1960 KarmannGhia saved from the crusher

A week or so ago I went to check this 60 Ghia out - Today I went to save it from the crusher! :-) The future of this car is still uncertain - it is however now in good hands :-)! It will not move in to my garage permanently, but rather be transferred to another "VW-caretaker" :-)! Feels good!!

Ghia road trip

Today it was time to head west to pick up a 1973 Ghia. Very solid and with potential - A set of repro chromed/detailed Fuchs' will be a perfect fit in combination with an adjustment of rake :-)!

Heading west early this morning - Empty trailer


Trailer loaded - Heading east

"Treasure Hunt" - 1950 Split Window

They are still out there! - Solid early (stalled) projects waiting to be brought back to life :-)!!
Below are pictures of a solid survivor that I went to look at yesterday - A late 1950 Split Window with "croth coolers". What's pictured below is what is actually there - Very solid, complete and straight(a restoration project that stalled sometime in the early nineties).
Hmmm...exciting!!!!!!

Saving a Ghia???

YESTERDAY:
While filling up at the local gas station a guy pulled up. He came over and asked a few questions on the car and said: "I recently picked up my old uncle's Karmann Ghia. It's a 1961 and has been stored in a garage since the mid seventies. It's never been tampered with and is straight and complete. We have no interest in it, would you perhaps be interested in buying it?"

TODAY:
Needless to say, I was certainly interested :-)! (perhaps this was one of those "barn finds" you read about every once in a while?...)
Called the guy and headed over (excited!!) to his house. Accompanied by "detroit irons" (Ford Fairlanes and early Camaros) there it was!! As we got closer I realized that it was perhaps not the "immaculate barn find" :-)...
After going over the car I left letting him know that I'd be back.
My heart says "save it!". My brain says: "let it go!"...Not sure what to do!!?!!

This is what i found...

Project '59 - Fall cruise...

The days left where a cruise might be tempting are scarce this time of the year. Today was an exception - Clear blue skies, sunshine BUT coooooooold! (2 Celsius/ 35 Fahrenheit).

The stock 36 hp purrs like a kitten - I hate to admit it, but cruising with a well tuned stock engine/tranny is actually pretty nice for a change...

Project '59 - A small "milestone"...

Another "milestone" was passed the other day - Passed the Government Inspection - Nice to get some crusing before the winter hits and it's time to get some needed :-) upgrades in place...

Ordered a new tranny the other day for this car - As follows:

From Rancho Performance (www.ranchotransaxles.com)

• Their new Gusseted/Welded RHINO case (magnesium)
  
• 4.12 R/P
• Superbeetle 1st & 2nd
• Welded 3rd/4th
• SuperDiff, steel forks
  
• Sidecovers
• Early type2 nose cone (to fit pre-60 floor pan)

Later,
Nick

Oh, just a few random shots taken today...

Project '59 - Wind shield!

Finally got the wind shield in place!

New glass from www.veterania.se - top notch and fair price!
New rubber and molding from www.wolfsburgwest.com - simply the best!

Luck struck me last week when doing a quick search of one of the local scrap yards - In the far back was a 82 Volvo station wagon lurking - It had seen better days :-)! I carefully tore the inside cover off the tail gate and discovered a mint condition wiper motor (12V, SWF) - A direct swap with the existing/original 6V, SWF unit - Great stuff!