House of Karmann

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sladey
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by sladey »

Yep very cool
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young but I'm just backdated yeah
Ralph
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by Ralph »

Yes - that lid looks very nice....
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Recent progress including fitting the rear engine lid and fitting out the rear hub bearings and axles.

The engine lid will need some more work to get even panel gaps but quite close already.

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Hit a problem with the rear brake discs/ handbrake hubs where they don't fit over the axle hub. They need an additional 2mm of the diameter to fit properly. Need to do some investigation with parts to see if I have used the correct rear discs or there is a better option before I machine those that I have
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Looks like I am in a race to get the KG mobile again before the 356 comes home. Rear suspension has been dry fitted.

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Need to work out whether to use roll pins by enlarging the hole in the CV joints or convert drive flange to bolt fixings. Maybe modify CV's for roll pins would be strongest for a launch :) .

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Looks like I have managed to buy the wrong rear discs twice. So back to the parts catalogue to work out which discs I should be using.
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

I needed to make space for the 356 coming home in the near future, so the KG body had to go back on the chassis, ready or not;

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Several minor clashes, top of gearbox to body, front inner arches need opening out around suspension. I can find the correct rear disks to use so fudged the wheels on but they are 35mm wider each side than should be , the gearbox is holding the body up about 40 mm ish at the back. Hence the aggressive rate. But its out of the way for now.
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
rhd racer
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by rhd racer »

Those 928 wheels look surprisingly good on the Ghia….
93 964 C2
99 Boxster 2.5 > 2.7 hill climber

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Bootsy
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by Bootsy »

I was going to say the same!
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Cheers,
As options are a little limited I bought one wheel to see how it will fit. I needed 16 inch to fit over calipers, large ET 52+ most likely 7" width. I do wonder what a set of 928 Wintercults would look like? Quite a rare wheel. keeping an eye on the auction sites for a low priced wheel to see what it looks like.
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by Bootsy »

Polished Wintercutts would look the nuts! (See what I did there)
1972 911T | 1994 993 Carrera | 1999 986 Boxster | 1990 T25 Camper

Vintage Heuer, Omega, Zenith and other vintage watches - http://www.heuerheritage.co.uk
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Big thumbs up to Bruce M, the rear discs seem to fit, although need to drill new retaining screw holes.

Progress has been slow mostly as I have been playing with the 356's. So the KG is off to LA Custom at Dereham in the next few weeks.

List of work;
The body needs to be clearanced to allow the body to fit down on the pan
RHD dash swap and splice the eyebrow section in steel over the gauges as per orginal USA spec cars. Uk cars had the eyebrow done as part of the dash pad
Roll wheel arch lips to give more tyre clearance
Front nose line, continue the raised section which would be covered by the VW badge
Body dents and panel lines to be cleaned up
Rear bonnet to be metal worked to be accurately.
Passenger door stretched – canning on the panel
Smooth out bump for wing mirror
And many other small tweaks
Paint!

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Will also need to lift the front to allow the wheels to turn.
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by Bootsy »

Love the last to do!

You do seem to progress your projects at a fast rate!
1972 911T | 1994 993 Carrera | 1999 986 Boxster | 1990 T25 Camper

Vintage Heuer, Omega, Zenith and other vintage watches - http://www.heuerheritage.co.uk
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Whilst endeavoring to fit the body back onto the chassis in the confines of my garage it became apparent that there is a clash stopping the two mating. I cant see exactly where but suspect its the rear suspension. Also looks like the front track rods will clash in a tight corner against the inner fender. There is around a 20-30 mm gap.

Today the KG has gone to the body and paint shop with a To Do list. They have a two post hoist so can lift and lower easily to work out the problem.

I had to strap the body down to the chassis before transport for fear of the KG becoming airborne!

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Whilst at the body shop it would be rude not to finish the job and get it painted :)
1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by Bootsy »

Excellent, you finish one and then pile into the next!
1972 911T | 1994 993 Carrera | 1999 986 Boxster | 1990 T25 Camper

Vintage Heuer, Omega, Zenith and other vintage watches - http://www.heuerheritage.co.uk
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Appears I will be able to fit a set of 16x7 ET65 - 225 wide tyres under the rear arches. the 160 ponies will need some grip. There are a few 928 options available Tele dials, D90, Slots, and the Wintercults. Still need to see what fits under the front and allows the wheels to turn through the whole travel.

Also want to look at the ET55 wheel and whether that fits as it would give many options including a 17x7 205 sport classic alloy. I have an old Boxster wheel to see if it fits.

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1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
greg356a
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Re: House of Karmann

Post by greg356a »

Looks like I should be able to fit much large tyres than expected. Hopefully Boxsters at 7x17 205 front and 8.5x17 255 rear

7x17 205 ET55 on rear
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7x16 225 ET65 on rear with 2 inches to spare on inside

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1963 Karmann Ghia
1959 356A Coupe Outlaw
1957 3.2 Speedster replica
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