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

[Turk.380]

Hey Ghia forum! Longtime ACVW guy here - many Buses, several Beetles and a Thing, but finally I can count myself as a Karmann Ghia owner!

The wife and I have been low-key on the prowl for a Ghia ever since I sold the Thing 4ish years ago. It's always been a bucket list car for me, but the wife got really interested after having the Thing for a few years.

I'm not sure why, maybe just because of budget and general rust conditions, I always had my eye out for a coupe instead of a convertible, and because the wife thinks she might want to drive it but doesn't want to learn to drive a stick.. I thought I would also keep an eye out for an Autostick variant.

It would have to be solid, mostly a survivor with little / no "Kustom" molestation, and mostly fully operable. IE drive it home.

Well, a few weeks ago exactly that popped up in my "Suggested" Marketplace feed on the Facespace, and only about 40 miles away! We were even able to stop by and see it in person on our way home from visiting family in Nashville.
It passed the initial sniff test and we had a talk about it on the rest of the drive home, as well as a few calls to local VW Ghia gurus were placed. It was a "go" but the price would have to come down a bit.

I called the seller after a while and he didn't seem too interested in coming down, saying that he already had someone from out-of-state willing to "wire transfer" the money, blah blah blah..
I advised him caution and wished him well.

well, next day what do you know? Maybe cold feet, but he was ready to negotiate for a local, in-person, cash deal!

A few days later he even delivered the car to our shop! and we're now the happy owners of this Jan '70, Pampas Yellow AutoStick Ghia!

It runs & drives smooth, but the PO was not much of a "VW Guy" so there are a few issues to sort out.. and hopefully I'll remember to post here and keep the thread updated.

For now it's parked in the shop and I won't have much time right away to dedicate to it, but I'm already poking at it a little here and there.

My 1st Ghia!
We'll have lots of questions.. thanks for reading!

_________________
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]

1st order of business is to jettison anything non-factree. That smooth dash cover - while I can appreciate the idea - was poorly executed and has to go.

Next was an analysis of the gauges.. all have terrible chrome rings, and FILTHY from the inside out, and about 1/2 the bulbs are burned out or missing entirely. The clock is entirely borked.

I plan to send them off to the Orange County guy..

As fortune would have it, just last week the local VW Bus club helped a fellow member clean out a barn at his parent's estate they're selling, and we all got to pick a huge stash of ACVW treasure.. and wouldn't ya know it, there was a pair of Ghia horns and a boot to be found!
Both horns are dead but the boot was in terrific shape.
Both my horns tested OK (must have been poor wiring) and I cleaned up and painted the covers and screws, and installed with the new-used boot I 303'ed and lubed up..

_________________
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.

[kent70ghia]

Awesome! Welcome to the cult, I mean club of Ghia owners. My 70 Ghia, started life as an auto stick. I swapped it for a 4 speed in the late 1990s. Like yours, it is mostly original, butI repainted Cobalt blue, firemist and love it. I cleaned my instruments myself, and they turned out pretty good. Have fun with your resto!

[Marcdeb]

Congratulations. Your Ghia looks to be in nice shape overall. I have an AutoStick Ghia Vert. I wasn't looking for an AutoStick but the car was a once in a lifetime find and I couldn't pass it up. Now I actually enjoy the AutoStick. It's fun to drive and I like that it's so unique.

Look forward to seeing more of your Ghia.
_________________
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]

Had a few more minutes to tinker last night, and I managed to get the front marker lights, and license plate lights sorted. Looks like I'll need to replace the spade connectors to them at the fuse block.

back in the back, I have a few disconnected wires I can't figure out.
on the right hand side, I figured out that 2 of them go to the license plate lights, but next to them are 2 wires into 1 spade connector that I can't figure.

Over on the left by the voltage regulator, I have other black wire into a melted OEM style connector..

I figure one of them must be the backup lights - I'm missing the wire and fuse holder that would normally be connected to the coil.
And maybe the other is the rear window defog? but which is which?

I have the color diagram enlarged and printed but it doesn't show where they would enter the engine compartment.
_________________
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.

[Disc]

[Turk.380]

An eagerly awaited delivery arrived today - my "Show quality" dash pad and faux wood grain dash cover from AirHeadParts!

Can anyone point me to a good tutorial thread here, or some YT vids? Not having a lot of luck myself, but it does seem like it might be a Best Practice to do this with the windshield out. And mine does need to be replaced anyway, so...

also, does anyone know how often I'm supposed to change the Air Cleaner Corn? I can't find any reference to it in the Bentley. Thanks!

_________________
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]

Just nother quick update,
I mentioned in the last post that the windshield needs replacing anyway.. it's cracked but also seems to be popping out in one corner.. and that joint in the top.. uhg..

also, I'm trying to educate myself on the air cleaner.. and It seems like I'm missing all of the bits for the warm air intake system?
It looks like there are several different versions when I browse some classifieds.. can anyone point me to what I need?

_________________
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]

Someone ripped out the flaps that control the warm/cold air. Here's a link to all the 1970 Ghias that have sold on BAT Auctions. Many still have all their original parts and often the photographs are very helpful.
https://bringatrailer.com/volkswagen/karmann-ghia/?yearFrom=1970&yearTo=1970

Air cleaners went through a lot of different changes. They may look similar but from year to year, they changed how the warm/cold air flaps are controlled. 1971 has a thermostat control on the rear side of the air snout. 1970 has almost the same air cleaner but without the thermostat. One of the flaps should be controlled by the cable connected at the bottom right side of the fan shroud if the cooling system in the fan shroud has not been yanked out. You'll want to do more investigating to see what else you're missing.
_________________
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]

I know I've got some pictures on my 71 thread, but I'm heading out the door in a few minutes. I'll find them tonight and post some up for you.
_________________
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

[Marcdeb]

These YouTube videos should be helpful, but I'm not finding information about how the flaps on the air cleaner are controlled. Basically, on my 68, there's 2 flaps in the breather neck, one is controlled by a cable at teacher to the flaps on the bottom of the fan shroud. The other is owned by the in rush of air when the throttle is opened and closed by a small weight on a small arm attached to that flap.

Heres some videos on the flaps on the fan shroud. The cable to the other flap on the air cleaner comes from this flap system on the fan shroud.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cy1fEq_VQM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HlooE4EdRqc
_________________
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

[kent70ghia]

I can take some pics tomorrow of my 70 air cleaner. It's still original, if you would like.

[Marcdeb]

The picture you posted of your air cleaner shows slots for 2 flaps, but when I look at 1970 Ghias on BAT, they seem to have only one which is controlled by the cooling set up on the Fan Shroud. So you might not have the original air cleaner? Can't be sure because my 1971 has the 2 flap design like you show in your picture. This might be a mid year change? My 68 has the same set up as other 1970s I've looked at on BAT. Here's a picture showing the cable connection at the air cleaner and at the fan shroud.

My screwdriver is pointing to the fan shroud connection for the cable.

If your air cleaner is original, then your air cleaner would have a thermostat on the rear facing side like this:

_________________
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]

wow, you gentlemen are outstanding! Thank you for the pictures and especially Marcdeb for the up-close of the thermostat cable attachment. Especially since it seems like you also have a single-port Autostick motor.
I have never seen the cable controlled flap setup before.. but I am familiar with the weighted one as that is the same on an early Bus.
In my poking around.. it would seem I'm missing the cable at the very least. And that seems unobtanium.

I suppose if all else fails I could just source the later(?) thermostat controlled snout or just run the weighted flap?

I'll be over at my shop tonight and now that our Vista is down off the jack stands I can finally get the Ghia lifted up and start digging deeper into it.

Cheers!
_________________
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]

Your welcome. Yes, I have an all original 23,000 mile survivor, 68 Ghia Cabriolet AutoStick, built April 11th, 1968. The AutoStick was a mid year offering that year so it's a very early AutoStick. It even has it's original paint. I'm no expert, but I do all my own maintenance with the help from the great people here on TheSamba, so if you have any Autostick questions, I'd be happy to try and help. I document everything I do for the car in my thread below. There's lots of pictures there.
_________________
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]

Still trying to focus on one project car at a time, but I couldn't help but tinker for a few minutes on the Ghia last night.

1st, I was able to confirm that the mystery spade terminal on the firewall to the right of the fan shroud are indeed the feed wires to the reverse lights! I put the car in reverse and jumpered 12v from the coil to the terminal and they came to life after some bulb jiggling!

I also ascertained that the 4-way emergency flashers are now working on all 4 corners, but I have no turn signals.. narrowing that problem down to the tern signal switch & related wiring.

lastly, while browsing the BAT pictures, I found a pic showing a double inline fuse holder for the Ghia's reverse lights and rear defogger. My old '67 Beetle had a single inline fuse holder clip, but I've never seen a double!
Anyone know where I might find such a thing, or have one they'd be willing to part with?
I do not currently have either fuse holder either, but I hope to find some at an upcoming swap..

_________________
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]

Time for a Ghia update!

Last Sunday, during a rare break in the 100+ degree weathers here in St. Louis Mizzery, several friends came by the Bushaus and helped with the removal of the old cracked windshield and installing the new dash veneer and padded top from Airhead Parts.

Here Bill Bowman (BulliBill) and Mario Vitale (Chippuller) are working on carefully slicing through the old rubber and gobs of silicone around the trim.

We uncovered some dissapointing news, that the "original paint" was not in fact original but the whole car had at some point been re-sprayed. The "poorly matched" touch-up spots that the PO had done were in fact a good match... but to the ORIGINAL PAINT and not the off-color respray.

Where the PO had done some work around the windshield seal, he had not masked off very well and it left a hard edge at the seal line. Here, we're carefully going around that ridge with a razor to knock it down.

On the bright side, the window frame was absolutely PERFECT under the crappy rubber seal.

To prep for the new wood veneer, we masked off all the holes in the dash from behind so that the sray glue would not get all over the wiring.

and sprayed the back of the new veneer

Having practiced a few times and trimmed the veneer a head of time, the final placement went pretty well. We all pressed it down and used a roller from when I did FatMat kinda stuff in the Vanagon years ago.

The next part was a bit more tricky.. the top pad. It comes with metal studs pre-installed unlike the originals which had the nylon stud inserts... but infuriatingly.. they do not come with nuts and the threads are SAE!!

I somehow scrounged up a few "1/4 20" nuts that I had for some reason, and I'll have to go out and buy some more to finish the job..

After about 373 trial fits and trimming sessions later, the dash top is finally in place. There's a slight bulge where the padding is too thick past the speaker indent. But not enough to worry about for a driver I guess.

it was learned that the new windshield seal that the PO gave me with the car was a "Cal Look" seal, so we adjourned for the day and I've ordered a molded "t seal" replacement. Hopefully it arrives today or tomorrow and we can install the replacement windshield this Sunday. I have a lot of work ahead of me to clean out the silicone and other sealer crap from the old T trim anyway..

Other than that.. the new correct 30-PICT3 for an Autostick came in from VolksBitz last week and I have that installed. the engine now idles perfectly!
I also buttoned up the mess of wiring in the engine bay the other day, and that's all nice and neat in a loom with new spade connectors and inline fuses re-installed where they should be.

If we don't get the new seal in time, I hope to have the new fuse block in and all the switches back into the proper places in the dash this weekend.
_________________
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]

2nd weekend in a row we're working on the dash & windshield..
I had quite a chore ahead of me cleaning all the sealer and silicone out of the aluminum T-trim that the PO had smeared everywhere.
a few hours of careful work with some utility razor blades, a nylon drill brush, and some acetone finally got them serviceable.

My OEM style molded-corner seal from Airhead Parts had come just in time the day before. We 1st put the new rubber seal around the glass, then inserted the T-trim, then ran a warp of weed-eater chord through the flange lip, and secured for installation with a few strips of painter's tape. Here in Missouri Micros territory, the preferred lube is a water-based schmoo that's made for pulling electrical wiring through conduit. We slathered that in the groove with the weed eater line and brought it all over to the car.


With Mario and I on the inside, and Bill & Tim outside, much to our relief the glass went in smoothly and did not break the windshield! The victory was short-lived however, as it was quickly apparent there was some flaws in our delivery. The seal was pulled away from the glass on the outside - as if the rubber were twisted with the glass not square into the channel. And then the T-trim started popping out as we tried to massage the seal into place.

After probably spending way too much time trying to fix it in the car, I made the decision to just pull it all back out and start over.

Tim had looked up a few YouTube videos in the meantime, and we decided to re-shape the T-trim to the window frame without the rubber and glass, then fit it back to the rubber after.
That seemed to make a big difference there.

On the 2nd go-round, we used less of the lube schmoo, mostly just lubing the frame flange in the car rather than the rubber seal itself.


It went in smoothly again, and much better thhis time. the seal was almost perfectly tight against the glass around the outside, and only a tiny amount of trim lifting in a couple corners. We went around the seal with a plastic trim tool to flip the edge around and out the right way where it was folded in, and a few strategically placed smacks and shoves later it was in!

_________________
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.

[markendee]