1971 Ghia Project

[mattw]

Hey I'm new to the forum, but not new to the car. This is the second Ghia I've own and it's been hibernating in my garage for the last 4 years. It's time to start bring the little beastie to life. I bought the car off of ebay out of state and found out the front clip had been replaced badly, so this won't be a full restoration project, but a "fun" car: Engine, brakes, stereo and suspension.

I'm looking to upgrade the engine to something far healthier, but am not a fan of the asking price on new turnkey engines online. Anyone got any suggestions or a upgrade they have given up on?

Mattw

[FJCamper]

Hi MattW,

Welcome to the forum.

Is there an engine in the car now? And are you able/willing to do your own work?

And by "fun car," do you mean street or track or a combo of both? Autocross? Track days? Drag racing?

FJC

[mattw]

FJC thanks for the reply.

She has a stock 1679(?) engine in her. I am able to do my own work. At one point in my life I was a heavy duty equipment mechanic so getting greasy isn't an issue. Now I'm an engineer and at my work we rent 1/3 of building out to a machinist.

Good question on the "fun" car. I'd like to take this thing to the limit of street legal, but still keep the aircooled platform.

Thanks,

mattw

[FJCamper]

Above: Aluminum or plastic seats make good performance replacements for stock.

Hi Matt,

The first thing you need to do is get the car to a four-wheel alignment rack and find out if there any surprises seeing as how there was an accident that required a clip.

Most alignment problems can be corrected, but you have to find them first.

Once you know the alignment, the usual prep at this stage of the game is get a good repair manual, remove the seats, and strip out the carpets, looking for rust. The battery area in the engine compartment will almost always be rusted out. Your battery will not be reinstalled there -- we're going to move it to the Bug location under the left-side rear jumpseat, to get the weight inside the wheelbase for better handling.

Tattered old seats can be easily replaced with cheaper but very functional blow-molded racing seats such as those made by Jaz.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Get the alignment checked first.

FJC

[mattw]

Nice mods to the inside of your Ghia. What kind of HP are you throwing down? Did you end up going with disc brakes all the way around? Did you end up modifying the suspension?

I'll drag it down to an alignment shop as soon as spring sets in (Utah). The plans to replace 75% of the floor pans are already in order a and the battery has already been relocated behind the passenger seat. Beyond that there is a bunch of ticky tack stuff to fix and the engine...

Thanks,

Matt

[FJCamper]

Hi Matt,

We have two Ghias, a 1970 and a 1965, and both are road racing cars. Here's some photos.



Above: Our '65 in the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico (3rd in class, 2007)



Above: Our 1970 Ghia and the toy Johnny Lightning released of it in 2008

Also, here's my forum article on how to set up your Ghia's suspension:

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 1&t=127619

and last, just for fun, our Ghia song by the Beach Boys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-nxYy6HEX0

FJC

[BAJA-IT]

I'll drag it down to an alignment shop as soon as spring sets in (Utah).

I thought that spring has been here all winter so far.............snow coming on Sunday, so they say.