58' Ghia. Piece by piece questions

[rich caramadre]

Hi all. I picked up 58' that I'm looking forward to getting back on the road. It came with a few boxes of parts. Most of which really show their age. I know lowlights have some year specific parts and others can interchange with later cars. My intent with this car is to get it back on the road and even though it would be great to have all 58' Ghia parts on it that is not my priority. So bare with me as I try to figure this out. First Gauges. Besides date stamp on back and shift markings on the speedo, are there differences up to 66'? The car came with no gauges. Second, headlights. It came with 2 sets of headlights. I was told they were from the 58' and a 59'. Anyone have an exploded drawing of how they go together and should they have lenses or just the sealed beam? I'll stop there and get these sorted out first before adding more questions. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Trylon]

Here’s a lowlight parts book with some exploded diagrams.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1957_...s_List.pdf
_________________
1973 Porsche 914 2.0
1959 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
1979 Volkswagen Rabbit
1973 Volkswagen Bus
1970 MGB-GT
1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire

More tomfoolery on
The Karmann Ghia Fever YouTube Channel!

[Rome]

The two large gauges (speedometer and clock) maintained the same size thru '66. The speedo is also the same size as a Beetle speedometer. Ghia 36 hp speedo's went to 90 mph even though Beetles only went to 80. Reason is that the Ghia could reach a higher speed due to its better aerodynamics. Beetles received the 90 mph speedo with the '61 model year with the 40 hp engine.

Since you are mainly interested in getting the Ghia roadworthy and functional instead of restoration-correct "for now", any Ghia (or Beetle) speedometer from '55 thru '66 will work, since the connection for the input cable is the same. The bulb connectors will be different, since thru '60 they had screw connections and as of '61 they were push-on spade connectors.

Beetle speedometers kept the same size thru '77 in the standard Sedan. Font styles, sizes, and background color/design changed in the next 10 years starting with the '67, and in '68 the fuel gauge was incorporated in the upper center. As of ~ '72 the speedo went to 100 mph and had a black background. If you can get a freebie speedometer from a later Beetle, once again the speedometer will work reasonably accurately because the tire diameter remained mostly the same. You don't need to connect the Beetle's fuel gauge in the speedo because your Ghia still should have the reserve tap.

Clock: If you are only concerned to close the hole in the dash, then you can buy a clock that is not necessarily operational which should be much cheaper than a working clock. Ghia clock size was significantly reduced as of '67 which is why you need to look for one thru '66.

In what state are you located?

[rich caramadre]

Thanks for the info. So it looks like the US spec headlights do not have a lens. Just the sealed beam. That's one part I won't have to hunt down. I figured as much about the spedo and clock. I have a 57' spedo from a beetle. I'll clean it up and see if it works. Unfortunately the mounting tabs are missing. Next front turn signals. My car came with these bulb holders. They have one connector. Should they have two? a running light and a turn signal? Attached photo

[Loren]

Rich, if you are interested in a set of correct gauges let me know. As for the clock ISP makes a nice reproduction tachometer that would fill the clock hole and they are reasonably priced (though this depends on what motor you plan on running and if a tach would be useful).

You should be able to make the front turn signal bulb holders work, but US spec Ghias had Ghia only bulb holders with two terminals each, one for running lights and the other for blinkers. They are hard to find in useable condition and I don't know that there are reproductions available. The covers are chrome and are another Ghia only item (they are the same as bus and beetle covers, just chromed and the drain hole is just in a different location).

Unless you already have parts laying around, I would suggest finding as many correct parts for your Ghia as you can. They can be expensive, but using the correct parts will pay you back many fold if you ever decide to sell it. There are also a lot of really good reproduction parts available for less than the cost of OG parts. Patience also pays. If you have time to search e-bay, the Samba etc. you can often find some great deals on the parts you need.

[rich caramadre]

Thanks Loran. Yes I will try to find the correct parts first but will substitute if I have to. In a different thread you gave me some info on the front beam/suspension. it looks like my car has a later one. It has the mount for a steering dampner and not the curved pitman arm. Might even be from a beetle. My question is how will this affect the steering? Turning radius?

[Loren]

I am not sure how the later beam will effect the steering. It should work fine as long as all the parts clear the body/frame. The beam is the same as the beetle one, the differences are in the drop arm, tie rods and for 58-59 Ghias the sway bar. You might want to check the drop arm as this might effect the angle of the steering shaft? or it might change the gap between the steering tube and steering wheel? (not sure though, since I have never had to deal with swapping in a later beam). The Ghia drop arm has a slight bend in it while the beetle version is straight. There is a post with images of the differences. If you haven't seen it let me know and I will try to find it and post a link.

Great looking Ghia! It will be nice to see it going back together.

[rich caramadre]

Yes I have the links. Thanks. I guess I'll find out it drives when I drive it. Ha! The car needs the usual rocker/lower fender repairs but it's not as ratty as it looks in the photo. You asked where I'm located. I'm in Utah.

[rich caramadre]

okay. Next question on this fact finding mission. On the 58' there is a high beam button on the front firewall as usual and one on the turn signal switch? Or is the one on the turn switch just used to flip the high beams (get out of my way you slow poke!!!) not actually turn them on and off?

[John Moxon]

[rich caramadre]

Thats what I thought. Moving to sheet metal. I know the rear of the front wheel arch is different on lowlights but what about the rear wheel arch? Were they changed on 60'+ cars? How about the bottoms of the rear fenders?

[VeloMikey]

[KGCoupe]

[rich caramadre]

Yes. The were some slow cars in Europe at the time. Example the Citroën 2CV. Check out these specs
375 cc H2 air-cooled 9 hp (7 kW).
425 cc H2 air-cooled 12 hp (9 kW).
435 cc H2 air-cooled 24 hp (18 kW).
602 cc H2 air-cooled 29 hp

[VeloMikey]

[John Moxon]

[rich caramadre]

KGCoupe, Thanks for the link. Great tutorial. I saved it in my 58' Ghia folder for future reference.

[KGCoupe]

[rich caramadre]

Headliner. What is the correct material for a 58'? My car has perforated vinyl. Should it be a cloth like the beetles of that era?

[Burman]

Perforated vinyl is the correct material. And not just "any" perforated if you are picky:-) I myself haven´t found the exact material yet (the hole pattern is different to the material that you can buy nowadays. Have contacted http://smsautofabrics.com and asked if they can help. They say they can.
They seem to have a lot to do though but I´m still hoping. Pics are from an original 1958 headliner.
See the difference? Might look like a small thing but the "new" materials that are available are not 100%....but thats maybe only me
Cheers/Jonas