GL Karmann Ghia

John Kelly · Post by **John Kelly** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 6:44 am

Thanks for the kudos guys.

Bry, you can make your own flares without welding if you follow the simple techniques in my upcoming video. At the link below are a few pictures of flares made on the car, using the original sheet metal. Can be done with as little as $100 worth of tools. You can do a subtle undetectable stretch, a bubble type flare, or one that just widens the whole fender for a more factory look:

http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/c ... 0138836765

My flares are a bit pricey, and expensive to install, which is why I came up with this do-it-yourself technique. I'm doing a friends 914 and my own Ghia this way, instead of making flares and welding them on.

I hope to be done with the video in the next few months. This stuff is simple, but time consuming and noisy. The results are worth it if you like doing things for yourself.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 7:29 am

Ephry73 wrote:Looks sweet. Wow, those are god numbers to have. No rubbing at all? what actual offset do you have on those rims? would be nice to know.

E

thanks for the compliments!

the offset is whatever is stock on a 99 civic. it makes me gag to admit that i have ricer parts on my car, but it was a cheap way to have wide wheels. i think it is a 30mm offset, but i may be wrong. i'll ask the previous owner of the wheels and let you know.

now, about the rubbing, the front did rub at full lock, so i adjusted the stops on the steeting box which only limited my turning radius a little. i can still make u turns and navigate any parking lot. the rear rubbed on the inner fender with the 225s but now i have 205s on the front and rear and there's miles back there. i even have an 1/8 inch spacer on the rear to push the wheels out more!

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:41 am

Roach,

did you have to re-drill your rotors and drums? or are those rims 4x130mm in the bolt pattern? what brand?

Looks really nice.

E

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 7:52 pm

ephry73,

those rims are "touring cup" made by axis. they are a 4x100 lug pattern. when i got them, they came with the front and rear rotors drilled for 4x100 instead of 4x130. i think the blank rotors came from cb performance and the drilling was about $100.

i know the "ricer" wheels aren't as cool as porsche ones, but they are a lot cheaper, and they seem to have a better offset. i'm glad you like the way they look because sometimes my ghia gets called a ricer, which is not cool at all.

does any body else have a german look ghia picture they could put up? i haven't seen that many, but the ones i've seen are great!

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 7:56 pm

is this a german look ghia?

here's some photos of one of john's flares, for anyone who hasn't seen them:

beautiful work john. my next ghia will have a set of your flares all the way around! if you guys want to see the coolest ghias ever created, check this out! http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/c ... 0143738803

imagine one of these with 17 inch turbo twists!!!

John Kelly · Post by **John Kelly** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 1:04 pm

Thanks for your kind words! My tastes have changed since I built some of those cars, but what the hell.

Thanks, John www.ghiaspecialties.com

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 1:53 pm

That was a crazy look Ghia! that's the one with the Benz $2000 headlughts on it.. crazy but sweet looking ride for sure!

John, your flares are still super sweet man.... If only I was as talented with metal, if only...

I've seen a few nice rims at Pepboys(yes, Pepboys) and they could easily work on a GL beetle or Ghia... cheap, find them everywhere, and still do the job, so I guess the look could change from GL, to CL(call cheap or cool look works for me too )

E

John Kelly · Post by **John Kelly** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 7:54 am

Hi Ephry,

Skills wise, the flares are easy to do. I think anyone with a little experience working with metal (or not) could get very good results following the instructions in my video. It just takes patience, and a lot of effort.

I will be testing a rough version of the video on a rookie metal worker/enthusiast to see where I might need to make things more clear. Dead simple really!

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

CLKWRK · Post by **CLKWRK** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 7:59 am

Hey John
I am definately interested in your video, I have all the stuff to do it, shop, torch, mig, etc. I did all the work on my ghia myself.
I feel that I just need a little schooling on techniques.
Bry

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 10:31 am

so nobody else has any pics of german look ghias? even on germanlook.com there are only 2 in the galleries, and one is mine

if anybody has a link or anything, put it up! i'd love to get some ideas to steal.. i mean observe... for my next car.

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:05 am

That is why I want to make mine into a GL... not many around here...

John, looking forwards to the videos then... I need training for sure. I want to be good with metal. Period

E

John Kelly · Post by **John Kelly** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 6:49 am

If you want to be notified when the video is ready, please email me directly: [email protected]

Thanks, John www.ghiaspecialties.com

Paul Illick · Post by **Paul Illick** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 8:39 am

John Kelly wrote:Thanks for your kind words! My tastes have changed since I built some of those cars, but what the hell.

Changed? Why? Those cars ALL look GREAT, John. What on earth have your tastes changed to?

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:51 pm

Roach... Thanks for the info on the rims.

John, I will email you about that video....

As many sweet GL Ghias out there, and not many pics posted. Shame....

Cannot wait to finish mine, or will I ever?

E

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:55 pm

you better finish it... i want to see pictures!