I'm back, got a keeper 64 coupe

[55chevy]

I had a 1971 Ghia in 1977, drove it to college in Ft Wayne IN year round, only pic I have is from Blizzard of 1978. It was pearl yellow, with mountain murals on the hood and trunk, rusty rockers and tins, no heat, I traded it away like an idiot. I finally got another Ghia, got very lucky with a 1964 that's very solid, came from Wyoming, needs restored but not a lot, left rear window is gone, one bumper missing, came with a lot of new parts. Dash is very nice and original, showing 75,000 miles that looks original. It has plastic amber front turn signals, but also came with a single clear glass type that was broke, but had a good glass also. Did they switch to plastic in 64? It also has color changing headlights and a header muffler, I may keep the muffler but the headlights have to go. The black roof looks original also, let the fun begin.

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64 Ghia coupe woo hoo fun> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=751510
So many cars, so little money Holy crap I have 36 vehicles not counting bikes https://www.flickr.com/people/115986104@N05/

[sputnick60]

It looks like it’s had a hard life. I’m glad you’ve got your hands on it now and it will come off a treat. Welcome back!
Nicholas
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'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!

[jeffrey8164]

You should do some YouTube walk arounds and progress reports and things like that and post them here in this thread so we can all see what you’re doing.

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Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[ELFRIED]

saphire 1 radio?
I have a saphire 2 in my'63...thought it was original.

[55chevy]

[Rome]

Welcome back to the Ghia world! Your VIN is approx. 1100 earlier than my '64 Coupe. Soon after I bought it in 1993 I sent away for the birth certificate at VW in Germany, indicating it was built on Aug. 21. That is 3 weeks into the '64 model year. Mine spent years in Arizona so that it was relatively solid as to lack of rust, but had a cheap respray in orange.

1964 model year had numerous small changes in the first half of the model year, such as:
-Glass front blinker lenses with a chrome retaining ring to amber plastic cones (Oct. '63)
-Dashboard had a separate radio grill, then deleted for perforations
-Wheels painted 2-tone with ivory centers and black outers along with outer section trim rings (yours has 3 of 4 such rings), going to all-black (Jan. '64) with slotted beauty rings
-Rectangular depressions in the engine left and right surround panels from large to smaller format

When you search for a rear bumper, know that there are small differences between 1956 thru 1971. Those year ranges will all fit your '64, but details vary as to the side blade length due to the size of the rear wheelwell cutout, holes on the top of the side blades for reverse lights (as of '67), the length of the outer "towel bars" (wrap-around thru '69; short for '70 & '71). There are 8 pieces for the rear bumper which all bolt together. It'll be rare to find a good used one for your year/era on which all 8 pieces are in good shape; often at least 1 piece is bent/dented or rusted and should be replaced. The fasteners for the 8 pieces tend to rust, so be prepared to do some prep work before loosening them.

Yours has the correct steering wheel and horn bar. Your engine compartment sound insulation also looks to be complete and not torn which is quite a bonus.

Your header is a Ghia-specific one, so try to hang onto that. Ghia headers made in the '70's thru early '90's had the triangular flange for the muffler oriented so that the triangle was pointing up and the bottom was parallel to the road. The header pipes were shaped closer together so that the entire "height" of the header was more compact than a generic Type 1 header. This allowed the pipes to be more hidden behind the Ghia rear apron. The Ghia header also came with a muffler that had a more gentle bend than yours so that the header's rear edge was basically parallel to the apron when viewed from above.

Looking forward to progress reports.

[kent70ghia]

You mentioned you have the original carburetor, when it's time reach out toTim at Volksbitz, he restores carburetors, and makes them look brand new.

[Peter D.]

That firewall insulation is in outstanding condition! I have a 64 coupe as well. The insulation was rotted and crumbling. The reproduction stuff is just thin rubber but the original is a thicker fiber-like material (no clue what it is) with an oil/tar coating. I would definitely keep it if you can. The pieces over the inner wheel wells are glued in place so if you decide to remove in order to paint, go real slow.

My 64 came with the later turn signals. You might also have the earlier style headlight buckets.

Looks like you have the original trunk liner too. It might be beat up but keep it! Good luck with your project!
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[55chevy]

Thanks guys so much for the info! I got it to start up and drove down the block, the shift is real sloppy, doesn't want to go into 3rd gear, so probably bushings. Went through the box of parts, almost every seal and gasket needed for a paint job and windows, Score!

I only have a lower rear bumper piece, not sure what year, most likely not a correct 64. I have a few of the side trim pieces above the rocker, but not all. Has a roll of cloth fabric, looks like the PO was planning on seat covers, it has generic black seat covers on it now.

I'm thinking I will get it running and have some fun driving it for a while instead of tearing it apart for a restoration, too easy to turn it into a basket case that sits forever.

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64 Ghia coupe woo hoo fun> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=751510
So many cars, so little money Holy crap I have 36 vehicles not counting bikes https://www.flickr.com/people/115986104@N05/

[c21darrel]

[Rome]

That's a sensible plan. If you want to get the lower body- the large areas now in grey primer- into one color, you could buy a quart of Rust-O-Leum rusty metal primer, add a few drops of red and possibly white from a small enamel model paint bottle to come close to the color on the driver's door, then use a high density small foam roller to put on 1 or 2 coats. That'll buy you time for your paint resto because the RoL primer will seal the porous grey primer; acting more of a mid-term topcoat.

You now have the driver's side headlamp out. Does that, as well as the passenger side headlamp, have a reasonably firm mount in the fender or the headlamp bowl so that you can do without the black tape?

You'll also get a lot of air leakage into the interior from the lack of a horn rubber boot, but that might work for you if it gets warm outside.

[55chevy]

Roller paint is a great idea, I found there's a strip of bondo on the right rear quarter, probably had scraping dent. Headlights were LED color changing PO duct taped in, another to do item. I haven't pulled black seat covers off, looks like ivory and cloth.

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64 Ghia coupe woo hoo fun> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=751510
So many cars, so little money Holy crap I have 36 vehicles not counting bikes https://www.flickr.com/people/115986104@N05/

[Peter D.]

That's cool! I found red and black hounds tooth under my rear seats and wasn't sure if it was right for my year. Now I feel much better about it.

As far as I know no one is really selling or reproducing that exact weave of fabric. I went to the Website for West Coast Classic VW/Lenny Copp and I think their reproductions are solid vinyl for that year on the rear seats.

If anyone knows where to find it, please post!
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[55chevy]

[kiwighia68]

[55chevy]

Found the owner's manual in my glovebox woo hoo!

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64 Ghia coupe woo hoo fun> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=751510
So many cars, so little money Holy crap I have 36 vehicles not counting bikes https://www.flickr.com/people/115986104@N05/

[55chevy]

I found front and rear bumpers on FB, some needs rechromed but not bad at $150 for both. I can't tell if the red is primer or a repaint, the color behind the rear bumper is a weird shade of red, doesn't look like ruby red to me, and doesn't match the dashboard. Also got some hub caps and trim rings yesterday, road trip to Richmoond, met a VW guy with a cool 66 Beetle. I still want to get some decent original trim rings, I'm missing one and others are dinged up.

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64 Ghia coupe woo hoo fun> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=751510
So many cars, so little money Holy crap I have 36 vehicles not counting bikes https://www.flickr.com/people/115986104@N05/

[Rome]

Excellent score on the bumpers, as well as the trim rings. I think the bumpers will look presentable with some vigorous polishing with 0000 steel wool, then Autosol chrome polish or similar. Paint the inner surfaces with silver MasterSeries after sanding the rust areas with 80-100 grit to knock down the rust craters. The left rear blade is for a '67 thru '69 with that reverse light, and the right rear blade does not appear to have one. That's OK because even though it's not stock for '64, having at least one reverse light is a practical item, and you'd want it on the driver's side.

I have that exact configuration on my '64; had bought the left rear blade in the mid 1980's when prices were reasonable.

[Marcdeb]

Nice find on the parts. I keep an eye on local ads but rarely ever see any KG parts up here in Vermont. If I do there's not much value. Vermont winters were not kind to these cars.
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Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[55chevy]