Patrick's 1966 Ghia

This is my '66 Ghia coupe, I have owned it since about 1983. At the time it had just been repaired from a crash, by a local backyard mechanic that had bought it at a towing yard auction. (The dents under the dash from the knees of the previous owner are still there) She was two tone, as the guy painted her nose in the original blue but left the faded color from the doors on back.

The engine was a 1500 single port that had been thrown together from spare parts the guy had, complete with used bearings. Once I got her, I started on making the engine reliable and getting the body back to one color. My intention when I bought it was to race Autocross and run her wheel to wheel in the summer races that are held by the Alaska Sports Car Club. I was allowed to run the single port in the D stock class in Autocross (I even got a trophy in 1988) and I had an 1835 built with dual 44 webers for the wheel to wheel races. She never did compete in the wheel to wheel race as the first time I went to Tannacross and tried some warm up laps I found that the stock drum brakes were lacking. Shortly after lap #3 I went sailing off the track and out through the willows for 200 to 300 feet. (It's a good thing they ran that event on an old W.W.II air field.)

The old girl was my summer daily driver through to 1997, and by that time she had received a better paint job in 1989 and a less thirsty engine (a 1776cc with dual Cadrons) With all this driving I spun the dial past the 100,000 mile mark and had it back up to 73,000! Just think, when I got her there was 63,000 on the speedo. From 1997 to 2004 she sat in my garage with the cover on collecting dust. In 1995 I had started building a new 1904cc mill for her but soon after my child kid was born so it was back under the cover again. In 2003 we decided to move out of the big city and my wife told me to "get rid of all of my junk " That was when I decided to get off my duff and get the old girl back up an running. So by the time we moved my Ghia was back up and running and I was able to drive her out to our new home. She had to sit in the cold for one last year before my new toy box (read garage) could be built.

She now spends the winters relaxing in warm hibernation and is my summer daily driver again. She has some nicks and dings so it will have to be repainted again, one it got hit by a tree during a wind storm while waiting for the new garage to be completed. The 1904cc engine is built for mileage with a re-jetted stock carb, a mild cam, headers, and a custom (homemade) exhaust. She runs out at 34 mpg at 65 mph, and while she can't blow off the Honda's like she use to, she looks better that they do and she turns more heads.

Patrick Cedros