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Historical information about the VW 1500 and a journal of my progress in restoring a '62 1500 Ghia
Author Archives: Scott
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 … Continue reading
Posted in reproduction parts
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in Events, road trips
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in Events, road trips
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in Events, road trips
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in NOS parts, engine overhaul
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in engine overhaul
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in engine overhaul
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in engine overhaul
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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? Continue reading
Posted in NOS parts, engine overhaul
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in restoration
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