1974 Convertible intro to the forum

[VUUKGEE]

Hello to all!

This is my '74 Ghia, I picked her up a few months ago in a very drivable condition. Since I'm an old wrench that has never tackled VW's before, I'm hoping to do some work on her and get some advice along the way from all the nice folks on the forum.

So, a little background: as I mentioned I'm an old shadetree mechanic mostly having experience with motorcycles (love my shovelheads). I do own old trucks, jeeps, and other toys. My biggest weakness: I fall in love with my projects and never seem to be able to let them go (yes, I'm one of those guys).

A few years back, I acquired a 1967 Ghia Convertible (my brother and I named him "Lil' Bastard", I love James Dean) with the intention of working on him. Sadly, my dad took ill and I became the primary care giver so many projects had to be put on hold. One thing led to another and I wrapped Lil' Bastard up and tucked him away safely in a corner of the shop.

Fast forward to the present: I saw an ad for a convertible on CL and got curious. I know that once I work on Lil' Bastard it would be month's if not years before I can fully enjoy him, so I decided to try and pick something up that is ready to enjoy now with some minimal work. I saw this little girl and liked her immediately (of course, she's a ragtop). I picked her up and trailered her home.

I named this one Lil' Bi*** (I'm not sure I can spell that out, so maybe I'll just refer to her as LB on the forum) so, here she is:

The PO provided me with a binder full of records going back to late 80's. It seems the he went through after acquiring her and did a lot of work. This all mostly took place in California.

She has condition problems, of course, the floor pan has some repairs, but needs attention, the body has the usual rust spots, I do believe there is rust under the paint, she needs sound-proofing, the fuel gauge is shot, healight buckets need replacing. I think it's all usual stuff.

My plan is to enjoy her for the summer and then over the winter strip her down a bit and fix the rust so that it doesn't become a big issue later. I know I'll be working on mechanical/electrical stuff over the course of the next few months.

I'll post more about her in the coming days.

[Mtinie]

Awesome! Welcome to the forum. May I also be the first to welcome you to the hyper-exclusive '74 Ghia Owners Club.

I just finished up a busy year doing a full body off restoration of our '74 convertible, so I'm happy to provide info if you have questions.

Cheers!

[VUUKGEE]

Thanks MTinie!

It's easy to notice the differences between the different years, especially when you look at two or more cars side by side. Before I even owned a Ghia, I read a lot about them and though I knew something, they I got my first then my second, and was able to see the differences in the years more than the similarities.

Hope to chat sometime and definitely pick your brain.

[VUUKGEE]

So, a couple of issues came up, the first was not anything having to do with the condition of LB, more with the size of the local fauna. The first week I registered her, I was driving in to work early in the morning when a big jack-a-lope ran into the middle of the road and decided to play chicken with my baby. I felt the little jerk hit my front but I figured it was just a jackrabbit, no worries, right? WRONG. Following are pics of the damage these huge Southern NM Jacks can cause:

The Rabbit must jumped over the bumper and aimed straight for the nose and the grill!!! He dented the nose, cracked the paint and bent the grill. That was one big rabbit!!!!!

Not trying to be morbid, but I had rabbit guts just clinging to the body... ugh!

[VUUKGEE]

I'm trying to retroactively post what's been going on with LB.

So I got an insurance check the day of my "incident". Now I've been hunting for a body shop that will help me out but the guys I've gone to are extremely busy so I'm waiting.

I've been debating on something... I may just drive her over the summer as is and then take the body off for a full repair of all body cancer. I'd like to replace the floor pans and fix any issues that are hiding under the paint. I may wait for a winter makeover and just do mechanical stuff over the summer. Along with that, I've been thinking about changing the headlamps once she goes to body shop to the cool looking Mini headlamps. I know, I know... I'll get some hate from the purists but I like the look and I'm not trying to keep the car stock. (it's not fully stock now, anyway).

There isn't much info about the headlamp change so I'll have the summer to investigate. I'm thinking '05 Mini and older.

[VUUKGEE]

I'm posting this stuff all on the same day so bear with me fellas.

So I'm driving home from work. LB has been doing great, she's a zippy lil girl and cruises along handling and sounding great. That Phat Boy muffler sounds really cool and people like it. Suddenly, I heard a lound pop followed by a louder pop and smoke starts coming out of the vents. Rut-roh Raggy... now what?

I was just short of the local border patrol station so I coasted it a few meters (it happened to be a slight down hill slope). I fully expected there to be a fire back in the engine bay so I grabbed my fire extinguisher and took a peek. No fire... but engine was radiating heat to me and I immediately noticed that the belt was laying by the oil filter on the right side. I looked around in the engine bay and saw no damage to any components. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the belt was pretty much intact, no splitting or tearing or even signs of wear. This led me to check my alt pulley, apparently it had worn in the center and I was able to jiggle it around with my hand. Both halves of the pulley were clanking together and the center had been worn loose, causing it to slide back and forth with the shims making a clinking noise as they spun freely around the shaft. Needless to say, that pulley is shot.

Here is Lil Bit** on the way to the shop

I trailered her to the local German car shop where they promptly referred me to the local Air Cooled shop. Once I got there, I spoke to a gentleman by the name of David Moore. Pretty cool guy, he walked out and took a look at Lil B. I explained what happened and he gave me some advice on the spot. It looks like whenever the alternator was installed, there weren't enough shims and the nut didn't tighten completely, as the pulley turned, the nut came loose more and more until the pressure of the belt caused the center hole to become bigger until it wobbled enough to let the belt work itself out. At that point, the fan was not spinning therefore the engine overheated.

We turned the engine by hand and it looks like I just need to replace the alternator. Hopefully no other issues will come up. I ordered one from autozone (yes I know, but they had one in stock accross town). Once I got it, I ordered the new pulley and belt kit from Mid America MW and received it in like, three days.
I'll install and perhaps document the install here.

[c21darrel]

Hopefully it didnt get too hot. Did your alt light on the speedo come on?
I hope you ordered a good pulley, the cheap ones will do again what just happened. You need about 10 shims based on your belt tightness. Do you have a Bentley or a Muir idiot book? The Muir book is really helpful if you are new to VW's. Those German engineers did things a certain way for a reason, lots of easy things to screw up if you dont know the difference. The chinese Auto zone alts are usually guaranteed so when it goes south you can get another. Poor bunny
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1783132
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[kiwighia68]

[VUUKGEE]

c21darrel, I'm hoping that it didn't get hot enough to cause damage, but it did get hot. I couldn't tell if the light came on because at that time of the day (I was heading east in the afternoon), the sun is to my back as I drive, so if any lights came on in my dash I would not be able to tell.

I've had pretty good luck with autozone parts. Although everyone swears by the Bosch alternator, this one gave me a few extra amps and it was available that day. As to the pulley, I bought the set from Mid America because it had the new belt and other hardware. the shims came separately in a package of ten, which, according to what I've been told, should be the right number.

I have a number of manuals including the Clymer, but no Bentley. I may just have to pick one up since that name keeps popping up.

This is the alternator and pulley combo I got:

[VUUKGEE]

BTW c21darrel: I felt sorry for the bunny until I got to the local store to get donuts and I noticed that grill. It was then that I took a closer look at the nose... I didn't feel so bad after that. The dummy ran out to the middle of the road, stood upright on his hind bunny legs, and stared right at me. Had I not been in the middle of taking a curve I may have tried to avoid him but he did that on purpose. I swear I can still see his little bunny teeth as he smiled malevolently at me. Darn him!!!

[c21darrel]

[rockerarm]

Hi and WELCOME.
If you're going to replace the alternator yourself and additional work as needed there are "tutorials" in the works by a respected member here, Zundfolge1432. This one could help you out on the alt change out.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=649445&highlight=

On the alternator pulley be sure it fits onto the alt's shaft properly when indexed to the small keyway. That's probably the only precision tolerance on the entire part. Recognize this part, the alt pulley, spins at nearly twice the crankshaft speed. And this job can be successfully performed while the engine remains in the car and without disturbing the fan shroud. That's if nothing is diked up.

If you don't know how long the engine ran without the cooling fan working I would suggest you do a couple of things, minimum.
One would be to check/verify the valve adjustment. This is a very simple task to verify if things (valves) got too hot. Again Zundfolge1432 has a tutorial on the basic valve adjustment.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674326&highlight=
The second item would be to remove the spark plugs. I have personally seen cars where they got so hot the plug connector melted to the spark plug. So, removing them and inspecting is a sure way to validate this.

One thing I'd like to mention as I've seen a problem is with those wheels. I cant see the lug bolts but if the stock lug bolts are used with a wider alum wheel it is possible to damage/tear the threads out when used with an impact gun, or at 100 ft/lb torque. Being this car is new to you if you R&R all the drums/rotors to inspect the brakes it is an easy task to verify the lug bolts have full thread contact.

Funny about the "Jack-A'Lope". I hadn't heard that in 20 years. During basic training in the south I bought a simple post card that was photo-shopped and the result was the infamous Jack A Lope. When home I showed my son who secretively took the post card home and then to school for show and tell. Since my kid believed everything his dad told him, I received a call from school informing me a parent/teacher conference was in order!

[VUUKGEE]

C21: No bunny teeth, although I have to confess... your question actually prompted me to look.

rockerarm: That's awesome advice. I had not thought of checking the valve adjustment. As to the plugs; in digging around in the engine trying to figure out how to pull the alternator, I actually pulled the plugs and felt around the wires. They look pretty good but I'm actually considering taking the car to my local air cooled guy for a formal meet and greet and perhaps have him look her over as she's running.

As to the alternator; I was attempting to pull the alternator while still in the car, I discovered as I was reaching around the rear of the fan shroud that there is an oil cooler installed which prevented me from reaching the nut. In addition, the cooler itself looked very damaged so I thought it would be necessary to remove the fan shroud in order to access the nut itself. I think it's also prudent in order to check on the condition of the cooler. Judging from the way it looks, I'm glad I did. At this point I have questions regarding the installation of this cooler as it seems to me that it would not be very efficient due to the damage that it has, of course, and the mounting location on the shroud.

Question:
1. Was this supposed to be an improvement over stock?
2. I'm going to replace it for sure, should I get a similar one or try to return it to stock?
3. Judging from the placement of this cooler, should I get a totally different, but still aftermarket cooler that mounts in a different location?

Keep in mind, I'm looking to make this better than stock and/or better than I got it. I really don't care about keeping it stock.

Also: Can anyone tell me what is up with that doghouse? It looks like someont chopped part of the ridge that goes along the inlet to the fan. Keep in mind, this is where that chewed up air cooler is mounted so perhaps they needed that for clearance.

Any input? I'm not putting this back together until I'm sure I'm doing it right and I'm willing to put in the time. Should I just purchase another doghouse? I'd like to clean up this engine bay and get it looking/working good.

So, this is what I started out with (before the belt came off)

Start of the removal process, I was going around and around trying to figure things out

After I pulled the shroud

Shroud pulled with alternator still on mounting plate. Note the aftermarket oil cooler mounted on the shroud. I was not liking this at all.

This is the chewed up shroud. I'll reuse it if it's still functional but I have some doubts.

Oil cooler (I doubt this needs a description).

[VUUKGEE]

Well I just learned something new (for me). I realize that used to be a fan shroud set up for the fan shroud cooler. I guess that was made that way so as not to cheat the 3d and 4th cylinder of cooling. Does anyone have an opinion as to why I should or should not return this to original? Was there any good reason why this change was done? I'm new to VW's so I'm in the dark here but I'd love to get as much cooling as possible.

Thanks

[c21darrel]

Your going to need to find a good used replacement shroud, the offset adapter and a doghouse cooler. The PO cut off the "doghouse" where the original cooler belongs and completely eliminated it. They used an adapter to connect the aftermarket 8 pass cooler. Pretty common "back in the day". Installing it on the back of the shroud (to pre-heat the cooling air) isnt the best spot.
Now, its preferred (IMO) to use the original doghouse cooling and set it up right. If it runs hot, find out why and fix it instead of a bunch of band aids over the symptoms. Probably best to get rid of the excess fuel filters too. Run one under the fuel tank or one inline over the trans. Also, measure the lower crank pulley, you want an original size pulley (7.25in). I cant tell in the pic if its a power pulley or not.
On the bright side, it looks like you have a dual port 1600 with dual Kadrons. It should run good, be economical on fuel with a few extra ponies.
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[Evil_Fiz]

I am no expert but I will offer two suggestions.

1) Relocate the fuel filter to somewhere outside of the engine compartment, preferably down low where it can't get fuel on any hot parts WHEN it leaks or ruptures. Many others will echo my remarks and even offer location options.

2) If you have an air compressor, and the oil cooler is air/liquid tight, you may want to plumb it in-line between the pump and the tank as an after-cooler after a thorough cleaning. Search youtube for "Compressor aftercooler" for ideas. This way you can get dryer air and keep all your Ghia parts nearby.

We're all in this together...
Emil

EDIT.
DOH! C21Darrel beat me to it.
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“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[kiwighia68]

[rockerarm]

Wow. When you tear into something you go full steam! Just kidding, good job. Now the samba can rescue another fine late model with re-installing the correct components. Basically, the doghouse cooler setup was one of many improvements that VW implemented on the type 1 engine.
So, look for a late shroud. 1971 and later. Many people like some additional improvements afforded by the 1975 and later fuel injected engine's fan shroud. You can read up here what a respected member put together. Recognize there are some differences on the cooler slot near the fan.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=492074&highlight=
If you have to buy a shroud, and I think you know you need to, try and pick the latest/greatest stuff for your ghia.
Try and obtain at a minimum the warm up regulators so as to direct the air properly.
Regarding the engine case. Look and verify the dia of the oil cooler holes on the engine case's top. The later cases had larger oil cooler holes, which was another VW improvement, because you will also need to obtain a cooler stand-off.
If you can snap a couple of pics looking downward at the opening that the fan shroud sat. Reasoning is there are aftermarket cyl head covers that lack an important piece that assists in diverting air around the cyl heads.
Personally, I would remove the two cylinder head covers. I can see a small 2" or so tear in the engine compartment seal and by removing these two pieces you have a better access to picking that old rubber seal out. Careful with the fingers/hands and cover the intake port openings.
Hope this helps, Bill.

[rockerarm]

[VUUKGEE]

Thank guys, great input from everyone and just what I expected from the great folks on here!

I suspected that I would need to get another doghouse. I started searching the usual places on the web since my area is pretty limited as far as vw parts. I found a kit at Mid America they call an "upgrade" for pre '71 VW's PN: 306959.

Here's a list of what it contains:

196105 - Doghouse Oil Cooler Seal 10mm/10mm, Each Qty: 2
306129 - Oil Cooler Tin Kit, Doghouse Shroud, Paintable Qty: 1
306130 - Doghouse Fan Shroud, 1971-1974 (Black) Qty: 1
306235 - Cooling Fan Hub Mounting Kit for Generator or Alternator Qty: 1
355115REP - Oil Cooler Qty: 1
355117REP - Cooling Fan Qty: 1
370102 - Doghouse Oil Cooler Mount, 1971-1979 Qty: 1
378267 - Oil Cooler Conversion Seal Kit, Doghouse Oil Cooler Qty: 1
378936 - Cover Plate, Front 1600cc Dual Port, Paintable Qty: 1

It may be overkill and certainly has its pros and cons. I do think it contains everything needed and I'd hate to hunt down individual parts and then have to stop to order a screw or a tiny seal or something. I'll research over the weekend and wait for input from you guys to make a final determination.

In the meanwhile, I can work on relocating that fuel filter. I had read somewhere else on the forum that it was not a good idea to have the filters in the engine bay. especially not so high since if they do fail, that's a perfect spot for them to spray ALL OVER the engine and the hot components. On my bikes I like to use hard lines, does anyone have any ideas for or against hard fuel lines in the engine bay? What about Oil lines? I'd like to clean up the area for ease of access as well as making it look good.

Any input?

Thanks again guys!


BTW: since I didn't do any work that I can post, here's a pic of Lil Bastard. This is after I drove him home and noticed that the wiring was "crunchy". That is, when I went to check why my turn signals were not working, I moved the wires and the insulation crunched and cracked open. I knew that it was time to replace it for fear of a fire or something. He's going to be worked on next. Or perhaps simultaneously little by little.