ghiaguy

July 4th Parade

2010-09-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Crescent Hill Old Time Forth of July Parade

We met at the Masonic Homes to stage the parade. There were numerous Fire Trucks and a lot of spectators. We then rode down to the Peterson -Duemenil House to park. Carter was my co-pilot. We had the car decked out with American flags playing "I'm Proud to be An American" We met Julie and the boys there for lunch. This is a neat thing, if you ever get the chance to do it.

Happy's Picnic

2010-06-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Happy's picnic was great. The weather was clear, no rain. I met up with friends to drive over-Karmann Bug and 3 Ghias. The drive to and from Corydon was my favorite part. We took the scenic route- Old Corydon Pike.

MY RIDE-
My car is finally a driver. Happy's was my first show. Here's some pictures there and before I left.

Here's some other sweet rides that were at the show. I didn't get pictures of all of them.

GHIA ROW-

That's mine first, Tim's, Walter's and Dave's.

Pretty neat to have so many Ghia's there.

I think I counted 8 there at one time.

That's Tim taking on the Knobs on the way back. It was a great ride, open country roads. Cool switchbacks to take.

Here's some of the cool scenery we saw along the way. I had never seen Polly Freeze, only heard about it. I would like to go on a cruise over there again- maybe try the ice cream next time.

Thanks to my brother Todd Thompson for taking the photos. It would be hard to drive and take pictures at the same time. I think he still has to give ones of the ride over.

Its coming together

2010-04-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Derrick has been cranking on the interior. Its looking really good. However, as he was taking apart the rear seat we noticed that the wood was broken and he will have to rebuild the rear seat backing. He's made a lot of custom pieces- emergency brake and shifter boots, the sun visors, cont. boot, carpet, and carpet trunk liner. Derrick also recovered the kick pad on the bottom of the dash in black vinyl. I couldn't find anyone who said they had a good reproduction. The stereo does crank now, not a powerful system but better than the AM JAM that was in there.

He's fitting the boot for the top. We had to figure out how to fasten it at the back by the rear seats. There are clips to hold the rear seat in place and on the back it has hooks to fasten the boot down. He'll place some grommets to hold the boot in place.

I went with 2-point retractable seat belts for the front. They aren't as safe as 3-point but the originals weren't retractable. I bought them at JBugs. They told me and I had read that the retractable 3-points were too long and would bounce around because they were made to mount higher in the coupes. We also had 2 seat seat belts placed in the back for the kids. However, I don't think there will be much room back there.
SIDE NOTE- I hope you don't have to return anything to JBugs, it takes foreverrrrr.

The seats, door panels, armrests were a kit from Scat-Procar seats. Derrick did a good job matching the rest of the vinyl to these. The kit comes with adapters to place on the original rails, so it could be changed back to the original. The kit was supposed to have a rear seat cover, but it was back ordered several months. I worked with Ron at Scat and he sent me the matching vinyl rather than wait any longer. Ron was great, he had similar set of Procar seats in a Karmann Ghia.

This window cranks look great. They are from Airkewld. They were the only nice alternative I found to replace the cheesy black plastic cranks. There were some modifications with the screws and adjusting to be done to get them right. They weren't cheap, but well worth it to put finishing touches on the interior. The picture shown doesn't have the cap on it yet.

Derrick made custom E-brake and shifter boots. I think they look great. He said the E-brake was a little tricky to make because of the heat controls.

Tan Man!!

2010-04-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Black and Tan is looking good. Derrick is getting the carpet and vinyl started in the interior. He tacked up the door panels and set the seat in to see how they look. The door panels and armrests were part of the Procar kit from Scat. The kit seems to be good quality. The seats have adapters to bolt them in the original seat rails. I bought some chrome billet window cranks from Airkewld because I hate the look of the cheap original black plastic cranks. I really like the pre-68 chrome original window cranks, however they won't work with my regulators.

He wrapped the hinge covers and kick panels in the tan vinyl. They look great! He also had the idea to inset the speakers and perforate the the vinyl to hide them. I think it looks better than black and red speakers and frames exposed. Great idea Derrick. The stereo is in and sounds great too!

Derrick has the carpet cut and marked for binding. He will start binding it and gluing it down soon. It matches the interior pretty well.

The Roof! The Roof!

2010-03-29T17:45:00.001-07:00

We have a top now! Derrick was able to use the top that was on it. It looks pretty good. The top is canvas, it was put on before I bought it about 7 years ago. We bought new cables and springs. Man, is it tight. We don't want any water leaking in on our nice new interior.

The headliner is in place and looks great! I think we will make the top boot out of the tan vinyl to match the interior when the top is down.

Derrick has been working on the hinge covers and kick panels. He will put the stereo speakers in them. He has put in the carpet pad/insulation. He will start to cut and lay the carpet now.

Winter Time Blues

2010-02-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

I took my car the the body guy for some touch ups. He ended up repainting a door, rewelded a rocker, and did some paint touch ups. He also placed the side and license trim along with the door rubber. It looks pretty good. Now I need to wax and detail it. I did find out that the heat works while driving the car out to the painter's.

I now have the car at the upholster Derrick Fondern, to replace the top and do the interior work. I have purchased a procar kit from Scat that includes new front seats, back seat cover, door panels with armrests. The interior will be tan. He will make a custom headliner and install the top. I ordered all new cables and a few screws that attach the intermediate bow. My intermediate bow is bent on one side, which we will try to bend back to proper angle. He will install the kit and make custom carpet as well.
Other upgrades include: custom covered sun visors, vinyl shifter and brake boots, sony stereo with speakers installed in the kick panels and top hinge covers. I will add pictures soon.

I'm hoping to have the car done in time to take it to Happy's Picnic in Cordyn, IN May 15th. It's a nice VW event put on by Happy's VW parts store.

Cincy VW Porsche Reunion '09

2009-11-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

I went up to check out the VW show in Cincy. Nice show, nice cars, nice people.

It was a little overcast, which kept some cars away no doubt. Here's some pictures of the show.

This Ghia won best daily driver in '08. The owner turned me on to the Stainless steel bumpers on the Samba. Very helpful and knowledgeable guy. I think he is selling this car on Ebay.

I especially like the donut vending bus. Very cool! It had 6,000 miles on it, all original. They made the donuts in the bus.

IT IS ALIVE !!!!!!!!

2009-11-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally have the electrical working thanks to Steve Parker at Westport Auto. It is also running very well. Steve actually got the horn working too. He said I just had a couple of wires crossed, man is that frustrating. I still need to get the lighter working. My wiring harness was made for a generator so I had to splice it to fit the alternator.

Here's the stainless steel bumpers I ordered from Harrington's from Vietnam.

They look great! I just had to notch the bumpers spacers and buy lots of assorted nuts and bolts to get them on the car. I used the bumper rubber kit to mount them. I decided to put the back up lights on the bumpers. I didn't use the tubular supports, just the brackets and mounted to the side of the car's fenders. They seem very sturdy. They cost a little less than $1100. Not cheap but still cheaper than rechroming and less hassle.

The car is at the painter's now. He is going over the whole car to get out all the scratches, swirls, drips, etc... It will probably be the end of November before I get the car back. I will update the pictures. I 'm trying to decide how to replace the interior. I have been looking at the Procar seats/interior kit from Scat. I will go with tan/ beige look.

Putting it all together!

2009-08-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

I started to put on all the exterior components, changing out all old rubber to new.

It's a little harder than you think. Started putting in lights, emblems, hardware, etc....

I bought new headlight housings from Happy's. We had to drill holes that had been filled for the front passenger turn signal.

I just got stainless steel reproduction front and back bumpers in the mail over the weekend. They were made in Vietnam by a British company that specializes in SS bumper for restorations.

Yes, that is an automatic stickshift emblem and not just for looks either. I have already heard that I should have converted it to manual transmission. I know it will be slow, problems, less fun, etc... But hey, its a VW and it will definitely be different.

My Nemesis- the dreaded electrical rat's nest.

This will take some work to get power. I may need professional help- Mechanical and Psychological. More to come on this topic.

Saving Face

2009-08-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to go with the prefabricated wood grain dash face from Karman Ghia Restoration and Parts. I thought about going with the painted dash face, but decided against it. I thought it would be too much black. I used the 3M spray on adhesive, so I had to mask off the rest of the car. I also used a heat gun to help adapt it around the corners.

Glove box wood grain facing.

Starting to to put in the dash components. I just need to get the electrical right.
I used the old dash pad, it looks pretty good.

I also put in a new windshield. I was going to replace the windshield trim as well for a more original look. After two failed attempts, I went with the Cal look rubber. I got the new windshield from Happy's in Southern Indiana.

Nice Ghia! New Friend!

2009-06-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

I went over to Happy's picnic in Corydon, IN a few weeks ago.

I saw this sharp 69' Ghia vert owned by Herschel. It was neat to talk with someone that had just completed a restoration to pick their brain. Herschel completed this in less than a year and is real knowledgeable about VW's. It turns out he lives across the street from my brother-in-law in Spencer County. Nice Ride, Nice Guy.

Engine In! Check!

2009-06-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

We started to put the engine back together a couple of weeks ago. Kerry, my dad Paul and myself. We put it back together and realized we need to get a few things before we could get it in the car. I sprayed the tin, heater channels, manifold, etc... black. We changed out all the needed gaskets, gas lines, fuel filters, new plug wires, accelerator cable and vacuum lines. We also put in a new exhaust system from Mid American Motorworks(Eurosport). We had to bend it a little to get it to line up with the heater channels.

We needed the new engine seals before we could get the engine in.

Putting the pieces back together.

Just about ready to put in the car.

New engine seals. Kind of a tight fit.

Kerry working away, looking good. I choose to put in 2 fuel filters, just in case the gas tank has some leftover dirt in it.

It's in. Now I need to start getting the new wiring harness, gas tank and auto transmission parts in the car.

IT'S BACK!!!!!!

2009-05-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

I picked up the car from the painter, Larry Renfrow last month. It looks great. There are a few places that need to be touched up the painter showed me. He wants me to bring it back after I put it back together for touch up. He always wants the paint to cure for a few months and then check it out. Plus, he says I may nick it up putting all the pieces back on(can't believe he thinks I would do that, wink, wink). I will be reassembling the engine with Kerry and then replace the wiring harness. I bought the wiring harness from Mid American Motorworks. I have noticed since bringing the car home some the trim holes got covered up as well the front right turn signal. I guess we will have some drilling to do. I will be replacing all the rubber as well. I am thinking of making the interior tan.

Primed and Paint!

2009-04-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well the car is starting to take shape. He has it primed and painting it black. The pictures show him starting to wet sand the car. I think I should be able to to pick it up this week! For some reason I'm thinking putting all the parts back on will take longer than taking them off.

Unfortunately he was in the middle of wet sanding when I got there.

Here's the engine broken down. I've been cleaning up the tin, heater boxes, manifold, valve covers and other pieces. Won't be a looker in the engine compartment, just a stock look. I'll put on a new exhaust system and change out all the gaskets.

New Metal, Bare Metal, and More

2009-04-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

I ordered new sheet metal from Mid American Motorworks: Inner and outer driver rockers, rear apron, both floor pans, driver rear quarter panel. My paint and body guy Larry Renfrow fabricated some sections as well. Larry stripped down the car to bare metal to find any Bondo, rust or damage. As usual he found quite a few interesting repairs that had been done over the years. Here's some pictures along the way. He used my old rims to mount the car to a rotisserie so he could work on the car more easily. Almost ready for primer.

Drivers side rocker replacement.

The battery tray repaired.

The front fenders both had bondo repairs.

New drivers front quarter section.

The new floor pans.

Larry fabricated the new rear tray. Of course the convertible top leaked at some point. There's still a few pin holes he will fill in.

Getting up to speed

2009-03-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last fall I removed pretty much everything I could and still get to the body shop.

Here's the pictures of the tear down to get ready for the bodyshop.

Engine before removal. It has Automatic stickshift.

Rust in the floor, rear seat area, and dreaded battery acid in engine compartment.( not pictured drivers rocker eaten alive)

In the Beginning

2009-03-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

In the beginning there was a guy and a dream to restore a VW Karmann Ghia....

Having failed to restore a rust bucket KG as a 15 year old, I guess I never lost the bug.

Now some 20 years later, more wisdom, know-how and money.(especially the money, if you've seen the rust on older VWs) One day, while surfing EBay, I realized you can get any car from anywhere, at anytime. So my first purchase ever off EBay was a 1969 VW Karmann Ghia convertible from California. In 2005, I had it shipped to Louisville, KY. I tinkered around with it for 3 1/2 years. Now 3 kids later, I decided to take the plunge and restore it to a lean, mean, driving machine . Last fall, I stripped everything except the transmission and suspension. Now, it is at the body shop to remove all the cancer(rust) and get it looking beautiful again. I will try to post pictures and updates along the way.

Ghiaguy