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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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 Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:50 pm Post subject: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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figured it was about time to share some photos and details on this full resto, modified 59 lowlight build........
WIP for the past 2 yrs. I'dd do my best to bring us up to speed ASAP........car is currently 98% done. Plan was always to build this with Volksworld 2020 in mind, but hey CORONA had other plans. Shows get cancelled, life goes on, builds continue.
plans for this car were (are)
full resto, show quality paint.
Airride suspension, 2276cc on IDA's, crank trigger igntion, custom interior with Porsche 914 seats and some nice interior details.....Purists should prob look away. This is a custom build, modified lowlight. I have the utmost respect for anyone who embarks on a stock resto, or anyone who perseveres with 50's mechanicals, but I prefer to do them my way. Way I see it, this ghia was lost to the world, I'm bringing it back to life my way
First off, some photos from the original ad on The Samba, collection at the docks in the UK, and strip down.
anybody remember this rather sad looking lowlight for sale coupel years back? Well it ended up in the UK. Collection day from the docks in southhampton
made it home, in good company
This car was rough - but i knew that going in. Engine fire in the early 90's, sat in a barn since then. No engine, scabby interior, but it seemed solid and had all the right bits i needed. This was always gonna be a custom resto build, i needed a solid body and pan, the window trim, lights, and not much else.
Jumping ahead to how it is today, I'll fill in the gaps but heres a sneak preview
more to come
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com
Last edited by itsawesty on Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mooopers
Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2018
Posts: 99
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:33 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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| Looks like it was a lot of hard work. Make sure you post a video of that engine running. Shame about Volksworld but I hope it gets some sort of event to show at. |
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rbsurfguy
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2008
Posts: 1757
Location: Fairfax, Northern Virginia Formerly Huntington Beach, SoCal
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:47 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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Looks Awesome! And weird how close in color it is to mine.....
Question, where did you get that exhaust from? I've been looking for one like that which looks like a Porsche style exhaust outlet.
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold
See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight= |
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:17 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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| rbsurfguy wrote: |
Looks Awesome! And weird how close in color it is to mine.....
Question, where did you get that exhaust from? I've been looking for one like that which looks like a Porsche style exhaust outlet.
Jeff |
Look up Sebring Exhaust for VW type1. There’s plenty of them out there of varying precision and quality.
Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:10 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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| rbsurfguy wrote: |
Looks Awesome! And weird how close in color it is to mine.....
Question, where did you get that exhaust from? I've been looking for one like that which looks like a Porsche style exhaust outlet.
Jeff |
Thanks!
The exhaust was custom built by Michael Hausmann in the UK. Some more photos of the exhaust-
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:25 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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with the ghia safely on my driveway it was time to strip it down and prepare for lifting the body off. Not much to say other than it all came apart pretty easy, it continued to look pretty solid and revealed its original colour Aerosilver (confirmed by the birth cert).
a little friend made the journey to the UK
had some help along the way (watch out for spiders!)
stripped and ready for transport to Classic Car Revivals in the UK to assist with lifting the body off
Classic Car Revivals would be taking care of any metal repair and painting the car. If you're looking for show quality paint and better than factory metal repair/welding, you can't do better than CCR.
http://classiccarrevivals.co.uk/
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com
Last edited by itsawesty on Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:44 am; edited 1 time in total |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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CiderGuy
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:49 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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Very Nice, thanks for bring us all up to speed.
_________________
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Cars Currently Owned:
1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1973 Karmann Ghia Coupe - Project car for sale
1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (Body off restoration)
Timing is everything |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 9:07 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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I knew there was some bad accident damage on the drivers side rear quarter, the rear lower corners of the front arches had seen the tickle hammer in the past, the nose was suspect and the headlight area a little crusty. Everything was crossed while it was at media blasting.....
I ended up pretty happy with how it came out. There were some predicatable repairs required, but overall it was pretty solid, and it looked like Dean at CCR was gonna be focussed on damage vs rust repair.
Floorpans were pretty solid
that rear arch was gonna take me some to fix and get right
some minor damage on the rear corner
Needed to do some "fix or replace" thinking on the nose
the rest
I think I got off pretty lightly. Sure, there were some rough bits but overall this car looked pretty solid
time to get in touch with Gab Fab for some lowight repair panels
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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kgj
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2013
Posts: 418
Location: Uk, Cornwall
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:05 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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Nice to see another uk Aerosilver LL. (not now I know)
Plenty of photos please.
Engine?
And thanks for posting.
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1958 coupe |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:13 pm Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight |
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| kgj wrote: |
Nice to see another uk Aerosilver LL. (not now I know)
Plenty of photos please.
Engine?
And thanks for posting. |
yeah its a lovely colour, must've been a stunner back in the day.
engine is a CB Performance "builders choice" 2276cc built by GAC in the UK. We changed out the cam to an FK7 for max torque lower down. Fueling is JayCee 51.5 IDA's, on CB Performance magnaspark crank trigger. Bergmann Porsche coooling (yeah I've read the hater threads, I went with it so save me). The Porsche style cooling required Dub Shop trigger wheel and VR sensor mount all made to work with CB magnaspark. Linkage is SyncLink
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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LVGhia72
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2020
Posts: 282
Location: Lost Wages
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:42 pm Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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I really like it.  I'm not a purist and like restomods and pan draggers in good taste. Would love to see some pictures on the air ride system. |
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:09 pm Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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| LVGhia72 wrote: |
| I really like it. I'm not a purist and like restomods and pan draggers in good taste. Would love to see some pictures on the air ride system. |
thanks!
its running the Limebug (UK) air ride setup, weedeater front beam and their rear suspension cradle with AirLift 3P control. CB dropped spindles up front.
Air tank and compressors are up front behind the fuel tank with the manifold/ECU and wiring under the rear bench
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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LVGhia72
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2020
Posts: 282
Location: Lost Wages
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:19 pm Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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| itsawesty wrote: |
| LVGhia72 wrote: |
| I really like it. I'm not a purist and like restomods and pan draggers in good taste. Would love to see some pictures on the air ride system. |
thanks!
its running the Limebug (UK) air ride setup, weedeater front beam and their rear suspension cradle with AirLift 3P control. CB dropped spindles up front.
Air tank and compressors are up front behind the fuel tank with the manifold/ECU and wiring under the rear bench
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Wow. That is one nice set up. Thanks for the pictures and info.  |
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chris fryer
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2017
Posts: 82
Location: Australia
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 2:32 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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| chris fryer wrote: |
Thanks for taking the time to post this car.
So many interesting things that you have done that I need to learn more about and cherry pick the ones that suit my build.
im sure to be reading this thread a few more times |
thanks!
Mid way through body repairs my attention turned to some of the mods planned for this car. I knew i wanted proper gauges to keep an eye on that CB Performance engine, and I wanted it to look better than just adding gauges to the original dash.
Porsche 911 gauges in a lowlight? Yeah lets do it! A set of used gauges were sourced along with an original 911 5 gauge dash pod.
grinder out
welded in
The gauges were sent off to Reap Automotive Design in the UK for refurbishment, custom guage faces and modification (4 cyl tach, convert the oil level to CHT). Gauge faces were then painted in the contrasting colour I'd chosen for the wheels
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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TRS63
Samba Member
Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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itsawesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2016
Posts: 101
Location: St Albans, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:06 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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whats better than a pair of IDA's? detailed IDA's!
Jaycee 51.5's with 3rd progression hole and the usual mods. These were stripped, cleaned and rebuilt by https://www.weber-carbs.co.uk/ in the UK. If you're needing your carbs rebuilt in the UK, I strongly recommend Paul @ weber-carbs.co.uk. Great service, great guy.
Prepping these for paint was a PITA removing all the casting marks and blemishes, but it was worth it. Painted Porsche Basalt Black met, matching the roof and some other trim pieces
_________________
'59 Ghia build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=737729
'73 Westy
'90 Scirocco
2003 911
www.hertfordshirevehiclestorage.com |
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KGCoupe
Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:04 am Post subject: Re: kennys san diego lowlight resto modified build |
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| itsawesty wrote: |
...
The gauges were sent off to Reap Automotive Design in the UK for refurbishment, custom guage faces and modification (4 cyl tach, convert the oil level to CHT). Gauge faces were then painted in the contrasting colour I'd chosen for the wheels
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| itsawesty wrote: |
whats better than a pair of IDA's? detailed IDA's!
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... |
Man, I love the level of your attention to detail!
Can't wait to see the entire package once it's been "completed", ...
... although I'm guessing you may be the type of person that never actually considers their projects to be 100% "complete" because there's always one small detail or another that you feel needs tweeking to make it better.
I sincerely hope that you actually get some serious time behind the wheel driving that beautiful Karmann Ghia, and that you enjoy the ride as much as you appear to be enjoying the build.
Thanks for taking the time to share your progress. |
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