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Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:21 am

I'm some kind of glutton for punishment, i just sold my last winters project i just finished, a 87 syncro i converted to westfalia top and to subaru 2.5 power and was ready to relax for a while

well, kind of found this 60 ghia project car by accident, went and checked it out and just couldnt pass on it. I have a soft spot for Ghia's, ive owned 68 and 70 coupes and always regret selling. I have wanted to do a pan off resto since i was a young kid (long time ago) and this was a good canidate

This one was started 10 years ago, body separated from pan and both were sand blasted. Pan has already been powder coated and is extremely clean original (pan halfs are excellent rust free). it is nice to see a body in bare bones with absolutely nothing hiding, one rear corner needs a new panel but is insanely rust free with plenty of bumps and bruises along the way. really nice shape though for a 54 yr old car.

so, here we are, i have a direction in my head, it will be a resto mod since it already has a dual port 1600 motor (original is gone) and a powder coated adjustable front beam. so im gonna build the dream Ghia ive been thinking of for almost 20 years, stay tuned to see how it comes out. wouldnt expect a quick build though--im extremely busy since i work for myself as a graphic designer, motorcycle mechanic, custom upholstery biz and four wheel camper tech.

here are some pics

as i found it at the PO's shop, been sitting like this for 10 years due to lose of interest, someone has to finish it--right

truck load #1

truckload 2 of 4

this tow made me real nervous, it was a 25 mile tow with a fragile body on a dolly, guy was a real pro though and it went without a hitch

shop dog approved, or she is telling me to hurry up so she can go for a ride

here is what a complete 60 karmann ghia in boxes looks like

Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:16 am

I purchased a 1973 project car in much the same condition ( mostly in boxes ).
Great find with your 1960 Ghia. I wish you luck in putting her back to together.

Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:20 pm

Quote: I'm some kind of glutton for punishment,

Punishment?? those are the poor souls that buy a rusted mess :cry: looks like a excellent start on a fun project. Get busy.

Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:43 pm

think this is the 3rd project ive brought home in boxes now, the other 2 were italian motorcycles though (i love moto guzzi's), and they got finished. just less boxes than a ghia.

but yeah--its got good clean bones to start with

Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:31 pm

c21darrel wrote: Quote: I'm some kind of glutton for punishment,

Punishment?? those are the poor souls that buy a rusted mess :cry: looks like a excellent start on a fun project. Get busy.

Umm.... I resent that comment. :P

Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:16 pm

Looks like what you have is in great shape, good luck with the resto :-)

Sat Sep 27, 2014 4:08 pm

step 1

apparently this tranny is fresh and in good shape, so i cleaned it up and painted it. hopefully this doesnt bite me in the a$$, but PO stated tranny was awesome

Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:52 pm

Do you think Aamoco would be a good place to have a VW trans checked out? Theres really no VW specialists close to me and Aamoco is around the corner.

Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:17 pm

I wouldnt w/o talking with the mechanic and confirming he had plenty of VW experience. I would probably spend the extra shipping $$ to send it off to a known good vw guy...there are plenty all over the usa. I use Kevin at KCR in Riverside Ca.

Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:04 am

Now it looks awesome too! :shock: :shock: :shock:

Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:43 am

The transmission was the only unknown major component on my car when I restored it. Like you I had a "yeah it runs great" assurance from the last owner of the transmission. One thing I wasn't sure of was the ratios i wanted for the car, as I hadn't driven the car before I started the resto I didn't have any benchmark. So I decided that rather than pay someone to rebuild the transmission and me to then find out I didn't like the ratios when I drove the car, I decided to just fit it untouched and see how it went.

I'm glad I did as I do want to change the ratios now I've driven it, it means more work over winter swapping it out but at least I'll get exactly what I want.

Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:58 pm

figured i had so many parts to clean it was gonna cost a fortune to have it done (as well as me being organized enough to pull it all together and drop off) that i might as well just buy a blast cabinet. found this on craigslist which ironically was a friend of a friend selling it. $75 with glass bead. DAMN these things rock. ive spent a couple hours over a couple days cleaning parts. lots of suspension bits already bare metal now and hinges cleaned right up. now--to powder coat chassis bits or just por 15 chassis paint them (spray it of course)

also not happy with the passenger side hinges now that they are clean. seem to have maybe been repaired with oversized pins. I'll probably just pick up some new ones from mtmfg.com

Fri Oct 17, 2014 4:24 pm

if the hinges are tight they are good, If they move with out your hand pressure they need to be re-bushed. A nice re-bushed set is difficult to move with out a door mounted to them. Most always best to re-use your German parts, many repop parts are terrible.
Good move on the blast cabinet, it'll get a lot of use.
My personal opinion...waste of $$ to powdercoat pan parts that will never be seen. Sprayed black POR will look great and should hold up for decades

Fri Oct 17, 2014 4:33 pm

c21darrel wrote: Quote: I'm some kind of glutton for punishment,

Punishment?? those are the poor souls that buy a rusted mess :cry...

Yes, that's me, Darrel, but you know what? I'm almost there. There wouldn't be much fun in these restorations if it were easy.

I say, go for it, cry one week and smile the next. I'm in a smiling week, as you may gather from the tone of my post. But cried last week, eh.

Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:21 pm

I would like to know why there is a clicking sound by the speed/odometer.
I only hear it when the car is actually in motion. I just purchased this 69 Ghia and need a little help.
Cori

Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:56 pm

jpjohns wrote: c21darrel wrote: Quote: I'm some kind of glutton for punishment,

Punishment?? those are the poor souls that buy a rusted mess :cry: looks like a excellent start on a fun project. Get busy.

Umm.... I resent that comment. :P

I resemble that comment.

That's a real nice start. Strange place to stop a project. After so much of the hard work already done.

Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:02 pm

so i have been searching various vendors for a 60 wiring harness since what i have was stuck in the conduit tube and cut (tube is crushed). 60 harness seems to be unobtanium, i can get 56-59, and 61-65, but no 60.

so..... whats the difference in 61? can i use it in a 60 easily enough?

and since my tube/conduit is not really workable--did any years run through the cabin (i think later years did but not 100% sure). i might be able to fix the tube since im replaceing passenger side lower fender anyway--but havent cut it open yet to see

ive made a ton of custom harnesses over the years for moto guzzi's and subaru vanagon conversions--but would rather just buy something

Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:17 pm

Have you tried WireWorks?

Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:28 am

^^^Yep, call Bob. 310.519.8147

Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:26 am

seems most vendors do sell wireworks harness's, but 60 probably isnt a hi enough volume seller to keep in stock, I will call Bob for sure, thank you very much for the contact info

when did ghia wiring stop running through the conduit in the rocker panel? maybe i "should" adapt to that style (or just fix my conduit--ha). its what the guy who started this project was gonna do, run it under the carpet, which he stated was later style.

i have my lower fender repair panel now, so i will cut the corner off and see if i can get wiring through it or not easily enough