How did you fall in love with the Ghia? My story.

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

How did you fall in love with the Ghia???.....

Here's my story.... this will be long so if all or none of you read it, its okay no worries and Pura Vida.....

The story starts in the mid 80's. I was 5-6 and lived in Florida. My father owned a body shop called Romancing the Car. Hes loved VWs all his life and still. We are restoring my 70 at this moment. Anyways. He built himself a VW Sandrail in 84 for fun. Just to fool around with his buddies. Well all his buddies rattle-canned their sandrails, but my dad being a painter painted his top notch. So when he brought it out the first time they were like holy shit, that's a show car!!! My dad was like no its not, they were insisted that it was and told him to bring it to a local VW car show. I didn't go. Well he goes and gets 3rd place, hes like WTF I didn't even try to build a show car. He got super excited. He went to the guy who won the best sandrail that he would be back in 3 months to beat him. The guy looked at my dads sandrail and laughed and said okay sarcastically....
So project Lightning Bolt began. He totally dismantled the Sandrail, completely repainted added all these custom gussets, polished and chromed everything he could. It was over the top. I will attach pictures once I finish writing this, so you know the story is true. Dad, if you read this I apologize for the pic of you in that outfit, hahah. He even built a trailer to carry it, till this day it probably had 500 miles on the motor, what a waste. He had other cars to keep him entertained. Well he came back 3 months later and since the car was being towed, we all got to go. So this was my first ever VW show.
So I get out the van and i'm sitting in my stroller and being pushed along. In complete amazement of everything going on. Then I see it, a Cherry Red 1967 Hardtop Ghia with Porsche Fuchs Wheel polished like mirrors, pristine show car, I thought it was a Rocket Ship. It was the most amazingly awesome baddest best coolest craziest, you get the idea. I fell in love and talked about it to my father all the time, so my dad bought a White 67 lol. Those are a whole continuation, but that was when I fell in love.
The sad thing is that it took a quarter of a century to pass before my father and I actually restore a complete car. I used to help out at the body shop every chance I got, but he closed it when I was like 11 and followed his education of Civil Engineering and became a General Contractor. So the Sandrail got put away the 67 Ghia he bought, he actually stripped to bare metal and made it perfectly smoothed and primer-ed it. Then it sat in storage for about 20 years where it still sits now untouched 67 with zero rust in complete primer. Its the next project once we finish mine. We are making up for lost time.
I spend both my days off working on my 70 with him from early morning to late evenings. Makes me feel like when I was a kid helping him in the shop. He is truly a master and has amazed me over and over with his knowledge he has acquired. Well now i'm just rambling. Have a good one and Pura Vida....

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

If you look at the recent post: Wanted to share my project so far..... The first pic of the skeleton chassis if you look to the left you see Lightning Bolt in the background. He died but will be revived after we finish mine and his 67.

[Mawaheb]

a year ago, i was searching for a cheap good looking car to buy.

i went to used cars Bazars ALOT .

i wanted to buy a beetle, but no luck, all beetles i saw was in terrible condetion and needs MANY fixing and restoration.

and the search was still going, when one day i decided to visit a friend of mine, so i went to his work place. and i saw this LOVELY AMAZING well crafted breath taking car :

it was his coworker's car



i feel shy to say so, but it was the VERY first time i every see a karmann ghia or even know that this car exist !!

i grabed my mobile phone and started taking photos of it.
i LOVED this car. i did not know what is the name of it that time, but when i got home i started searching for "classic VW" and i found out that it's called a Karmann ghia.

the owner did not want to sell it that time! and i was really sad.

but she decided to sell for some reason ..and luckily it became my very first car, my very first VW, my very first karmann ghia .!
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(O\= | =/O)

1955 Karmann Ghia

[Disc]

It was 7 or 8 years ago...
Then I was in performance tuning, turbos (water cooled) etc. and browsed Internet intensively for info, pics and other useful stuff. Once I've linked to a page that contain a lot of pics of cars, but without any info about them - didn't remember ever if they were classic, muscle or performance cars. In the very end of that page there was few pics of a lovely little car. No emblem, no scripts, no any sign of car model of maker (then I did'n notice that hub caps have a VW logo) . Just few pics.
These pics (now I found them here on Samba):

Holly... I was speechless... Searching was hi and low... 3 months later I found that this amazing piece of art is Karmann Ghia. In my country in this moment exists only few of these cars, back in the day I didn't know if the are ever imported. Few years forward. This car again was in my wish list. With help of a friend (my current boss) a rough but complete '70 Coupe was imported from Germany. My dream come true! But sadly I have no time to work on it . Good news are that every day I work on Ghias!!! We are restoration shop and we are specialized in VW and MB.
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The glory never gets old, just need new paint.
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Nick

[Greezy Joe]

^^^^^
That is the color of my 1st Ghia a 58 that I bought back in 1964 or 65. Went to a Hobby Shop with my Dad to get some HO scale car stuff and the owner had his son's car for sale. Went out back and took a look and a ride. That was it, I was hooked. Heck I liked driving the Ghia better that the 58 Triumph TR-3. With a thundering 36 Horses it was still a blast. Now the 74 Ghia I have has a 2276 with around 160+ ponies and is a handfull and absolute gas to drive.
_________________
Current:74 Ghia Coupe w/ 2276
71 Ghia Vert w/ 1835
07 GMC Truck
12 Jeep Wrangler
73 Harley FLH 93 cid
89 Harley 883 Sportster (1200)


Owned before: 58, 69 Ghia Coupes, 64 Canvas Sunroof, 68, 72, 73, & 74 Bugs, 63 Single Cab, 65 Bus, 66 & 70 Camper
" Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it'll muffle the sound".

[Stonesrock]

Always liked the Ghia. I wanted to buy a commuter car that I enjoyed driving. Came across a 1970 Ghia in Dec. 2011 and fell in love with this impractical car.

I like this picture. "The Ghia's are spouting out from deep within the NW forest in the springtime".


So how to justify this impractical car to myself and family? Well, there is no real justification: I just wanted it. I just decided, "I'm getting a Ghia".
That's when I became a "Armageddon-a ghiaist". (Read: I'm gett'n a Ghia with a kind of hick accent.)

You see it was just before the year 2012, which is the tear that the Mayan calendar turns over. The Mayan calendar is on a 51,000 year that starts at the beginning of time and ends at the end of time. I remember studying about it in the 1980's in college and 2012 is when the "Baktun" or 51,000 year cycle ends. Plus there are a ton of other "end of time" scenarios out there that believe the end of time is at hand soon. I don't really take stock in these scenarios, but dang, what if they are right?

My wife and I both work with very intelligent people who think the Rapture is going to happen soon. My wife worked out a deal with her colleague that once he has been taken up to the the Lord just before the Rapture she can have his kayak. He says she can have his house and car, too, but she just wants the kayak. What I don't get is if he believes the end of the world is going to happen soon, why is wasting his time driving around a Toyota Camry.

So this is how I started my new religion: Armageddon-a ghiaism. My Ghia is my "End-of-time-mobile". For me. "end of time" (EOT) if a metaphor for the effort to be in the present. When one is actually being in the present time does not exist. One is not bound to the anxieties or plans for the future, nor is one tethered to complexities of one's past. Time does not exist when you are fully in the present. Maybe the Buddhas and Bodisattvas can live perpetually in the present, but for me those moments are fleeting. So in my Ghia I am driving to the end of time. When it comes I will have a cold beer to crack open from the vintage cooler on my roof rack or maybe I will take my kayak off the rack and surf the incoming Tsunami.

I'm not looking for converts (I have a coup), but if you want to join my religion that's fine with me. If the religion gets too much dogma, though, I'll be the first one to quit.

Peace y'all.

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

what size tires you running on the riverias?

[Stonesrock]

165 80R15, and what are Riverias. Are Riverias my wheels? Someone told me they from EMPI. Correct? Empi Riverias?

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

yeah they are Riveria Replicas made by Empi. I have the same wheels. I am fully polishing the lips and then painting the spokes and centers gloss black. Primer, Base, Clear. Not rattle can... I am mounting 185-65-15 lower profile but overall pretty much same height but wider track, so better handling. They were cheaper than the 165-80-15 I originally put on, but I didn't know any better. Nice Ghia though....

[Stonesrock]

I'd like to see photos of your wheels. I wonder if I could get 185's, too, or would it be too much for the car. At some point these tire will wear out. I could use better handling. I often slide when I break. I'm getting better at leaving in gear for turns and slow downs. It take some skill to drive her. Half my wheels are painted Black on the inside of the spoke. I should do what you are doing.

VW social down the street at Hi Lo's Cafe in Bremerton, WA tomorrow. Any one in the area reading this come on down. A Band and Free refreshments. 3-7 pm, 15th and Wycoff, Bremerton, WA

Cold beverages from my 50 year old coolers

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

Yours might actually be true riverias, can you take a closer picture of them.

[Stonesrock]

Did not find anything printed on the outside.

Rear

front

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

yours are definitely NOT Empi Riverias, they might be true riverias. The empi version has a square raised section on each of the spokes. The lip of the wheel is different as well. I will post pics tomorrow one I get one looking the way I want. You shouldnt have a problem fitting 185-65-15s all the way around. They are slighty shorter overall then the 165SR15. Yet they are about 3/4" wider than 165sr15. So you have about 3" of more contact surface all the way around with a stiffer sidewall. Handling will definitely be noticed. I have stock front beam with adjusters.

[Stonesrock]

Maybe they are true Riverias: I guess that's cool. What is a true Riverias? Looking forward to seeing them finish painted and detailed.

I've got new tires on them, now. it may be a few years before I change them out. Unless there is a Ghia Philanthropist out there who wants to thrown down $1000; then, I get new tires on this Ghia. One more Ghia a little bit more awesome and a bit safer too I would imagine.

Sowhat'saRiverias? I say it "Riv-ee-air-a", but it is not spelled that way. Do we have the correct spelling of "Riverias".

If these are some rare thing, this Riverias", then i think it is cool they are so trashed and still functioning. It looks like these all have driven while flat on the highway and taking turns too fast.

Where can I get a cover for the rear?

[sactojesse]

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

ha, I knew I was giving false information. Mine are the American Eagle Riviera wheels, oops. Well picture that with the whole center painted gloss black. Kinda like they do with the Fuch wheels. They actually look good in that picture, but I am set on painting them all gloss black. Can't keep changing my mind, lol.

[sactojesse]

[Stonesrock]

I think mine look different from those 2 examples. What is an original Rviera?

To refurbish mine, I may take all the black off and buff it out the best I can. Or sand blast them to a course finish. Maybe sandblasted with resist design work on to a gloss surface.

But most likely I will leave them as they are.

[sactojesse]

[FRNKNSTNGHIA]

Stonesrock: your's look to be original rivieras. Mine are the American Eagle versions, I can only assume since I have had my car for over 6 years.