It’s the Ghia’s 50th birthday today. I bought it a gift — a reproduction ’62 Ghia badge — and toasted the occasion with a glass of Duvel. Yes, I know it’s not a German beer, but the brewery is less than 200 miles from Osnabrück, so that’s close enough for me. This summer the restoration project will continue.
On Sunday morning we all met again at the Borradori Garage for breakfast. A casual observer would assume this had been planned all along, but Terri Reay only came up with the idea of a tri-tip and egg burrito breakfast at about 10pm the night before. Everyone pitched in and it came together perfectly. After breakfast and some cleanup everyone began to go their separate ways. Our Los Angeles caravan left at around noon and other than David Aveson’s squareback having a relapse of its fuel injection trouble the drive was smooth and uneventful (we had to put it behind Gizmo Bob’s truck and Dave drove Bob’s notchback the rest of the way back). When Jack Fisher got back to San Diego he texted that his total weekend mileage was 950! I figure I did about 700. What a great weekend of driving!
Many more photos from the weekend can be seen here.
The Type 3s that attended spanned the production run and model range:
’61 Type 34 cabriolet (Lee Hedges, Sabre Springs, CA)
’61 Notchback (Shin of TOA International, Yokohama, Japan)
’62 Notchback (Eric and Kathleen Hand, Lodi, CA)
’62 Notchback (Gizmo Bob Walton, Hacienda Heights, CA)
’63 Notchback (Alex of ISP West, Carson, CA)
’63 sunroof Notchback (Jason Weigel, Seattle, WA)
’64 Type 34 (Jack Fisher, Imperial Beach, CA)
’64 Type 34 (Gizmo Bob Walton, Hacienda Heights, CA)
’64 Type 34 (Dave Whitaker, Central Valley, CA)
’65 sunroof Type 34 (Larry Edson, Campbell, CA)
’65 Notchback (Eric Farnsworth, Arroyo Grande, CA)
’65 Notchback (Jimmynotch, Sacramento, CA)
’65 sunroof Type 34 (Tom Reay, Los Osos, CA)
’65 Squareback (Michael Runyon, Orange, CA)
’66 Fastback (Andy Kimball, Tustin, CA)
’66 turbo Fastback (A.J. Sims of Low Bugget, Orange, CA)
’67 sunroof Fastback (Jim Maljanian, Sierra Madre, CA)
’67 sunroof Fastback (Steve Noll, Santa Cruz, CA)
’68 sunroof Squareback (Josh Lewis, Orange County, CA)
’71 Squareback (David Aveson, West Covina, CA)
’73 RHD Notchback (Glenn, Huntington Beach, CA)
One of the best things about the weekend was how everyone pitched in to help. It was a truly collaborative effort. I was responsible for the graphics and some publicity and coordination, but Tom and Terri Reay did almost all of the heavy lifting — the planning, coordinating, securing use of the Borradori Garage, the awesome BBQ and cooking, and bringing it all together — a huge amount of work that really paid off. But in addition to Tom and Terri’s efforts, the weekend could never have been the success it was without the help of:
• The Borradori Family and Stuart Selkirk of Cayucos Cellars — making the garage available to us (and thanks to LJ for putting in the word for us)
• Lee Hedges, Jason Weigel, and Scott McWilliams — advance publicity, getting the word out
• Mike Runyon — getting the OC/South Bay caravan together
• Dave Whitaker — BBQ transport
• Stuart Selkirk, Jason Weigel, Lee Hedges, Scott Perry, and Jack Fisher — moving the old Mack truck inside the garage
• Lee Hedges — car show judge and parking coordinator
• David Aveson, Lee Hedges, Larry Edson, Scott Perry, Eric and Suzanne Farnsworth, and Brian and Diana O’Kelly — event set up for Saturday night
• Scott Perry, Lee Hedges, Larry Edson, Jack Fisher, and Jack’s daughters Kendall and Emma — food prep
• Terri Reay, Cathy Callahan, Suzanne Farnsworth, and Jack, Kendall, and Emma Fisher — desserts and cake decoration
• Jimmynotch — sound system, stunts, and general mayhem
• Larry Edson and Dave Whitaker — Sunday morning grocery store run
• Brian and Diana O’Kelly — video, overall event support, and clean up
• Gizmo Bob Walton — for having the foresight to bring a tow vehicle and enough tools spare parts to build a Type 3 from scratch
• Omni Design Group — oversize printing and accommodating Tom’s event planning hours
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company — for all that they do
• Everybody — great photo documentation, monetary contributions, and making the time and effort to be a part of it
And special thanks to Gizmo Bob for letting me drive his ’64 Type 34 for the weekend!
Thanks everyone!
On Saturday morning everyone met again at the garage — everyone meaning the 11 cars that had cruised up the coast on Friday and 9 more, including a caravan from Orange County. We headed up into the hills above Cayucos for a beautiful 30-mile drive through the countryside. Other than one car with a malfunctioning injection system, being hassled a little by the Five-O, and a stretch of rough road that vexed the lowered cars a bit, the drive was perfect. We then showed up at the Cambria Oktoberfest, where Type 3s totally dominated the all-German car show. Later in the afternoon we all headed back to the garage for a Santa Maria-style tri-tip barbeque thanks to grillmaster Tom Reay, Type 3-shaped desserts (!), and a champagne toast to the Type 3′s 50th birthday. Perfect ending to a perfect day.
This last weekend was the 50 Years of the Type 3 weekend on California’s central coast. It was an incredible 4 days of Type 3 driving centered around the historic Borradori Garage in the beach town of Cayucos. 21 Type 3s (8 notchbacks, 3 squarebacks, 4 fastbacks and 6 Type 34s) and about 50 people attended. A great time was had by all.
Here are some shots from Friday. We drove up Highway 1 from Cayucos to the lower part of Big Sur and back, about a 120 mile round trip.
I got my engine back from the builder recently and this weekend I got it reassembled and reinstalled after some parts sourcing, rust treatment and painting. I was preparing to put the engine back in when I was stopped by this:
A couple of months ago I saw that my Ghia’s swingaxle boots needed replacement. I had a pair of old stock boots on the shelf so I put them on and forgot about it. They were in their factory sealed bags until I installed them, experienced about 15 miles of use, and had no exposure to excessive heat or UV rays, but in two months they’re in worse shape than the ones they replaced. Luckily I had the foresight to buy a new pair of VW OEM boots the last time I was at Bill and Steve’s, so I was able to replace them without yet another trip to the parts store. Just goes to show that NOS rubber parts can go bad on the shelf. Be careful with old rubber parts, especially brake parts.
I should have the Ghia running in the next few days and will then be able to determine whether the builder was able to successfully address the leak and oil burning problems, and decide if it will be able to make the Central Coast cruise. Two weeks to go!
I saw this pair of rebuilt early 1500 heads for sale and thought I’d better get them while I could. These don’t come along every day. 311 101 371 heads have 40-horse style straight intake ports and were only used through June 1962.
The date code on the casting appears to indicate December 7, 1961.
The heads were apparently rebuilt many years ago and they still retain their long rocker studs. Most of the remaining 40-horse and early 1500 heads out there have long ago been converted to short rocker studs due to the fact that long studs can sometimes loosen and fail to hold torque. Also, unlike short studs, with long studs valve clearances tend to get tighter as the engine warms up, so there’s less margin for error when adjusting the valves — a tight valve having much more potential to cause damage than a loose one. For these reasons most long studs were replaced with short studs years ago as a preventative measure. I kind of like the idea of running long studs, though, if only because there are so few VWs on the road that still have them.
The seller believed these to be VW factory rebuilt heads. I’m skeptical about that, though these stamps might back up his claim, as they’re similar to some other rebuild stamps I’ve seen.
In any event, I’m glad to have another pair of early heads on hand just in case. I don’t think I’ll need them to address my current engine problems, but you never know. Thanks to Eric Colla for pointing me to them.
After some downtime troubleshooting my floor jack I got the engine out and stripped down, though I left a few things in place that shouldn’t be in the way just to make reassembly go faster. Dropped it off this morning with the builder so he can look into what’s causing the leak at #2. The oil was clearly coming from the mating surface between the top of the cylinder and the head. We shall see what’s up. In the meantime I’ve sourced most of the gaskets and other expendable parts I’ll need for reassembly from Bill & Steve’s, and next I’ll tend to some of the surface rust that’s formed on a few parts over the last few years of storage. Rust never sleeps, as Neil Young has helpfully pointed out.
I got the Ghia started again for the first time since 2007 but there was a significant oil leak almost immediately, coming from where cylinder #2 meets the head. Lots of oil and oil smoke. The rings on that piston are clearly not doing the job, but even so, oil shouldn’t be leaking from there. The shop that assembled it suggested that I try running it until the rings seat themselves, but after running it for more than and hour at a time over several days at medium revs without load to help break it in, and then driving it for over ten miles today, the same symptoms remain. The engine has to come back out so we can pull the head and find out what went wrong.
The good news is that I got to drive it again for the first time in four years. Aside from the ring issue on #2 it ran great and drove smoothly. The new wheel bearings and refreshed brakes were all performing as they should be. Getting behind the wheel again is good motivation to solve the engine problems and get on with things.
Last year I bought an NOS Type 3 oil strainer. When it arrived I realized the design of the strainer was different from the one in my Ghia, which raised some questions. Was the one in my car not a Type 3 strainer? How are Type 1 and Type 3 strainers different, and how are the various Type 3 versions different from each other? Here’s the old one from my ’62 for comparison:
It seems to be an OEM part, with VW and MH (Mann+Hummel?) stamps:
The VW Type 3 Workshop Manual points to the oil pickup tube diameter as the defining characteristic of the different versions. The diameter is larger in the 1500S engine (14mm) than it is in the 40hp (12mm), and the manual warns of dire consequences if the wrong one is used.
My car seems to have the 1500 strainer, identified by a ridge stamped into the filter screen. I then checked a later copy of the parts book and it lists only the following:
311 115 175 A to July 1969
111 115 175 B from August 1969
The strainer I bought is 311 115 175 A, so according the later parts book it should work. It’s just a later development of the early strainer design.
New replacement Type 3 strainers also conform to this later design. Use them with confidence.
While researching oil strainers I found this note:
So that’s what that open space under the strainer is for. The magnetic oil ring was listed in the 1961 parts book as a standard part for the VW 1500 (#12):
They come up for sale every once in a while, though the 36hp version (111 115 195) seems much more common than the 40hp/1500 one (113 115 195). I’ll buy one eventually if I can track one down.
I found this 1 kg can of anthracite lacquer at the VW Classic swap meet. I’ve always told myself that if I saw an original factory can of anthracite for sale I would buy it. On first seeing it I assumed it would be completely dry but it’s still liquid and fairly full. I think my car is trying to tell me what color it wants to be.