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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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 Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:03 pm Post subject: 58 Ghia family gem |
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I hope this will be a good place to document the restoration of my wife's fathers 58 Karmann Ghia. her father was the second owner taking possession in the late 70s, it was a daily driver. he disassembled it for a rebuild about 10 years ago, got sick in the middle of it and passed away about 3 years ago. He had it painted, and reupholstered the seats before his passing. The car was left to my wife because he knew she would restore it and keep it in the family. so we finally got down to Commerce California and had it moved up to our home in McMinnville OR this last weekend. Its been quite a roller coaster getting it here but definitely going to be worth it. we are going to RESTORE it back to its original glory. any help or comment would be much appreciated.
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John Moxon 
Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004
Posts: 13957
Location: Southampton U.K.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 12:40 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| Zapatoo wrote: |
| I hope this will be a good place to document the restoration of my wife's fathers 58 Karmann Ghia. her father was the second owner taking possession in the late 70s, it was a daily driver. he disassembled it for a rebuild about 10 years ago, got sick in the middle of it and passed away about 3 years ago. He had it painted, and reupholstered the seats before his passing. The car was left to my wife because he knew she would restore it and keep it in the family. so we finally got down to Commerce California and had it moved up to our home in McMinnville OR this last weekend. Its been quite a roller coaster getting it here but definitely going to be worth it. we are going to RESTORE it back to its original glory. any help or comment would be much appreciated. |
Welcome to The Samba and The Ghia Forum.
Is this the place for you and your wife's '58? It's THE PLACE for '58s...between us regulars I don't think there is anything we don't know the '58 Karmann Ghia. 
I know a little but there are others here who know a whole bunch more. Have a look at Dwayne's complete '58 restoration for inspiration: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=527642
Looking forward to following your progress.
_________________
John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Karly
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2002
Posts: 641
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 2:56 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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awesome look forward to seeing it progress!
_________________
1960 Beetle ''Heidi" daily driver
1964 Karmann Ghia project |
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catahoula lou
Samba Member
Joined: August 30, 2008
Posts: 594
Location: south of Silver Springs, NV
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 5:43 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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A good start is to order the birth certificate for your Ghia. Will have birth date, when/where shipped, original color(s), and equipment, so that you can truly restore it back to how it was when it rolled off the assembly line.
Here's the link to the Samba how-to:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=398
Mine was born 15 September 1958 and Dwayne's (see link in John's post) is ~1 month newer. Mine was originally shipped to Wiesbaden, Germany the next day, and was presumably brought to the US by a US serviceman serving in Germany, so I bought a US Services in Germany license plate for car shows as an extra.
I live about 30 minutes from Dwayne, who helped me through the early stages of putting mine back together (bought it as a roller). The photos on the Samba do not do justice to his restoration, as I've seen it in person and is truly spectacular. He has put a significant amount of personal time into the restoration.
Best,
Thom
_________________
1 great wife
2 Catahoula Leopard Dogs (Mahogany Star and Spartan) - RIP Lucy, Braveheart, & Dusty!
1 1959 mango green Ragtop Bug (the "Mango")
1 1958 pantina red Lowlight Ghia (the "Chili Pepper")
Still looking for:
(1) My Dad's 1955 356 (he raced it amateur-class at Riverside and other courses during 1950s),
(2) My parent's black 1955 hardtop bug (CA license plate FWC 201 or FWG 201), and
(3) My parent's agave green 1957 ragtop bug (CA license plate LFK 734). |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 7:52 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| John Moxon wrote: |
| Zapatoo wrote: |
| I hope this will be a good place to document the restoration of my wife's fathers 58 Karmann Ghia. her father was the second owner taking possession in the late 70s, it was a daily driver. he disassembled it for a rebuild about 10 years ago, got sick in the middle of it and passed away about 3 years ago. He had it painted, and reupholstered the seats before his passing. The car was left to my wife because he knew she would restore it and keep it in the family. so we finally got down to Commerce California and had it moved up to our home in McMinnville OR this last weekend. Its been quite a roller coaster getting it here but definitely going to be worth it. we are going to RESTORE it back to its original glory. any help or comment would be much appreciated. |
Welcome to The Samba and The Ghia Forum.
Is this the place for you and your wife's '58? It's THE PLACE for '58s...between us regulars I don't think there is anything we don't know the '58 Karmann Ghia.
I know a little but there are others here who know a whole bunch more. Have a look at Dwayne's complete '58 restoration for inspiration: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=527642
Looking forward to following your progress.
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I'll check that rebuild out when I get some reading time tonight thank you! |
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kingkarmann
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2003
Posts: 4114
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 9:35 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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1958 is a great year! The year I arrived on the planet 
Congrats and look forward to your progress!!
_________________
"Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”
Mike Gerson
What is your "Bespoke Reality"? |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:31 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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Ok I made a little progress tonight. I filed for the birth certificate. The engine looks pretty unmolested, but the wiring up under the dash and as I found the ignition wiring is pulled out. With some help from a friend walking me through a line diagram I bypassed the the old battery and put power on the loom. Hooked loose wire up to ignition switch, turned key. Lights on tach lit up than I got the starter to click than popped a fuse. I wanted to see how close it is to running, apparently it needs some work lol. Here's some more pics of parts, original paint, reupholstered seats (over originals)  etc
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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iowegian
Samba Curmudgeon
Joined: February 16, 2005
Posts: 9829
Location: Somewhere between Dubuque and Keokuk
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
Something special about seeing one uncovered after a long slumber. Love that type of documentation.
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| Lights on tach lit up than I got the starter to click than popped a fuse |
It has a tach? Pics ?
That rear bumper and the bumper guards look unique.
Love to see under the re-upholstry work too.
Congrats on your "find". |
That bumper is a bit of a puzzlement to me, too. I wonder where it spent its previous life? |
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calexican
Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 730
Location: El Paso, TX
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:28 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| Cool color. Champagne anyone? Love the 58's. Congrats. |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:33 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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birth certificate arrived from germany finally. thanks for the advice. interesting it was originally sent to syria not sure how my late father in law acquired it.[/img]
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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bumpers may be from the studebaker gran torismo we also acquired (shrugs) forgive my ignorance im new to the ghia world.
| c21darrel wrote: |
Something special about seeing one uncovered after a long slumber. Love that type of documentation.
| Quote: |
| Lights on tach lit up than I got the starter to click than popped a fuse |
It has a tach? Pics ?
That rear bumper and the bumper guards look unique.
Love to see under the re-upholstry work too.
Congrats on your "find". |
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:49 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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I havent had much time to tear into the Ghia yet, Also we were waiting on the birth certificate to get some direction. It looks like my hunch was correct, original color was dolphin blue. My main hobby is Restoring vintage Lambrettas and Vespas. Im completing a 2 restorations here in the next two or three months, so ill be able to shift attention and shop space over to the KG. Im meeting with my body/paint guy in a few weeks hopefullly i can get a ballpark idea on cost. my plan is to pull the body off chasis, send body of to be done, meanwhile Ill restore chasis, and a friend of mine and I will restore engine. Optimistically thinking I can orchestrate it all to go down like that . Any advice on how to proceed with the strip down?
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:57 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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I stopped by House of Ghia in Salem OR last week. I got some direction and motivation. Today I dropped the engine out. Ill probably start tearing it down this week.
[/img]
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:12 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| sputnick60 wrote: |
Ah progress! That’s always good to see.
Just wondering if that’s the original engine. This might have been verified in the letter accompanying the birth certificate.
I’m tuned in to the developments.
Nicholas |
Yes this the the original engine as confirmed by the birth certicicate. Original split case transmission as well.
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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udo dreisoerner
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2005
Posts: 1155
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:51 am Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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yeah, another lowlight will be back to the road. please let us know the following resto-story. lowlight regards from Germany, Udo
_________________
Searching for a 1956 lowlight karmann ghia with a VIN number between1273054 and 1273440, and the matching engine with an Engine Number between
1525510 and 1525519 PLEASE OFFER ME ONLY THE CARS THAT I'M LOOKING FOR, THANKS!! |
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Zapatoo
Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2017
Posts: 31
Location: Mcminnville OR
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| Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:35 pm Post subject: Re: 58 Ghia family gem |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
Congrats on the progress. I think you may be able to refurbish your dist cap.  |
distributer cap is in excellent condition. besides cleaning up the bakelite how do you restore the points? is there a how to thread?
_________________
86 Vanagon GL daily driver
58 Karmann Ghia
73 type 3 Squareback |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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