From the House of Ghia quarterly newsletter Ghia Gab, enjoy this collection of
Questions & Answers

Table of Contents

Q #1 - Help me identify my Ghia?
Q #2 - Window seal problems.
Q #3 - Type 1's, Type 2's, & Type 3's - What's the difference?
Q #4 - Why are my brakes so loud?
Q #5 - My window felts are so tight...
Q #6 - Is there any way to warm up my butt in these cold winters?
Q #7 - I bought a Ghia with a tonneau cover, now what?
Q #8 - Questions about window regulators?
Q #9 - I am looking for a good looking car cover for my Ghia...
Q #10 - Ooops! I locked my key in my glove box.
Q #11 - Can I use a pan from a different year Ghia?
Q #12 - Where can I get an interior light for my Ghia?
Q #13 - Worth of one of the last ghias built...
Q #14 - My windows are getting foggy...
Q #15 - Late model quarter window question.
Q #16 - Where can I find a fender-mount mirror?
Q #17 - I wanna save some money, can I install a convertible top myself?
Q #18 - Rewiring woes.
Q #19 - Problems installing door seals.
Q #20 - What are my chances of being able to convert my Anna to a 'vert?
Q #21 - Calendar year vs. Model year.
Q #22 - How do I know when I need new hinges?
Q #23 - Trouble installing the horn.
Q #24 - Can I use an old Bug headlight bucket instead of a new Ghia one?
Q #25 - I thought this was supposed to be chrome?
Q #26 - '68 'vert restoration question.
Q #27 - What are my outside mirrors supposed to look like?
Q #28 - Where can I find the paint number for my Ghia?
Q #29 - Value of my '57 in good shape?
Q #30 - How do I raise the rear of my Ghia?
Q #31 - My hood wont fit perfectly.
Q #32 - 'Vert parts questions.
Q #33 - Problems getting a speedo out of a dash.
Q #34 - Ooops! How do I put my headliner back up?
Q #35 - Early model headlight adjustment assembly problems.
Q #36 - Gas flap release mechanism needed.
Q #37 - My "Karmann Ghia" script wont fit my new rear deck?
Q #38 - Problems installing new arm rests.
Q #39 - Where can I find wiper parts?
Q #40 - My fingers sure get cold in the winter...
Q #41 - Questions about the interior trim.
Q #42 - I want a rear deck lid luggage rack for my Ghia.
Q #43 - How do I lift the body off the pan?
Q #44 - I'm looking for a 12 volt wiper motor for my '65 Ghia.
Q #45 - What kind of wheels will fit on my Ghia?
Q #46 - Needed: quarter window seals for a '72 coupe.
Q #47 - I hate my late-model bumpers...
Q #48 - Where do bushings go? and what are they?
Q #49 - Why don't you guys include your prices with your catalog?
Q #50 - My rear hood is really hard to get open...
Q #51 - Model year vs. production year.
Q #52 - I can't get the body off of the pan.
Q #53 - What is this button for on my turn signal?
Q #54 - I thought all rear deck locks were the same.
Q #55 - Is my car suffering from terminal rust?
Q #56 - How do I put suicide doors on my Ghia?
Q #57 - My rear torsion bar is sagging...
Q #58 - Converting my Ghia to Right Hand Drive.
Q #59 - How do I tell the difference between the windshield seal and the rear window seal?
Q #60 - I am having trouble with the rear seal in my convertible.
Q #61 - My rear window latch no longer works.
Q #62 - Questions about tail lites.
Q #63 - Headlite ring problems.
Q #64 - "Your headlight seals don't fit... Why do you sell this sh...?
Q #65 - I am having trouble installing the chrome molding in my new windshield seal.
Q #66 - Question stiffeners and rockers.
Q #67 - I am having trouble installing my new 'vert top...
Q #68 - What is the German word for "quartz?"
Q #69 - What year engine can I put in my '71?
Q #70 - I do not know what question goes here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Q #71 - (Ed note... the best question here!) What are your personal opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of each year?
Q #72 - What exactly is "Cal-Look"?
Q #73 - What is all this I hear about cabriolets?
Q #74 - How is it you can charge less for your 'vert stiffeners while claiming that they are of a higher quality than those sold by your competition?
Q #75 - Where could I find a battery helmet?
Q #76 - What can you tell me about wiper arms and blades?
Q #77 - My sun visors are always sagging?
Q #78 - Aren't the owner's manuals considered a bible for Ghia's of the same year?
Q #79 - How many badges should my Ghia have?
Q #80 - I am looking for a padded dash for my Ghia?
Q #81 - My Ghia is starting to feel like a gas chamber, but I don't think it's carbon monoxide.
Q #82 - Options for my Ghia.
Q #83 - Why is it so expensive to fit Ghia's bumpers?
Q #84 - My gas gauge is no longer working...
Q #85 - My Ghia has a strange gear-shift lock...
Q #86 - Rear window installation questions.
Q #87 - Help! There's water in my license light lens.
Q #88 - Why are those holes on the side of my Ghia there?
Q #89 - Why can't I use that Bug pan to replace my rusted one?
Q #90 - My horn ring looks different.
Q #91 - A Type 3 Ghia?
Q #92 - Bumper length problems.

Take me back to
the main page...

Q #1 (Identifying): I found a 1964 Karmann Ghia Convertible in great shape. I just love the car, but because I know little about automobiles, I took it to a friend who is an old car expert. He owns several museum quality Mustangs. (Mr. Mustang) says, since the car's ID number is 5,xxx,xxx and the engine number is 8,xxx,xxx (we didn't print actual numbers - editor); the engine can not be the original one coming with the car. Because of that, he says, "The car isn't worth spit". The owner is asking _____. Is that too much for a Karmann Ghia without the original engine?
Joyce R. El Paso TX

A #1 - First off, I don't want to get into a spitting contest with your expert. He's right in saying many collectable cars aren't worth as much without the original engine. But, he's wrong in the conclusion he's drawn.

What value can be attached to the phrase, "isn't worth as much", or the more pithy, "isn't worth spit"? Sometimes it's tens of thousands of dollars, or as much as 70% of the value of the vehicle riding on an original engine. Such whopping value differences are probably accounted for by special or racing engines. Mopar hemi head 426 cu. in. engines, or single cam Ford big blocks can fetch as much as the combined value of several houses. However, your expert understandably drew the wrong conclusion from the Ghia's chassis/engine numbers.

I can state categorically, without doubt, and emphatically that MAYBE the Ghia in question has the original engine. Still, NO ONE will be able to say for sure from chassis number info, unless they look up data in dusty ledger books resting in some vault at Wolfsburg. Where did the error in logic occur?

VW numbered its chassis and engines consecutively. So, the first VW produced had chassis #1 and engine #1. But, because the life span of the engine was less than of the chassis, VW produced more engines than vehicles. Every time a stationary power plant was sold, a vee-dub powered airplane flew, or a dealer replaced a tired Beetle motor; the chassis number/engine number difference got further out of synch. By model year 1964, the difference amounted to millions of units. Starting with the '65 models, chassis and engine numbers were divorced from a continuously, consecutive numbering system. But, while it became easier to "read" chassis numbers; engine numbers became even more isolated from a specific, easily readable "birthday".

The Beetle/Ghia air-cooled engine was amazingly easy to remove from the car. It was also cheap to purchase a new engine. In addition, the engines produced over a five decade span were so similar to each other, they could be swapped from vehicle to vehicle with almost no "pain". And finally, as mentioned earlier, the engine wore out long before the rest of the car was ready for the scrap heap. All these factors combined to make air-cooled VWs the hands down, engine transplant champion of the entire automotive era! Your expert saw a chassis number of 5 million something and assumed that an engine with an I.D. number of 8 million something was produced years later. "No way", goes his assumed logic, "could the car, and the engine, have been born on the same day." As we have seen, his assumption was wrong.

Looking for Mr Right or Mizz Perfect? Having high expectations is important. But, if your standards are too inflexible, you'll never make a match. Rejecting a potential spouse because of flaws like eating crackers in bed, or failing to floss after every meal might demonstrate high standards on your part. But, such a rigid code is as unrealistic as expecting a surviving Beetle or Ghia to have its original engine, or it "isn't worth spit". So, even if Mr Mustang's assumption had been correct, his "not worth spit" conclusion was too rigid for the VW world.

Summary! Karmann Ghias, going for the title of museum stock, ARE more valuable if they still use the assembly line engine. Still, determining an original engine from a replacement engine is often so difficult, VW restorers seem to have an unstated agreement among themselves. If the engine is of the same type as originally on the car (i.e., 36 hp engines in 36 hp cars, 40 horse in 40 horse, etc.); the engine IS original.

Q #2 - (Door window seal): I have a '70 Ghia convertible. A few months ago, the door window sealed just fine. But, recently, the top frame seems to have moved up on the left side or, perhaps, the door window seal has shrunk with age. Now, when I roll the door window up, all the way to the top of its travel, the glass is about 1/2 inch shy of reaching the shrunken seal. If I replace my door window seals on the top mechanism, will I cure my problem, or is my top frame bent?
George R. Peach Tree, GA

A #2 - Your car has a common problem, a problem that effects both coupes and convertibles. The top frame and seals are NOT bent! Your door glass is just not rising to the occasion. (That happens to a lot of us as we grow older. We just don't rise to the occasion any more.) In the case of your door glass, the teeth on the window regulator are worn down. (See the illustrations) What's happening is that over the hundreds and thousands of times your door glass is cranked up and down, the teeth on the window regulator gear wear slightly but EVENLY. However, as the glass gets within that last smidgen of the top of its travel, the human tendency is to crank extra hard. You want to seat the glass into the seal, don't you! Besides, if you tighten the crank just an extra bit, you'll hopefully eliminate that noisy air leak. Presto! The few gear teeth responsible for the last inch or so of gaptravel, get an extra heavy work-out. The teeth are ground down. (See simplified diagram.) The only solution is to replace the entire regulator. New regulators are an endangered species and may be extinct. Used ones aren't likely to be much better than your damaged one. House of Ghia has begun to re-manufacture, on an exchange basis, window regulators for '64 and up Ghias. Re-manufactured regulators are totally dismantled by a machine shop; worn parts are replaced and a new hardened gear installed. (Soon, we hope to be able to re-manufacture earlier regulators.) Redone regulators rise to amazing heights.

Q #3 - Help me!... All the VW magazines and even the adds talk about Type 1, Type 2; there's even a type 3. What's all this talk about Type 1's mean?
W.R., Phoenix, AZ

A #3 - Good question! First, there was the Beetle. The ubiquitous Volkswagen. And there was no need for the term, Type 1. Any VW part was a Beetle part. Then VW developed what we call the Bus, in all its many variations. Now, the factory began calling the Bus chassis and vehicle a Type 2, or second variety of vehicle. Presto, the VW Beetle became the Type 1. The relationship became entrenched when the parts code and chassis numbers for the two decidedly different vehicles adopted the 1 and 2 number system. A Type 1 part number looks like, for example, 111 274 735. Of course, 211 000 000 is a Bus item. Why? Well, the first number is a 2. Note the Beetle part starts with a 1.
The third major vehicle VW developed was a sedan that we call the Square-back, Notch-back, Fast-back. (The official designation for the car has been forgotten by most people.) That's a real mouthful to say! So, even VW came to call the vehicle a Type 3.
In the late 60's, a fourth distinct vehicle was developed. Right from the beginning, VW called it a Type 4, even the official name, 411, 412, paid direct homage to it's Type 4 background.
Any vehicle that used the basic Type 1 chassis, shared such a strong family relationship with all other Type 1's (especially mechanically) that they too fell under the umbrella - Type 1. Such a varied vehicles as the Karmann Ghia and the "Thing" are also Type 1 vehicles. On the Type 2 chassis, crew-cabs, micro-busses, and pick-ups sprouted. Beside the various kinds of "back" vehicles, the Type 3 chassis sported a Ghia designed, Karmann built vehicle, a Type 3 Ghia.
This simple and simplistic system was aborted with the birth of the water-cooled generation of VWs.
The biggest flaw in the use of the Type 1, etc, naming system is that many parts suppliers have adopted it to swiftly allow the customer to identify parts applications. Many of the parts they so self-assuredly identify as "Fits all Type 1's", don't. A Ghia owner that falls into the trap of assuming because it's a Type 1 part, it fits, "my Ghia", will quickly improve the Brazilian balance of payments problem.

Q #4 - (Brake pads): My '74 Ghia's brakes squeak horribly. The previous owner took the car back twice to _____ (a muffler shop nobody beats) and had them replace things. I've got copies of the bills. Since I've owned the car, I've had it into my "German" mechanic for the same squeak. The car stops great, it's just terribly loud. Everyone tells me all Ghia brakes squawk. Is that true? Is there anything I can do to stop the noise?
Phone conversation Mrs Engles. Some balmy spot in Florida

A #4 - Diagnosing squawks and squeaks long distance is a tricky business. Ghia disc brakes are no more prone to noise than any other brake, so if your mechanic eliminated the usual reasons for noisy brakes, I suspect you've fallen prey to clean lungs. You see, the early '70's was BASSS (Before Asbestos Scared Society Spitless). Brake pads, then, were made "softer" and more efficient by using asbestos. Since then, brake manufacturers have dropped using asbestos. But, that tends to make the pads much harder. Harder pads, you guessed it, squeak more! Brake manufacturers swear the new materials aren't noisy, but that's not what my ear tells me.

To compound the problem, easily a half dozen, or more, manufacturers make disc brake pads, each relies on a different composition of materials for the pads. Plus, each manufacturer also produced an asbestos style lining for cars of your era. These may still be available on some dusty parts shelf.

In addition, brake parts for VW's are made south of the border and east of the dateline. Some of these nations have a higher legal tolerance for asbestos than is found in the U.S. Often, these parts get imported to the States by mistake or mere greed. As you can see, numerous potential choices! What's a consumer to do?

Your best bet is to go straight to VW for your pads. They are likely to have formulated the best non-asbestos brake pad for your car. (What does a muffler firm know about the science of disc brake pad formulation for a Ghia? Besides, if you're guaranteeing brake jobs for life, which would you use: a soft, quiet material with a 30,000 mile lifetime; or a hard, squeaky compound lasting milleniums?) You could have your personal mechanic install them.

Of course, if that doesn't work, trial and error might eventually find a squeak-free disc brake pad, but you could be in a neck and neck race with bankruptcy.

Q #5 - (Felts/felt clips): . . . and I installed new felts (in my '71). Now, I can barely roll-up the window, because the glass doesn't easily pass thru the felts. I'm afraid I'll break something.
Joe R Livermore CA
...You sold me two pair of felts (also a '71 - Editor) You promised they were the right thing, but now my body shop has installed them, and there's no way the glass will go up and down. The felts are too big. Why'd you sell me the wrong felts? You promised and I . . .
Phone conversation from Illmanners, AZ (or some such place)

(Editor's note: This problem can occur on ANY Karmann Ghia. It's just that '71 models with TWO felt per slot are particularly prone to the "tight felt" problem.)

A #5 - Rest assured, the felt that House of Ghia sells fit. In fact, it's the same stuff you'd currently get from VW, because we get it from the same manufacturer. The "tight felt" syndrome is almost universally caused by a warping or bending of the inner door slot metal. To see what's happening, look closely at the accompanying diagrams. Diagram #A simplifies a cross-section of the top of the door. A cross-sectional view would happen if you sat in the driver's cockpit, and, with a hack-saw, cut down across the middle of the door. Take your time and locate: (1) window scraper seal; (2) chrome window scraper molding on top of the door metal; (3) window scraper molding clips; (4) felts; (5) edge of the cut thru door metal; and (6) door glass. Now, glance at the even more simplified Diagram B. Only the door metal and door glass are shown.

The toothed clips holding the felt to the inner door slot opening are removed by prying. If the clips "hang-up", or resist coming free from the hole in the inner slot metal, the metal itself can be distorted. (Prying out the guide plugs can also warp the slot metal.) On Diagram B, the dotted line represents the original location of the inner slot metal. Notice how the metal is bent toward the center of the slot.

Sure, Diagram B is an exaggeration. However, suppose you were successful in mounting the felts to the drawing. Oops, no space left for the door glass.

First, we'll tell you how to minimize the possibility of warped metal and then show you how to repair the problem.

Everyone uses a screwdriver to pry the felt out. Who cares what the old felt looks like, you're replacing it anyway. Oops! The ball-like tail of the felt clip refuses to come out of its door slot hole. Keep prying, twisting. If leverage doesn't work, use a bigger hammer. Wrong! It's just such prying that distorts the door slot metal. Locate the exact position of the clip with the screwdriver. Get the tool's tip between the clip and the door metal; and then ROTATE the screwdriver. The clip should easily pop free. The same care should be exercised when removing the guide plugs (anti-rattle plugs). 1971 models have two felts per door slot, and so, regularly fall prey to the tight slot syndrome. But, earlier Ghias, with one felt per slot can misbehave. In addition, the guide plugs can also press too strongly against the glass.

The solution? Take a wooden wedge, like a smooth sided shingle, and place it between the glass and the offending guide plug or section of felt. By forcing the wedge down in the door slot and applying a little sideways leverage, even a jutting guide plug / felt can be tamed.

Q #6 -(Heater ducts/etc): I have 2 Karmanns; a 72 rag-top and a 70 coupe. The rag-top is strictly a summer car. I would hate to get rid of my coupe, but I need year round transportation. My problem is that I can't keep the windows from icing up in the winter. I tried a unit called "backseat heat", but it's useless, and it drags down the battery. I love driving my Karmanns. Is there any other option beside putting it in the classified in some Florida newspaper? I've been told there is some type of gas heater but haven't been able to locate one.
Mark W. Cincinnati, OH

A #6 - In a just universe, purgatory is going to be full of VW executives driving a Bug or Ghia with rotted heat exchangers and rusted out heat ducts. Only then will they know the nippy weather misery they inflicted on millions of us unsuspecting buyers.

Before you advertise the car in the Orlando Sentinel, I'd closely inspect the heat exchangers on the engine. If they are rotten, or the duct work to the defroster vents is blocked or swiss-cheesed, that could partly explain your problem. However, no air-cooled VW will ever quickly defrost your windows.

VW offered, as an accessory a gasoline heater, the German Eberspacher heater. Dealers in North America offered a Stewart Warner, "South Wind" gas heater. As accessories, they were expensive, often costing one-fourth, or more, of a Bug's base price. Effective? You bet! You could bake cookies in your Ghia within minutes of starting one up. But, their expense limited acceptance.

Looking for one used? 1) Make sure the voltage of the unit is the same as the voltage of your car (i.e., 6V or 12V). 2) Make sure the unit comes from a Ghia AND you have every last piece; tube, fuel line, connector, etc, needed. You'll not find any missing piece just by calling wrecking yards. 3) Don't try to mix Eberspacher and South Wind parts -- they won't even come close. 4) Know where the particular heater you're buying mounts in the car, and be prepared to cut holes in your precious Ghia's firewall and other sheet metal. 5) Be sure the unit works before you buy it, commonly needed tune-up parts like ignitors and switches are becoming uncommonly rare. 6) Be sure you can psychologically handle gas heater ownership. Having a barely controlled, and not at all contained, gasoline fire inches away from their face, freaks some folks. Others fear that if the heater only slightly malfunctions, they will be overcome by fumes. (A fear about as likely as being hit by an asteroid -- of course, doses of logic don't make the fear any less real.) 7) For a working installed heater, be prepared to pay today about what the heaters cost yesterday.

Q #7: I found a junk '70's Ghia convertible with what looks like the remains of the mounting parts for a tonneau cover. Should I consider these parts as rare? What can you tell me about stock tonneau covers?
Randy W. New Palestine, IN

A #7 - Yes, a tonneau ("Tonn-toe", with apologies to the French) cover was offered for Karmann Ghia convertibles. The cover first shows up for dealer installation during the 1960 model year. It could be ordered from VW dealer's using the part number 141-017-851 (plus, the V number for the color of the top material). The same craftsmen at Karmann, who originally constructed the top, sewed these up. But, the original tonneau was not the sleek, taunt, practical, unflappable, devices many of us remember from British sports cars of the era. First, no zipper went down the middle of the canvas to allow the car to be driven with the passenger seat still under cover. In fact, the tonneau was so loosely structured and attached, there is no doubt it was used, in its full glory, only when the car was parked. Secondly, the tonneau required the top boot to be installed first, making the tonneau an add-on to the boot. Naturally, this became a clunky, ill-fitting combination. It's as if you want to turn a short sleeve into long sleeved shirt by attaching an arm's length of material to the short sleeve's hem, using a series of snaps. Not elegant!

Let me quote from the installation directions:

"Mark 12 holes on the (front or forward) edge of the top boot
for fitting the lower parts of the snap fasteners."

Finally, snaps must be installed on the top of the dash pad. Why, most Ghia buffs would rather paint a mustache on that other masterpiece, the Mona Lisa.

The tonneau was not a popular accessory, and didn't seem to survive much beyond its 1960 model year introduction. Certainly few, if any, cars from '63-up had a dealer installed tonneau cover.

Down thru the years, aftermarket suppliers, including one current firm, offered a tonneau. I'm not sure how closely aftermarket tonneaus followed the "factory" concept, but, I hope they used better designs.

Today, a pristine, new old stock tonneau would have lots of "gee whiz", and "oh my gosh" impact among spectators at a VW concours. But, the reaction from the owners would be more earthy and pungent, as they try to deal with all those snaps and all that canvas.

Q #8 - (Regulator): I'm restoring a '69 Ghia. I intend to be buried in the car when my time has come (just kidding). So, since I'm going to keep it forever, it should be brought into primo shape. Three years ago, I bought a brand new window regulator from you. Recently, in working on the door, I took this new, recently installed, regulator out. The large diameter split rivet holding the immensely powerful regulator spring is broken. Strangely, the regulator seems to still work. I'll admit I was about to say some unkind things about your firm. But, I started digging thru my collection of used parts. The first five window regulators I found all had this notched rivet broken. Is this a common problem? Dare I use my regulator? (Remember, the goal is to have my Ghia last forever.)
Robert A. Stamford, CN

A #8 - Your question is mighty interesting. Usually, I wouldn't answer questions in Ghia Gab where fewer than 10% of the readers would understand the question, let alone be able to follow the answer. But, over the years, several people have asked about the same thing. First, let's clarify exactly what we're talking about for the benefit of readers with inquiring minds.

On the window regulator is a large (coffee cup diameter) spring, shaped like a clock or window shade spring. Imagine a steel strap 24 inches in length, the width of a fingernail file and double its thickness. Now, loosely coil this strap around itself. You'd have created a powerful clockwork spring. How should this spring be attached so it can do work?

The center of the spring fits in a notched metal dowel or rivet. The notched rivet is soft cast metal and about the diameter of a finger. One end is swaged to the rest of the flat metal of the regulator.

Some things just can't be explained. How can my petite wife shout so loudly? How can this stout rivet become so badly deformed? Mysteries! But, deform the rivet does. House of Ghia may have dismantled 200 Ghia doors over the years. All, but a handful of window regulators, had broken or warped rivets.

Amazingly, the destruction of this rivet doesn't appear to quickly stop the regulator from functioning. Somehow, the powerful spring is caught by other tabs and ledges on the regulator frame. As long as the spring isn't allowed to completely unwind, it still works, AND the power of the spring holds everything in place. Years can go by and no one notices anything wrong. But, the tabs and ledges holding the runaway spring aren't shrewdly designed into the regulator. They are there by accident. So, eventually the spring unseats itself, the window no longer rises, and, occasionally, the spring makes a missile of itself.

I'm no engineer, and the mechanical types among our readers may disagree; but, I think the failure of this rivet leads to increased gear-tooth wear. A fully wound spring helps "lift" the glass. A partly unwound spring means the spring doesn't help as much to push the glass up. So, getting the glass to rise takes more muscle, and cranking effort; which causes more gear-tooth wear. (Incidentally, in addition to replacing the entire gear, this rivet is replaced in our remanufactured regulators. The rivet is machined from high grade steel, rather than using a cast, pot-metal piece like the original.)

Still, inspite of the doomsday scenerio I've depicted, your best bet is to keep the new regulator with the broken rivet. Collector cars are much more pampered than the usual street iron. So, even if you drove your Ghia as many miles per year as you do your generic, everyday grocery getter; you're likely to put half as much wear on parts such as regulators. If it took twenty to twenty-five years for the regulator to die in ordinary service, think how long a pampered version would last. We're talking mid-21st century. The regulator will still be working long after both of us are buried. So, instead of again buying a new / remanufactured regulator, why not save that money and spend it on something useful. . . like flowers for my grave?

Q #9: Are there good-looking, good fitting car covers for a Ghia?
Robert S. Honolulu, HI

A #9: Good-looking? Well, if a Playboy (or Playgirl) centerfold looks good draped in all the canvas from a circus tent, then, there are lots of "universal" car covers that fit. If you're looking for a tailor-made cover fitting a Ghia's special sensuous lines we know of none! In selecting a cover, ask the supplier how the antenna is handled, and what provisions, if any, have been made for the mirror(s). Then, be honest with yourself! Do you expect too much from a car cover?

If you're looking for a dust cover / scratch protector for a car in dry storage, you're likely to be 100 percent satisfied with most any car cover. If you want a portable garage for a car stored outside in a monsoon climate, your satisfaction level with any fabric cover will approach zilch. Most of us have a long list of expectations concerning a car cover. The longer the list, the less any car cover will meet our wants.

Q #10 - My glove box key was locked in the glove box of my '69 convert. Now, I can't get in the glove box or hood. How can I get in the glove box without hurting the car?
Maria A. Laurel, MD

A #10 - to get into the luggage compartment if, say, the front hood cable snaps. But, at that point, Maria A. has only one of her two problems solved. So, let's start at the beginning.

Raise the front of the car at least two feet off the ground. Now, find a stout 3 foot long, small diameter stick, pipe, screwdriver, etc.. By unseating the horn boot, you'll have an access hole in the bottom of the nose. Simply take the rod and probe the bottom of the deck lid lock until you can trip the lock. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Nope!

It can be frustrating and vocabulary building in the extreme. But, it's better than prying against the precious sheet metal of the car. One tip to help you. Locate the front hood cable and note the direction it comes from as it goes into the lock. Mentally picture what happens when the cable is pulled to activate the lock. Well, that's the direction you want your probe rod to move against the cable/lock connection piece. (In other words, you'll want to push the cable/lock connection in the direction the cable is coming from.)

Once the front hood is up, the back of the glove box liner is visable. It is held in place by a metal strap. The metal strap is pulled tightly around the glove box by a metric bolt. Find an 8mm socket for a 1/4 inch drive ratchet and a 12 inch long extention (or 2 six inch ones). Keep backing off that long screw, it will seem to take forever. Once the screw is removed the glove box is loose and can be moved enough to get the junk out of there. You will NOT have to remove or even loosen the front hood cable housing that comes out of the side of the glove box.

An additional way to get at the front hood lever again requires you to go under the car. Did you leave your spare tire in place? This suggestion won't work as easily if you did. Remember the half moon shaped, palm sized access plates that lay on the panel under the gas tank? These plates allow access to the steering box. Since Ghias could also be right hand drive, there was a matching panel on the right or passenger side. From underneath, find the ends of the sheetmetal screws holding the right hand access plate in place. Now, using pliers, turn the screws backwards until they fall into the spare tire well! Use this access hole to manipulate the front hood lock with that long, stout rod.

Thanks to Ron McC, Portland OR, and others who independently rediscovered this information and passed it on for other Ghia folk.

Q #11: I have a '70 Ghia with a bad pan. A local Ghia buff has a good '64 pan. Can I put the '64 under my '70?
anonymous

A #11 - Yes! But do not! Basically the '64 Ghia pan will bolt to the '70 body, BUT you'll be stuck with the '64 king pin front axle and drum brakes. At the rear, your IRS transaxle won't fit (without much modification), so you'll have to get a swing axle transaxle. In addition, your seats won't fit the '64 pan's seat track runners.

(For the 100th time! A Beetle pan/frame will NOT fit a Ghia. Nope! Nyet! No way, Jose!)

Based on the year of the Ghia pan, here's the interchangeability problems you'll encounter:

56-65 pan:	Fits 56-65 bodies. No sweat! Complete interchange of front and rear axles and seats. Not recommended for later bodies.
66-68 pan:	Fits 56-68 bodies. No sweat! Front axle assembly must be "ball joint". Rear axle must be swing axle. (67-68 rear axle assemblies are widest units available, so tires / wheels often rub.) Any low back seat works. Not recommended for later bodies.
69-74 pan:	Fits 69-74. No sweat! Only tiny modification needed to fit earlier bodies. Must use 69-74 Ghia "high backed" seats. If you have the mechanicals from a late Ghia or Bug, this is the pan to put under any year Ghia.

Q #12: Where can I get an interior lite unit for my 1967 Ghia?
Glen B Moore OK (And dozens and dozens of '65-'67 Ghia owners.)

A #12 - Rotten news! Sixty-five thru sixty-seven Ghia interior lite units are a constant problem. 1) New ones haven't been available for years, so the chance of finding a N.O.S. lens on some dealer's shelf is slim and none. 2) The lens is used on only three years of Ghias, coupe and convertible (and Beetle convertibles of the same vintage only). 3) The plastic lens is fragile. It breaks easily when removed to get at the bulb. 4) The switch is poorly designed and often fails.

So, the number of intact, working lenses is far smaller than the number of cars to which they could be fitted. More than 1/2 of the Ghias of this era, I estimate, do not have any lens to fill the hole in the mirror housing. Even worse, 1/2 of the cars visibly having something filling the hole, have a non-working interior lite unit. The lense is just stuck in place -- it does not function! No matter how hard they wish to Santa, some '65 thru '67 Ghia owners are going to be disappointed. You can probably finish the equation. A low supply and a high demand . . .

Q #13 - My 1974 Ghia has a chassis number of 144 2726 XXX. The sticker on the door frame indicates a birthday in May of 1974. The previous owner says it was one of the last Ghias. The engine serial # is AH xxx xxx. What can you tell me about the car?
Frank K - (For privacy reasons we never publish complete chassis numbers)

A #13 - Unfortunately, I don't know the last chassis number produced. But, I'd have to agree, that number and the door post date indicate a very late car. To read the chassis number we find it is: 14 (a Karmann Ghia); 4 (a '74 model); 2 (a place marker in case production went over 1 million cars in a model year); 726 xxx (the number of Type 1 chassis produced to that point in the '74 model year. The sequential portion of the number includes, standard Bugs; Super Beetles; Things; and, of course, Karmann Ghias). I believe an AH engine block is original for the car, but have no way of putting the engine number and the chassis number together in the same car. Incidentally, AH engines were special California-only smog engines.

As to value? The old truism mouthed by a generation of Old Car Gurus states "The first and last cars of any collectable car model, have the most value." I would agree! However, you may have to wait another decade, or so, before any real premium would be paid by Ghia buffs for this car. For now, the increase in value over a similiar condition, say, '68-'73 Ghia would be only dozens of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars.

Q #14: Along the edges of the windshield glass in my '66 Ghia, I'm getting a white, milky surface scum. I've used windshield cleaner (solvents) and even lightly cleaned it with steel wool. No luck. Can you tell me what will remove that coating?
M.S. , Lompoc CA

A #14 - Look again. Closely. I'll bet the discoloration isn't on the surface; it's in the CENTER of the glass. I know, I know! It doesn't seem possible, but let's look at how the glass is made.

For decades, automotive glass was no more than high grade window, or plate, glass. Great visual characteristics, but when shattered, produced terrifically sharp shards. Henry Ford was prototyping the first Model A's, when a friend was needlessly slaughtered in a minor accident by a plate glass windshield. Ford, often arbitrary, capricious, and dictatorial, and always mindful of a penny; instantly switched the Model A to the then new, more expensive, safety glass. A decision that cost him millions in extra costs. Within a decade, competition had forced all of Detroit to shift to this lifesaving feature. After the fact, many state legislatures wrote laws requiring just what Detroit was already doing. Europe, however, continued to cling to some variation of one piece plate glass. As the demand for Bugs and Ghias increased in the '50's, VW had to develop a distinct export model for the U.S. One obvious difference . . . lens, all red for the U.S. market, amber and red for most of the rest of the world. One subtle difference . . . the use of safety glass on U.S. models to conform to state laws.

The type of safety glass pioneered on the Model A was relatively simple. Sandwich a paper thin, crystal clear, sticky piece of plastic between two slim pieces of glass. Even if one's head smashed the windshield, breaking the glass; the dagger-shaped shards would stay stuck to the plastic inner liner. Life threatening cuts would be held to a minimum. American-market Ghia windshields used increasingly sophisticated variations of this basic technology.

Problems! Over time, age, moisture, oxygen and sunlight began to attack the plastic sandwiched between the glass. Of course, since only the edge of the plastic was exposed, it often took years or decades, for the plastic to degrade enough to effect vision.

On Ghias, the milky, cloudy effect indicating destruction of the plastic liner is most noticeable on the lower corners. The reason your door, quarter, and rear windows don't cloud up is because they aren't this type of safety glass. What can you do to get rid of the problem? Nothing can be done short of replacing the windshield with recently manufactured glass.

One final tip: I once found a nice used piece of glass. Why not use it to replace a badly scratched windshield in my own car, I thought. The edges were coated with sticky, icky, sealant/weatherstrip stuff. No problem. I used a rag dipped in cleaning solvent to remove the sealant and installed the sparkling clean glass. Within a week, the edges were badly fogged. Within a month, 25% of the area of the glass looked as if you'd spilled a thin coating of milk on a hot griddle. So, chemicals can also destroy the plastic. Beware!

Q #15: I am currently deployed in the Persian Gulf. While I'm here, I'm trying to order parts for my currently undriveable 1974 Ghia. I don't know my chassis number, I think it rusted away, but if memory serves me correctly, I read that my car was made in March of 1974. My B-pillar is a welded-in post, covered with a chrome trim piece, not the "normal" screwed-in chrome B-pillar. I need a pop-out driver's side quarter window that fits. Regular Ghia quarter windows are about 1/2 inch too long. Nobody I've talked to has been able to tell me anything about my mutant VW. Any information you could give me.
Tim B. Somewhere in the Persian Gulf

A #15 - Your Ghia's not a mutant! No alien, or "Freddie Kruger" clone, has been working your Ghia over! The quarter window post on '72-'74 Ghia coupes is welded in place and, then, is covered with a "chrome" decorative cover (actually it's made of aluminum). '60-'71 coupes have a removeable, truly chrome post. The only quarter window glass that fits is found on '72 thru '74 coupes. Unlike earlier coupes which used 3 plastic "hinge blocks" to hold the glass to the post, your era Ghia uses 2 specially shaped, metal "hinge clips". Treat the clips gently. They are rarer than the quarter window.

If you must, earlier quarter window glass can be made to "fill the hole"; make no mistake, this is a desperation move at best. It requires gluing the edge of the window to your old seal with silicone (bathtub type) glue. Of course, your window will never "pop-out" again. Still, a good-looking weather tight seal can be formed with patience.

The terrible news is that the correct, original German, late Q-window seals ARE not available. As you've found, earlier, '60-'71, seals just don't work. BUT, late coupe door seals CAN be made to work (i.e., the left door seal becomes the RH Q-window seal, with slight modifications. And, visa-versa). But, I've got even better news! A new reproduction seal is available -- and, it's less than 1/2 the price of OEM door seals. (The door seals are also repro'ed.) The seals look fine and work very well. These seals are a winner for all '72 thru '74 Ghia coupe owners.

Q #16: I badly want an original fender mount mirror for my '61 Convertible I pour over everyone's catalog and a few list the mirrors NEW for a very attractive price. They even use the original part numbers. Then, I notice your catalog doesn't list the mirrors. Since you seem to carry just about every Ghia part that has any quality what-so-ever; I'm immediately suspicious. What can you tell me about early Ghia fender mount mirrors?
Ted R. Vero Beach, FL
Jerry H. Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia

A #16 - Wow! That's immensely flattering. You question the quality of a part in a competitors' catalog because House of Ghia doesn't carry that part. We're honored!

About the mirrors. Currently, two repro's are available for Ghias (1956-65). One is actually a reproduction of a Porsche Speedster mirror. (So-called, AERO Mirror.) It is not authentic for Ghias. It looks somewhat like the assemblyline Ghia mirror, but if a mirror can have gender, the assemblyline Ghia mirror is feminine -- a ballerina; the Porsche mirror is definitely masculine -- a Sumo wrestler. (See the illustrations of the mirror necks or shafts.) Overall length of the mirrors is about the same, and the "foot" makes about the same size footprint (Ouch! Bad pun). But, the mounting studs are much wider spaced on the Porsche mirror so you'll have to re-drill the holes in your fender/cowl. The shape of the mirror heads is also different. The Porsche mirror head is flowingly oval in shape and is much thicker. A one-quarter inch wide white plastic beading holds the glass mirror to the chrome housing.

The stock Ghia mirror, I call it the "swan-necked" mirror, uses a head that is slightly smaller over-all, thinner, and has more of a pear-shape, rather than a horse-collar-shape. The crumped edge of the housing holds the mirror lens in place. Repro "swan-necked" mirrors are of fine quality, and are virtually assemblyline in looks. The difference between the swan-necked original and the repro is so small, so minor, no one in the real world should care except show car judges, looking for a tenth of a point deduction. I'm going to reveal the flaw, but I feel rotten. It's as if I pointed out a gorgeous woman, praised her beauty; and then, told the whole world where to look to spot a scar-line from her face lift. I'm a cad!

Turn to the back side of an original mirror. Assemblyline Ghia mirrors have the swan-necked arm attached to the CENTER of the back of the mirror head. Repros have the arm definitely OFF-SET to one side (like the extremely similar Beetle convertible mirror head).

The bottom line? 1) Either style of currently available mirror gives a distinct era, or period, appearance. 2) The common, quality, repro Porsche "Aero" mirror is the mirror you will be sold if you let low price and minimal, but snappy, descriptions cloud your thinking. 3) Just as the cow and buffalo share family similarities, but distinct visual differences, so do the repro's of the "swan-necked" repro and the quality Porsche "make-do". 4) We carry both mirrors, but strongly urge use of the quality, repro Ghia mirror.

Q #17: I want to personally install the top on my '71 Ghia convertible. Any tips?
Ron S Pittsburg OH

What problems, if any, will I encounter installing the outer top cover on my Ghia? It looks like a piece of cake!
Del Sarasota FL

...and do you suggest I install the top? For what I'd save by installing the top myself, I could buy the very best canvas top.
Phone conversation

A #17 - Everyone likes to save money, and quality top work is very expensive. But, there are some things even talented, highly coordinated people shouldn't do without training and professional help. In that category I'd put: 1) Operating a forklift for the first time to help a local farmer move 2000 pallets of fresh eggs. 2) Do-it-yourself gall bladder surgery. 3) Defusing an atomic bomb; especially, if you can't correctly spell nuclear power (or is it Nukular. Perhaps it's new clear. No, I'll bet it's Nueclear). 4) Installing your own cabriolet top.

Suppose all the components were neatly laid out on your work bench! How long would it take a skilled mechanic to assemble a VW air-cooled engine? Previewing the T.V. movie of the week could take longer. Suppose we're talking factory assemblyline! Now, how long? Talking micro-minutes certainly! A contest to rebuild a VW engine would be measured with a stop watch; not a sun dial or an hour glass.

Yet, VW bragged in print advertisements, it took two skilled craftsmen four hours to install your "top", originally. Eight hours? In a mass produced world? Incredible! But, that's part of the charm of a custom, semi-hand-built car.

Those Karmann cabriolet craftsmen did it daily! They knew every trick and short-cut imaginable. And, it still took eight hours to install the top! Why, Detroit sent Mustang and Camaro converts down the same assemblyline as their more homely "brothers". The assemblyline didn't even hic-up! Detroit top installation had to be idiot-proof, because that's the way management viewed their front-line workers idiots. Therefore, a competent, thoughtful do-it-yourselfer should be able to install a top on production American cars. But, a VW sports not merely a convertible top, it wears a cabriolet top. Convertible and cabriolet, as terms share the same relationship to the word, top, as does apple crate and Louis the 16th roll top hutch to the term, desk. No comparision!

Now, unfortunately, a certain percentage of readers, will look on this dire warning as some type of challenge. These folk are determined to prove me wrong! They can install ANYTHING.

Perhaps so! But, if things don't go right, WHY! For goodness sake, WHY do all do-it-yourselfers automatically assume the top was manufactured wrong! Your typewriter prints "nred", when you were trying to spell "nerd". Do you blame the typewriter? Members of the firing squad all miss ventilating the Generalisimo. Does the Rebel leadership accuse the bullet manufacturers of being enemies of the people? Cutting an eight foot 2X4 in half? One piece ends up 42 inches long and one 54 inches! Do you blame the lumber mill? The forest service? The saw manufacturer, or the folks who make your retractable tape?

The learning curve is steep! Think of it like renting a tool or machine. Few would want to own a complex piece of machinery, even if it does make your do-it-yourself task easy. That's why equipment rental places are sprouting up all over. Think of hiring a competent top shop as renting experience. You could acquire the knowledge and info necessary to install a VW top; but why do so when you can "rent" knowledge and experience more cheaply in the form of an experienced craftsman.

Q #18: I'm rewiring my right hand drive KG. I did not see a 1960 wire loom listed in your parts catalog. Is there another year that would do? Or is there a problem particular to that model? Please suggest any solutions you may have.
Riki , New Zealand

A #18: All terminal or wire ends from '56 thru '60 Karmann Ghias used, what I call, bared wire / set screw ends (later cars used "snap-on" terminals or wire ends). However, in 1960, several major instrument / lite changes were made. For one, a 3 bulb taillite instead of the '56-'59 Ghias two bulb taillite was introduced. That adds additional wires to the harness. The other problem is that your car is RHD (Right Hand Drive). Since all '56-'65 Ghias have the wire harness going thru a tube inserted in the RH rocker (regardless of whether they are RH or LH drive cars), the length of the wires, especially going to the instruments, is of a different length, depending on if the car is RHD or LHD.

Since there are no Right Hand Drive harnesses currently being repro'ed, my suggestions are:

1) To try to save your harness, even if you must splice in wires to a chopped, or cut up, harness. (The wires seldom fail or lose their insulation, and a good brushing of the exposed ends with a wire brush often removes any corrosion at the bared end -- making them "as good as new".)

2) Use a '61-'65 harness. You'll find the instrument wires are much too long for a RHD car. But, since you will need to cut off the snap-on connectors and bare the last 1/4 inch (5mm); that shouldn't be a problem. Left hand drive harnesses are made to go thru the right hand rocker tube. But, after 30 years, rust may have closed down the diameter of the wire harness metal tube making it difficult (if not impossible) to pull the new harness thru the tube. Unfortunately, pulling a new harness thru a rusted wire harness tube can be vocabulary building at the very least. More likely, it will resemble trying to get the present you into a pair of your 7th grade gym shorts. A cheeky thing to attempt, but ultimately futile.

3) Use a '66 harness. Instead of laying it along the LH rocker (as all Ghias did), lay it along the RH rocker. This solution would require drilling holes / using grommets and mounting the 8 fuse, fuse box of '61-'67 Ghias / Beetles. It would also require cutting off the snap-on terminals as with the previous suggestion. This would be the best way to go ONLY if you can't pull an earlier harness thru the "tube". (It would also require looking at a '66 or later parts car, so you could see how the factory routed the later harness.)

Q #19 - (Install door seals): I bought your door seal kit, KD-SDHP, months ago. Now that I want to install the seals, they look like a handful of black snakes. What goes where?
Pete M Boxton MA

A #19 - Out of the mess of snakes, find the two seals that are slightly over 5 feet long. They are the main door seals. Look at the blunt end. It will look like the cross-sectional diagram of a door seal. (See illustration)

<----Main Door Seal

Hinge Pillar Seal ------>>>>>^

At the other end, a uniformly shaped door seal tapers down to a "scrawny neck" and, the neck has a natural curve. To find the left hand seal (and the seals are side specific); make sure the tongue or sweep of the seal is pointed at you. If the curve of the scrawny neck seems to fit our diagram of the top back of the left hand door, you've got the correct seal. Of course, the opposite seal fits the RH door. Now, look at the top back edge of your door. See that hole about 1/2 the size of a pencil?.

Door Glass------>

Window Scraper Seal ------->
Scraper Chrome------>
Hole for Sponge Ball on Door Seal------->

Door Shell------->

Left Hand, Upper
Rear of Door

Squeeze the sponge ball of the long light grey seal into the hole. Presto, the end of the seal is captured and can't be "wiped" or rubbed off the car. The natural curve of the seal will instantly put the seal into the "corner" of the door where the outer skin meets the rest of the door shell. That junction is approximately a 90 degree angle. Think of the seal as a piece of wooden "quarter round" molding you're laying along the door/wall joint in your house. That's exactly the way this seal will fit up into the door's corner.

Cross-Section of Main Door Seal

...Sweep

The main door seal will run the full length of the bottom of the door, BUT will end at the front door seam. Two large "V"-shaped notches are designed into the seal. Inspite of what logic and common sense suggests, the notches are intended to line-up with the drain slots at the bottom of the door. With a "chunk" gone from the rubber, there's little danger the seal could do its sealing job so well, the drain slot could get plugged. I know! I know! There are THREE drain slots and only two notches. We'll just have to trust those German engineers.

Current Seal

with hard to wipe
off sponge ball

Early Style Seal

with feathered tip is
easy to "wipe off"

Cross-Sectional View of Curving Neck of Door Seal

The other seal does not fit on the door. It fits on the pillar or post (hinge pillar) in front of the door. It is stationary and does not move when the door moves. Look closely at the seal. Imagine the rubber is super soft and warm. Visualize someone running their finger down the center of the seal. When the rubber cools down, there'd be a groove in the center of the seal. Have the grooved part face you. The "L" shape should be at the bottom of the seal. If the stubby bottom piece points to your left, it is the left hand hinge pillar seal (driver's side). Lay the seal on the portion of the door pillar closest to the inside of the car. The seal should cover up a few of the large heads for the hinge screws
I'd use 3M Trim Cement - black or yellow - or any other rubber cement style of automotive glue to hold the seal to the door metal.Q #19: I bought your door seal kit, KD-SDHP, months ago. Now that I want to install the seals, they look like a handful of black snakes. What goes where?
Pete M ,Boxton MA

A #19 - Out of the mess of snakes, find the two seals that are slightly over 5 feet long. They are the main door seals. Look at the blunt end. It will look like the cross-sectional diagram of a door seal illustrated below. At the other end, a uniformly shaped door seal tapers down to a "scrawny neck" and, the neck has a natural curve. To find the left hand seal (and the seals are side specific); make sure the tongue or sweep of the seal is pointed at you. If the curve of the scrawny neck seems to fit our diagram of the top back of the left hand door, you've got the correct seal. Of course, the opposite seal fits the RH door. Now, look at the top back edge of your door. See that hole about 1/2 the size of a pencil?. Squeeze the sponge ball of the long light grey seal into the hole. Presto, the end of the seal is captured and can't be "wiped" or rubbed off the car. The natural curve of the seal will instantly put the seal into the "corner" of the door where the outer skin meets the rest of the door shell. That junction is approximately a 90 degree angle. Think of the seal as a piece of wooden "quarter round" molding you're laying along the door/wall joint in your house. That's exactly the way this seal will fit up into the door's corner.

The main door seal will run the full length of the bottom of the door, BUT will end at the front door seam. Two large "V"-shaped notches are designed into the seal. Inspite of what logic and common sense suggests, the notches are intended to line-up with the drain slots at the bottom of the door. With a "chunk" gone from the rubber, there's little danger the seal could do its sealing job so well, the drain slot could get plugged. I know! I know! There are THREE drain slots and only two notches. We'll just have to trust those German engineers.

The other seal does not fit on the door. It fits on the pillar or post (hinge pillar) in front of the door. It is stationary and does not move when the door moves. Look closely at the seal. Imagine the rubber is super soft and warm. Visualize someone running their finger down the center of the seal. When the rubber cools down, there'd be a groove in the center of the seal. Have the grooved part face you. The "L" shape should be at the bottom of the seal. If the stubby bottom piece points to your left, it is the left hand hinge pillar seal (driver's side). Lay the seal on the portion of the door pillar closest to the inside of the car. The seal should cover up a few of the large heads for the hinge screws.

I'd use 3M Trim Cement - black or yellow - or any other rubber cement style of automotive glue to hold the seal to the door metal.

Q #20: I have a '69 Ghia coupe that I want to put a rag top in. Can it be done, and if so, where in California would be the best place to try?
JW, Las Vegas, NV

A #20: Making a convertible out of a coupe is such a common fantasy it must rank with the "I am Rambo", and the "I own a Harem of 100 sex-starved... " well, you get the idea. All that's needed to make your fantasy come true (and it was also my fantasy until my recent senility) is money. About 200 green pieces of paper with Franklin's picture on it are needed to convert a coupe into a Karmann style cabriolet. The finished car will be worth, maybe, one hundred Franklin's. (Good old Ben's picture is on the $100 bill.)

A coupe, whose metal top is removeable, can conceivably be made for 80 to 100 green Franklins. A simple roadster (cut the coupe top off and throw it away) can be constructed with elegance for, perhaps, 50 Ben Franklins.

Let's investigate making a Karmann style cabriolet! First, because there is no coupe metal top to add strength, the factory had to stiffen the body by running extra metal support thru the rockers and up the windshield frame. So would you.

Then, the sheet metal from the back of the doors to the firewall is vastly different on a convertible. So different are the bracketry, braces, panels and mounting points that the only reasonable alternative is to use the inner rear seat area from a dead convert and graft it to your coupe.

If you're not yet ready to give up the idea, price just the used metal top frame for a Ghia convert. Now, price it with a working glass rear window!

Making your coupe into a roadster, or a removable hardtop, is definitely more achievable. But, both options still require a great deal of thought. Detroit cars, with massive girder-like frames, gain rigidity thru the frame itself. The body is essentially a bolt-on after thought. On a Ghia, basically, the body IS the frame. Lopping off a coupe top creates instant strength problems. These MUST be dealt with or severe problems occur: 1) like doors that won't open / close, or 2) your car breaks into two major chunks.

Remember Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby story! That's how you'll feel financially, if you try to make a coupe into a convert! You think you'll throw just one fist full of dollars at the problem. Br'er Rabbit thought he'd throw just one punch at the Tar Baby. Soon, both you and Br'er Rabbit will be stuck fast, with no way to get out! Make no mistake! Buy a quality convertible outright! It'll cost far less than changing the gender of a coupe.

Q #21: I've got a neat Ghia. It's was born November 7, 1969. I know because VW sent me a letter telling me the car's birthday. But I'm confused! The car has a wrap-around parklite lens and according to your information, 1969 cars should have a "bullet-shaped" parklite lens. Your information must be incorrect, because I'm sure the parklite assemblies have never been changed. What 's happening?
Joe K. Plano, TX

A #21 - Your confusion is understandable. The problem is you are thinking of calendar years and the auto industry talks MODEL years. Since the Depressionof the '30's, Detroit has always started selling "next" year's cars in August or September of "this" year. VW adopted the Detroit practice in the mid-1950's. Wolfsburg chose August 1st to start selling NEXT year's models. So, any Ghia built between August 1 of 1969, and July 31, 1970 would be considered a 1970 model Ghia. All years listed in our catalog / price lists are MODEL years.

Joe, you're not alone in not understanding the deliberate confusion of Detroit's illogical model year vs calendar year problem. Nearly every House of Ghia customer has stumbled over this problem at some point. Even authors of books on Ghias make this mistake. Just because a factory archive proto-type photo says, taken August of 1959, that doesn't mean the picture was of a '59 model Ghia. The picture is of a 1960 model Ghia. So, my advice, think model year.

Q #22: I'm restoring a '68 Ghia. . . did the right thing and labeled each hinge as I took them off. But, I made a mistake. I labeled each hinge, up/down, left/right; but I forgot to label how worn they were. Now, I'm looking through labeled hinges from more than four Ghias and there's no way of telling how good they are. Can you help me?
Rodney A. Miami, FL

A #22 - Everyone wants butter smooth hinges. But, finding sound hinges is tricky when they're off the car. Opening and closing used hinges is very likely to give you a false reading. It's only human nature to think the smoothest, easiest opening hinge is best. Wrong! Tilt! System Error!

House of Ghia sells rebuilt, repro'ed and OEM Ghia hinges. Customers are constantly wondering why it's so hard to pry "good" hinge halves apart by hand. Indeed, some people don't have the hand strength to open new hinges. Their conclusion? The hinge is "bad". Actually, the hinge is in great shape and, if one bolted a meter long (39.37 inches) strap to the hinge, it would open butter smooth. The door itself acts like a long lever, insuring smooth operation. To mentally test this paradox, ask yourself, "Are good hinges, by definition, loose? Or, are bad hinges, tight?" Of course, everyone wants tight hinges. And, the test for tightness is how much resistance off the car hinges have to being pryed open. If a child could open it, a hinge is definitely approaching senility.

Q #23: I've restored several Bugs. All the Bugs had a single horn. Each horn had two wires going to a single pair of rubber boots. The boots, looking like a black bullet, mounted over a nipple on the back of the horn. My very original Ghia has two horns and four wire terminal nipples; but, I couldn't locate any evidence of horn boots. Shouldn't the car have them, and, where can I get them?
Carl W, Visalia CA

A #23 - Beetle (and Type 3) horns were mounted so they were very exposed to the weather and elements. Moisture and, therefore, corrosion was a distinct possibility for the exposed horn wire ends. VW devised a very effective, thumb-sized little rubber boot to keep things pure and clean. The noise making surface of the dual Ghia horn is just as exposed as the Beetle horn. But, the remainder of Ghia horns are wrapped and shaped by a complex rubber horn boot. This boot looks like . . . well, a small baby's stout rubber diaper. When properly protected by the Ghia's horn boot, the horn's wire ends are dry and snug in the nose of the car. No moisture/corrosion should get in, so there was no need for horn wire boots on a Ghia. However, the horns do have a nipple for the boot, and some Ghia buffs add the wire boot as a neat finishing touch. The boots almost seem to shout, "I care".

Q #24 - (Hdlite buckets): New Ghia headlite buckets are expensive, so I cut a bucket out of a trashed Beetle fender. My friend, who has done body work before, and I are trying to install this Beetle headlite bucket in the tip of a '68 Ghia fender. The bucket doesn't seem to want to fit. Is there something we don't know about it that would help us install the Beetle bucket?
P.S.: The Ghia headlite adjusting stuff fits the Beetle bucket perfectly. The adjusting assembly even has a Ghia part number according to my bodyman. (David is talking about the "bucket" with tabs for holding the headlite adjusting assembly.)
David F. New Castle, PA

A #24 - Some things are perfectly obvious. A square peg won't go into a round hole. Other of life's mysteries are subtle in the extreme. It took me years to figure out why a much cheaper and vastly more available Beetle headlite bucket ('68 and up) won't fit a Ghia fender.

Look at the diagram of a Ghia "nose" on a Bug. The Ghia headlite is perfectly vertical, while the Bug headlite slopes with the fender. Most of us assume the completely vertical face of the edge of a Ghia bucket creates a true half circle shape. Which it does. And the entire bucket is a 3-dimensional version of a half moon. Which it is. Therefore, creating a Beetle bucket simply requires tipping a Ghia "half moon" bucket at a slight angle. Nope! The leading edge of a Beetle bucket can be thought of as an elipse. Still can't "see" why the two buckets are shaped differently? The following example is too gruesome for pre-puberty readers. Please exercise discretion in order to avoid nausea.
Imagine you are declared an enemy of the people by the leaders of the French Revolution. It's the guillotine for you. Let your imagination soar as the blade comes thundering straight down. Can't you almost "see" what the bloody stump of your neck looks like. Great! Your minds-eye is currently working overtime. Imagine the blade crashes downward at a 45 degree angle instead of straight down. The devastation is just as great, but the stub of a neck on your torso now looks like the slashed tip of a red magic marker, rather than the flat dullness of a well-used crayon.
The Ghia bucket is a simple geometric circle, the shape of the front edge is the equivalent of a carrot caught in a veg-o-matic or your neck severed by a vertical blade. David, the Beetle bucket is angled; and therefore, the leading edge creates an eliplical shape. An elipse is what gives the end of your neck that magic marker or lipstick tip shape. An ellipse won't neatly fit a circle - it becomes a square peg in a round hole type of puzzle.
For those readers who think, "What a cad!" because I use, and seemingly enjoy in presenting, the most gruesome example imaginable; please read the following. It is part of the Webster's Dictionary definition of the word, ellipse.

O.K., who taught you the meaning of the exotic word ellipse, fastest? Mister Webster? Or, Mister Guillotine?
The lesson is: "True understanding of complex concepts occurs only after a high degree of personal involvement."
Your second assumption also needs explaining. The Ghia part number on VW headlite adjusting assemblies merely means the assembly was first developed and put into service on Ghias (1964 1/2). Unfortunately, Asian and South American repro parts suppliers copied the Ghia part number; but stole the assembly's design from an adjusting assembly meant only for a Beetle. One crucial tab, needed for Ghia assemblies, but not needed for Bugs, was left off most current replacements. Try as hard as you will, only two of the three mounting tabs in the Ghias headlite bucket line-up with screw holes in most of the current repro adjusting assemblies. EVEN VW parts counters will sell you the wrong adjusting assembly and claim it fits a Ghia. So, be careful! Headlite assemblies whose part number seems to say, "I'm a Ghia goodie!" may not fit. House of Ghia manufactures a special tab that we install on the best of the repro headlite assemblies. That way, you can be sure the assemblies fit the bucket.

Q #54 - (Rear deck lock): I bought a used rear lock from (a competitor) for my '64 Ghia. It doesn't fit! It just won't bolt up, no matter what I do. Well, that (polite translation: "dweeb") at __________ keeps insisting I got a Ghia rear lock and it will fit. (Robert expresses a lot of anger in the remainder of his letter).
Robert A. Rome, GA

A #54 - All Ghia rear deck lid locks look nearly identical and certainly function in the same way; but there ARE differences.

Typical Rear Lock

Note: No mounting holes.

To rear

To front

It's hard for most of us to visualize which is front and back on a rear lock that's been removed from the car. So, with the lock in your hand, make sure the "thimble" or nipple, thru which the rear deck lid cable comes, is away from your body on the front, left of the lock. That's the way you'd see the lock if you looked into the engine compartment. Note the flaps, or tabs, or webbing with slotted mounting holes. Two tabs to the "front", left and right; and two tabs to the rear.

'56-'59 Rear Lock

Note: Mounting slots front and front
Dot represents mounting slot

On early Ghias, thru (I believe) 1959, these slots for the mounting bolts were at the forward edge of the front tabs. Oops! A problem. The right, forward bolt easily accepts a socket. But, the head for the left forward bolt is directly under the metal tube that acts as a rear deck lid cable housing. This rigid tube (1956-66) is welded in place. It can't be easily moved. All other rear lock mounting bolts can be accessed in milli-seconds by power tools. The left forward bolt is the odd ball. It can be installed, but only by a wrench. Not a good idea, even by Karmann's loose and easy definition of an assemblyline.

'60 - '67 Rear Lock

Note: Mounting slots front and rear

The factory's solution? Move the mounting slot to the rear of the forward tab. That way, the bolt head will at least be socket distance away from the interferring metal tube. But ever after, VW parts departments would need to carry two different locks. AND, since the mounting nut is caged on the back side of the rear lock apron, two distinct lock aprons. In 1968, a further change. The right forward mounting slot was moved rearward, so that both forward mounting bolts were again parallel. (From '60 thru '67, the front bolt holes were staggered.) Now, there are three separate rear locks, all differing only in the location of the attachment holes. However, with the scarcity of good used rear locks, you'd better think about re-drilling holes and making what you've got work, rather than hoping the "good parts fairy" will bless you with the museum correct item. "A bird in the hand."

'68-'74 Rear Lock

Note: Mounting slots rear and rear.

Folks, if you noticed, I just told Robert he'd won the argument, won the battle with the "dweeb"; but he'd lost the war. It's going to be that way on lots of increasingly rare Ghia parts. If every restorer insists on museum authentic parts at every possible spot on the car; most restorers will come up empty-handed. Compromise is the name of the game. And, your own wallet is your main adversary.

Q #26: I have a question. I will be completely restoring a '68 Ghia convertible, and would like to know if it is possible to use a new '69 1/2-up top outer cover and glass rear window on the '68 convertible frame and bows. Any information will be appreciated.
D. Lugg, Wind Gap, PA

A #26 - This is one of those, "at first blush" ideas that seem so possible, so simple! Well, it's nearly impossible! And, buying the parts separately would cost more than many folks pay for their entire Ghia. If you had a '58 thru '67 1/2 convert, you know, with a wooden rear of body tack strip, you couldn't even think this swap. Things are so different, it would be like swapping an air-cooled VW 1600 engine into a Pinto. Middle model Ghia convertibles, '67 1/2-'69 1/2, share the later converts rear of body cable. But, that's about ALL. No provision for the glass rear window hinges, drain tubes, rear window opening "definition" cable. In addition, the rear window wooden tack strip (bow) needs to be changed.

If a later convertible "tub" was available, from which you could steal all the brackets, angles, caged nut assemblies, and trace down and drill the route for the rear window drain tubes, perhaps you could do the swap.

But, you'd need to find a glass rear window ($350 and up used; up to $1000 from VW), the rear catch (virtually impossible to find in good shape used; $100 plus new) and, the glass rear window hinges (lefts somewhat available used; rights have nearly gone the way of the Dodo bird). Plus, there would be a host of strange-shaped nuts and seals that you'd have to get. The only easy part would be putting on the glass rear window's outer vinyl / canvas top cover. It would fit perfectly. If I haven't yet discouraged you, I've failed as a writer.

A #27 - Well, fellas, all '68-'74 Ghia mirrors looked the same. Obviously, one of you is not using a museum stock mirror.

Since you both favor authenticity so strongly, I don't want anyone to slash his wrists, tear at flesh, or swallow barrel-sized quantities of pills, if I reveal the fake. Promise! O.K. John! Tag. You're it! The 11 o'clock position of your mirror is the major clue. Ghia door mirrors are designed to be horizontal. But, when a Bug mirror is adapted to a Ghia, the mirror wanders off at a wild angle.

About one out of every three customer's Ghias, driving into the House of Ghia parking lot, are using an adapted Beetle mirror. In the past, true Ghia replacement mirrors were hard to get and expensive. So, people went to lots of trouble to adapt the dirt common, inexpensive Bug mirror. Trouble is a mild word. Pain is more like it. You see, Bugs (Type 1's), Ghias, and Type 3's (square and notch-backs) all used a very similar mirror head. But, for maximum visability, each of these three cars needed the mirror head mounted to the door at a different angle.

Look at Diagram #1. Pictured is a very simple mirror head. The short horizontal line stands for the very large threaded stud allowing the mirror assembly to be bolted to the door. Imagine bolting the diagram mirror to your bedroom wall. The mirror would stick out from the wall at a 45 degree angle.

Now, inspect a Beetle door. It is almost as completely vertical as your bedroom wall. Visualize our diagram mirror bolted to the vertical line in Diagram #2. You've just created a Beetle door mirror. To make it even more useful to Beetle owners, if you stuck the mirror out from the door a few inches, looking back wouldn't be filled with a view of your own rear fenders.

Look closely at any Ghia. The door isn't merely a slab-sided creature like a bank vault door. A Ghia has curves, slopes, angles. Where the mirror attaches, the door slants at an angle somewhat like the line in Diagram #3. Have your minds-eye attach the mirror in Diagram #1 with the line in Diagram #3. Why, the mirror head shoots off toward John's 11 o-clock! Now, look at Diagram #4. Attach the less than vertical mirror, using your imagination, to Diagram #3. You've just visualized a Ghia mirror. Type 3 doors also had a different slant from their cousins, the Ghia and the Bug.

To insure the wrong mirror wouldn't end up on the wrong car, the factory changed the diameter of the huge threaded stud that attaches the mirror to the door. That's right! Three different thread sizes. So, adapting a Bug mirror to a Ghia takes effort. And, no matter how elegant the threaded adapter, one comes up with, the entire Bug mirror fastened to a Ghia door is going to look like a hippopotamus in a tutu. . .weird. For your final test over door mirrors, just to see if you've correctly mastered the concept, minds-eye attach the Ghia mirror head to a "straight-walled" Beetle door. Yep! The Ghia mirror wanders off at an angle, looking like 7 o'clock on our imaginary time piece.

The bottom line: The only mirror that looks right and fits right on a Ghia IS a Ghia mirror.

Q# 28: I have had a 74 model Ghia convertible since it was new, and virtually all of it is original and in good order. The paint still looks great from a distance, but up close it shows little nicks and a few nickel-sized dings in the body from wear over 15 years. In considering touch-up or repainting, I was surprised when told by a shop specializing in Volkswagen Paint & Body that a plate with the paint number on it was supposed to be in the spare tire compartment. The plate is missing. I still have all the original handbooks and paperwork and the only thing referring to paint was handwritten in by the dealer as "Ralleye Yellow". In checking with a Auto Paint Specialist, he referred to a "book" which showed as original paint a "Ralleye Gold" which he said he could tell by the mix would be a yellow.

Any advice on finding the paint number? Or on a complete repaint vs a touch-up? How important is keeping the original paint?
George B. Macinina, GA

A #28: Generations of Ghia owners have wished that VW had screwed a paint number plate onto their car. Most just don't have that info. Look under the aluminum I.D. plate riveted to the inner fender panel near the spare tire. Perhaps, stamped in the painted metal is a code that looks like this! L99A. That's a VW paint code. Always the code is prefixed by an L, with two or three numbers and a letter (generally) as a suffix. (Then, again, the numbers could be just the Karmann factory body identification numbers.)

Starting sometime during the mid-sixies, Karmann attached a stick-on label just below the I.D. plate. The label, about the size of large postage stamp, had the paint code. Unfortunately, the stick-um substance used lost its grip with age. Just maybe the label is at the bottom of your spare tire well.

Many automotive paint companies (i.e., DuPont, etc.) have sophisticated paint mixing systems. Give them the official paint code or even the paint name and they can mix that color. Almost all paint companies can mix to a sample, just be sure the sample part you mix from hasn't faded from sunlight or abuse.

On your papers from the dealer may be the sales department paint order code. After the paint name, there might be something like this: (26). That's the sales code for the paint color and a good VW parts man can look in the parts microfische and work off of either number (the paint or the sales code). Be careful using remembered paint names. VW, for competitive reasons, was often manipulating paint names and formulas. For example, Rally Yellow was indeed a '74 Bug paint name, but I can't find any confirmation it was ever used on Ghias -- however, 5 other yellow/beige paint names were used on that year Ghia. The salesman may well have remembered the name Rally yellow, but it probably wasn't ever used on a Ghia. (Another well-loved, well-remembered paint name is British Racing Green. VW never used a paint with that name. However, over half a dozen different dark green paint formulations could match the shade we all fondly refer to as British Racing Green.)

The restoration world is about evenly split between the repaint faction, and the leave it stock, but lightly flawed group. In your case, I see absolutely no need to rush into a repaint job! Those who recognize truly straight cars will be able to see beyond the bruises; and those who are impressed by new, outrageous paint jobs won't think a stock yellow paint is handsome in any case.

Q #29: I just bought a '57 Ghia with the original 36 HP engine (running); excellent original interior (needs headliner and driver seat redone) and near straight body with no rust in pan, battery tray, etc. I was wondering if you could tell me how many of these were made in '57 and how hard they are to find?
Greg L. Portland, OR

A #29 - Sounds like you've got a neat car! Look on the inside back cover of any House of Ghia catalog. There you will find production data. Depending on how you structure your question, the chart can answer many interesting questions. But, because of calendar year/model year differences between the two charts; the one question they can NOT answer is how many 1957 model year Ghias were produced. The chart listing total production by calendar year, says 15,369 Ghias were produced in 1957. Remember, after August 1st, any car produced was considered a 1958 model. (In fact, all of the 105 cabriolets produced in 1957 were considered '58 models.) Depending on your car's chassis number, it could have been produced in calendar year 1956 and still be considered a 1957 model Ghia. Confused? The bottom line is that no more than 15,000 1957 model year Ghias were produced.

Valuing your car is much tougher! Excellent examples of '57 coupes go for seven thousand dollars and up. Maybe way up. It's almost to the point where the seller can name his price IF, he/she finds a buyer who wants that particular model. Buyers willing to put up with a 36 horsepower engine, non-synchro first gear, a 6-volt electrical system and the hassle of owning a car with hard to find parts, and more than a few peculiarities, are hard to find. If your basically sound car is in need of a "total restoration", it's probably worth 1/3 or less of its museum quality value.

Q #30: The back end of my Ghia's body sags or droops. The back end is lower than the front.What would be the best way to return the rear of my car to its original height?
Warren L. Palo Alto, CA

A #30: Your rear torsion bars are "tired". By going thru those circular caps on the lower flank of your car, the inspection cover, a skilled mechanic can reposition your torsion bars. The process is not hard! It requires very little equipment - a good suspension protractor would be helpful (yes, it's just a sophisticated version of your elementary school protractor) but, the task can be maddening in the extreme. The torsion bar itself is about an inch in diameter at the ends. The end of your round rod torsion bar has as many as 40 splines. The bar, in effect, is pulled from its housing and reinserted just one spline off from the way you first saw it. That could be all that's needed to firm up your "arse end". But, achieving a one spline movement of the torsion bar is often a trial and error task. Trial and error means time consuming. So, even many qualified shops shy away from rear torsion bar adjustment. Or, they will quote the job very high to cover the worst case situation.

Another way to lift up the rear end on a swing axle car is to use coil over-shocks. Of course, these aren't nearly as common as they once were for VW's. Besides, the best and safest way to go is to recalibrate your torsion bars as described earlier. The official Service Manual, (Bentley blue version) contains a lengthy, "How-to-do-it" section on torsion bar/spring plate adjustment.

Q #31: My front hood doesn't want to fit right in the hood opening. At first, I thought the hood was warped, but I took it off my car and installed it on a buddy's parts car and it fits perfectly. Does that mean my front end is warped or the fenders droop? The car has had a nose job. (David means a transplanted front clip was welded on.)
Dave L. Everett, WA

A #31: Obviously, at first, you thought the hood was warped. However, not everyone would have a second car available to test shape and fit. By clever thinking, you narrowed the problem down quickly, but then, you assumed the worst. Before you slash your wrists, or push your Ghia off a cliff, let's test to see if your Ghia suffers from the most common of ill-fitting hood problems.

Ill-fitting front hoods can have numerous causes, but the prime suspect is the hood hinges. Almost always the root cause of badly fitting hoods is damaged hinges. Look closely at a hinge. It's nothing more than a thin strap of metal. If it becomes twisted or warped, it will still bolt up. But, the hood won't fit right, and no amount of tweeking or adjustment will make it so. The real problem is that unless a good hinge is in hand, as a comparison or check, many people can't tell if the hinge is bent. Remove the hinges from the car. From the side, a hinge looks like a broad stroked letter "J". Hold the hinge by the bottom and out at arm's length. Now, turn the hinge so you're looking at the narrow edge of the hinge. Does the hinge stand to attention? If the hinge is straight, all one should see is the narrow back edge of the hinge. It would look as if you drew a line in the air with a fat tipped pencil. If you see more than the narrow edge of the hinge, you're looking at a warped, bent piece of metal. Your chances of correctly straightening "el bendo" hinge are zilch. Find a good, used hinge.

Q #32 (Snap-catch hinge) - I need the chrome hook found on the inside of my top frame.
Tom R. Olympia, WA

...In the channel of the main top frame on my '67 convertible is a chrome plate that has a hinged snout,looking like a short trunk on an elephant. The whole thing isn't 3 inches long, but I think I'm missing something. Does something fit into that snout?
Ronald Y. Sunland, CA

...I was talking with another Ghia person the other day. She said to be sure and latch my top frame down,when it is folded back, or I'll ruin my new top boot. What's she talking about?
Lorrie, Manhatten, KS

What all three of these Ghia convertible owners are talking about is what VW calls the top frame snap catch found on '58-'71 convertible top frames.

A #32 - As incredible as it seems, my experience has been, most convertible owners don't even realize their top frame has such a thing as a "snap catch"; let alone know how it works, what its purpose is, and why it often fails. So, stick with me! The examples used may seem far-fetched, but the destination is understanding.

Imagine you're lying on your back doing the ole leg lift exercise. Legs lifted? Knees locked? Your legs represent a convertible top frame in the "up" position. Now, draw your knees toward your chest. Yep, a top frame in the "down", or folded position. Your knees and hips act just like the main hinges in a top frame.

Suppose you were in the knees-on-your-chest position, laying in the bed of a pick-up traveling rapidly down a cobblestone road. No matter how hard you try, your leg from the knee down is going to bob and flap with the jolts something fierce. Remember, the leg lift exercise requires your palms to be at your side; so, no fair controlling these spastic jerks with your hands.

Wouldn't it be great if mother nature had provided for just these moments by equipping each of us with a flexible hook on our hip, and a catch, or eyelet, on our ankle. In that way, the hook could engage the eyelet, and your lower leg wouldn't flail wildly.

The "snap catch" on each side of your top acts just like our imaginary hip/ankle latch and eyelet.

Why VW chromed the snap-catches, I'll never know. But, they did. It makes identification easy. The snap-catch is the only chrome gadget, the size of your thumb, along either side of the top frame rails. The snap-catch hook threads into a cone or snout-shaped piece. The snout is suspended between the metal tabs. A spring helps control the movement of the snout/hook. Incidentally, the chrome base plate with tabs is designed for one specific side of the frame. So, while they look identical, each snap-catch is left or right specific on closer inspection.

Far more than 50% of deserving top frames do NOT have the special snap-catch hooks (although the rest of the catch is still bolted to the frame). Why such a high loss rate? Remember, laying in the pick-up bed, knees drawn up to resemble a folded top frame. Constant road bumps cause your legs (remember, they represent the top frame) to bounce vigorously. The snap-catch stops the bouncing, flouncing around. But, the jolts are still there. What actually absorbs the jolts are the threads on the hook, and especially the cast threads in the center of the chrome snout into which the hook is threaded. Missing the hook? Just possibly you could get another. But, where are the threads in the chrome snout? Gone! Wiped out by a jillion jolts.

So, even if you could get a new hook, how would it attach? To test things, run a standard 8mm bolt up the snout. Enough threads left to hold the test bolt? Your catch will accept the hook. But, where is the lost snap-catch hook? Look on the pan just under the hinge covers. Not an easy spot to search.

My advice for non-working, non-existent snap catches? Do what a generation of Ghia buffs have done: use a rubber bungee cord to secure things, then cover the whole thing with the top boot. And, why not!

The snap-catch is like underwear, it's never seen. Go ahead. Secretly, wear your briefs printed with, "I Luv Broccoli" logos; no one will know. Similarly, use a rubber strap to hold your collapsed top rigid. No one will know you used an inelegant rubber band instead of a classy chrome catch to tame a flouncing, flailing top frame.

Q #33: . . . removing the speedometer from my '71 Ghia's dash, I loosened the mounting brackets and removed all the wires; but, I can only push it out toward the cockpit an inch or so. I've tried everything. The speedo is still just a tantalizing fraction of an inch from pulling straight out of its hole. It continues to hang up on the steering column. The hangup is such a tiny, tantalizing amount, I suspect I'm doing something wrong. I'm not going to have to remove the steering wheel and turn signal switch am I?
A. Knoll, Dothan, AL

A #33: First, stop flailing away at your ego and lacerating your self-respect. You've done nothing wrong, and it isn't a flaw in your Ghia that's causing such frustration. Those German engineers did this to us. On '67 thru '74 Ghias, the only way to get the speedo out of the dash is to drop the steering column.

Now, dropping the steering column doesn't mean removing the steering column. The fastest way to drop a safety mandated Ghia column is to use a metric-sized Allen wrench and remove the two Allen head screws holding the column to a special bracket. That special bracket is designed to shear away in an accident, so the driver isn't impaled on the end of the steering column. That way the sturdy collapsible metal mesh, that is your column's connection to the steering box, can do its job and collapse -- leaving you merely wounded instead of mortally wounded.

Having the column drop just a couple of inches is enough to allow the speedo's removal. Some people feel they must dismantle the end of the steering column to get at the speedo. The pain! The pain! Taking this route is so laborous. The Olympics for sadists and masochists is thinking of adding Ghia steering column dismantling as a demonstration sport.

Q #34: "I'm replacing my '66 coupe's headliner. So, I removed the old vinyl liner and the metal bows that hold it to the roof. Well, that's my problem! With the metal rods or bows removed, I can't tell which bow goes where. Can you tell me?
Telephone conversation with Al, somewhere in Florida

A #34: Boy, that's human nature for you. Seventy plus Ghias I've parted out and I never took the time to figure out which metal headliner bow went where. I especially checked out a coupe headliner to get this info. So, Al, this bows for you!

Line up the four bows by placing one end of each bow against a flat surface. If you can control the bend or curvature of the bows so they are all flexed about the same amount, one bows stands taller than all the rest. That's the rear most bow. The next longest bow is about a half inch longer than its remaining two cousins. This bow fits the second from the rear position. The final two bows, the shortest pieces, are nearly identical in length (if not absolutely identical in length). They go in the third and fourth bow positions from the rear.

Or, to put it another way, from the nose of the car, the narrowest bow is in front and the bows tend to lengthen slightly as they advance to the rear.

Q #35: I need instructions on how to install the 1964 and up headlight assembly in a 1963 Ghia. I would like to buy a 1963 assembly, but I have not been able to find one. I will certainly appreciate any help you can provide me.
Ayres, Athens, TX

A #35: Pre-'64 headlite parts are becoming as scarce as lips on chickens. To convert your '60 thru '63 Ghia to the later ('64 1/2-up) headlite assemblies is simple for most body shops. BUT it is not a bolt-in repair. First, locate a late Ghia headlite bucket - the thing that looks like 1/2 a melon rind - and spot weld it into the tip of the fender. Most likely, that will mean removing the old headlite bucket by drilling out, or cutting, the spot welds. Find a late headlite adjusting assembly. Now, it's merely a matter of adding a 12V (or 6V) bulb; bolting the headlite adjusting assembly to the tabs already correctly located in the "bucket"; adjusting the bulb, much easier to do with the late assembly; and screwing on the late headlite chrome ring. Note that since this operation requires welding and heat, it must be done BEFORE you repaint your car. Generally, House of Ghia has all of the necessary parts, new. Incidentally, the late buckets fit perfectly in the tip of the fender rust repair panel. AND, a new bucket restores the crucial lip for the headlite ring seal.

Q #36 - (Gas flap release): The gas flap release mechanism is totally missing in my car (a '72 coupe) and I would like to reinstall this feature. Please advise me about the parts I would have to order.
Knok H., Hong Kong

A #36 - Often I feel like a doctor making a trans-oceanic diagnosis of a sick patient. "The pain will go away, as soon as you stop sitting on a hot stove", or "I'm sorry to inform you, but your Ghia is dying of terminal rust and has only a year to live without breaking in half." That sort of thing! So, it pleases me very much, if, as a doctor/detective, I am able to help someone thousands of miles and nearly a dozen time zones away.

Typical '68-'74 Gas Flap System

To advise you on your gas flap mechanism, it will be helpful to know why parts of it were removed in the first place! One common reason for a fuel flap failure is because someone pried on, or forced, the gas flap and broke the very necessary cast-in catch (or tab) on the inside front edge of the flap. (See diagram.) If the catch is broken, the entire flap must be replaced.
Prying on the flap may also break the triangular tab, or flipper manipulated by the gas flap cable. If the flipper is broken, nothing can engage the lid catch. A broken flipper means the entire gas flap cable must be replaced. Used gas flaps are available.

Cross-section of Gas Flap

Shows the catch or tab
that is commonly broken----->

If the jerk who pried at your gas flap was particularly heavy handed, both the flap catch and the entire cable, with its broken "flipper", will need replacing. Used gas flap cables are very hard to find. So, order either, or both, of the two major gas flap components as needed.

Q #37: My '66 Ghia badly needed a new rear deck lid. At a local wrecking yard, I found one in great shape, except the holes for mounting the Karmann Ghia deck lid script were filled in. I popped-out the bondo, cleaned up and painted my new deck lid. When I tried to re-install the chrome script from my '66, it didn't fit! Now I have a newly painted deck lid and no home for the beautiful script. What goes on?
Dwight A., Richmond, BC

A #37: All Ghias carried the Karmann Ghia deck script, but there were two distinct variations. From the beginning, Type I Ghias sported a very large chrome script nearly 12 inches long. But, with the coming of the Type III Ghia in '61, a new, more petite, script was developed. Only a fraction over 9 inches long, it was a perfectly and proportionately shrunken version of the early chrome piece. The designers felt it fit the lines of the Type III Ghia better than the gargantuan Type I version. Slowly, it dawned on the factory! Hey, it didn't make sense to have two rear deck lid scripts in production. After all, one is only a miniature of the other. So, the large one was dropped; and the Type III Ghia version was used on all Ghia production thru 1974. The script's part number, 343-000-000, pays homage to its Type III ancestry. It is one of the few parts first developed for the Type III Ghia that saw service on the Type I's. (Although lots of Type I Ghia parts were pressed into service on Type 3 Ghias.)

The large script was dropped in favor of the smaller script on August 1, 1962, for all '63, and later, Type I Ghia models. Your wrecking yard treasure is undoubtedly an early ('62 and back) decklid. It would bolt up perfectly. The sad news is your late script can not be made to "bolt-up" to a early deck lid without re-drilling holes. One or the other's got to go! As of the fall of '92, an excellent-looking, beautifully chromed repro of an early deck script is available. If fits well, but has one minor vexing flaw. The tail of the "G" in the lovely flowing script doesn't quite follow the contour of the deck lid. It fits off the deck lid just a tad. Now, if you're the type who constantly fusses with picture frames, camp fires and pan fried bacon; don't do what temptation tells you to do. The script is cast pot metal. If you flex it in an attempt to bend it -- CRACK CITY! It'll break, everytime.

Human nature is strange! Say a person is confronted with a large red button labeled, "DOOMSDAY DEVICE: Pushing this button will cause the destruction of all mankind." What percent of all homo sapiens, so confronted, will push the button? Sure, fully 90%. I've just issued a type of doomsday command. Trust me! Fussing with the repro's chrome tail is guaranteed to bust things.

Q #38: On the door of my '61 Ghia, I want to put arm rests. I bought a pair of new Ghia arm rests from ....'s catalog. But, they do not have the metal strap that drops over the mounting bolts on the back of the arm rest and allows the door panel/arm rest combination to slip over the "U"-shaped brace on the window lift channel.(Editor: This plate spreads the shock of pulling at the heavy door with the arm rests. With it in place, the arm rests will not pull thru the cardboard of the door panel.) Do you have this bracket?
Doug, Somewhere in Pennsylvania - Telephone Conversation

A #38: Doug, would you get mad at me if I told you that wonderful, wealthy bride you just married doesn't have a cent? Besides, HE badly needs a shave. You wouldn't get upset? Good! Because your so-called early Ghia arm rest bases are a very good repro of a Beetle arm rest. They do NOT fit on a Ghia without surgery. How do I know? Because NO truly new, '56-'66 Ghia arm rests exist. (1/93)

True early Ghia arm rests are longer and more "flowing" than those found on Beetles. The quick test is to measure center to center on the embedded arm rest mounting stud. Early Beetle arm rests measure approximately 5 1/2 inches (140mm). True early Ghia arm rests measure 7 1/2 inches (180mm). (5 1/2 inches reaches from the tip of your fingers to mid-palm. Seven and 1/2 inches reaches to your watch band.) Remember, it's not just the location of the studs that differ, the entire Beetle arm rest is smaller. So, true Ghia metal arm rest straps or brackets won't work.

What to do? Well, you'll need to fabricate something similiar to the Ghia bracket, but, fitting the dimension of the Bug arm rest. Generally, you should have no problem installing Bug arm rests on new, repro Ghia door panels.

Got, however, a precious, beautiful set of original door panels? Since the holes are already drilled in the face of the panel for the Ghia arm rest, you cannot use Bug repro arm rests on assemblyline Ghia door panels.

Q #39: I'm looking for '63 wiper parts! ... Help! I need '56 wiper arms! ...Where can I find wiper stuff for my '64 Ghia... my '57 Ghia wipers just fell off as I . . .
(Lots of questions on '56-'66 wiper arms)

A #39: Locating wipers is a pain for any early Ghia owner. Let's define what should be on your early car. Coming out of the cowl of the car is the wiper shaft. The outwardly visible part looks like a small diameter pen. A set screw in the base of the wiper arm holds the arm to the shaft. After countless years and constant tightening, the set screw has probably almost cut the wiper shaft in half. If your wiper shaft is badly notched, don't even think what you're thinking. The cheap penny pinching side of your brain says, "Save a few bucks and tighten the wiper arm set screw down extra snug. After all the shafts have lasted this long."

Q #40: My Ghia is agony to drive in the winter.
Angie W, GA

The wind blows thru the instruments . . .
J.J., Spanaway, WA

. . .and my fingers become very cold. How can I stop the wind from whipping thru the dash?
Doug, Montana

A #40: Frozen fingers? A correctly sealed Karmann Ghia would give a Bug a good run for the title of a car that floats. Floating Ghias don't bleed air. That's right! Not a whisper of air, let alone a typhoon, should be blowing thru your luggage compartment. So, there is a cure for frosty fingers. But, first you must understand where all that wind comes from and why it's so c-o-o-o-o-l-d. The brutal cold is amplified by a wind chill factor. Forty degree air traveling at 60 mph thru a dash opening can turn fingers into ice cubes in a hurry because of wind chill. Where does the wind come from?

If there was a hole the size of a small football replacing your nose emblem, no one would doubt for an instant where hurricane force winds came from to lash the back of the instruments. Well, there is just such a hole. It's the horn opening and it's only a few feet away from the nose emblem. It plays the South Pole to your emblem's North Pole. Nearby are the bumper arm slots (on Ghias thru '71). Cleverly designed seals fill all three of these openings.

The only other major way air can find its way into the luggage compartment is around the front hood seal. Tired original hood seals are, of course, suspect. But, some repro seals, even when new, don't seal as they should.

Look at the cross-sectional diagrams of the two hood seals. Now, mentally hinge a straight-edge, or ruler (a piece of paper will do) at the base of the letter "A". Swing your straight-edge parallel with the rest of the seal. The "cresting wave" portion of the flexible seal must be compressed to fit under our imaginary hood. Try the same test on letter B. Why, the seal, by poor design, is already compressed! A straight-edge representing the front hood can run parallel to the hood seal WITHOUT touching it. (Another flaw, basically just looks, finds some repro hood seals too narrow to fill the entire seal channel. The original filled the channel almost to the point of "overflowing".) Obviously, a front hood seal with gaps designed in it can leak typhoon force winds. Be assured. House of Ghia's repro front hood seal fits and works to perfection.

Another area of concern is the metal dash face itself. All of the major instruments and the radio had seals between the instrument face and the dash metal/woodgrained mask. Strange, but folks will install a mega hundred dollar stereo in the dash, and not take the time to install a low buck seal. Silicone "bathtub" caulk works fine. Just remember to seal the face of the radio as it comes thru the face plate, and the rectangular face plate as it touches the metal dash. Both seals originally were heavy, thick sponge. Great for cutting down wind flow.

1956-71 speedo and clocks used a large diameter but very slender seal between the instruments and the back of the dash. No air flow here! (House of Ghia carries these inexpensive seals.) Also, a damaged glovebox liner can bleed significant amounts of air.

Finally, a major source of unwanted air on '67, and later, Ghias is the removal of the plastic, thermo-formed dash mask. Visualize a 1956 thru 1966 Ghia's beautiful painted dash. Two model years later, starting with '68 Ghias, Karmann swiss-cheesed that lovely dash. Suppose your first line of defense against hurricane winds; the hood, horn boot and bumper arm slot seals, failed! With a factory sieved dash, like found on '68-'74's, the only thing keeping gusts of wind from the cockpit would be the formed plastic dash mask. Rip out the plastic mask, then patch and bondo all those dash holes to achieve a smoothly painted dash? It's possible. But, just bolting up the knee and dash pads won't keep gale force winds from slithering thru. There is no quick and dirty repair of a badly cracked dash mask. The major side effect of every "let's get cheap" dash mask repair is that air bleeds thru multiple holes in the dash. No good-looking, airless repair beats, for time and treasure, a complete dash mask replacement.

The bottom line: Step one. Seal all openings in the nose that allow air into the luggage compartment: 1) Horn opening; 2) Bumper arm slots; 3) Front hood channel; 4) Plates for steering box adjustment; 5) Speedometer cable grommet. (Air vent openings are seldom a problem unless the duct work is rust rotten on the luggage compartment side of the duct work.) Step two. Seal all openings in the dash: 1) Around instruments and radio; 2) At air vent levers (left under side of dash thru '71, center of dash, '72-up); 3) Insure glovebox is tight against back of dash and is not broken or "holed"; 4) Check to see that some previous owner didn't dispose of the ashtray in such a way as to make the dash vulnerable to holes; 5) Don't just throw away the old, cracked, dash mask without expecting lots of air flow.

Q #41 - ('56-66 trim pieces): I have a '58 coupe. In the two year task of restoring my car, I lost both of the trim pieces that attach to the metal on the INSIDE of the rear quarter panels just under the quarter window glass and just above the cloth inner quarter panel. I sent away to ____ (a competitor) and they sent used molding trim that was too short. . . They insist their trim fits Ghia coupes, and I just as loudly say, no way! (The rest of Bill's long letter boils down to, "what goes on here?")

A #41 - A "chrome-like" molding is found on the inner side of the metal door just above the upholstered door panel on all '56 thru '66 Ghias. The molding is actually made of polished aluminum and runs virtually the entire length of the top of the door. The molding acts like a rub or bump strip, preventing scratching of the paint on top of the inner door. (Actually, the trim was intended to be just a "pretty face". Decorative moldings on the top of the inner door was a common styling concept in the early '50's, and was virtually a styling cliche by '58.) To promote visual balance, the molding theme was carried over to the quarter panel just behind the door.

For economy reasons, the molding was a duplicate of the shape used on the 12 piece exterior moldings, EXCEPT the interior trim was not only hatchet-shaped in cross-section, it was sharply pointed on both ends. (Only the exterior moldings facing a wheel opening have a sharply pointed end, and even then, just one end is pointed.) Surprisingly, the metal clips used to hold the exterior trim to the body are also used on these interior pieces.

(Life is never simple and you already know more about Karmann Ghia interior trim than you really want to know! But, there is a complication!) In mid-'64, when VW went to plastic clips to hold the new exterior trim on Ghias, a new cross-section of molding was introduced. It was softly rounded instead of hatchet shaped in cross-section; AND the lips that held the clips were shaped differently. The result? Earlier exterior trim designed for metal clips wouldn't interchange with the newer plastic clipped trim. But, the interior trim stayed the same. So, era Ghias would have plastic clipped, "softly rounded" exterior moldings, and metal clipped, hatchet-shaped interior molding.

Now, to the short and long of it. In the early '60's (about 1961, I think), VW reinforced the upper forward corner of the inner quarter panel. Then, they securely mounted a large diameter metal nut to act as a seat belt mounting point. Since it was nearly a half a decade later before VW routinely installed seat belts; the belt mounting point was covered up by an absolutely huge-headed, phillips slotted, plastic plug. The seat belt mounting point took up some space needed for the quarter panel molding. Solution? Shorten the quarter panel molding by about 2 inches. So, what you received, Bill, was interior trim from a '60's coupe set up by the factory to run seat belts.

Q #42 - (Deck Lid Luggage Rack): I want a rear deck lid chrome luggage rack for my Ghia. Do you have one?
Super common phone question

A: #42 - In my youth, raging hormones once caused an instant flash of genius. High octane testosterone led to an idea so probable, so seemingly achievable, it took years for its flaws to become apparent. I lusted for my first glimpse of a three-breasted Playboy centerfold. After all, more is better! It's part of the American way. Bummer of an idea!

I'm afraid a rear deck lid mounted luggage rack is another of those, "At first glimmer. . ." ideas. Mounted on a Mustang rear lid? Attractive and practical. Mounted on a Ghia rear lid! Almost instantly destructive.

Install a rack AND luggage on the engine lid cover of a Ghia! Not if Volkswagenwerks had to warranty the engine. Those louvers, covered up by the stuff strapped to the rack, are the ONLY source of air to the engine (in a correctly sealed Ghia). Air for combustion. And, more importantly, air for cooling. Think of luggage strapped to a Ghia's rear deck rack as putting a cork up each of your nostrils and then, running a marathon. Both you and your engine would run out of air.

Volkswagen, never approved ANY Ghia deck lid mounted luggage rack. (Silly VW! They assumed the purpose of a luggage rack was to carry luggage. They had never heard of the, "It looks bitchin!" crowd.)Some national VW franchises, (like VW of America) may have made such a thing available, but be assured, VW would have considered a rear deck lid rack an illegitimate accessory. The Mother Firm did approve a roof mounted luggage rack. It used wooden slats and mounted to the rain gutter. Practical? You bet! Handsome? If you think the sensible mounting of one's briefcase on one's hat compliments nearly any wardrobe, you'll love a roof mounted luggage rack.

Luggage racks do show up on rear lids. One popular German made universal rack was sometimes adapted to Ghias by private individuals. It only required drilling a few holes. That particular model is very rare today. In The States, Ghia owners of the era adapted racks made for other marquees and sold by firms like M.G. Mitten. A very high number of these universal racks achieved simplicity and good looks because they were bolted to the deck lid.

Modernize the Mona Lisa by drawing in an earring? Of course not! So, how many restorers could stomach drilling four 1/2 inch holes in the deck lid to mount something VW considered a bastard item; an item to be discouraged at every opportunity.

As time goes by, mounting after-market luggage racks to a Ghia is going to become, I predict, unfashionable; about as popular and politically correct, I suspect, as showing up at a feminist convention wearing a cast iron chastity belt welded in place by one's mate.

Q #43: I want to do a body off the frame restoration of my '62 Ghia convertible. I managed to find all the bolts holding the body to the pan, but now, I'm wondering what is the best way to lift the body off the pan? Will I warp anything?
Anonymous

A #43: Pizza power is how we do hefty, but delicate, moving at House of Ghia. It's amazing how much work can be accomplished by bribing friends and neighbors with pizza. Six people can lift and move a Ghia body in a pinch. (And, on occasion, I've removed a gutted body with 3 strong backs with weak minds.) But, eight is a better number! I suggest leaving the doors in place and latched. However, if you can truly unbolt all body mounting bolts, your rockers are strong enough to support both halves of the body without the doors in place. If one or more of the body mounting bolts "spin" (i.e., the captive, "caged" nut inside the rocker breaks loose); all bets on the integrity of the body are off! The reason? The rust "worm" is attacking your rockers. Rockers weakened! Your Ghia body, if moved, could break into two major chunks! If your rockers are solid, any common sense handling of the body off the pan will be possible. If the rockers are rust-rotten, it's possible that no movement of the body can occur.

Q #44: What wiper motor will fit a 1965 Ghia that has been changed to 12 volts?
(A variation on this question is asked daily of the folks at House of Ghia.)

A #44: The "drop in" motor for all early Ghias ('56-'66), wishing to convert to 12 volts, is a 1967 Ghia motor ('68 Ghia motors thru Ch #148-760-153 also work). These motors are a visual clone of your motor. Trouble is, "everyone" knows changing an early Ghia to 12 volts requires this motor/assembly. So, a high demand, coupled with a low supply, makes these motors almost unobtainable at an