Coming home again…

[dougmische]

how cool is that dont you just love a happy ending
 did i misread that or did you just say that the wocket is coming to the uk??? holy crap i love that car

Technically, it's a happy beginning.  Now the fun really starts.

Yes, the Wocket is going to Wussell Witchie.  Glad to hear that you like it.  It's not bad as obsessions go, eh?

[Lee.C]

"Yes, the Wocket is going to Wussell Witchie" 

plenty of funds for the Ghia then 

[Sarge]

plenty of funds for the Ghia then 

and maybe some left over to pack the bong again

[Lee.C]

plenty of funds for the Ghia then 

and maybe some left over to pack the bong with again

    

[Zach Gomulka]

Doug, I'm guessing it is a '68 model, and you fitted it with short axles to get those 7's in there?? Must have been a tight fit!

[Jason Foster]

WOW another great one for Russell that's a superb car. Look forward to seeing the ghia congrats on being reunited Doug.

[Russell]

Really sad story this is I was hoping to get this car but no Doug had to steal right from under my nose 

Never mind just wait untill he hes sees the Wocket with some nice side strips, narrow beam and some polished Fuchs and some decent seatcovers, that will sort him out. 

LOL.........

No one is more glad than me that Doug has got his Ghia back.... proper history the way it should be, could happen to a better persone. Doug good luck with the project and remember "an off the shelf linkage" will work just fine 

[vwcab]

Any pics of the Wocket?

[Russell]

yes loads of them.

[vwcab]

  LOL....

[Sarge]

Any pics of the Wocket?

 

[John Rayburn]

We need to pitch in and get Keith an inflatable Volkswagen.

[Rennsurfer]

Finally... a new home for my slightly used blow-up sheep doll. Been looking for a good home where I can send it.

Can't wait to see Doug's Ghia when it's reborn again.

[WCB Hitler's Hot Rod]

Really sad story this is I was hoping to get this car but no Doug had to steal right from under my nose 

Never mind just wait untill he hes sees the Wocket with some nice side strips, narrow beam and some polished Fuchs and some decent seatcovers, that will sort him out. 

LOL.........

No one is more glad than me that Doug has got his Ghia back.... proper history the way it should be, could happen to a better persone. Doug good luck with the project and remember "an off the shelf linkage" will work just fine 

Hey Russell, Congrats on getting the WOCKET.Just a suggestion. I would change a few things on the car like adding some neon lights under the running boards, installing a huge spoiler on the back and changing that pretty exhaust to something alot larger and LOUDER! I don't think Doug would mind he loves the FAST and FURIOUS sequels and is looking forward to the new one coming up. You know, dress it up a little...

Doug, I would certainly like to take you up on your offer if its not to late...    Steve.

[Sarge]

On the way to The Classic a few years ago...

[dougmische]

plenty of funds for the Ghia then 

and maybe some left over to pack the bong again

My pal!  Hook me up buddy!

[dougmische]

Doug, I'm guessing it is a '68 model, and you fitted it with short axles to get those 7's in there?? Must have been a tight fit!

Hi Zach,

No, it's a '69.  Only year that Oriole Yellow was available [like anybody else wanted it anyway].  The car is IRS, and the 7's required only a bit of griding to the lip of the fender for clearance.  It was tight though.

[dougmische]

Any pics of the Wocket?

 

The secret of how I achieved 'the wet look' for my engine tin...

[dougmische]

Really sad story this is I was hoping to get this car but no Doug had to steal right from under my nose 

Never mind just wait untill he hes sees the Wocket with some nice side strips, narrow beam and some polished Fuchs and some decent seatcovers, that will sort him out. 

LOL.........

No one is more glad than me that Doug has got his Ghia back.... proper history the way it should be, could happen to a better persone. Doug good luck with the project and remember "an off the shelf linkage" will work just fine 

Hey Russell, Congrats on getting the WOCKET.Just a suggestion. I would change a few things on the car like adding some neon lights under the running boards, installing a huge spoiler on the back and changing that pretty exhaust to something alot larger and LOUDER! I don't think Doug would mind he loves the FAST and FURIOUS sequels and is looking forward to the new one coming up. You know, dress it up a little...

Doug, I would certainly like to take you up on your offer if its not to late...    Steve.

Steve,

Just let me know when you have some time.  You're always welcome.

Doug

[IP359]

That's an incredible story.
But life is full of signs and somewhere it was written that you must drive again this car (because you love you so much !).
It's a great news for the DKP too : + 1 car (an old lady comes back at home !!!!)
So now Doug, please don't hesitate to share pics of restoration.
Thxs,

PS : And don't forget to put an alarm 

(because you love you so much !)  -  I was really hoping nobody had noticed. Guess I'd better go back for more humility lessons.  ;-)

Yes, an alarm, and LoJack and a pitbull inside ought to do it.

Ooops, sorry for the mistake, lol
 

[dougmische]

Really sad story this is I was hoping to get this car but no Doug had to steal right from under my nose 

Never mind just wait untill he hes sees the Wocket with some nice side strips, narrow beam and some polished Fuchs and some decent seatcovers, that will sort him out. 

LOL.........

No one is more glad than me that Doug has got his Ghia back.... proper history the way it should be, could happen to a better persone. Doug good luck with the project and remember "an off the shelf linkage" will work just fine 

I'm starting to get a complex...  could happen to a better persone

What are you trying to say Russell?

Many of you don't know this, but Russell saved a lot of dough buying a discount computer.  It seemed like a good deal at the time, but all the keys on the keyboard have been moved around.   

[Dave Rosique]

Doug, that is so cool you got your car back! I always liked thet car, plus I'm a little partial to KG's anyway.

Years ago, a customer of mine had a beater '67 Deluxe Microbus that was his surf wagon... well one night the thing was stolen. Several months later, after insurance had settled, etc he gets a call from the Sheriff saying they have his Bus in impound. He figured it would be in pieces, but he checks it out anyway and guess what? The sucker was painted, lowered, had real alloys & a fresh engine! It actually looked pretty decent. Anyway, he negotiated the car back from insurance (not sure how he did that) and had them pay me to raise it back up & locate some original rims and tires (he gave me the Fuchs & adapters ) This story turned out good, pretty rare though...

Side note-- back in the day, I can not tell you how many kill switches that we installed that actually saved the car... simple little hidden switch to ground the points.

[dougmische]

Doug, that is so cool you got your car back! I always liked thet car, plus I'm a little partial to KG's anyway.

Years ago, a customer of mine had a beater '67 Deluxe Microbus that was his surf wagon... well one night the thing was stolen. Several months later, after insurance had settled, etc he gets a call from the Sheriff saying they have his Bus in impound. He figured it would be in pieces, but he checks it out anyway and guess what? The sucker was painted, lowered, had real alloys & a fresh engine! It actually looked pretty decent. Anyway, he negotiated the car back from insurance (not sure how he did that) and had them pay me to raise it back up & locate some original rims and tires (he gave me the Fuchs & adapters ) This story turned out good, pretty rare though...

Side note-- back in the day, I can not tell you how many kill switches that we installed that actually saved the car... simple little hidden switch to ground the points.

Thanks Dave.  I never knew that so many people ever knew about my Ghia, let alone actually liked it!

Funny you mention the kill switch.  I had two.  One killed the ignition, the other killed the electric fuel pump.  I surmised that the way my car was stolen involved a tow truck.  I think they just picked it up and rolled away.

[Rennsurfer]

Side note-- back in the day, I can not tell you how many kill switches that we installed that actually saved the car... simple little hidden switch to ground the points.

Amen to the kill switch. In the old days, it saved my '66 from getting completely stolen. Thankfully, the moronic fools that attempted to steal my car weren't the brightest bunch of kids. (although they THOUGHT they were) That .50¢ switch was a Godsend.

Sadly, these days, it's a different game and the bastards will take your car with more evil tactics. Which is why my current '67 is locked with cables and locks secured to the ground, with several anti-theft gadgets throughout the car, and in a garage. Like Scwhimmer once told me, "If they want your car bad enough... they'll take it." Yep, so I make really difficult to take. Car thieves should be all caught, hands removed, then sent off to an island where the military conducts their bomb testing. And that's being nice. This is a public forum, so I'll keep my real thoughts to myself.

[Dave Rosique]

Doug, that is so cool you got your car back! I always liked thet car, plus I'm a little partial to KG's anyway.

Years ago, a customer of mine had a beater '67 Deluxe Microbus that was his surf wagon... well one night the thing was stolen. Several months later, after insurance had settled, etc he gets a call from the Sheriff saying they have his Bus in impound. He figured it would be in pieces, but he checks it out anyway and guess what? The sucker was painted, lowered, had real alloys & a fresh engine! It actually looked pretty decent. Anyway, he negotiated the car back from insurance (not sure how he did that) and had them pay me to raise it back up & locate some original rims and tires (he gave me the Fuchs & adapters ) This story turned out good, pretty rare though...

Side note-- back in the day, I can not tell you how many kill switches that we installed that actually saved the car... simple little hidden switch to ground the points.

Thanks Dave.  I never knew that so many people ever knew about my Ghia, let alone actually liked it!

Funny you mention the kill switch.  I had two.  One killed the ignition, the other killed the electric fuel pump.  I surmised that the way my car was stolen involved a tow truck.  I think they just picked it up and rolled away.

No doubt.
You'd think it'd be easier to work for a living than steal... makes you wonder what they see when they look in a mirror.
Sure glad you got it back after all these years... unbelievable.

~DR

[Zach Gomulka]

Doug, I'm guessing it is a '68 model, and you fitted it with short axles to get those 7's in there?? Must have been a tight fit!

Hi Zach,

No, it's a '69.  Only year that Oriole Yellow was available [like anybody else wanted it anyway].  The car is IRS, and the 7's required only a bit of griding to the lip of the fender for clearance.  It was tight though.

Dang, I would never guess that a late 7" would fit on the back of a IRS Ghia! You can narrow the trailing arms 26mm to tuck the wheels in, and use 2 left side T3 automatic axles... I did it to my GTV... then you could fit rear disc brakes as well. Something to ponder

[dougmische]

Doug, I'm guessing it is a '68 model, and you fitted it with short axles to get those 7's in there?? Must have been a tight fit!

Hi Zach,

No, it's a '69.  Only year that Oriole Yellow was available [like anybody else wanted it anyway].  The car is IRS, and the 7's required only a bit of griding to the lip of the fender for clearance.  It was tight though.

Dang, I would never guess that a late 7" would fit on the back of a IRS Ghia! You can narrow the trailing arms 26mm to tuck the wheels in, and use 2 left side T3 automatic axles... I did it to my GTV... then you could fit rear disc brakes as well. Something to ponder

Great info Zach, but this car is going to be as close as it can to the way it was.

Discovered just this weekend that the front rotors and rear drums are the original ones that came on the car in '69.  The rotors and drums are drilled for Porsche 5-lug; they're the same ones that FAT did for me back in the day!  They have to stay on the car.  The Rivieras on the car now each have one stud and a Porsche lug nut, and the other holes have stock VW lug bolts.

Yes, hard-anodized CNC brakes would be bitchen, as would Porsche calipers, but I owe it to history [hope that doesn't sound too proud] to keep this car exactly as it was, within the limits of possibility.

[Fastbrit]

I owe it to history [hope that doesn't sound too proud] to keep this car exactly as it was, within the limits of possibility.

So are ya going to fit a broken transmission casing, too? You know, just in the name of hysterical accuracy.

[dougmische]

I owe it to history [hope that doesn't sound too proud] to keep this car exactly as it was, within the limits of possibility.

So are ya going to fit a broken transmission casing, too? You know, just in the name of hysterical accuracy.

No, but once running, I promise to do me level best to abuse it to the best of my ability.

[Zach Gomulka]

Doug, I'm guessing it is a '68 model, and you fitted it with short axles to get those 7's in there?? Must have been a tight fit!

Hi Zach,

No, it's a '69.  Only year that Oriole Yellow was available [like anybody else wanted it anyway].  The car is IRS, and the 7's required only a bit of griding to the lip of the fender for clearance.  It was tight though.

Dang, I would never guess that a late 7" would fit on the back of a IRS Ghia! You can narrow the trailing arms 26mm to tuck the wheels in, and use 2 left side T3 automatic axles... I did it to my GTV... then you could fit rear disc brakes as well. Something to ponder

Great info Zach, but this car is going to be as close as it can to the way it was.

Discovered just this weekend that the front rotors and rear drums are the original ones that came on the car in '69.  The rotors and drums are drilled for Porsche 5-lug; they're the same ones that FAT did for me back in the day!  They have to stay on the car.  The Rivieras on the car now each have one stud and a Porsche lug nut, and the other holes have stock VW lug bolts.

Yes, hard-anodized CNC brakes would be bitchen, as would Porsche calipers, but I owe it to history [hope that doesn't sound too proud] to keep this car exactly as it was, within the limits of possibility.

That's fantastic!!

Do you remember what size tires you ran in the rear back then???