My guess for factory stock Ghia’s is that the system was designed and set at the factory, so owner adjustments are not needed.
I’ll defer to those with actual experience on the proportioning valve issue. I was relating info from some friends that have done this. But I did a quick look through various vendors that sell drum to disc conversion kist…[Read more]

Paul, my Ghia has front discs and rear drums. Stops fine. But I don’t have an adjustable proportioning valve on her. Perhaps I need to add that. My TD Chassis is from a 71 Beetle donor with drums all around. How does your TD stop with full drums? Thinking of keeping the drums all around on mine.

You can have the rotors cut once. Have them check the runout first. If they’re warped (not “crystalized,” not blue) then they’ll need to be turned to bring them back straight. If not, not.Calipers. They’re all wet? Replace. Also the pads and the soft hoses.Rears drums: replace the shoes, wheels cylinders, soft hoses and–what the hell?–springs…[Read more]

I have drums all around on my VW based Duchess….but will chime in on the disc brake issue anyway.
In 1970, Karmann Ghias switched to front disc brakes…no power booster.
A very common upgrade to VW Beetles and VW based kit cars is an upgrade to front discs while retaining the rear drums. There are conversion kits for rear discs as well. Those…[Read more]

 My Chevette based BCW has front disc and rear drum brakes but no power booster.Also, it does not have room for one.Braking seems OK to me but I do have to exert more pressure on the pedal than is required on power brake equiped cars.
 I appreciate a car with lots of power but IMHO  ,a 283 is just too much power for these little cars.I don’t mea…[Read more]

Todd…send Bill Collins a private  message.the keeper of the club badges.

Pick up a copy of “Street Rodder” magazine.
Mustang II front crossmembers are available. Large disc brake conversion kits for Mustang II spindles are also available. Brakes from a full size ’80’s Caprice should be big enough.

Minor disagreement on discs without a booster.  My front engine has discs front and drums rear.  I do not have a booster, nor do I have room for one, but the braking is very good.  I have leg problems, and even with those problems I have no problem.  My front end is Mustang 2, and maybe there is a difference with different brands.  If the cali…[Read more]

I’m not an expert on brakes. But I do know that you have to have the vacuum to the brake booster or you’re not going to be able to stop very quickly in an emergency. make sure the vacuum to the booster is good before you replace the master cylinder. Also, and just a thought, if your brake hoses are over 10 years old, now would be a good time to…[Read more]

The rear wheel cylinders looked fairly new, and so did the shoes, but the springs looked old and suggested replacing those.  They recommended replacing the shoes anyway, because he said, they need to mate up with the new part that they push against.The inspector said the rotors had signs of overheating on one and “crystallizing” on the other,…[Read more]

Court wizard   I was looking at the pictures of the red TD their are wiper blades on the top of the glass just like a real TD. unless  I’m missing something ? 

 
You don’t have enough leg to push disk brakes without a booster. It looks like a doughnut on the firewall. The master cylinder is attached to the center of the booster. The booster uses vacuum to help you push on the pedal. When it fails you have manual brakes. Check the vacuum line to the booster before you condemn it.
I’m not a fan of r…[Read more]

Sure wish I could’ve joined you. Looks like you had a great time. 

Very cool. I like the backdrop too.

Same here.  I started out at 28, and bias ply tires.  Eventually ended up at 20 psi (front) and radials.  All the difference in the world.  It went from being spooky at 45 mph to stable and smooth at 70 mph.  This is on my VW Fiberfab model.  Even on my Ford engined (front obviously) I only run 24-25.PMOSSBERG40827.9534606481

very nice pic. thanks for sharring.

My car’s battery is in front of the gas tank. No extra weights, all “small leaves” removed from both torsion tubes. About 18 lbs pressure in each front tire, 25 lbs in the rears. Makes an enormous difference to lower the tire pressure and use reasonably new tires. If I were you I’d move the battery, but plenty of folks do fine with the battery…[Read more]

Marc–just one more thing: 30 lbs tire pressure is WAY too much in a TD replica, front or back, and especially for the front of a VW-based TD replica.Your front tires should be inflated to between 14 and 20 lbs, max.Makes a HUGE difference is ride quality and handling.But–you say–modern tires need 28 lbs as normal inflation and I’ll ruin them…[Read more]

No, I didn’t put dielectric grease on them, but that is a great idea.  I’m going to the auto parts store this weekend if I don’t get a chance tonight, so I’ll be sure to pick up some with my new connector.

It was nice to hook up with a fellow forum member. We are so few and far apart down here unlike you guys up north.