Saving Emiko: 68 RHD Restoration in New Zealand

[xzener]

It fits Ghia with the 2 1/16" gauge holes. I think it's the camera angle giving it the angled look.
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My 70 beetle was totaled Now to build the Ghia I always wanted. Rest in peace Ruby, I will miss you. Hello <insert Ghia name here>!

[kiwighia68]

[Mellow Yellow 74]

[kiwighia68]

[Clatter]

[c21darrel]

He didn't say which month.
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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[kiwighia68]

[kiwighia68]

[c21darrel]

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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Brassneck]

Awesome! Been waiting a while for the next installment

[kiwighia68]

[John Moxon]

[Clatter]

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[kiwighia68]

The story is growing under its own momentum and beyond my control. The characters just do what they want to. One more to come, maybe two.

Excerpt from the novel, saving Emiko:

It took Whatever whose name was really Sandy half the day to fit the spyware and cameras to the Ghia. One camera went into the housing for the interior light and faced towards the front. Another was installed in the cheap high-stop light assembly affixed to the rear windscreen. Each of the rear view mirrors on the doors was fitted with a similar device and De Villiers made a mental note to replace them when the operation had run its course. Ghia aficionados would spot the imperfections immediately.

When De Villiers and his bushman friend !Xau had had to run for their lives through the semi-desert of the south-western districts of Angola, their combined skills at hiding their tracks were what kept their hunters at bay. They ran at night and hid their tracks for the first part of their fight path, and again at the end of a night’s running. De Villiers was a good runner, a lean athlete who ran effortlessly and with stamina and grace, but !Xau made him look and sound like a buffalo. !Xau’s gait was a shuffling energy-saving one, his footfalls soft, and his breathing steady and silent. When the search helicopters of the 32nd Battalion came to close to their hide during the day, De Villiers and !Xau laid down a false trail. He knew he had to do something similar now. There were illegal strategies to pursue, and there would be consequences if they were discovered.

Leighton-Jones answered the call with his usual curt, ‘Leighton-Jones.’
‘De Villiers, your buddy from Auckland, here,’ De Villiers announced. He didn’t wait for Leighton-Jones to respond. ‘I need you to call me on the number you see on your screen but from a phone that can’t be traced back to you or the police. Ten minutes. I have good news for you. Promotion-supporting material.’
‘What about your own phone? Won’t that be traced to you?’
‘No,’ De Villiers said. ’The phone is disposable and will be disposed of after our next conversation.’

‘What?’ Leighton-Jones wanted to know.
‘There’s a ro-ro carrier in the port,’ de Villiers began, but Leighton-Jones interrupted him.
‘Speak English, man! What’s a ro-ro carrier?’
‘It’s short for roll-on, roll-off. You drive the cargo on at the load port, and you drive them off at the discharge port.’ Cars, trucks, lorries, heavy earthmoving equipment.’ De Villiers waited for Leighton-Jones to absorb the information. ‘And minibus vans. Lots of minibus vans.’
‘So?’ Leighton-Jones said.
‘So,’ De Villiers said, mimicking Leighton-Jones’ tone of voice. Try as he might, he just couldn’t warm to the man.
‘So there’s this ro-ro in the port right now, and they are about to commence discharge operations. At least five-hundred vehicles from Japan. What you want to do while they are standing in rows on the quay waiting for their road transporters, is to have your people bring their sniffer dogs around to check every minibus type van for drugs.’
‘And what are we going to find, do you think? Leighton-Jones asked.
‘Meth, ingredients for cooking meth, cocaine and maybe heroin.’
‘Why don’t you go catch them yourself?’ Leighton-Jones suggested. ‘Take the credit and the promotion yourself.’
‘Not my patch,’ De Villiers said. ‘Small fry anyway.’ He didn’t tell Leighton-Jones that he was officially still on sick-leave and that there would be hell to pay if the Commissioner were to find out that he had been running an operation against her express orders.
‘I’ll have to bring my own men up,’ Leighton-Jones said. ‘I want this for myself. Auckland must have been sleeping of this has been happening under their noses.’
‘Good idea,’ De Villiers said. His man had taken the bait.
‘One more thing,’ De Villiers said. ‘Get a cheap pay-as-you-go phone that can’t be traced to you and text me the number. There will be some action late tomorrow and perhaps the day after. I’ll tell you where to go.’
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

I've been too sick all week to do the last job on my job-list for my Ghia - getting the right side door scraper to sit flush with the glass. I've tried three times before but without success. The left side is fine, but the right side is perverse, which shows a side of our Ghias that is quite frustrating.

Anyway, I'm making mischief elsewhere, as in writing the last bits of the Emiko story: (One more chapter to come.)

Excerpt from the novel, saving Emiko.

‘Sandy, you’re going to go with Vaishna,’ De Villiers said when he had their full attention. Barefoot Matt and Anonymous had been teasing Sandy, but he was giving as good as he was getting, making fun of their rough skin, the cuts and bruises on their knuckles, their oily smell, which Matt explained was gun oil, and their clothing.
‘You look and smell like hunters,’ Sandy said with a sneer.
‘Because that’s what we are,’ Matt countered. ‘Hunters.’
‘Yeah,’ said Sandy, ‘except that you smell like hunters after the hunt. Of blood and guts and mud.’
‘Why must I go with Vaishna?’ Sandy wanted to know. ‘I can look after myself.’
‘I’m sure, but I need you as cover for Vaishna,’ De Villiers lied without blinking.
‘Let me explain what you’re going to have to do from Vaishna’s curry cart, he said. When he was sure he had everyone’s full attention, he went on. ‘You’re going to have to monitor the video feed from there on your laptop, and you’re gong to have to operate the drone from her cart, or if you think you can do it without being seen, from the other side of the railway line between those shipping containers over there.’ De Villiers tapped on the aerial photo on the laptop’s screen.
‘The cart will be okay,’ Sandy said.
‘One last thing,’ De Villiers said. ‘I want you to dress like a girl, with the most outrageous make-up you can manage.’
‘Easy as pie,’ Sandy said with a laugh. ‘My alter ego.’
‘Why?’ Matt asked.
‘Camouflage,’ De Villiers said. ‘Better that anything we can do as soldiers.’

The scene was set.
The smell of curry drifted down the street. ‘Don’t shoot anyone,’ De Villiers told Vaishna. 'And look after Sandy.'
‘What makes you think I’ll shoot anyone?’ Vaishna said. ‘What makes you think I'm armed?
‘Two things, ‘ De Villiers said. ‘First, I know you. You never go on an operation unarmed. And two, you can hide a lot of things under your sari dress, but not a 9mil pistol. And a spare clip, if I’m not mistaken, in the strap of your bra under your arm.’
Vaishna shook her head but there was a faint smile on her lips.
‘Don’t shoot anyone,’ De Villiers said again.
‘Unless you really have to,’ he said over his shoulder as he walked to his motorbike, smiling to himself. She’s going to shoot someone, he said to himself. As sure as the clouds make rain in Auckland in winter. If things were to go wrong, he mused, Sandy at least would be properly taken care of.

Matt and Anonymous had parked their rented minivan in the yard behind the container depot. De Villiers watched as Matt came around the corner driving the Ghia with Emiko in the passenger seat. He took up his position and waited.
The Ghia made a slow, wide turn into the premises of the panel-beating shop. De Villiers remembered that he still had to adjust the stops on the beam to reduce its turning circle. Anonymous came into sight from the opposite direction, carrying a guitar soft case like a backpack on his shoulders.

The text message came through from Leighton-Jones and De Villiers dialled the number straightaway.
‘You’re late,’ he said. ‘You’re going to have to get your ass in gear or you're going to wreck the whole operation.’
‘I’m doing the best I can,’ Leighton-Jones said. ‘You now the red tape to get the Armed Offenders Squad out for a drug bust.’
‘Can you be in Penrose in 45 minutes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Directly opposite the station. I’m banking on you being here in exactly 45 minutes. Then the scene is all yours.’
‘Got it,’ Leighton-Jones said.
‘One last thing,’ De Villiers said. ‘Destroy that cell-phone. The battery, the sim-card, the electronic board inside, everything. Now.’
De Villiers terminated the call and methodically destroyed his own cell-phone, piece by piece, and threw each piece in a different direction. One down a drain, another into the road, and the rest into the skip behind which he had taken up position.

Across the road, Sandy and Vaishna watched on the screen as the events unfolded inside the panel-beating shop. There were 6 minivans in various stages of repair, some on hoists and others sitting on drums.
Matt had got out of the Ghia and was speaking to the workshop foreman.
‘I need this car to be prepared for certification by VINZ,’ he said. ‘I believe you guys specialise in that kind of work.’
At the curry cart, Vaishna and Sandy could hear every word while the concealed cameras recorded everything.
‘We only do minivans, mate,’ the foreman said.
‘Please, man,’ Matt pleaded and slapped a handful of notes on the counter. ‘The car is in perfect condition. All you need to do is fill in a few details on the form. I’m paying good money.’
The foreman counted the money with his eyes.
‘Bring the car in three days from now. We have a big consignment coming in later today and we’ll have those one out the day after tomorrow. Can you come back then?’
‘For sure,’ Matt said.
‘I’ll keep the money in the meantime,’ the foreman grinned and pocketed the cash.

‘Did you recognise anybody?’ De Villiers asked Emiko when they had re-assembled in the container yard.
Emiko swallowed. ‘’The two who are working on the van.’ She pointed them out on the screen.

‘Action stations,’ De Villiers nodded to Matt and Anonymous. ‘You know what to do.’
I took a minute for the soldiers to get their camouflage gear on. They jogged across the road to the panel-beating shop.
‘Put the drone up,’ De Villiers said to Sandy.
The drone whirred into action, straining under the load fastened to its landing gear.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

Almost there.

Excerpt from the novel Saving Emiko.

‘You can drive,’ De Villiers told Emiko. ‘Go home and wait there, like I told you.’
Emiko touched his arm. ‘Be careful. I don’t want anyone to get hurt just because of me.’
‘It’s okay,’ De Villiers said. ‘We don’t intend to get hurt, but you have to understand. We’re going to make someone pay for the five years of pain and cruelty inflicted on you and your daughter.’
‘I don’t want you to hurt them,’ Emiko said. ‘Just stop them hurting other people.’
‘That’s what we’re going to do,’ De Villiers said. ’We’re going to make sure they never hurt anyone else again.’
De Villiers stood next to the Ghia with his hands on the door. ‘Wait in Maurice Road for Sandy. Just on the other side of the railway line,’ he told Emiko. ‘Don’t leave him behind.’
‘Okay,’ Emiko said as she adjusted the driver’s seat. ‘Please don’t hurt anyone for my sake,’ she pleaded with De Villiers. ‘Please.’
He watched Emiko drive away towards Maurice Road. ‘We’re going to make sure they don’t hurt anyone again. Ever,’ he said to himself.

‘Come along the railway line to the north of the premises,’ De Villiers had told Leighton-Jones. ‘Otherwise you won’t be able to get in. And bring the AOS in through the buildings and yards to the north. Got that?’
‘Yes,’ Leighton-Jones had said.

De Villiers looked at his watch. ETA for the Armed Offenders Squad was less than 10 minutes away. ‘Ready?’ he asked Sandy.
‘I’m in position and ready,’ Sandy said.
‘Drop the first load,’ De Villiers said.
He watched as what at first would look like advertising pamphlets started floating to the ground. Fifty metres to the east of the panelbeaters’ workshop in Station Road. The first of the banknotes landed in the road. Some landed within the railway reserve. Others floated into the parking lots of the business next to the road. Some fell on rooftops. At first a few cars drove through the rain of twenty-dollar notes, their drivers unsure of what was happening. The gang's money: Ten thousand dolalrs in smalle denominations.

Mayhem. Cars, trucks, delivery vehicles and tradesmen’s vans stopped and their occupants spilled out and scrambled to collect as many of the notes as they could. Fights broke out. People came running out of the buildings on the northern side of the road and joined the fray.
‘Drop the second one,’ De Villiers shouted. Then land the drone and get out with Emiko.’
The second load of banknotes fell from the sky 50 metres west of the panelbeaters’ workshop.
Within minutes the scene was cordoned off by the fighting mob. Traffic had come to a standstill and there were hundreds of people running about like kindergarten kids at an Easter egg hunt.
Chaos.

What De Villiers hadn’t reckoned on was that in the chaos he would lose sight of Detective-Constable Vaishna Veerasinghe. When the first gunshots rang out she was nowhere to be seen. He ran across the railway line to her food-cart but the only sign of her presence was her sari dress hanging next to a white apron from a peg on the door.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

The time has come for me to close this thread, or at least, wind it down. When I started on 11 December 2013, I resolved to do 3 things:

"1. restore a car 2. write a novel 3. lose weight."

In a broad sense, I've done all three. My Ghia has been restored in full and there is nothing left to do except to fix that pesky right side window scraper, and maybe later, to install aircon. Two of my novels have been published and the Emiko novel is now - subject to the final episode to be posted later today - in the final first draft mode. I lost some weight too.

So what's left to do?

Gratitude. I need to say it here: I have made some good friends here from all across the world. Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, USA, England and Scotland, Canada, to name the obvious ones. Thank you for your friendship, your advice and your company.

I've bought parts from KGP&R, Cip1 and Rudiger Huber - and from other Sambanista. Even those ill-fitting stainless steel bumpers from Vietnam.

And back here in New Zealand, I've made good friends in the VW community, and most of all, the people who helped me restore this Ghia. Aiden at the V-Dub Shoppe, where I bought the car, Philip at Ngatea Panel-beaters, Vagn at Qualitat European Motors and Winton Mitchell, who did the paint job for me., and Dean who's always ready with advice.

That paint job: Winton tells me that he's booked solid for the next 15 months: A Porsche 356 and a 912, and to top it all, a Bugatti. Emiko will have good friends in those.

So, apart from keeping an eye on the goings-on on the Ghia forum and engaging in conversations there, I'm going to be keeping a low profile. The final episode of the Emiko story will follow later today.

This month, as I've promised Darrel.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[TDCTDI]

Why would you close it? As long as you still own it, t's still a continuing story.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[kiwighia68]

[clarkare]

Chris, I fully understand your reasoning but I would like to add my heartfelt thanks for all the pleasure I have had reading your thread as well as the very valuable pointers on what not to do and, more importantly, what to whilst restoring our much loved ghias.

My quick 3 month restoration of my 1960 ghia is finally coming to an end after almost 2 years and I cannot wait to get back on the open road.

Again many thanks for some very enjoyable and instructive reading and maybe the next time I am in Mt. Maunganui visiting my son we can catch up.
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1960 RHD Karmann Ghia