68 panel - a long story short ish

[Abscate]

You could slip a large clamp under that same bolt and hold that negative cable firm from vibration. I love your cat logo for your Bikes, I’ll have to get one of those nice T shirts with a frenzy of cats on the back


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.ssS!

[metz]

Yes, I need to tidy up the cables. Good idea with the clamp, will do that or flip direction and shorten it.

The white shirt is quite popular (in our scale), but it would be the first one in the US for sure Just place the order and I'll ship it over. The guy that drew the cats is super talented. Check him out his work: https://byhands.no/illustrators/jon-arne-berg/

And since it's a new page I'll throw in a couple more photos from the shoot. Including Anders' (mentioned numerous times in this thread) recently finished and stunning 912.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Been a while! Bus has been out of hibernation for since April. Been out camping with it for a night and was recently at a small meet with very nice light (and cars).

No major plans for this year. Will do some more camping and meets plus the ordinary errands around town. I've done some maintenance and I plan to change door seal rubber, plus some minor upgrades here and there.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[Earl Bay]

Loving the lineup and pictures.
Comparing this to page one it's come a long way.
Great bus, seems like your enjoying it

[metz]

Thanks for the kind words, Earl

I'm glad I persevered. Still have some things I want to sort, like the transmission that's a little noisy and the exaggerated camber on the rear. Wheels will also be on the menu some day. The list is actually quite long, but the coming wrenching season will be dedicated to my 64 Ghia that wants to see the road on it's 60th birthday. It's a very mild project compared to this, though.

One thing I would like to improve on the bus is the crosswind stability. Getting wind gusts on the highway is not always pleasant. I'm thinking adding front, left and right belly pans would help quite a bit, but I can't find anyone talking about the aero benefits when discussing belly pans.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[KentABQ]

[Shonandb]

[metz]

Cheers guys!

When mounting the narrowed and lowered beam, the steering was naturally terrible. Since then I've gradually improved it by refreshing the steering box, adding a shortened sway bar, converting spindles to drop and redid the adjuster on the beam to sit higher, replaced bushing on the helper arm and fit better tires. Drag link and tie rods are all new.

So all this has helped significantly. But of course, it's still narrowed and lowered with a slight rake, so the limited caster is not helping on the self adjusting. I haven't measured, but I bet that there's some bump steer involved as well.

So without going back to a more stock beam, I think looking at the aerodynamics is next. I also believe adding a rear sway bar might help.

I really dig your panels, Shonand and Earl!
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Went racing and did a 17.7

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[vintage water]

tres bon travail !

[metz]

Merci!

Yesterday I packed up the bus and drove it to my hometown for storage.

I've had a few very nice trip in the bus this year, but every time I need to do some work on it, it feels quite exhausting. Although it seems finished to everyone – I still feel like there is a lot to do, and there are also things that I'm not comepletely happy with. For instance the wheels and stance. The beam is too narrow so I have to run spacers, which affects the steering and also gives a bit of rub when loaded on full turn. Rear has too much camber and little clearance if I want to fix it without changing wheels or tires. Transmission still has an annoying whine when cruising in fourth and there are many details that I would like to improve. But I just don't feel like it. On top of that it's quite expensive to store a car in Oslo, and I have my Ghia in the workshop that I'm eager to get back to working on.

So I've realized it's time to put it aside for a while. Maybe I'll go pick it up to use it for some weeks next year, but only if it makes sense and I feel like it. The plan is to have the Ghia ready to rip and enjoy that next summer.

Thanks to everyone that has been following along in this thread. Maybe it will get it's revival in a year or two or three.

^That's me on the left.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[Clatter]

What a great thread!
Thanks for taking the time to share.

I totally know what you’re going thru;
It’s this kind of disappointment that results from still having so many details to suss.
You put so much effort in and it still wants more.

Good idea to put it away for a while.
Give it some time,
And then you’ll come back and find it and think
“Hey, look at this! Sweet!”

Especially after you get good and sick of dealing with that Ghia.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Earl Bay]

You should ride your bike(s) more often
When the distance covered by bike doubles or tripples the one of the bus
it's easier to accept the busses "faults"

[metz]

Cheers guys!
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe