...almost complete">


	...almost complete, as prepared by Vince Bellino in Florida.

	These are the floors before and after the surface rust was stripped out and repainted (right). The stuff on the tunnel is the glue and remnants of the last carpets, which has been left for extra insulation ;-)

Above is part of the steering and brake overhaul that was completed, below is the interior.

The Paintshop

These pictures show the car before (left), during and after (right) it's trip to the Paint & body shop. All the problem areas (which weren't too many) have been cleaned, repaired professionally and the whole car has been repainted in Mazda "Mariner Blue" (code DU) - it's not original, but it's exactly the colour I was looking for.

Whilst I don't mind the wheels which are already on the car, I'd already decided on chromed stock wheels, with original-spec hubcaps. Something about it just seems right to me. They will be added shortly... see below!


The rust damage can be seen in the pictures centre and bottom left. There had been a minor 'ding' at the rear, which damaged the tail light area. The front paint was just starting to bubble, behind the headlight (click on the smaller pictures, for enlargements).



I finally did it... I went and bought myself a Ghia... this Ghia to be exact. It's a 1971 convertible and the closest I've come to finding one that's exactly what I need and it has been well-looked after by the P.O. the pictures Immediately above and below are after it's complete repaint and return to 'near original' condition. There is still a fair bit of work to do - mainly with regard to the interior seat and trim fabric, heater system and some minor detailing (which I dare say, I will never finish!) All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Arriving in England on a cold November day...	...with my GT6...	...by springtime, things were much warmer!

	Hi-Res Pics Here


I've also finally driven it! - A year and a day after buying the car (using the picture below left), I got behind the wheel on March 10th. The new pictures I took hopefully go some way to showing how the car looks, but they really can't do it justice. I can't thank Vince Bellino enough for the work he's done (visit his Florida Ghias website here). The car is much better than I ever thought (and most definitely NOT for sale, right Vince?!)
	When is a '70 not a '70? - Though it's a 1971 Karmann Ghia, the car was actually made in August 1970. In the UK, we'd just call it a 1970 Ghia, BUT, the model-year starts in August of the preceding year, in the US (and VW) - so a 1971 car would have been made from Aug 1970 to July 1971. Got that?
The first thing to be replaced, were the wheels, as I want to return the car as close to stock as possible, whilst still retaining a bit of individuality. Chromed stock wheels and VW hubcaps, I think. Click here to see the work in progress Originally planned to ship the car to Grand Cayman, but I'm probably going back to the UK soon, so it will go to England instead, later in 2001
	What it looks like, returned to "stock" (left) with chrome trim and stock chrome wheels, in place of the alloys that were fitted. I just like the "original look". I think it was worth the extra money to get the car back like it was always intended
I first spotted the car in this picture, in the classics section of Trader Online and although the picture was fuzzy, I thought the car looked like it could be pretty good. I have saved the original advert here from the Trader, though have removed Lisa's contact details. Lisa and David were very patient with me. I have to thank them for this as it can bad enough selling via the internet. It's worse selling to someone in a different country!


All of the work has been completed by Vince Bellino in Palm Bay, Florida. Click here to visit his site.
	From the initial condition (left), this is how the car looks (right), 95% completed by Vince. Interior and minor detailing are all that's left

	Vince in his garage, surrounded by Ghias. Envious anyone?

Description	Date
Buy the Car	Completed March 2000
Transport from Ocala to Palm Bay, Fl.	Completed March 2000
Photograph and make initial report	Completed March 2000
Fix Brakes - pulling strongly to one side	Completed April 2000
Correct steering excess 'play'	Completed April 2000
Fix Turn signals	Completed April 2000
Check other electrical items	Completed May 2000
Replace wheels with chromed stock wheels & stock VW hubcaps	Completed May 2000
Clean Interior Pans of surface rust & repaint in rust preventative paint	Completed April 2000
Repair rust around headlight and tail light 'ding' - repaint entire car	Completed May 2000
Replace 'frenched' ariel with stock retractable item	Completed May 2000
Fit new 'Sewfine' oatmeal carpet set	Completed May 2000
Retrim with original chrome side strips and rear licence plate holder etc	Completed May 2000
Check auxiliary dials and install OEM clock	Completed April 2001
Install Heater system, fan shroud and original exhaust	Completed May 2001
Replace entire interior and headliner with Sewfine kits	Completed May 2001
Finish most of the detailing - mirrors, remove a/c from dash, soft top repair etc.	Completed June 2001
Transport to Jacksonville, Fl.	Completed Oct 2001
Ocean freight to England, pay duty import taxes etc	Completed Nov 2001
Pass UK inspection test and have any Euro-standard work completed	Completed Jan 2002
Licence and Drive	Completed Feb 2002!

Restoration Summary

The Paintshop