picture of Ghia dash here
See if you can locate: The air conditioner controls. The woofer and tweeter equilizer switches. The gas flap release lever. The ABS test knob. The power antenna controls. The co-pilot's map lite. The"It's time to re-lube" reminder buzzer. The emergency flasher switch. The CD eject button. The glove compartment lite. The power seat control panel. The heated interior mirror. The pull-out cup holder. The rear window wiper knob. The exterior/interior temperature gauge with digital read-out. The tilt steering column. The overdrive engagement lever. The $2500 price tag.
What's inside:
* Broken window cranks
In numbing detail.
* An I.Q test
Courtesy of General Motors.
* There is another Karmann Ghia!
Tracking down the other Ghia.
* More, Ghia lovers late, late show, movie reviews.
* Ghia Gab: Q & A
Rear bumper corners.
Option codes.
FAILURE of the SEMESTER
Failure Analysis of a Window Crank Handle
Editors note: Have you ever had a little part like, say, a window crank handle, break on you? Break not once, but twice. Well, James Walsh, in North Carolina, did. And, then he did something quite unusual. Instead of doing what any self-respecting American consumer would do; blame the seller, and grumble about cruddy products and lying salesmen, James asked, "Why?" He even went further. He asked, "Can something be done about it?"
Now, being a student in mechanical engineering, faced with devising the
inevitable "Major Senior Project", may have had some impact on
his choice of a "mere" Ghia window crank handle as an object for
a major sleuthing activity. Still, the question remains,"Why did the
darned thing break?" James was determined to find out why.
The window cranks had been purchased from House of Ghia and had been described
as for "only the desperate". But, since it was the only crank
that LOOKED like the 70-74 crank handles, a lot of people were, well, desperate.
It must have been a major clue, when James went to write the part number
down on the order blank. The current part number is KD-JUNK. Because the
part looked original, and because it had the VW logo on it (VW of Brazil),
a lot of firms were selling it as "stock". And, admittedly, for
a while even we thought it was better than it was.
While never giving the crank a high rating, we once praised the crank as having...better internal bracing than stock. Too many of the originals were showing up on the cars with knobs twisted off. A little detective work and the cause was apparent. Behind the black, pebble-grained vinyl exterior of assembly line cranks, the factory used bent metal wire (not much different from coat hanger wire) as the 'stiffener'. Where the knob connected to this bent wire was the weak point. Even the original cranks had a life span of only a few years. The Brazilian crank had a cast metal stiffener. A much better design. Or, so I thought at the time.
The Brazilian cranks had a greater failure rate than German stock handles. Only these cranks broke near where the screw holding it to the serrated window regulator shaft entered.
We sent James, for his research: 1) A stock crank (wire stiffener); 2) A crank made in Israel (cast stiffener); 3) A Taiwanese repro crank (cast stiffener); 4) A Brazilian repro that was obviously a "knock-off" of the Brazilian VW crank; 5) And, several examples of the "breakable" Brazilian VW crank. In addition, we were able to send him 2 different stock Rabbit style handles (VW finally got it right). And, 3, count 'em, three repros of the VW Rabbit handle that ranged from, darned good, to appalling. Finally, we sent him an entire cast crank handle that was so cheap and ill-fitting that I was sure it would be the only crank available in a few years. (The bad drives out the good in a price driven marketplace. Even the break prone Brazilian crank was twice as expensive as this truly cheap Chinese import.)
Are you amazed at the number and variety of crank handles masquerading
under the SAME VW part number? Better get used to it. There are a host
of parts that have been duplicated by every nation with a budding auto industry.
Any government who sees their country in 20 years with a full blown auto
industry, encourages their native firms to "knock-off" high volume
parts from today's replacement parts market. Training you see. VW has
been a high profile "target" for these "knock-off"
policies for decades. (Just ask the land of the rising sun.)
But, back to the question. Why did it break? Let's let James tell it.
At the beginning of May 1994, in Huston, Texas, the window crank on the driver's side of a 1970 Karmann Ghia failed. The metal handle, possibly zinc die cast metal, fractured while the driver, who is also the author of this paper, was rolling up the window. Due to his tardiness to an appointment, the window was being rolled up in haste when the crank failed. The crank also broke on the upswing of a clockwise revolution.
The window crank had been used for about a year and a half at the time
of the failure.... Under normal circumstances, a window handle should not
have failed after such a short time by consumer standards. The purpose
of this paper is to utilize metallurgical characteristics (tested and empirical),
stress analysis and fractography to analyze the fracture. A failure theory
will be cited, as well as short-term and long-term fixes that could be employed
to prevent this happening again in the future.
Editors note: Diagram of "naked" crank handle after the pebble-grained vinyl cover and knob have been removed. Shows the die cast zinc central stiffener.
Editor's Note: In addition to visual inspection, numerous very technical tests were performed. The metal was sliced and diced and each cross-section was mounted in bakelite. So much better to see you with, my dear! , since James intended to make photomicrographs of the resulting slide mounts. At an enlargement of 250 X, it was apparent this was die-cast zinc alloy with large pits. (Well, the paper called them pits, the instructor referred to it as "porosity" and James' grade was docked. This newsletter will forever after call what was seen as "pits".)
Further Tests
From the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) results, some of the alloying elements
are found. Overall, the following are the estimated weight percents from
the EDX test. Zinc 95.6%; Aluminum 2.1%; Copper 2.3%.
Side Note: Once House of Ghia hired a testing lab to do a similar analysis on a piece of 1950's Karmann Ghia die-cast hinge material. We hoped to find the 'secret' of the fabled, highly touted, German metalurgy. The report came back listing a huge long list of ingredients and elements. We were crushed! It would be impossible to duplicate this mixture. So, we asked the lab, what did it all mean? The report came back quickly, "Son, those Germans threw everything into the pot, including the sweepings from the floor and a few turnips! This was the "dirtiest" alloy we've tested in a long while." So much for superior German metalurgy.
Rockwell hardness tests were also performed, (as well as) (c)orresponding Brinell Hardness values. Stress analysis (was calculated mathematically).
Editor's note: I don't pretend to understand the above equation. But, it looks pretty, doesn't it!
Stereo zoom microscopes were (used to visually inspect the fractured surface).
Conclusion:
Editor's note: Engineers don't talk this way, but I call the
problem that cracked the crank: PITS AND PORTUGUESE. It seems that the
pits (porosity) problem mentioned earlier was severe enough to create many
microscopic holes or caves. Each hole was a breeding place for cracks.
The problem could be largely solved if the heat treatment of the metal
before casting lasted longer, allowing more time for gas bubbles to evacuate,
thus decreasing the amount of pits.
But, why, of all places on the handle, did the crack occur where it did? Logic would say the pits (porosity) problem would be uniform thru out the casting. Enter a little bit of national ego. In order to identify the crank as a product of Portuguese- speaking Brazil, a metal stamp formed an impression in the metal that could be read as, MADE IN BRAZIL. Stamping into the metal caused enormous stresses that could easily be relieved only as cracks. The stamped logo became the easy path for cracks. Now, neither logo imprints or pitting would have been a problem, if the casting had been designed a little "thicker" or a zinc die-cast material like Zinc Alloy 5 had been used, rather than a variation of the more common, cheaper Zinc Alloy 3.
And, James doesn't spare himself from blame.
For short term fixes, the driver who broke the handle should be reprimanded and encouraged to roll up the window without excessive force or haste!
Editor's conclusions: What our economy doesn't need is more engineers without a sense of humor or a tad of playfulness. James, your project has that all important smidgen of irreverence about it. Oh, your paper is proper (and, to my eye, extremely well done). But, your topic is certainly the type that 50 years from now will be remembered in the fabled history of ME 115 (Mechanical Engineering). All those other papers will be long forgotten, but the Karmann Ghia crank handle will live on. Well done! Also, it would be easy to "paint" all Brazilian products as rubbish. It is not so. VW and other European firms have many plants in Brazil putting out quality products, continuously. Knowing which products are quality and which are rubbish is a ticklish task. But, don't dismiss everything Brazilian without investigation.
You Be The Judge
Could the following problem ever trip up the management at
Volkswagen? You be the judge.
What follows is a type of IQ test. See if you are 'brainier' than the big boys inhabiting the top floors of GM headquarters. Maybe you too have the grey matter to be paid mega-millions a year.
In the downsizing pain and agony of the last 15 years, only the new Saturn division has brought any luster to the GM image. (Even if it has brought precious few pennies to the corporate bottom line.) Thru folksy advertising, an emphasis on the customer and a willingness to make the car buying experience totally unlike Detroit's justly loathed past; Saturn has prospered. "How can we exploit our new, down-home, we care, image?" GM's advertising gurus must have asked themselves. Hold a picnic, a barbeque. Can't get more laid back, homey and American than that!
So the call went out! A picnic for all Saturn owners who wished to come. And, by the tens of thousands they came. Like lemming they came. They clogged the freeways and county roads; and still they came. The chests of picnic organizers swelled with pride. Dozens of acres of farm land were turned into temporary parking lots for all of the Saturn owners who returned with their cars to the vehicle's birth factory. There were blue Saturns and green Saturns and white Saturns. It would be nice to announce that Saturns of every color of the rainbow attended. It would be a lie. The Saturn rainbow is dull and muted indeed. And, if form follows function, four door Saturns share the earth with only a hand-full of slightly more colorful coupes.
"Well, Martha. Time to go! Had a great day, ate my fill of chicken, got drenched, (The organizers prefered to call it...showers), and, we heard one too many pat-on-the back speeches; still, all in all, a wonderful day. Now, it's time to get in the car, and leave. UH! Martha! Just where did we park the Saturn?"
Gottcha!
What the GM public relations folks neglected to say in the cute T.V. ads glorifying the event, is that some owners spent up to 3 hours slogging thru muddy Tennessee fields in order to find their specific car. "Saturns, Saturns everywhere, but not one my key will start!" (To be a tad kind, event organizers did lay out parking areas with lime and chalk. But, Mother Nature wiped out the forethought of mere mortals with a single cloud-burst. After that it was every Saturn owner for himself.)
What do you think? Would VW executives have botched the picnic parking also?
Colossus: The Forbin Project, is a late '60's, Sci-Fi movie, cult classic. Colossus is this huge, super brainy computer designed under the quaint theory, "The sore loser in a nuclear war can have the last laugh...Ha! Ha! We lost...as its hidden missles are fired from the rubble." Earth toast! And, Colossus, the super-duper computer, was to be our agent of death after death. Anyway, Colossus is given control of all the USA's 10,000, or so, nuclear missles so we can blackmail the Communists, thus eliminating war.
Well, the computer has a mind of its own, remember. It begins acting like Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, with a REALLY, REALLY big 44 magnum. Colossus has a way of eliminating war and it is determined to do so, even if it has to destroy mankind. (Now, there's a thought for you: There'd be no more war if there are no more humans. So, to eliminate war you just need to eliminate...).
One of the highlights of the movie comes when Colossus, speaking in a god-like tone, announces,"There is another system! There is another system!" Meaning there is another computer as brainy and blackmail oriented as Colossus. Too bad, mankind! Now there are two super computers cunningly trained to throw nuclear temper- tantrums unless they get their way.
I couldn't help but think of the dramatic announcement scene in Colossus when I finally discovered, "There is another Karmann Ghia! There is another Karmann Ghia!"
Enlightenment was long in coming! Watch as I ignorantly passed up clue after clue to the existence of another Ghia. The first hint came nearly 8 years ago when a swap meet vendor had fistfulls of excellent, new, Karmann Ghia front fender badges. An exact duplicate of a German NOS badge, EXCEPT it also said, "Made in Brazil", across the face.
Five years ago I visited the Karmann factory in Osnabruck Germany. During the visit, I was proudly shown a large aerial photo of a huge Karmann plant in Sao Paulo. At the time, I wondered, "Where is Sao Paulo in Germany? Must be in the Black Forest!"
Four years ago a salesman for a VW parts vendor called up with amazing news. His boss had bought out an entire stock of 1970 Karmann Ghia taillite lenses; and I wasn't going to be able to guess where they came from. Brazil! "I can sell these lenses to you for $8.00 each. A steal!" It was! "Are you sure?" I asked. The price and national origin just didn't seem right! No wonder I was suspicious. New, German KG lenses were going for 5 times that amount. "No, no!" went the salesman's whine. "These are legit! The boss bought them at the Karmann plant in Brazil." Plant smant! I'll bet he bought them at a little 'hole in the wall' place too close to a Brazilian pub. So, I wasn't too surprised when 10 of the lenses ended up on my desk AS TYPE 3 SEDAN TAILLITES. Boy, did I make that salesman eat "humble pie"! I never once thought, "Why is this guy so sure he scored Karmann Ghia lenses?" And, a companion thought, "Why would the Brazilians so carelessly and crudely lie?"
Three years ago, several Karmann Ghia seals began showing up that were, well, dreadful. Not only that, the vendor was insisting that the seal had more than one application...like the same seal fit both the front and the rear hoods. And, "deargawdinheaven" he was insisting the seals were made by Karmann. Anyone who could fib so baldly, is a born politician, I thought.
Two years ago, Dave Spieler, a Georgia Ghia buff with a world class appetite for NOS parts and meticiulous restorations, sent me a glossy photograph, purchased from a VW lit dealer. The photo was obviously a factory promo photo; but it was supposed to be of a 1970's Karmann Ghia. "What do you think?" asked Dave. Never at a loss for words, I declared that it was the car Elvis was rumored to be buried in, or some such decisive answer. I didn't have a clue! (The photo Dave sent will be included in the next newsletter issue.)
Finally, about a year ago, Sergio from Brazil called. Would our "universal" Karmann Ghia carpet kit fit his Ghia? "Silly question," I thought. "Why wouldn't a universal carpet kit fit any Ghia?" "Well," Sergio explained, "Brazilian-built Ghias didn't have any cockpit heating system because of the equatorial climate. Would that make any difference in the carpet kit?" CLICK! There is another Karmann Ghia! THERE IS ANOTHER KARMANN GHIA!
In the next newsletter, we will publish a photo of this other Ghia. Dave Spieler was able to find 18 to 20 visable differences between this 1970 Ghia and its German-born counterpart. (I know! Some of you think this is the Ghia World's version of a Snipe hunt. I assure you there is another Karmann Ghia, and you will be astonished at the similarites and differences. Tune in next issue.)
At the Ghia Gab Hall of Fame, in Albany Oregon, one entire hall of the Ghia Lovers Movie Sighting wing will be named in honor of Judie Stout. Judie is by far the most consistent contributor to this "Ghia sightings" forum. Below is just a sample of her recent work.
Music Videos
The Scottish rock group "Del Mitri" has a new music video. It
includes a red Ghia coupe. As a sighting within a sighting, the red coupe
also showed up when Good Morning America featured a short clip of this group's
new video in the fall of 1995.
You want this, Janet Jackson's new music video. So unless," says Ryan McCoy, in Illinois, "our fellow Ghia enthusiasts happened to be trying to catch the latest episode of Beavis & Butthead on MTV, they may never see it." In this video, Janet and about eight of her friends are driving around the desert in three cars singing, dancing and looking at bare-chested men. Thru the magic of Hollywood, a metallic silver-gray Karmann Ghia coupe keeps up with the likes of a Corvette and a Porsche in these desert racing scenes.
TV Movies
The Heidi Chronicles, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, showed up on TNT as a new
cable movie. Jamie and three college friends arrive at a Eugene McCarthy
political rally in a white VW Bug and park in front of a light blue Ghia
convertible. She meets the owner of the Ghia at the rally and ends up leaving
with him in the Ghia. As she gets into it she said, "Hey! Nice car".
We all think so too!
"During the blizzard of '96" Judie Stout spotted a white Karmann
Ghia coupe in Ivana Trump's TV movie, For Love Alone. It was a quick shot
outside a European inn the main character owned.
Big Screen Movies
Defenseless stars Barbara Hershey as an attorney representing a former
college friend (Marybeth Hurt) accused of murder. Hershey was seen driving
a blue convertible during the entire movie. The car had a co-starring role--the
murder weapon was hidden under the dash. The best part of the movie was
when the suspect's daughter asked, "What kind of car is this? And,
why aren't you driving a Mercedes. I thought all lawyers drove expensive
cars." Hershey's reply was, "This is a classic!"
Roses are for the Rich, a 1987 movie starring Lisa Hartman. An orange coupe was parked in front of her house in San Francisco.
A Gnome Named Norm has a glimpse of a late, green convertible.
The Cowboy Way, with Woodie, the ex-Cheers bartender, has a "main" chase scene. A hand goes down on a fender top as someone leaps from one climax to another. Who cares who's hand! It was a Ghia fender top.
Once Around, with Richard Dreyfus, has a number of scenes of the family driving around a rotary intersection. In one such scene, near the beginning of the movie, one of the other cars going around the rotary is a Ghia. (Thanks Ryan McCoy)
The Ted Bundy Story, stars Mark Harmon as the crafty murderer. One scene has Harmon hitting the streets after yet another escape. A giggling gaggle of laughing young people are seen driving a Ghia off into the night. (Thanks D.M. Harducci in Junction City, KS.)
Now and Then, a current (1996) "buddy" movie, starring Demi
Moore, Melanie Griffith, and Rosie O'Donnel, has a red Ghia in one of the
"flash back" scenes. The girl buddies ride their bicycles thru
a new suburban neighborhood. There's a quick glimpse of the Ghia parked
as the second car in a driveway.
(Thanks Shelley Ellis)
Q # 84 - After 2 years searching thru swap meets, I finally found
all the pieces for my bumpers. But, as I was test assembling the various
pieces I discovered I didn't know how to adjust the rear corners. One rear
bumper corner sticks forward about an inch more than the other corner. In
fact, when test fitted to the car, this piece stuck into the wheel opening.
How do I adjust the bumper so the tip of the corner doesn't stick into empty
air?
Curt B. Plymoth MN.
...and the rear bumper tips have had the pointed end ground off...
Phone conversation. Angie W. St. Louis. (concering '68 Ghia)
Da(rnd)est thing! The ends of my rear bumper, (a 71) stick out into the
wheel opening. Is this correct?
Note on write-in-order. Dan A. Atlanta Ga.
A #84 - Like Dan says, "It was the darndest thing!" I had been
going with this girl, off and on for two years. Only then did it dawn on
me. "Why, one (censored, slang for one part of female anatomy)is lower
than the other!" I had always ASSUMED Mother Nature kept things on
the level, so to speak.
Similarly, I had been a Ghia freak for over 10 years before I discovered
that all Ghia rear bumpers were not alike. I had ASSUMED VW wouldn't minutely
change an expensive part, like the rear bumper corner, and cause its own
parts departments lots of grief. Was I naive! Let's go back to the beginning.
In the mid-fifties, wheel openings were a stylist's playground. The changes
in shape and size were truly memorable. In the name of "beauty",
some cars wheel openings were so constricted, changing a flat tire was an
ordeal. Virgil Exner, Chrysler's stylist, was in rebellion against the styling
excess then practiced by Detroit. Function and form had taught his 'eye',
"Elegance is created by simplicity!" (Detroit still hasn't fully
learned this lesson!) Exner drawings, sent to the Ghia works in Italy, incorporated
wheel openings using the most simple of designs: A half circle. Sure enough,
when Ghia finished the Karmann Ghia proto-type and showed it to the Karmann
firm's management, part of the proposal's elegance was the half circle wheel
openings.
The production car took some liberties with the half circle concept, but
Exner's intent is clearly evident.By the time of the first major revamping
of the Ghia sheet metal (for the 1960 model year), stylists world- wide
worshiped a new godspeed. The way to give a car the sensation of speed,
of movement, even if the vehicle was at rest, was to subtly trim the back
edge of the cars designed in "circles". The eye is tricked into
"seeing" movement.So, the front wheel opening was "trimmed".
Note, from 60-66, the Ghia wheel arch design is no longer "balanced".The
front arch is more tapered than the rear
The next series of body changes came with the 67 model year. Most buffs
consider the 60-66 body styling, truly classic. But, one aspect of the car's
look grated on VW stylists of the 60's. The front wheel opening was nicely
swept back, giving the illusion of movement. The rear wheel arch, however,
harked back to Exner and the elegance school of styling. It was stubbornly
a half circle in shape, even if incorporating some minor shaping done at
the time when 3 taillite bulbs were added. The length of the rear bumper
corner prevented stylists from opening the wheel arch. As is was, the tip
of the bumper came within a sneeze of the opening.So, for 67, when engineers
changed the rear suspension, stylists were given the OK to "add visual
movement" even if it meant revising the bumpers.
Still can't believe that the rear bumper corners vary. (No other part of
the rear bumper was changed.) Look closely at the two drawings of a rear
bumper corner.
Quick field test: If two fingers fit between the bracket and the
tip of the chrome, it is an early corner. If no fingers fit between the
tip and the end, it's a late corner.The practical result? All late corners
(and the present repros) fit all years. But, an early corner on a late car
car will stick the bumper visably into the wheel opening. Late and early
corners do not visually mix and match. So, be careful when assembling a
bumper from a pile of used parts.By now, any reader should be able to answer
the Ghia Gab questions. All of the questioners are trying to fit an early
bumper corner (or entire bumper) on a late car (67 and up).
Dan, in particular, has a problem. For the 70 model year, VW fitted the
car with a new taillite. A taillite with a built-in back-up lite. Wait a
minute! If the car is fitted with wrap-around overrider tubes; when backing
up, the lite from the new taillite lens will be blocked by corner tubes!
To solve this problem, Karmann ended the rear tubes on the back of 70-71
Ghia bumpers instead of swinging them gracefully around the fender and having
the tube end up on the flank of the car near the wheel opening.
Still not sure?
Measure to find out if your bumper corner is 66 or earlier.
Left Hand, rear, bumper tip
1956-66 A='s 12.5 inches 332 mm
1967-69 A='s 11.5 inches 292 mm
Cross section of rear bumper
tip at the point where corner
override tube touches the blade
58-69 B='s 28 mm
58-69 C='s 12 mm (diameter)
Q #82 - I wrote to VW in Germany and they sent me information about
the "birthday" of my car, and the kind of options on the car when
it was born. But, the info is a series of codes or #'s . Can you tell me
what is meant by option 976?
Bill C.
A #82 - Good news Bill! A look at the front of any official VW parts
manual will always feature a list of the optional extras. In VW speak, "M
code options", because the options numbers are always prefaced by M.
For example: M9 is an automatic transmission; M138 is seal beam headlites
for export markets, (that's VW speak for the United States); M261 is an
additional outer RH rear view mirror; etc.
I looked up the code in a paper Karmann Ghia parts book, dated Oct. 71.
Now, an Oct.71 parts book would list parts and options for all Ghias up
thru the beginning of the 72 model yearremember, 72 model Ghias were being
produced from August 1,1971but, I could find no mention of an option M976.
It didn't look good. Option numbers are carried foward for decades. No such
option number for pre-72 Ghias showed up. One last chance! I looked up that
"M" number in an August 72 Bug parts book. This has got to be
one of the last paper parts list books VW ever produced; because from the
73 model year forward, VW solely use microfische. Wouldn't you know! M976
is wheel disc in sport version from Ch # 113 -200-000 and up. (In other
words, from Beetle model year 73 and up.) So, your car came from the factory
with sport wheels. Remarkable! This is the first proof I've ever had that
Karmann Ghias could also have carried optional or sport wheels. (The sport
wheel in question looks like it has a cast-in cross in the center of the
steel wheel.)
Sport Wheels were a factory option on Beetles, as
well as a dealer installed option on all cars in the line. (Sporty wheels
were very popular among VW dealers trying to make an extra buck on each
sale. Note the popularity of the Riveria Mags, sold by the regional distributor
for the Northwest United States, Riveria Motors.) One VW vehicle these wheels
came on was the 914 and 916, mid-engine car sold by VW to Porsche. Porsche
loyalists despised putting a Porsche badge onwell, a VWbut because of the
racing nature of some of these VW/Porsche's; 5 1/2 inch wide, and the more
common 4 1/2 inch wide sport wheels were/are available.
Readers: Help us! Bill's car is also one of the promotional or special or "dealer pack" cars. It had a special stripe kit, black, added up around the windows. Several such Ghias have shown up, but, by now it is hard to tell what was "Original factory"; what was VW of A's contribution; what was regional distributor installed (i.e. Riveria Motors); and what was applied at the local dealership. Can you help?
(These special cars were all glitter and a fancy paint job. So, for more of your money, you were guaranteed an unusual car, sold for just a short time. In the Bug world, these cars were given higly advertised names like: SunBug or AnniversaryBug or Tuxedo Bug or ?