made some progress today - Karmann Ghia

[SuperBuickGuy]

do they double as curb feelers?

 

[MYBAD79]

do they double as curb feelers?

chop sticks...... :lol:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

do they double as curb feelers?

chop sticks...... :lol:

I've heard that Germans love their chopsticks :chinese:

 

[MYBAD79]

yeah but we usually use knife and fork


fabb'd a bracket tonight and came up with this setup for my crankcase ventilation:


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probably overkill but it sure looks fancy

 

[mrvette]

yeah but we usually use knife and fork


fabb'd a bracket tonight and came up with this setup for my crankcase ventilation:


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probably overkill but it sure looks dorkey

There, fixed it for you......:rofl:

 

[MYBAD79]

what a brainfart...... this breather won't work, I "forgot" the vacuum line.... without the vacuum line it will puke oil out the breather. :cussing:

Problem is that I never had a stock air filter with vacuum port, the previous owner installed a washable cone filter like a K&N without vacuum line - now this might explain why the engine leaked so much oil.....

I just read up on this crankcase vent topic and found out that the vacuum line goes to the oil filler neck and the crank pulley allows air to flow into the crankcase. Brilliant !!!

 

[mrvette]

Karsten, I have not even SEEN one of them since my sis drove one similar in a early 60's bug..... so your last post makes me want to see WTF you are talking about...read it several times, and it's just don't relate to a V8.....

:lol:

 

[MYBAD79]

just like a V8 it needs a vacuum line to the crankcase and a "air in" port. On the SB Chevy you have a breather on one valve cover, on the other valve cover you have a vacuum line to the back of the carb (or the intake) ... now, my mistake was to plumb the port that's supposed to get vacuum to a breather. I didn't know that the "air in" is the crankshaft pulley seal , bottom line is: if you don't connect the vacuum line to the crankcase vent it will puke oil out the crankshaft pulley seal, instead of pulling air in.....

when I was done with the breather I was wondering " wait, where does the vacuum line go?"

 

[DeeVeeEight]

I had a 70 bug 4 spd. (30 + years ago) with an 1800? cc engine with a centrifugal advance distributor. I got the car from a co-worker for $25.00 after it caught fire. After I restored the car I tagged it and took it out for a spin to see what it could do. I passed a cop at over 90 in 3rd gear on a 50 mph highway, so I slowed down, pulled over and stopped. He asked me why I didn't run and then wrote me for 68 mph saying that the 70 mph ticket was a lot of money. I guess what he didn't know wouldn't hurt anyone...

What I am trying to say is that these little VW's may not have much off the line but they can RUN!

Nice Karmann Ghia! My family doctor always had a red 'vert, long time ago (1960's).

 

[MYBAD79]

Hey , time for an update.....


well..... still haven't started it yet but I blasted the rims, getting ready for new tires
had a lot of "other stuff" to do so progress slowed down a little.....

 

[BangkokDean]

Now that's a blast.......:drink:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

today, I almost created a parts car for you...

as a public service announcement, I'll say this:

When you see a Hummer coming in on your left side, the wrong choice is to gun it - your car doesn't have the balls to pull off that maneuver...

 

[MYBAD79]

lol.... you could crush this thing with a Geo Metro..... with that H3 it's going to feel like a mall speed bump......

 

[MYBAD79]

ok, made some progress on the rims, I got the inside painted, outside is next......

two coats grey epoxy:


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two coats white basecoat, followed by three coats clear


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[MYBAD79]

ok, outside face is painted too.....

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[MYBAD79]

ok, it's been a few weeks and here's the "progress ": i got a battery and my plan was to bleed the brakes and get the Ghia off the jackstands....



well, didn't happen...... two bleeders snapped on the front calipers so I ended up buying two calipers.... while I was at it I repaced the rotors, wheel bearings, tie rod ends.....



now I have two drop spindles on order as well as new ball joints.....

stay tuned .....
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[MYBAD79]

wtf? ......

al I can say is WTF...... big capital letters.......


I got new calipers from a local VW resto store, TriangleAutoparts in Winter park, tjey're AWESOME !!!!!!

too bad I decided I need new rotors (old ones had been machined) ..... so I got new tie rod ends, new rotors, new wheel bearings, new calippers, new seals..... $350 later I was on my way back home......cheaper than Vette stuff at least :lol:

pulling the front susp beam tomorrow ))))))) .... :lol:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

maybe if you cut the roof off.... :lol:

 

[advancedtooling]

Will a sbc fit in the front?

 

[MYBAD79]

ok...... after a few days of pure pain I finally got the font suspension and axle beam out........
come to find out a few torsion leaves are missing so now I have two sets on order (upper and lower torsion tube) .... cut the beam to weld ride height adjusters in place, going to be adjustable +- 1" up/down ... starting 2 1/2" below stock because of the drop spindles

her's a few pics:

beam cut and blasted..... also blasted the disc brake backing plates and one last part of the engine tin......


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here's the beam halves in epoxy primer.... you can also see the shock towers are welded solid, from the factory they're only spot welded


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here's the backing plates primered.... in the background are the drop spindles......
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[MYBAD79]

cut the beam in halves to weld adjusters in.... that torsion spring setup is really growing on me.....


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beam welded and painted.....

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here's the Ghia as of tonight: 2" drop spindles installed, new shocks, new brakes, just what the doctor ordered......

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[MYBAD79]

got the throttle linkage sorted out..... the carb is a Weber progressive and apparently this one was not designed for a VW, the throttle turns counter clockwise which made the install a little more difficult.


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installed the headlights and front bumper.....
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[BangkokDean]

Looks like you need a bigger garage..............:hi:

 

[MYBAD79]

Looks like you need a bigger garage..............:hi:

yes, then I can fit more and even more stuff.......LOL

today I finally started the engine..... major oil leak, other than that it runs fine

 

[Twin_Turbo]

It looks real good lowered :thumbs:

 

[MYBAD79]

It's alive !!!!!!!! Have to fix a oil leak at the pushrod tubes, other than that it runs great !!!!!

click image to start video !!!



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[denpo]

It's alive !!!!!!!! Have to fix a oil leak at the pushrod tubes, other than that it runs great !!!!!



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Hurray!
Congratulations

 

[TimAT]

If a VW engine does NOT leak at the pushrod tubes, how will you tell if it's got oil in it?

 

[mrvette]

If a VW engine does NOT leak at the pushrod tubes, how will you tell if it's got oil in it?

:shocking::hissyfit:prrtt:


Since it is FLORIDA, I would have taken a sawzall to the top, making a roadster out of it, :beer:

 

[js292]

That's one of the coolest ghia's I've seen.