LS1 Karmann Ghia
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2005
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LS1 Karmann Ghia I am the proud owner of a 1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Cabriolet and have been considering an LS1 swap. I am fairly confident I will be able to carry out the physical transplant of the engine and transmission (T56) but I am a little worried about wiring. If I were to use just the body as a shell, are there any complete aftermarket wiring systems out there that are LS1-friendly? Also, if at all possible I would like to retain the independent rear suspension but with coilovers instead of torsion bars, what would be a good rearend yhat would allow me to do this? I appreciate any help that can be given. Something else I am considering is swapping an LS1 and T56 into the 1975 Volkswagen Scirroco that I purchased as a driver while the Ghia is under the knife, so if there are any thoughts concerning this, I would appreciate seeing them as well. Thanks.
If you plan to do the Ghia you would want to run a Porsche transaxle with an adapter plate. Renegade Hybrids and/or Kennedy Engineering sells the adapter plate. There are few Porsche LS1 conversions running around on here. Search.
BTW- That car would seriously scoot and would require some frame/chassis stiffening.
Good luck,
Mark
BTW- That car would seriously scoot and would require some frame/chassis stiffening.
Good luck,
Mark
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8
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Actually I would like to have the engine in front, there is indeed enough room if the footbox is tubbed and the engine is moved to under the rear of the hood. I also plan on using a T56 and something along the lines of a CTS or GTO rear with special axles that will fit original CV joints to the rearend housing and 930 CV joints on the spring plate end of the Ghia suspension. I highly doubt there would be enough room behind the seats while retaining any kind of comfort and I don't see an LS1 fitting in the rear where the egine currently is whatsoever. I have the mounting all but figured out, I'm just working out details and would like to find an aftermarket wiring system, maybe something from painless or Ron Francis, that will work well with the LS1 computer. But thanks for the input, it realy is appreciated even though it seems as if I shot it down on the spot.
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: California
ditto on that, speartech is the way to go and you can probably get something to fit a ron francis system. personally i feel it would be a better bet to cram an LS1 into the Scirocco (one r and two cs) as the hood doesnt slope down anywhere near as much and the engine would fit without cutting into the firewall like the Ghia would need.
You may also want to consider the center section from an 03-04 Mustang Cobra. They have a stout 8.8in ring gear and will hold up to just about anything you can throw at it in your light weight car. A low milage diff can be had for 200-250 bucks and they have a 3.55 gear with a limited slip diff.
Andrew
Andrew
adapter, conversion, engine, ghia, independent, karma, karmanghia, karmann, karmen, kennedy, ls1, rear, swap, volkswagen, vw
