NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe

Karmann_65

Hello to you all.

My name is Brian and I’ve been an air cooled fan ever since my first car back in ’86. It was a red beetle with big 8 spoke alloys and a duck tail. Not very tasteful by modern standards but I thought it was great back then. LOL

In ’92, my (then) girlfriend and I embarked upon a 3 week road trip in the USA. Nothing pre arranged and no fixed destination we started in New York and mainly used the Greyhound busses. Skipping the gory details, we went via Philadelphia, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City and then down to Oklahoma City. Not your average tourist route I’m sure but this is what happened.

While eating in the downtown McDonald’s (other fast food establishments are available) I browsed the ads in a local free newspaper. FOR SALE 1965 VW Karmann Ghia $1800. Having never travelled abroad before in our lives a brief discussion decided that I would phone the seller and arrange a meeting. Next day we all met up at “Crossroads Mall” and from that moment fate had it that this was actually going to happen. Gary (the seller) drove us to his house in Moore and arranged lunch with his family. The car actually belonged to his father Leo. Leo had just retired and so bought himself a “fully loaded” Cadillac. Hence he no longer needed the Ghia. It turns out that Leo bought the car NEW, never had a bump and the car never needed any welding. Only thing not original was the decidedly average respray. The car was not perfect by any means but the basics were all there and in tact. We stayed with Gary and his lovely family for a couple of days and sorted out the necessary paperwork before setting off south to Dallas. A chance meeting in downtown OK gave us the number of an import/export man operating out of Dallas. Spoke to him briefly on the phone and arranged to meet up in a couple of days with the car in Dallas. By this time we had just two more days before we had to be back in New York for the flight home. Went camping and sightseeing to fill the time.

On the return trip to Dallas the clutch blew and left us stranded. Called the export guy and he kindly picked us (and the car) up and took us back to the warehouse. To ship the car the clutch had to be fixed. Cheaper and easier if the car can move under it’s own power. We flew home and the repairs were done. Overland by rail to Jacksonville, FL and then three and a half weeks at sea saw the car arrive on the Southampton docks back home in the UK.

Had the Ghia on the road over here for just one year before circumstances forced me to garage the car………..until now!!!

Got the green light from the wife EEK! (not the girl from the road trip) to get in the garage this summer and do what we Ghia owners apparently love to do…..strip the car to it’s base components and rebuild as funds/time allow.

I hope to keep you all up to date on the progress. Many thanks for all the information and pictures on Samba. It’s an inspiration that’s kept this dream alive. Shell is now off and I’m bagging and tagging.

Regards

Karmann_65

Deluxe Lowlight Ghia · Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:35 pm Post subject:

Welcome please post pictures of your ghia when you get a chance.
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These vws are cool but the people who own them are far more valuable. Keep friends close they can be taken away overnight.
57 ghia
59 patina ghia
61 patina Ghia
71 bus
73 super beetle
74 thing
75 half bug

Karmann_65 · Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:28 pm Post subject:

This was the car when I got it. Looks better here than it really was. Smile

More pictures to follow.....

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Toddball · Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:34 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum. I enjoyed the history of your car. I look forward to your updates, please keep them coming.

Todd

74Ghia · Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:51 am Post subject:

Welcome aboard the forum. Two great things about your Ghia. One...you have an excellent base to work with as opposed to a rusted hulk. Second...you know the history of your car since new. Excellent score. Very Happy

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Allen C.

2012 Silverado
53 FiberFab MG TD Replica (VW)

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Karmann_65 · Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 12:55 pm Post subject: More Pictures

Two shots near Dallas...

The tear down begins...

Body removal day. Notice the "hired" help looking thirsty. Very Happy

Got the shell in one side of the garage and the chassis in the other.

74Pepper · Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 1:06 pm Post subject:

(Heavy sigh) Yet another great Ghia lost across The Pond....

Have a wonderful time, and keep us updated as you make progress! Smile

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'66 Beetle, in restoration
'74 Ghia, in restoration
'77 Westfalia Campmobile - Dangit - rear-ended! Now has primer-butt!
Per Gary, A.K.A. "Purple dress girl")

Karmann_65 · Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 4:52 am Post subject:

Time for an update for your viewing pleasure.

Having got the car pretty much stripped out and spent some time cleaning down with the wire wheel, it's becoming more apparent that old father time has indeed taken it's toll in some areas after all.

For my own peace of mind I've decided to replace both pans. They could have been patched but in the long term I'm hoping this will prove worth while. Parts are now ordered and should arrive next week.

Reading the forums here on Samba has a lot to answer for...... Laughing

Thanks for the encouragement.

hpw · Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 4:58 am Post subject:

Has this been painted or is that raw steel?

Looking good and keep posting pictures.
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Karmann_65 · Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 5:27 am Post subject:

The silver areas are cleaned of any superficial debris, checked for anything more serious and if OK are painted with inhibitor. Using a contrasing paint so it's easy for me to know which parts I've covered. Smile

Only hand painting like this in areas that will be hidden when the car is reassembled.

kingkarmann · Samba Member Joined: November 05, 2003 Posts: 4111

Your not playing around Shocked

Welcome and thanks for the pictures !
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smithe68 · Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:07 am Post subject:

Very cool story and very nice tear down.
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Karmann_65 · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:14 pm Post subject:

Anyone know what features of a '65 might be one year exclusive? I'm no expert but it seems to be something of a crossover year for certain parts.

The oddities I've found so far seem to be the door latches, the 10 slot wheel beauty rings and both the interior and exterior mirrors.

For the latches I found a reference picture,scaled it to size and manufactured new nylon catch traps (and the complete inner workings).

Going to trial fit before paint so I know if they work or not.

The wheel trim rings I'm gonna try to knock back into shape because the previous owner obviously used a screw driver to pull off his chrome hub caps. Rolling Eyes

The interior mirror has crazed mirror edges and the switch mechanism is busted inside the light lens. Rare as hens teeth it seems!

And the drivers door mirror is more oval shaped than most others I've seen. The mirror glass was crazed about the edges and the steel back had what looked like a couple of stone chip dents. I broke the glass and fixed up the dents with a hammer and dolly. Gonna get a new glass made up and bond it into place so the steel edge doesn't have to be adjusted.

I ordered the much talked about Bentley Blue manual (used off Amazon UK for £35) today for years 61-65. Result at that price!! Razz

Hopefully this will live up to it's reputation in the times ahead despite the few mods I've already carried out. I did a 12v conversion almost straight away after getting the car home. Later that year I built up a 1500cc motor which still has less than 50 miles on it. The transmission was whining back then and I've now got hold of a later higher ratio swing axle box (AO 1600 3.875 KG from 8/70 ) which should be better suited to the bigger motor. It should also work better having a 12v starter motor.

Boy does a 6v starter turn with 12v through it!!!!!!! Very Happy

All mods are stock equipment so the Bentley should cover the basics.

By the way, the front suspension is ball joint.

Any comments would be appreciated.

John Moxon · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:56 am Post subject:

Welcome fellow Brit...Brian.

I can identify with a Greyhound Road Trip and friendly Americans...I did it 15 years before you and I also have a one previous owner Ghia repatriated to Europe.

Looking forward to following your progress.
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My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
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execk2 · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:20 pm Post subject:

Schweet!

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www.mikeandjosee.com

slafa · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:46 pm Post subject:

Happy to have another cheeky Brit to banter with Smile

Welcome in Wink

_________________
'63 KG Roadster proj.
1973 Mercury Montego MX Brougham
1977 Dodge Tradesman 200 "shorty" Van
1983 Ford 350 Econoline Ambulance
1997 Mercedes S500 W140
1976 BMW 75/6 bike
various Honda, GMC daily drivers

Karmann_65 · Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:20 pm Post subject:

New floor pans arrived last week. Using a bright yellow paint highlighter (which showed up well on the black painted pans) and a long straight edge,I marked off the pan widths to match the originals and trimmed to the lines with a large pair of tin snips. With a bit of lining up by eye it was then possible to draw the curved sections to then snip out where the tunnel widens towards the rear end. I then punched a long series of 8mm holes in the 3 joining edges and (after a big surface prep clean up operation) puddle welded through a couple of holes on each pan so I could do a trial fit. Jacked up the chassis with 2 trolly jacks (a bit precariuosly I admit) to meet up with the body. With the tunnel gently pressed up against the body at both ends, it showed that the pan front outer edges, were sagging somewhat due to not being bolted at this time. A simple upwards push showed that they lined up well in the curved under body channels. Thank goodness!! Very Happy

I marked off the bolt hole positions across from the body to the new pans so as to compare with the pre marked pips on the new pan outer edges. Worst was about 5mm out of position so nothing major. After lowering the chassis to the ground again and pulling it from under the body I then set about welding the pans more permanently.
Still waiting for my POR15. It's been on order for 7 weeks now!!!!

I hope this information is of help to anyone attempting pan replacement themselves.

mexico · Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:28 am Post subject:

Wonderful job, congra, I'm hopping to do same job as you, the problem is that I'm in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and I have to buy all I need in the U.S. and now is very expensive, I have to wait a while.

NOVA Airhead · Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:40 am Post subject:

...a guy named Gary in OK with a Ghia. Where have I heard that before? Laughing

Good looking car. Nice work!
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Ghia Owner Emeritus

John Moxon · Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:45 am Post subject:


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NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe
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