New Kid

[David Bunin]

Hello Forum,

My name is David. I'm the new kid in school here. I have recently become the new caretaker of a yellow 1974 Ghia convertible that I bought from my uncle. It was his pride and joy, and he kept it very clean. But he isn't a mechanic, and I am. Sort of. I am an aircraft mechanic, so I'm used to air cooled, horizontally opposed piston engines. On the other hand, I know virtually nothing about Volkswagens.

My uncle gave me his dog-eared copy of John Muir's book How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive and I've purchased a second-hand Chilton manual. But both of those publications cover a variety of models, and I'm going to need help that is more specific to THIS car.

My goal is to keep this neat little car on the road. I already took it to a local drive-in and parked next to a Dodge Viper. The Viper didn't get half of the looks that my little sunbeam collected.

But the car does need some work. I've already adjusted the choke and it starts and idles much better. I've also shortened the fuel line between the pump and carburetor. It was so long that the fuel filter was rubbing on the part of the intake manifold that is actually a piece of exhaust manifold.

The problem I'm worried about most is that it smells like gasoline. Yeah, sure, it's an old car and they smell like gas in the garage much more so than a new/modern car. But this one smells like gas in the cabin while I'm driving it down the road, with the top down. That can't be right.

In my mind there are two possibilities. Either engine compartment vapors are coming through the heat ducts (I'm not using the heater) or there is a fuel leak related to the gas tank in front of me. I'm not sure where to begin, so I thought I would join up here and ask the experts. What say you?

[Leonard Hooks]

Welcome, David. Congratulations on your acquisition. You will find great friends here. The gas smell could be coming from the front. I'm dealing with one of those were the interior smells gas on a hard turn. There are numerous threads here about gas smells.

Post some pictures.
_________________
Ghia again...after 48 years
1970 Karmann Ghia, Irish Green
1965 Mustang
Owned a 1971 Ghia, Irish Green from 71-77
Owned a 1982 Porsche 924

[22manybugs]

Hello David, welcome!

Post some photos, I am sure everyone wants to see the car. Also, people may point out things for you to check.

The John Muir book is good overall, especially for someone new; it can be long-winded when you just want to review a particular maintenance or repair step. I don't personally get much from the Chilton manual, but that could be just me. My favorite is the Haynes manual for finding information quickly and clear information. Also, if you really want to dig into everything, you should get the Bently manual - you want the orange one for 1970 to 1979.

Fuel smell is almost always caused by broken/cracked/rotted fuel vapor lines. Those are under the front hood, most are small diameter hoses (plus a couple large diameter hoses) that connect to the gas tank, expansion tank, and fuel filler pipe. There are also a couple vapor lines under the right front fender connecting to the fuel filler pipe. Do a search in the Ghia forum for "vapor line sketch" and there will be a post that includes a sketch of the filler lines along with lots of photos of the vapor lines.

Hope that helps!
_________________
Lon

1969 Karmann Ghia convertible
1971 Westfalia camper

[David Bunin]

Car with my Uncle:

Car with my wife:

You might notice that I was able to get the same custom plate in Texas that my Uncle had in California. I like that it's very cagey. He is great for jokes like that. He is a doctor, and his Acura had a plate that said ICURYA.

Engine compartment:

[Era Vulgaris]

Aside from the fresh air hoses coming off the fan shroud, which should be corrugated paper hose, that engine bay is incredibly factory original for '74. Don't see that very often!

One suggestion: please move the fuel filter out of the engine bay. Ideally down beside the trans where the hard line exits the frame horn. They have been known to be the cause of engine bay fires.
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue

[David Bunin]

Thank you. Yes, the car is very original. Surprisingly so. One of my little projects is to try to replace any of the hoses that look to be 50 years old, and I think it might be all of them.

I'll see if I can find the location you suggest for the filter. I believe there is a hard line in the engine compartment in the feed to the fuel pump on the engine, but I haven't traced it forward of the cooling shroud. Still, there needs to be a connection inside the engine bay because the outlet of the fuel pump is larger in diameter than the inlet on the carburetor. Somehow or another, there has to be a reducer, and it takes two different size hoses. Right now the filter is serving as the reducer, in addition to just being the filter.

One hose that made me scratch my head was the crankcase vent that runs from a nipple adjacent to the oil fill to a nipple on the air intake. It's a plastic hose rather than rubber, and it is in an S shape, but the bends are so sharp that the hose is almost completely kinked off at both ends. That can't be right. (Yes, I know that crankcase venting isn't creating any problems, it's an emissions thing. But still I want this car to be as "right" as I can make it. Remember, I think like an aircraft mechanic.)

[smuenchrath]

I installed one of these brackets on my 69 Ghia.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1901747

Its not required, but nice to keep the filter good and secure.
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68 Ghia Regatta Blue Convertible
69 Ghia Toga White Coupe
74 Westfalia

[22manybugs]

Very nice looking Ghia.

[Era Vulgaris]

[jason_hamilton]

If you are using gasoline with ethanol, your fuel lines may not be compatible and may have started to break down.
I would replace all soft fuel lines out of caution.
_________________
Jason Hamilton
1969 Karmann Ghia coupe
@MiddleAgedHoon

[David Bunin]

Yeah, I'm kind of thinking the same thing. My uncle drove this car weekly for a lot of years and then he filled up the tank for me (which I think he usually wouldn't have done for himself). It's probably safe enough to drive in the short term. I think I'll run it down closer to empty than full before I go after hose replacements wholesale. That could take a while.

I am tickled with this car's originality, but I won't let that stop or slow me from making it safe to drive on the streets.

One problem with old cars that are very original is that some of the bits are past their best-by date.

Like I said, Uncle Nelson kept this car nice and clean. Kept it maintained regularly by shops near him, and fixed things as they broke. But he's not a mechanic and I (mostly) am. That's why I was 'the chosen one' among his nephews. He judged me the most likely to be capable of keeping his baby on the road for the long term.

David

[jason_hamilton]

If the soft fuel line under the gas tank fails, there's nothing stopping total loss of fuel. The gasoline will follow the hose into the central chassis tunnel, pool there, then exit at the drain hole just forward of your rear axle. You then get a huge puddle of evaporating gas under your car, ready to be sparked by just about anything. Like say, your furnace's pilot light if your garage is arranged that way.
You'll want to check this out sooner rather than later.
_________________
Jason Hamilton
1969 Karmann Ghia coupe
@MiddleAgedHoon

[Marcdeb]

Hi David,
Welcome to TheSamba. Your car looks great. Nice color too. The most helpful Repair manual is The Bently. There's many different volumes so make sure you get the 1970 to 1978 Beetle & Ghia book with the orange cover.
Here's a link to one, but you can shop around on TheSamba classifieds, ebay, and other online book sellers. Usually I see them anywhere from $30 to $60.
_________________
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

[David Bunin]

Thank you, I appreciate the help. I'm feeling a little dumb. You said "here's a link" but I'm not seeing the link, and also I failed to locate the Classifieds section here. I feel like it must be hiding in plain sight, but... a little more help, please?

Having a copy of The Bently book sounds like a good idea.

[David Bunin]

[David Bunin]

Wife and I took the Ghia out for a cruise today. A VW dealer recently opened in our little county, and I couldn't resist stopping by to take this picture.

[jeffrey8164]

That’s awesome!
I think VW needs to be reminded of where they came from.
_________________
Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

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

[kingkarmann]

[Eric&Barb]

[Rome]

You can get the engine compartment side panels' yellow paint much cleaner simply with WD-40 and firm, repeated wiping with many paper towels.

Ghias (also Beetles and Type 3) with this style bumper had a black strip in the center channel. This visually reduced the "bulkiness" of the solid bumper. If you plan to apply the strip, don't use electrical tape- the adhesive will ripple and pull off soon. Instead, use marine "bootstripe" tape after you wipe the channel clean with isopropyl alcohol or similar. Here's a press photo of a '74 in which you can see the black strip.

And a good photo from the German '73 Ghia brochure-