Vintage Road Race Ghia...

[cefolar]

I was curious if the OP had a special set or if they were an off the shelf version from Bilstein.

They are just off the shelf Bilsteins from Summit Racing - I tried to get the Konis and had a hard time sourcing them. Ordered them from Summit and waited about 2 months and they just kept back ordering them so I just gave up and went with the Bilsteins.

[JWP]

Thanks for the info. I've had bad luck with ordering Bilstiens in the past so it's nice to know a reliable source.

[crankwalk]

Beautiful build!

[Roflhat]

awesome work! Will be watching for progress

[Fiatdude]

I believe I am going to switch over to coil overs in the rear and use these QA-1's

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-dd401

I've ran QA's single adjustables on the rear of my oval and really liked it

[r1cpowdercoating]

that car is to beautiful to race!!!! lol what you gonna do when somebody bends it or rubs it./??? the sme thing I did when I scratched mine up hahah

[cefolar]

Thanks for the compliments - I'll keep the thread updated with progress. A friend of mine mounted the trashed 205/50 spec miata hoosiers on some stock 4.5" VW wheels (obviously not right it is just to roll the car around). They look like bloated compact spares - We'll see how that adventure goes.

that car is to beautiful to race!!!! lol what you gonna do when somebody bends it or rubs it./???

First, rub them back and then fix it duh - -
The pictures make the paint look nicer than it is. Its actually just an old ford truck blue shot as straight enamel, no clear, no wetsanding, no buffing...

[cefolar]

Ok - so it is totally ridiculous (and as a disclaimer, completely unsafe) to stuff a 205 tire on a stock 4.5" rim. But...at least as it sits, to facilitate a test fit and roll the car around the 205 Hoosiers just might work on the track with a correct width wheel . The significantly smaller diameter (23" from nearly 27" stock tire) helps immensly. That is an instant 2" lower from stock + 2.5" drop spindle gets it 4.5" lower without even trying. I still have the adjustable beam to fine tune from there. If I try to slam the fenderwell over half the tire (like the super slammer guys do) - then no way, thats not my point anyway. But it least it doesn't stick out past the fenderwell and for racing, this should do just fine. Now I just need to get some proper 5.5" rims and have at it.

[andy198712]

sweet! where did you get the 1.5 dropped spindles? i dont want the 2.5in drop they sell everywhere...

[cefolar]

sweet! where did you get the 1.5 dropped spindles? i dont want the 2.5in drop they sell everywhere...

Sorry, my typo got you excited - they are CB performance 2-1/2" - edited.

[r1cpowdercoating]

i drilled my rotorsfor the 5 lug ford pattern then found some BBS wheels off a mazda rx7 poder coated them and thats what I run. lood great on the car and they are the same offset as the vw wheels.

[Jadewombat]

sweet! where did you get the 1.5 dropped spindles? i dont want the 2.5in drop they sell everywhere...

My friend's ghia had to be raised back up a little with adjustable beam after dropping with spindles. Rubbed a bit on corners and braking otherwise with the spindle drop.

[andy198712]

my thought exactly

[FJCamper]

Hi Cefolar,

We've been running 50 series tires on our PanAm Ghia, and two things are very apparent.

1. They do a great job of lowering all by themselves and handle great.

2. They put us at a great disadvantage for top end with our 4.12 r&p.

FJC

[cefolar]

They put us at a great disadvantage for top end with our 4.12 r&p.

Yeah - the smaller tire diameter is certainly an issue with that shorter gear and something we kept an eye on. Fortunately, Mike at Rancho Performance setup the new transaxle (R/P and gear ratios) to compensate for the smaller tire diameter. Calculated top speed at 6500 RPM was around 140 mph - doubtful it will ever see that except maybe the Sebring or Daytona.