

I removed the existing fuel line and installed the bracket I made.

With the filter in the clamp, the alignment was very close. Initially it was off by about 1/4” but with a bit of bending of the bracket and moving the fuel line outward a touch, it was perfect.

The previous owner had about 2” of fuel line over the factory hard line, and two clamps. I used German 5mm fuel line and the fit was REALLY tight. I know the factory didn’t use hose clamps on the lines but I opted to since I have them, and when I switch to a dual carb set up I’ll likely install an electric fuel pump at the tank, therefor this end will be under pressure.

Moving to the engine compartment, it was nice to see that someone has previously put a threaded fitting on the carb. I’ve read that the original press fit part can come out.

Here I used some quarter inch line as it was a very snug fit on the 1/4” fitting, it was slightly less secure on the fuel pump but I didn’t want to stretch the 5mm line onto the 1/4” fitting. Hose clamps made it very secure.

And that’s it. The car starts. There’s no leaks. I think I’m done here.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

I’ve been doing some research and trying to learn more about the engine in my car. The number on the case is U0470992.

Thanks to other Samba members, and the resource pages here, I’ve learned:

-from user Glenn:
Type 3 converted to upright with dual port heads and a generator. 74 intake with EGR fitting, 34PICT carb and 009 distributor.


I’m glad it’s a 1600 dual port. If I ever want to do any performance mods this would be a good block to start with.

At some point I really want to upgrade it to a dual carb set up. Primarily because I love the look of it. Beyond that and an alternator swap, I don’t plan to do any major engine upgrades on this car for now. But down the road it’s always been a dream to do a 1776.

The engine from the doner car is an H code which means likely a 1500 single port. From what I read it’s not a desirable block to build out as it has smaller oil passage ways. That said, I understand that it is commonly rebuilt as a 1600 dual port, as 1500 single port heads are hard to find, or 1600 are the same price. Something like that.

It would be nice to have a spare engine and I’ve always wanted to rebuild one so at some point I think I’ll likely take a crack at rebuilding the 1500 to a 1600 dual port. Maybe on that engine I’ll do the dual carb set up.

The way I see it, if I can do that, then maybe I can put it in the car and move forward with a performance rebuild on the original 1600.

So many options and fun things to research. For now I’m very happy to have learned a bit about the existing engine.

Another user pointed out that my plastic fuel filter is located near my distributor. Moving this has been on my list of things to do, and today I procured some 3/16” fuel line!
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

[craigolio1]

[kingkarmann]

Good to see the fender rolling exercise worked without an issue.
Looks great

[craigolio1]

[ghiamanjc]

On the homemade LED lights.... There is no need to DIY that and I'd be concerned that you start a dash fire with that hot bare wire.

I bought these for my 74 KG Convertible and they work just great.

https://www.amazon.ca/WLJH-Extremely-Dashboard-Ins...&psc=1

Thanks for the inspiration to get me going on my To Do list.
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Join the 74 KGhia Registry - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O4MQepBrAnwCKn9EXzSVPUmVA_oUOJU-WrmFUxON-qQ/edit#gid=0

[craigolio1]

Project 11: Random things that don’t need there own post.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 10: Electrical oddities:

This car has got ALOT of things about the electrical that show up seemingly everytime I touch something. It all works… or appears to… but much of isn’t factory and in a lot of cases isn’t well done…. And is definitely not documented.

If I fix it, and it isn’t related to something else I’m doing, I’ll include it here.

10.1 Main power to fuse panel is not fused.

I was measuring volume for a subwoofer under the back “seat”. This car had the battery moved to underneath the back seat on the passenger side. I noticed a big red wire coming off the battery that’s not fused. Looks to be an 8awg.

This car had some questionable stereo wiring and I figured this wire was the main amplifier wire. I disconnected it and then, as I do when I touch anything electrical on this car, I turned on the ignition to see if it would start. Nothing. Clearly this wire is important, haha. Turns out it’s the main feed to the fuse panel and likely other things.

A quick Look at the electrical diagram in the Bentley book shows it goes to the voltage regulator and then onto the main fuse panel… or at least it would in a factory wired car… but remember the battery was moved to under the back seat so who know what the previous owner did. Also the factory wire was not fused.

Again, we know it all works so I’m not too concerned about that, buuuut an unprotected, unfused wire disappearing into a metal tunnel? That freaks me out. At least I have a fire extinguisher….

… but I’d rather it be my last line of defence and not my first. So I’ll add a fuse to this wire in the near future, lest it become a fuse itself. A bit of research says a 30A to 40A should be fine and modern best practice would be to fuse it.

A trip to the old car audio wiring box yielded two options. An 8awg fuse holder with a cover and a 40A blade fuse, or giant screw together one for 4awg with a 30A glass fuse. In this case I think I’ll use the 8awg holder with the 40A.

Edit:

Here’s a much better choice.

A 60A fuse gives me a buffer and is still plenty less than this wire can handle. So I won’t be at risk of loosing everything electrical while driving should there be a perfect storm of maximum current draw. And I won’t have to splice wires as I can just cut the existing wire and insert this fuse holder.

10.2 The battery is not vented to the exterior

This type of battery is supposed to be vented to the exterior. In a BMW or Volvo for example, where it’s in the trunk, it would have a vent. I’m thinking I should replace the battery with one that doesn’t require venting.

10.3 The headlights are temperamental

While playing with the instrument lighting, I noticed that sometimes my headlights don’t work. Hitting the high beam switch on and then off again seemed to bring them to life. Now that no longer works. The high beams work fine so the relay is getting power, it’s just not turning the head lights on when you switch back. Sounds like a relay issue and I think I have one in the doner car. More on this when it’s not so cold. [/b]
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Hey all. Nothing really new. I just reorganized the thread so that interested people can find things faster. Each project is now its own post that will be updated, instead of one giant post that you have to surf through.

Have a great weekend!

Craig.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 9: dome light doesn’t work.

So this turned out to be an easy one. I pulled the dome light off of the ceiling and tested the contacts. The left should be power and the right should be grounded when the switch is in the left (door position). I had power on the right and no ground.

I popped the housing off the ceiling and checked all the switch contacts for continuity. They all worked but I sanded them anyway. Checked the bulb and it had continuity which means the filament was good. I gave its contacts a quick sand as well.

Then I unscrewed the rear view mirror base from the ceiling the reveal the wiring. Turns out they were reversed. I confirmed which one had power and connected it to the correct position on the left, and connected the one that should be ground to the right. When the switch is set to the always on position, it grounds with a tab on the dome light that contacts the back of the rear view mirror base when installed. So when I snapped the light housing back in, it worked!!

This left an absence of ground on the door contacts to solve. I unscrewed the drivers side contact and confirmed continuity with the wire, so the issue had to be related to the door switch. The door switch it self was corroded and there was paint where the switch housing is supposed to make contact with the door jam. You get contact through the screw as well but more is always better. So I cleaned up all of those spots with sand paper or a wire wheel.

It worked!!

I did the same treatment on the passenger side. Both door contacts got a shot of dielectric grease spray as well to prevent corrosion coming back.

Nothing like a one evening project!
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 8. Model B2 gas heater testing / installation, and heated seats?

This car has had the heater boxes removed, and all levers/controls removed from the interior. It also has headers. From what I understand the heat in these cars never really worked anyway, and I don't want to rot my heater channels. This won't be an issue for most of the season that I'm driving this car.

That said, I acquired it in the fall and it's cold ripping along with the top down! For me and my wife to properly enjoy this car we neat some heat.

The doner car is a Canadian car and came with the gas heater option. It was one of the first things I removed and packed up. I pulled it out of the crawl space and gave it a once over. My unqualified opinion is that it's in pretty good shape. I'm going to investigate installing it. I'll do any restoration and testing on the bench before i commit to cutting holes.

The heater is a model B2. Looks like I have the non-recirculating version.

I found an excellent guide to it's operation here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/eberspacher.php

Here’s another good one with a gentleman explains how to test and install one.

https://www.type2.com/library/heating/b2ht.htm

If I can get this working safely I'll be really pleased. I think the concept of it is so cool. I might airbrush a custom paint job on it and give it German Luftwaffe markings or something fun like that.... minus any distasteful symbols.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

Project 7. Door improvement

This post will focus on making improvements to the doors. I’d like to replace the glass in the drivers door as there is a chip, install the rubber scrapers, make sure the anti-rattle grommets are in there, and properly install the door cards as they are not well fitted.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921

[craigolio1]

complete.

Project 6. wheel and tire upgrade/fitment

A while back I bought Sprintstars from CIP1, and had them fitted with the cheapest rubber I could find. I chose the size based on what I read in the wheel/tire/suspension thread... but as many know, not all Ghias are alike. This is why I went with the cheapest rubber... figuring these won't be the last tires I buy.

The day Don and I fixed the electrical, we also test fit the wheels and tires.

I absolutely love the look so they will go on the car... just not now.

The rear fits fairly well. I can fit my hand between the fender lip and the tire. I think I'll be able to roll the fender lip and make them work. They are currently a 185/65/R15. The wheels it came with have 165s so I can always swap to the narrower tires.

The fronts are another story. The current tires on the stock rims are 135R. The front is lowered with drop spindles, which many know pushes the wheels out about a 1/2"(?). The right tire rubs at full lock. The left doesn't... but I've noticed that it's camber is off.. which will need to be fixed... so lets say that it rubs too.

My new wheels are 5" wide, have an offset that favours the beetle (from what I understand most of the after market wheels are made for beetles and Ghias need a deeper offset?) They also have 175/60/15. So I'm running a wider tire, on a wider wheel, with less offset than I need. The test fit barely had room for a finger. Don says let’s test it before I start ordering parts, which I'll do. I can't put the 135R on my 5" rims (according to the web.. max 4.5"). I can get a 145R tire which apparently has the same tread width, but that doesn't help the fact that the tire is still farther out than stock. Do I spend $300 just to try a different tire that I'm pretty sure will rub anyway? Perhaps someone in the GTA is replacing their 145Rs and I can save you the recycling fee? I foresee buying a 2" narrowed beam with adjusters on it in the future.

Update Oct 27,2025

While I had the car jacked up to wire wheel the pans, I put the back wheels on and they tuck right in there on both sides. I took it for a test drive in some hard turns and bumps and there was no rubbing so they are good to go. Later this week Don and I are going to see how rolling the front fender lips goes but I don’t think there’s anyway the 175s will go in with out rubbing. I’m currently looking for a garbage set of 145 to try as my research indicates I can’t put my 135s on the 5” wheels.

Update: October 30, 2025

Today big progress was made on the wheels and tires.

I bought a fender roller on Amazon knowing it would not fit the wheel pattern. Don said not to worry and we could modify it. We cut out the slots to accommodate the larger wheel pattern, and we had to shorten the main arm because my car is lowered.

Rolling the front fenders was a success. We were able to get the lips flat, without flaring the fenders themselves or damaging them any more than the tires rubbing already had.

The right side has a little piece of filler(?) that cracked and moved a bit. It was already cracked before but hadn’t popped out. It’s still attached. I’ll remove it, sand, refill, and blend it with my airbrush.

The left side there was no damage.

Unfortunately my 175s still rubbed…. Bad… worse than the 135s, but I was pretty sure that would happen. The good news? When I put my 135s back on there is now no rubbing at all so improvements were made. I’m optimistic that a set of 145s will give me what I need.

On the rear I had put the 185s on. I thought they were fine but on the way to Don’s I was hearing a bit of squeaking and smelling rubber. This was confirmed, haha.

Instead of getting out the hammer we decided to try to use the fender roller, but after Don’s mods to make it fit the front…. It was to short! So we welded it back on, but very little material was inside the sleeve and it was bending. Don had some square tubing that was perfect telescopic for which strengthened the whole thing . The fit was a bit more snug now (from hammering the smaller tubing inside) and nothing was bending.

The end result was perfect.

After a few minutes of rolling the inner tub of the wheel well there was at least 1cm more clearance.

Now there’s no squeaking and no smoke… and I’m very happy with the look.

Now to find some cheap 145s to test.

Craig

Update: Nov 12, 2025

I had no luck finding throw away 145s so I brought my front wheels to my tire guy and had him swap the existing 135 onto the new wheel. I only did one wheel until I was sure they would fit properly.

Initially I had some reservations about putting a 135 tire on the 5” wide rim. Some of the web searching I did said it’s to wide of a rim. But, after searching wheel and tire thread here and seeing several instances of people putting 135s on 5” rims I decided to go for it.

The fit is great. Here the new set up on the driver’s side.

Hard right:

Hard left:

There appears to be lots of room so I suspect I’ll have no rubbing when I test drive it in the spring.

I couldn’t test fit it in the passenger side as it’s too close to my garage wall and I have 3” of snow. If there’s rubbing it will be on that side. The driver’s side has a touch of negative camber (which I’d like to fix) where as the passenger side appears more neutral so has a bit less clearance. The passenger side is where most of the running was with the 135s, prior to rolling the fenders. I’m optimistic though.
_________________
Located in the Toronto area.

1971 Ghia Convertible

Join me on my Karmann Ghia journey.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10441921#10441921