My German Look '70 Ghia -- GhiaMonster
 

I've had several member of this site suggest I do a build thread of my Ghia over here

Picked up the Ghia in April of 2012, in a little town about a hour and a half north of Phoenix..... The car had been in VW Trends magazine in August 1997. The PO had been road racing it in Phoenix and Las Vegas and had parked the car in '02 to start racing open wheeled cars, so it hadn't been touched in 10 years. Here's some pictures of the way it was when I brought it home, a 6 hour drive to SoCal.

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It came with no engine and a 901 Porsche 5 speed trans -- and you can see it was a stripped out race car -- --

I had a big engine laying around and some plans to put it back on the street, as a fast street/track car. Initially, I had plans of doing some land speed record stuff with it and wanted to so a trip to Bonneville and race it on the salt and maybe do some drag racing and some SOLO parking lot/cone racing.. In other words, I wanted the car able to do it all.

Here is the car setting on the ground just after getting it off the trailer....

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Here is the engine that I had decided that I wanted to put into it..... Notice anything strange

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This engine was originally purchased and built in 1987. It is based off a ARPM case and barrels, and has angle port heads. It's displacement is 2989cc's, almost 3 liters. It uses Siamese cylinders to that 4" SBC chevy pistons and rods can be used -- and with a 90mm crank, offset ground to accept the small journal chevy rods. -- -- It also incorporates a drop cam placement of 150 thousandths so that there is no cam interference with the big crank..... ARPM also used a very different head stud setup with 6 main 1/2" studs and 4 smaller studs.... All this means is that if anything breaks, I will be so screwed to replace it LOL

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This engine is also 3" wider than stock, so there is a lot of modifications required to get it to fit in any VW

Here is what the engine compartment looked like when I got it.... I bought a box of cutting discs to get ready to put the engine in there -- One positive, is that the car came with a removable rear valance already done......

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Afterwards:::::

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The car came with a stock gas tank, which of course wouldn't do --

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All the brakes on the car proved to be junk so I upgraded to some new ones.

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These came with a choice of Chevy or Porsche pattern, and I was leaning towards putting Chevy rims on the car,,, BUT I came across one those craigslist deals of the century and found some 16" teledials on there super cheap and within 20 miles of my house

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Being everything had to be fabricated, I had Marty Skaggs hand fab me some intakes

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And since Marty Runs the US division of TurboSmart, a quick decision was made,,, to turbo the 2989 ... I'm still giggling about that..........

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So I, the worlds worst welder, decided to start fab-ing up the intake and exhaust,,,, You can't buy any of this chit anyway..... Here is some early attempts -- --

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The exhaust and turbo are fab'd -- -- OK, OK bubble gumed together

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of course it needed an intercooler -- so bought a water/air one off ebay -- a few more bends and poof, chit has occurred LOL


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Here's the rest of the intercooler system -- a tank and pump (mounted behind passenger seat) and a small radiator (oil cooler) that I mounted under the car --

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The Battery, Fuel Tank and fuel pump getting their initial lay out, and lines ran

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The Dash gets a little redo

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Those itty-bitty small-ass seats that were in the car, got pulled and given away, and were upgraded to some Kirky seats

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Of course all this is occurring with all the normal 'life' issues going on, like work, money, work, less money, family, even less money and the other normal distractions

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Anyway -- about 9 months after getting the car, it's first attempt to drive it around the block occurs

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Well, at least it made it to the corner LMAO -- needed to get on a dyno and get it tuned for sure

SO I got it running kinda good and took to Donut Derelicts in Long Beach for a early morning cruise for the start of Jan 2013 -- --

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That's where I found out what a POS the 901 Porsche trans is as I blasted the main shaft leaving the parking lot -- Of Course, it couldn't have anything to do with my driving habits,,, could it????

So the car gets parked for another 6 months as I save my money up for a new transaxle

So suddenly I get the new 091 Bus trans -- --

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of course, it is nothing like the 901 that was in there and the old rear of the car has to be redone to fit this monster in there

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Some new 930 CV's and axles and stubs are in order

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I went out and did some parking lot stuff and found that without a posi in the car, it would just burn the inside tire going around any corner, so the motor and trans had to come out again to get a new LSD put in....

and the car got cleaned up and a few things done to it

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Here is a video of it on the dyno::::::::::::::::::::::::

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52kBy7a6fc

It was while on the dyno I started having issues with my Electromotive EFI system -- so currently the car is all tore apart (AGAIN) and all the electrical is getting redone as I put in a AEM EMS4 system

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I started this project using Weatherpak connectors and then was told that Metric-pack were better, so I'm currently waiting on a crimper that I can use with the Metric-packs --- I've got so many crimpers now,,,, I just need one more tool LOL

I beginning to wonder if I'll find the ends to all these wires LOL

or

Dude, where's my interior

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So that's the story to this point -- -- I have a sick sense of humor and I've left out numerous sick adventures (OK -- MISadventures) I've had in this build, but I'm sure I add some as This chit keeps going

Nice post Fiat, not taking it all to serious and having fun, what's the point if you never laugh out loud! rare and interesting engine build, , any more pics?, what was up with the old injection setup?

Thanks for sharing. Nice build.thanks for hanging in there while we sorted things out.

What size rims are you running? I have been looking for a set of phone dials in 16X8 if you have any leads.

I'm running 16x7's -- there were a ton floating around for a while but there are a lot 15" on www.thesamba.com in their ads -- search phone dial

here's some NEW 16's -- grab your ankles -- http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifie...php?id=1770681

I'll dig up some more pics of the engine build -- might take me a while-----

As far as the Electromotive EFI -- I'm thinking now that I've heard all these horror stories on Weather-pack connectors, I'm thinking it might be those connectors, as the whole harness was custom made using them -- -- and I just got the TecGT box back from the factory and it checked out all OK -- at least my 'new' crimper will be here Monday and I can get back at it

No Problem -- I realized it was out of your control, and hoped that there was a solution... Thanks for helping me out

Great read, glad your still hanging around here

In the never ending saga of the weirdest chit happens to me -- -- -- -- I bring you the ordering of the Metri-pack Crimpers

So, I had bought a chit load of Weather-pack connectors thinking that they were the best, I run into Scott Featheroff at Drag Day and he proceeds to tell me the only way to go is Metri-pack and points me at all the problems the Scorpion were having with their ignition cutting out during tire shake. So I talk to Chad and I'm converted.... SO, I buy a big box of Metri-pack connectors, stupidly thinking that the big buck weather-pack crimper I've got will work .. .. .. oooops, Stupid me -- -- So now I'm needing a Metri-pack crimper -- -- OK, I go on Flea-bay last Monday and buy a moderately priced one and click the 2 day shipping box -- cool, I'm ready to go -- -- I get the shipping confirmation, and with nothing else to do while waiting for these crimpers, I start following their journey to me -- Tuesday they're shipped from Texas, OK -- -- Wednesday they are in Oklahoma, ??? --- Thursday they are Kansas, WTF -- Friday they are Colorado, This is getting plain stupid -- Saturday they are in Vernon, CA,,, Cool at least its the right state -- Sunday,,, Nothings happens on Sunday -- -- MONDAY 7 DAYS LATER, at 4pm I receive them,,, That's right, I get 2 pairs of crimpers. I only paid for one -- -- And the kicker, the return address is from Orange CA

So, in my best Ricky Ricardo voice "Lucy, you got some 'splaining to do !!!"

It is called 'The NoGhia Project' -- I think I'll just call it BadAss

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Niiice :)

Finally found a little time today to finish wiring up the cam and crank sensors -- -- The AEM cables to both has some strange stuff going on that I was waiting to hear from AEM before I finished wiring them in --- through out the harness they have used black as ground, red as power and white or green as the signal wires -- WELL,,,, suddenly in these cables, the ground was the white wire and black and green were signal and at least red stayed power -- .. .. .. -- It didn't make any sense to me either, that is why I checked with the factory and asked why they went stupid -- -- Put a good work out with my new Metri-pack crimper and it worked neat -- requires two crimps to do each connector unlike the weather-pack, but it was still nice

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...pshsohznxs.jpg

I'm switching over to Mario's crank wheel and also going to a Honeywell GT101 hall effect sensor -- Mario's wheel comes with a VR sensor and it required a bunch of playing to get the 101 a place to fit as it is 3/8" longer, So I made a bracket and had to move it up a few degrees from where Mario has his placed... Big difference between the Electromotive (60-2) and Mario's (30-1) ...... here's a picture of the back of both crank pulleys

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LMAO -- Google Street View -- Me and the Ghia

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Had the infamous ice maker leak which destroyed the wood and carpet flooring on the whole bottom floor -- and a couple of cabinets -- -- so been fighting the good fight with the insurance company and the hardest part has been trying to get in touch with the adjustor -- he has the whole Orange County, plus the San Bernardino and Riverside counties -- which is almost half the total area of SoCal --

Needless to say the Ghia isn't going to be ready for Fontana next weekend -- THIS has been my current project -- 1/4 of the way done and this is sucking so hard to get it right -- --

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I was cleaning up a old tool box I don't use anymore, giving it to the brother-in-law, and I closed it for the first time in years -- -- Damn, I've had this for a long time LOL

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Wellllllll, It's almost officially finished -- "The Kitchen Fixin' From the Ice Maker Flood" -- Still got a 20' container of stuff out in the driveway to get back into the house, but as far as I'm concerned my part is finished LOL -- -- 72 days of H E L L -- Now I've got two days to get the Ghia ready for FASATIVUS at California Speedway, It ain't gonna happen kiddies, not unless 25 people are knocking at the door tomorrow and are planning on camping out for 2 days (teach me to buy tickets in advance)....

Here's what the kitchen looked like after the flood and the flooring removed------

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And here is the kitchen and Family room today -- -- ---

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So way back in November of last year, there was that thing going around where California was going to reissue Black and Yellow plates for cars up until 1969 -- Well, my '70 Ghia was manufactured and sold in late '69, so I thought I'd give it a shot and mailed my documentation in -- It has been so long I had forgotten about it in fact --

And then today in the mail, -- -- -- Oh happy day

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I'm currently installing an AEM EMS4 EFI system in to the Ghia -- -- I have been using the Honeywell GT101 Hall effect sensors for most of the applications

Now I'm installing a speed sensor onto the Ghia -- The bracket and pulse ring I got from Pacific Customs in Corona

pulse generator ring:
http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/me...nders-hardware

bracket for my 091:
http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/me...nders-hardware

But with this bracket a standard GT101, which has a tab that you bolt to your bracket, will not work -- I need one that is threaded on the outside so that adjustments can be made -- -- SOOOO after spending half of today cross referencing parts I finally found someone that had the knowledge to finish my quest -- The part number I need from Honeywell is SR4P3-A1

http://sensing.honeywell.com/product-page?pr_id=56074

They are about $5 dollars more than the GT101 at $43 each at Mouser Electronics.....

I'm gonna finish this damn thing on of these days LOL

I'm STILL working on the AEM EMS4 install -- the engine compartment wiring is done -- so mainly it is bringing all the wires together into one big bundle that doesn't hurt my eyes -- just decided to do a speed sensor, so the sensor should be here middle of next week,,,,

OH CRAP, it's coming UPS,,,, who the hell knows when it will get here

Oh Well, I've been cleaning up all the wiring as I go along, so there is a lot of 2 steps forward and one step back chit.... I just installed new positive and negative cables from the back of the car up to battery in the front.... Been thinking about installing a new starter when I get under the car to put in the speed sensor and connect the new positive to the starter -- --

I'm too frigging BIG to start with and now I'm getting to frigging old and blind to be snaking my big azz through this cage to get to chit I tell you LOL

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Well, a lot on my plate today -- LOL -- Last night decided to run the oil lines down the tunnel and also put in a new starter and do the associated wiring with that chore -- -- So I had a choice of 2 starters setting on the shelf a new 16300, which is the auto-shift starter that I love in almost any situation, and an almost new Hi-Torque starter -- -- I decided to use the Hi-Torque and then remembered it was a IMI105 which is for use on a 6 volt flywheel -- damn -- Then I remembered a friend who was a neighbor of Chris Isom on of the owners of Hi-Torque, so I called my buddy who called Chris and Chris was nice enough to talk to me about what needed to be done -- seems as if they are both the same starter except for the pinion gear is bigger for the 6v flywheel -- so for $15 I got a kit to change over the gears. -- That little clip is a mother to get off and even harder to put back on LOL -- I must of had it spring off 5 -10 times while trying to get it on -- that little bastard is hard to find too LOL

with old gear removed and ready for new gear install--

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old gear and new gear kit on left--

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I'll need to orient the starter since it was last on the Porsche 901, but that is just R&R 2 bolts -- --

but before I do that -- I have to take the cat ((a few of you remember THE CAT)) to the vet to have her ANAL GLANDS expressed -- -- OH Joy!!!!!

Dagmabit -- -- Sometimes it a MFer having an old mans memory in a 18 year-olds body -- --

Like having a 3/4" sensor hole and swearing you need a 1/2" sensor -- -- Oh welllllll, nothing a couple of fender washers won't fix -- -- I hope LOL

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Finally decided on a plan for the oil coolers move the front of the car -- -- I know, I know, but sometimes it just takes me a while to decide on a course of action -- I decided that since the shift rod was now run on top of the tunnel, I'd run some 5/8" aluminum tubing thru the tunnel -- - -- Since the PO cut the bottom of the tunnel at the rear to do the shifter for the 901 trans is should be a cake walk -- -- I got some water hose and cut it into 2" lengths and placed them every 1.5 to 2 foot along the tubing to hopefully reduce rattling -- I was going to put over the entire distance but I was wanting the tubing to act as a heat sink to also help lower the oil temps so I didn't --- --

I did some work on the front vents so that I can maybe add some ducting to the coolers

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Here is a picture of the tubing exiting thru the PO's 901 hole:::::::

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I'm still playing with a couple of different ways to mount the coolers in the nose -- and the mounting brackets -- but here is kinda what I'm leaning towards----- (you can see the tubing exiting thru the shift rod access hole)

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...psk49khayr.jpg

Hope to finish this up tomorrow and get some brackets made and all the hoses ran to the coolers................

So was finishing up the oil cooler install and using SS tubing -- Things were going pretty good, then started flaring the tubing ends -- you know, always feeling it needs to have the last quarter turn to finish that perfect flare -- NOT

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It's amazing just how much can leak thru those little cracks at pressure LOL -- -- Then started looking for that last piece of tubing to finish the install -- -- damnit -- it was 5/8" aluminum, needed 1/2" SS -- Oh Well, 20" short of tubing finished the day for me -- might stop by G and J in Ontario and the way home tomorrow and get a piece of SS tubing

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I met a buddy for lunch today -- look at what the damn bastard drove up in -- --

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...psh7pmrbyq.jpg

It was his dad's who bought in '79 for $19K -- his dad took a greyhound to Texas with the money in a tool box -- -- Only the second time in four years he had driven it -- should of seen the commotion it caused -- even a Firetruck going up the street with its siren on had guys hanging out the window starring ....... It's 100% original total unrestored ... Oh it's a '70 Plymouth Super Bird

I think I officially hate your friend, and I haven't even met him.

;-)

-Dave

That, is stunning!!!

This is freaking embarrassing -- -- Just figured out that this is the first time this year the car has been out of the garage --

Oh Well, -- It's at least back together, just waiting on the tuner -- --

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