Ok, it's time to make myself look silly!!

[Michael Ghia]

OK, so my last name is Ghia and (yes really!) I haven't got that much info on Ghia's.
Is the chassis the same as a Bug chassis apart from the pans?
Is the front beam exactly the same?
Which axles are used on the gearbox? short(pre'66 beetle) or long?
Was IRS ever used? if so when...blah blah blah..
I want to know lots and havne't got the info.
Thanks guys.
Oh, the reason I want to know all this, is because I plan on taking the Oval body off it's chassis and fitting a Ghia convertible body to it. I have bigger plans for the Oval yet!
Mike Ghia

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Modification is a form of Art.

[Spyke]

Hi Mike,

You're going to have some trouble mounting the Ghia body on a Bug pan. A Ghia pan is wider than a Bug pan. (I'm pretty sure the Ghia and the Thing share the same pan?)

Year for year (with a few exceptions as noted in the previous post) the Ghia and the Bug share mechanical components.

-Craig

[Karman]

Yes, the chassis is basically the same except for the pans. Front beam is the same. Axles are identical to the same model year beetle. IRS came along at the same time as beetles ('68 for autostick, '69 for manual). About the only real big difference in the US was the addition of disc brakes. Ghias got them in '67 and beetles never had them. That also meant that Ghias went to four lug wheels one year before beetles. There was also an issue with the front sway bar that I can't quite remember - either Ghias got one first or it was bigger, or something like that.

[Danerius]

The Ghia had a swaybar before the Beetle had one and the pans are the same as the Fridolin.

[Aircooled_vw]

Hi Mike,

I have personaly put a 1974 Standard Beetle body on an IRS Ghia pan. Just as others have mentioned, the pan halves are different so I had to weld Beetle pans in. But to answer your question, yes it will work.

Rick

[Michael Ghia]

Great, thanks guys. All I have to do now is start saving up for a Karmann Ghia Convertiable body (!) and some more serious bits for my Oval (Read Porsche 911 C4).
How much do convertible Ghia projects go for?
Mike Ghia

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Modification is a form of Art.

[Aircooled_vw]

One last note. When I did my Ghia-to-Beetle body swap, I had to use the portion of the Beetle pans where the 4 body bolts are located under the back seat. Make sure that when you buy your Ghia floor pan sections for your Beetle frame that you get this part as it is different between Beetle and Ghia and many of the aftermarket Ghia pans don't come with it. You may actually benefit by cutting these parts out of a Type III or a Thing.

Rick