1971 Ghia Convertible

[CrazyBrit]

I should have also said that I'm looking for reliability with a slight improvement in power. I'll be keeping my stock heaters and have a nice stock ceramic coated exhaust. Carbs will be twin 34mm Italian Webers.

[Volktales]

We used to use COFAP pistons and barrels all the time without issue. Are you sure the smoking is not carb related? Blue oil smoke or blackish running rich smoke? I have not personally used AA pistons and barrels yet, but they seem to be the most widely available parts now.

Bye the way, Newton Commercial still has your Dad's pattern for the package shelf there. Was your Dad happy with the fit of this particular piece???

[CrazyBrit]

Thanks Russ. Yes, he's happy with them and the parcel shelf piece. Note that he had to pay a little extra for this piece. I've just posted up some pictures under the thread on his car. I'll be speaking with Dad later in the week and will specifically ask about the parcel shelf. There is still no sign of the samples as of today.

With a stock exhaust system, is it actually worth increasing the capacity of my motor by 100cc? I'm very tempted just to swap the barrels, pistons and heads over from the old bus engine onto my Ghia engine and call it done. Would this cause any issues with the con rods? Do I need to swap those out too, or am I just opening up a great big can of worms? Also, do I need to swap over the pushrods? I have the Bentley manual for this engine, but it does not cover swapping out good used parts, only new ones and I don't have the experience to know what part used parts will work well with others.

I have another dual relief case which I've been thinking of as my future sporty engine build, but with the body work, interior and convertible roof work that I'd really like to get done, I'm having to prioritize where I spend my budget. I also want the car back on the road late next year.

[CrazyBrit]

What are the best pushrod seals? The old style hard German ones, or the silicone type?
www.cip1.ca/c13-9153/
www.cip1.ca/vwc-113-109-345-ag16/

[CrazyBrit]

I have the transmission out to replace a couple of seals and to reseal the nosecone to the gear housing. I think it may also be leaking between the gear carrier and main housing, which I'm not comfortable taking apart myself. Whilst it's out, it's probably a good time for a checkup and refresh.

Does anyone have any recommendations for transmission servicing on the Island please? I'm in Victoria a lot, but haven't been to the mainland with a car in 18 months. I was looking at C&S Transmission in Lantzville having read their reviews, but would prefer someone who knows our old VW units.

[Volktales]

Rob S on here knows someone in Vancouver who will rebuild those transmissions. Rob, you have been too quiet lately...

[owdlvr]

Some quick thoughts:

• AA Pistons and Cylinders are excellent quality. My last three sets arrived within VW spec for balance, and were a very short time to completely zero out. I've got over 45,000km on one set (Rally Bug), 34,000km on a second set (German Look) and roughly 10,000km on a third set ('58). That doesn't include motors built for friends.
• I've always used the standard white pushrod tube seals, as included with a German Elring gasket set.
• Art at AVRparts rebuilds transmissions, Ken King might still do it at Concept-1 (although that may only be for friends though). Not sure of anyone on the island. I'm happy to do a 911 transmission, but oddly enough don't do VW ones THE transmission guy in the lower mainland is Bruce Tweddle, but he can be hard to get a spot with, and typically heads to Mexico in the winter.
• You mentioned the paper gaskets under the cylinders - Those aren't used anymore. We've switched over to a small bead of RTV Silicone at the base of each cylinder before you install it. Much better for leaks, the ONLY place on a VW engine where you use silicone.
• Based on the information given, you shouldn't have any issues swapping barrels, pistons and heads from the bus motor over. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to post some photos just to be sure. But as long as we're talking all stock 1600 parts, everything is interchangeable. Pushrods can stay where they are, or be swapped.
• Your butt-dyno might feel a difference between 1600, 1641 and 1680cc engines...but I highly doubt it. Stock exhaust is going to be fine for all three combos. The Type-1 1600's are choked by the carb and intake, not by the piston size and exhaust. Dual carbs will wake up a stock motor FAR more than swapping barrel sizes.

[CrazyBrit]

Thanks Dave. I started swapping the bus pistons and barrels. I got 1 and 2 done, then removed 3 and 4 to find minor scoring on the piston skirt of number 3 and heavy scoring on number 4. The number 4 cylinder is damaged below where I could see with the piston installed, so they're now scrap. I overheated this engine in the UK many years ago, during a spirited motorway drive to Liverpool. It ran well, but the exhaust was always a little oily. The cylinder head on the 3/4 side was also a touch oily, but I naively figured that it was due to many trips in and out of the garage. Now I know why...

I need to decide what I want to do engine wise. Ideally I would like something like a 1776 or 1915, but that means bigger heads, bigger carbs, new exhaust, cam etc. - So the snowball effect begins. Sensibly, I can't afford this and bodywork this year and I've already set the ball rolling with rocker replacement. So I either have to go with the original dished pistons which are in good condition, or switch to new AA pistons and cylinders. I was looking at the CB Performance Mahle 1641 set, but with your recommendation coupled with Mitch's, I might just go for the AA products available locally. I figure with 1641 vs 1585cc, twin 34s and higher compression I might be able to squeeze an extra 5 or 6hp out of it. That's 10%, so should be noticeable?

Thanks for the gearbox recommendations. I'm trying to avoid a trip to the mainland, just because I have no desire to drive over there when I'm regularly in Vancouver with work (flying and onboard ships, so can't carry a gearbox!). I might have to bite the bullet in the New Year though if that is the best place to take it.

[owdlvr]

1641 with twin 34's and higher compression will definitely be noticeable. It won't be a rocketship, but you'll appreciate the changes.

Regarding your transmission...you just need to ask someone who, I dunno, flies off the mainland all the time if he'd be willing to bring it across for you. I may know a guy

[CrazyBrit]

Thanks Dave. That sounds like an amazing offer!

I called AVR earlier in the week and spoke with Vic, who said that they don't do transmissions. He referred me to his friend called Dave in the Chilliwack area. I haven't contacted him yet.

Do you have a number for Bruce Tweddle? Is he located closer to Vancouver than AVR and their friends? I'm still wondering if a decent generic local shop could do the refresh that I need. It's basically new gaskets and maybe a new synchro on 1st, which crunches occasionally. I have the necessary gaskets, just not the confidence / knowledge to try a transmission.

[CrazyBrit]

It has been some time since I posted anything constructive on the site, mainly because I didn’t do much with the cars for a while due to work, family and life taking up most of my time. The other reason can be summed up by having to take the time to stop doing other things and sit down long enough to do it. I’m really not good at sitting down and taking a break…. This evening I am sat in an airport lounge on my way home from Prince Rupert, on my own with only a Steamworks Pale Ale for company. So let’s see how far I get.

This is before I started. It looks nice and shiny on top and is overall a very good car, but there were definitely some issues that I was aware of.





As I posted some time ago, I ordered some new outer sill covers for my Ghia. It had had some rust in the passenger side rear quarter for some time now and as we know, these cars rust from the inside out. There was also some minor rust along the bottom of the passenger rocker and I have patched the driver’s side in the past. I always knew that I would have to address this properly some day. When the car came off the road in 2017, it had developed a strange wobbling on the road when at highway speeds. This was particularly noticeable after hitting a hole or bump in the road, not that we have many of those in this area. Having visually checked the tyres several times and also having ruled out the steering damper, I figured that the car was probably bending. I believe that this is also known as scuttle shake.

Between intensive studying for a new job and family health issues, time was limited for a few years. However with the health issues hopefully firmly in the past and the best job on the West Coast, now I have the time and hopefully the budget to start this properly.


I actually started a couple of years ago by cutting an inspection hole into the passenger rear quarter. I saw rust – lots of it. I panicked and called Shawn Cole to come and take a look. He gave me a reasonable quote to repair the outer rockers and a few other minor nasties around the car. I realized that this quote would likely increase as and when we found other nasties, as you do with 50 year old VWs. Shawn no longer paints, so I then set out to find a painter; I’m still looking… it may end up being me.



Then I started adding up what this venture was going to cost and realized very quickly that by farming all of the \work out, I was going to be into this for well in excess of $50k or maybe even $60k. I didn’t have that sort of money to spare for a toy car, especially as the finished vehicle will only be worth a maximum of around $25 - $30k in a declining market. I also realized that if I ever want to do this again(!), having the tools and skills to do this myself would be highly beneficial. The bus is going to need some odds and ends of bodywork at some stage in the not too distant future.


Without a roof, my convertible is only held together by the floorpan and the rockers. Because of this, a strengthening member runs through the length of the rockers to stiffen the vehicle. On a Ghia, the heater channels wrap over the side of the floorpan edges where the running boards would normally attach on a Beetle. This creates a lopsided V shape hanging down the side of the floorpan on each side of the car. The heater channel itself is a kind of pressed box section, made in two longitudinal halves and then spot welded together. On my car, the corrosion is limited to a small area along the bottom of the V, where the two halves of the channel weld together. This also happens to be where the outer skin is welded to the heater channel. Remember that the outer skin holds the longitudinal stiffener. When this area fails, nothing is properly tied together anymore. With all of the overlapping, inaccessible, enclosed steel surfaces, which are warmed up and then cooled with the passage of heated air from the engine, it is almost like VW and Karmann designed this area to corrode and fail.

[CrazyBrit]

So, early last year I built and installed a door brace and started deconstructing the passenger side (the better side I think) rocker to see what was inside. I drilled and ground out the spot welds along the top and cut along the bottom. The top half was decent, as you would expect. The bottom half, not so much… The bottom inch or two of the rockers were quite lacy in places, but not everywhere. The strengthening member, which is attached to the inside of the outer skin panel had completely detached from the rest of the rocker in places along the bottom. It was worst near the rear. I considered patching what was there, but figured as it is a convertible that I intend to keep for a long time, this needs to be done right. So, I ordered a set of new heater channels, and then the bus started leaking lots of oil. So the Ghia sat untouched for a while longer.


Late last year, I saw a 3000lb car body rotisserie on sale at Princess Auto. I only have an oversized single garage with an 8’ ceiling to work on this car, so a ramp is a no go. I figured that the rotisserie would save me lying on a cold concrete floor, whilst welding the car above me. So I bought it. They are generic and designed for any type of car, so I had to fabricate my own mounts. I had originally planned to attach it to the bumper mounts, but the steel bar that I was using was fouling the bodywork where it passed through the panels, front and rear. In the end, I removed the front beam and bolted into the beam mounts and the body mounts above the beam at the front. At the rear, it is into the frame horns and stiffened with mounts onto the bumper mounts, but passing under the rear valance. This allows me to lift the car with the floorpan in place, and will also allow me to lift the body without the pan at a later stage. So now, I can lift and rotate the car. With the car sat at 45 degrees, the rocker is almost at eye height when I am sat on my small mechanics stool. Perfect.



When I first bought the heater channels, the new ones had patches of surface rust on the inside straight out of the box. I had already decided that I did not really want to cut out the entire channel, unless I found this was necessary when I opened up the old channel. So, I drilled a handful of 1/8” holes through the overlap joints to facilitate realignment using Clecos when I put things back together, then drilled out the spot welds holding the two halves together. The captive floorpan nuts are a joke on these repro’ channels. They are regular nuts badly spot welded in place. If I have to use this section of the replacement panel, these will be replaced.

[CrazyBrit]

From the inside, my car looked very good. The OG heater channels still wore their original paint and were structurally excellent. With this in mind, I really did not want to completely remove the OG heater channels and replace them with crappy aftermarket parts. I think Dave referred to them as Crapperholme, or some such name. This fits. Although the pressings seem reasonably accurate, I am not impressed with the welds or the quality of the steel.




I have spent many, many hours very carefully dissecting and deconstructing the passenger side rocker. You can remove a lot of metal very quickly with a cutting disc, but also make a very big headache when it comes to reconstructing further down the road. I have read way too many thesamba.com threads on how to do this and watched hours and hours of YouTube videos on how to weld, pull out dents, replace rockers, paint, seal, make patches….


I came to the conclusion that carefully drilling out spot welds and reversing the construction process as best as is possible when removing a structural part from the middle of your vehicle, was the best course of action. It took a long time, but I finally got to a stage where the outer rocker was gone, the inner strengthening member (or what was left of it) was gone. I then removed the outer portion of the heater channel. Although the upper half of this was still in good condition, the bottom of the inner and outer portions was toast. So, given the choice of replacing the inner section which can be seen, or the hidden outer section, the decision was easy.

Once the heater channel was opened up, I could see that my decision not to replace the entire channel had been the right one. There was a solid layer of mud along the bottom of the heater channel where the pan bolts are. This can be seen in some of these pictures. Once cleaned out though, I found solid VW steel. The near vertical section that sits alongside the edge of the floorpan and that attaches to the bottom of the channel had some heavy pitting.



Given that this section contains multiple pressings and the quality of the replacement steel, I figured that an amateur attempting to join the replacement steel along the pressings was not going to end well. So, I remove the vertical section and joined the new heater channel just outboard of the pan bolts. This means that I did not have to fully detach the front from the rear of the car. It also avoided interfering with the heater pipe that exits into the heater channel from under the rear seat.
I punched holes every half an inch along the replacement section, then plug welded the new piece in place. I will be removing the body, and will then weld along the seam underneath before coating the inside of the channel. That will have to wait for another day though, as my flight is departing soon.



As Russ would say. To be continued...

[Volktales]

Nice to see some real work in action! I looked at my Ghia the other day and turned away because those window seals still make me angry...

[tony]

Nice to see the Ghia getting a chance for another 50 years in it's future!  Mark if I'm not mistaken that is 'structural' mud.