Thunderbird Club

[Instagator]

Dang..I missed Fender Friday..this is P Bass row..Don’t even get me started on J Basses..Cheers.

 

[Engle]

That is beautiful. You’re wife must be a saint.

Yes, but she was encouraging me along the way.

 

[Engle]

Wow - you are really talented! That car looks showroom!

Thanks man! My nephew was a body man at the time, so he blocked it out, did the final prep and paint.

 

[Engle]

Looks great! What a fun project.

It’s a blast to drive. The engine in it is stock except for being 1776 cc. I still have the parts, so I think I’m going to go for it and assemble the “high performance” engine this summer.

 

[Engle]

Good taste! Sounds like you went farther than I did - but I remember putting a "if you ever consider selling" note on an orange one (with my phone # - pre net) and the guy called and politely "educated" me about the $ cost of being an owner of a P1800. So hearing his truth reminded me that cars like that are toys for the wealthy - or if gifted to be a mechanic and auto craftsman. (of whom I have high respect) Since I am neither and not likely to be either - I'll aesthetically appreciate the P1800 hatchback from afar! (it also looks great in what looks like pale Pelham blue!)

I owned a wonderful '66 122s estate wagon (I think it was called the Amazon in Europe) and even in the mid '70s - parts were outrageous! $$$

Not mine - same colour & roof rack - only car I've ever truly loved.
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The cool thing about the Karmann Ghia is all the mechanical parts are the same as the Beetle.
VW kept making air cooled Beetles until 2003 in Mexico. So there is a huge aftermarket parts industry.
And air cooled VWs were designed to be maintained and repaired by the owner. Most of it is DIY.

 

[Engle]

A clear improvement. The fact that Epi/Gibson originally sold it with a (Fender) P pu is inexcusable. History. The way it went with Fender as the ('60s "Golden Era") decade ended - players started modding their basses by installing (Gibson) mud bucker pu's in P's and J's and also de-fretting them until Fender finally got around to introducing the '70 Telecaster Bass (with Seth Lover neck-hugging HB pu) and a fretless P in '72. But nobody (that I'm aware of anyway) modded their late '60s Gibson T-bird by putting a Fender P pu in one. Which lays bare the naked truth that the marketing decision of the Gibson brand came down to "whatever pu is responsible for the most recorded bass sound (the one that made the most $) will be the one we will put in our bass". Pathetic. I will in this case give Fender credit for at least listening to the people buying their product, even if late to the party in the case of producing a fretless. Gibson - not so much... then and now.

Gibson has been using Fender design features since the 70’s. My 75 Marauder has a bolt on maple neck, an alder body and a single coil pu at an angle.

 

[GBassNorth]

Dang..I missed Fender Friday..this is P Bass row..Don’t even get me started on J Basses..Cheers.

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Bass rack, wine rack - what more could one ask for?
That purpleish P looks interesting as does the sea foam green.
As for the Ghia, go for it. Drop an old Porsche flat six in it and beef up the brakes and suspension a bit and you'll essentially have a 914-6 with a back seat.

 

[MCF]

I'd fallen in love with the looks of the P1800 before I ever saw The Saint. Seeing those shows later just added to his cool factor IMO.
My second car was a 63 PV544-close as I ever got to an 1800. Loved the car, couldn't fit my Kasino amp in it. Bought a '69 Econoline. That held the Kasino, my PA gear, my EB-3, and, of course, the '67 NR Thunderbird.

Yeah. The opening behind the rear seat wasn’t big enough. Cool for the drive-in in though. Flip seat back down and three more kids got in.

 

[MCF]

Dang..I missed Fender Friday..this is P Bass row..Don’t even get me started on J Basses..Cheers.

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Uh, wow!

 

[JIO]

Gibson has been using Fender design features since the 70’s. My 75 Marauder has a bolt on maple neck, an alder body and a single coil pu at an angle.

Yah, but those were newly designed basses. I more was addressing a (vintage) model that was "re-introduced" with non original/non Gibson style ingredients. Until the Epi VP, the gen1 T-bird was never truly re-introduced and now the Gibson NR appears w/a bridge that was never on a late '60s bird. The more recent Fender and Gibson design flip-flops were almost tongue-in-cheek parodies of each other.

 

[JIO]

The cool thing about the Karmann Ghia is all the mechanical parts are the same as the Beetle.
VW kept making air cooled Beetles until 2003 in Mexico. So there is a huge aftermarket parts industry.
And air cooled VWs were designed to be maintained and repaired by the owner. Most of it is DIY.

I knew that about Vdubbs - back in the day it wasn't unusual to walk into a friends rental and see him working on his engine in the living room!

 

[MCF]

I knew that about Vdubbs - back in the day it wasn't unusual to walk into a friends rental and see him working on his engine in the living room!

Kid I grew up with washed VW parts in the dishwasher.

 

[BklynKen]

Dang..I missed Fender Friday..this is P Bass row..Don’t even get me started on J Basses..Cheers.

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Wow, nice. The Antigua finish is one of the very few that would tempt me towards a Fender.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

The cool thing about the Karmann Ghia is all the mechanical parts are the same as the Beetle.
VW kept making air cooled Beetles until 2003 in Mexico. So there is a huge aftermarket parts industry.
And air cooled VWs were designed to be maintained and repaired by the owner. Most of it is DIY.

don’t think I disliked anything to come out of Carrozzeria Ghia.....

 

[MCF]

don’t think I disliked anything to come out of Carrozzeria Ghia.....

Until Ford bought it.

 

[GBassNorth]

Kid I grew up with washed VW parts in the dishwasher.

I've owned a number of VWs and really enjoyed them all for what they were, a basic and durable little car thats cheap to own and has a personality that makes every little drive an experience (some good some bad).

Sometimes the engineering logic can be a bit baffling, like the Auto Stick (which is really an auto clutch). You still have to shift it manually but there's no clutch pedal. The unique engineering on this feature was a mechanical shift linkage connected to electric mini switches that were wired to hydraulic solenoids that engaged the mechanical gears. Kinda Rube Goldberg.

Or the brilliant idea of installing sheet metal surrounds around the exhaust system to supply hot air to the inside of the vehicle, obviously keeping fingers crossed that no one got asphyxiated if there were any leaks in the exhaust system.

Or the unique idea of eliminating the window washer fluid pump by pressurizing the washer tank with the air in the spare tire. Works great until there's no air left in the spare, at which time you no longer have either a spare or a washer.

And no bug owner in freezing weather would be caught dead without a hand held ice scraper - for the INSIDE of the windshield. The front defroster was on the same exhaust manifold heating system as the rest of the car but in sub zero weather it would take a good 15 minutes of driving to get warm enough to even begin to defrost the front window.

Many here know that I'm a Porsche fanatic, FWIW many of the VW engineering solutions found their way to Porsches as well. Would I own another VW - heck yes! I like cars with a personality and VWs have that in spades. Not all that different than putting up with the Gibson 3 point, just one part of a great package.

 

[Engle]

I've owned a number of VWs and really enjoyed them all for what they were, a basic and durable little car thats cheap to own and has a personality that makes every little drive an experience (some good some bad).

Sometimes the engineering logic can be a bit baffling, like the Auto Stick (which is really an auto clutch). You still have to shift it manually but there's no clutch pedal. The unique engineering on this feature was a mechanical shift linkage connected to electric mini switches that were wired to hydraulic solenoids that engaged the mechanical gears. Kinda Rube Goldberg.

Or the brilliant idea of installing sheet metal surrounds around the exhaust system to supply hot air to the inside of the vehicle, obviously keeping fingers crossed that no one got asphyxiated if there were any leaks in the exhaust system.

Or the unique idea of eliminating the window washer fluid pump by pressurizing the washer tank with the air in the spare tire. Works great until there's no air left in the spare, at which time you no longer have either a spare or a washer.

And no bug owner in freezing weather would be caught dead without a hand held ice scraper - for the INSIDE of the windshield. The front defroster was on the same exhaust manifold heating system as the rest of the car but in sub zero weather it would take a good 15 minutes of driving to get warm enough to even begin to defrost the front window.

Many here know that I'm a Porsche fanatic, FWIW many of the VW engineering solutions found their way to Porsches as well. Would I own another VW - heck yes! I like cars with a personality and VWs have that in spades. Not all that different than putting up with the Gibson 3 point, just one part of a great package.

Yup air cooled VWs (and Porsches) are great if you have the right mindset!
I converted my Ghia from autostick to manual. They are much more fun to drive that way.

 

[bylar13]

I had a ‘73(?) Super Beetle. Used a couple of STOP signs to replace the rotted floor pans....Somewhere there is a 4way stop that is now a 2way stop...

 

[MCF]

I've owned a number of VWs and really enjoyed them all for what they were, a basic and durable little car thats cheap to own and has a personality that makes every little drive an experience (some good some bad).

Sometimes the engineering logic can be a bit baffling, like the Auto Stick (which is really an auto clutch). You still have to shift it manually but there's no clutch pedal. The unique engineering on this feature was a mechanical shift linkage connected to electric mini switches that were wired to hydraulic solenoids that engaged the mechanical gears. Kinda Rube Goldberg.

Or the brilliant idea of installing sheet metal surrounds around the exhaust system to supply hot air to the inside of the vehicle, obviously keeping fingers crossed that no one got asphyxiated if there were any leaks in the exhaust system.

Or the unique idea of eliminating the window washer fluid pump by pressurizing the washer tank with the air in the spare tire. Works great until there's no air left in the spare, at which time you no longer have either a spare or a washer.

And no bug owner in freezing weather would be caught dead without a hand held ice scraper - for the INSIDE of the windshield. The front defroster was on the same exhaust manifold heating system as the rest of the car but in sub zero weather it would take a good 15 minutes of driving to get warm enough to even begin to defrost the front window.

Many here know that I'm a Porsche fanatic, FWIW many of the VW engineering solutions found their way to Porsches as well. Would I own another VW - heck yes! I like cars with a personality and VWs have that in spades. Not all that different than putting up with the Gibson 3 point, just one part of a great package.

Only VW I’ve owned was a ‘77 Scirocco that my father in law gave to my wife when we got married. Automatic, but still fun to drive. No AC. And had a weird ignition issue that took replacing the distributor three times before it started reliably and ran right. Had it about five years. Don’t particularly miss it. It looked cool though.

 

[Engle]

I had a ‘73(?) Super Beetle. Used a couple of STOP signs to replace the rotted floor pans....Somewhere there is a 4way stop that is now a 2way stop...

I had a 73 Super Beetle! 73 was the first year with the curved windshield.