Replacing a Karmann Ghia Clutch Cable

After a few very frustrating days with broken and incorrect parts. I'm now pretty expert on replacing clutch cables and know a few of the "tricks".

First trick is to replace the tube that the cable rides in between the back of the tunnel and the bracket on the side of the trans.  Costs about $8 and is an extremely worthwhile investment. A few burrs inside this tube will absolutely prevent a new cable from being installed.

The second trick is to make certain that you have the correct length cable.  It takes all the fun out of it to install the thing and then find out that it's 5" too long.

The third trick is to use some type of tape or other flexible material to hold the passenger end of the cable onto the hook inside the tunnel.

All told these three items cost me at least 10-12 very frustrating hours over a few days, a couple of scraped up hands, and were responsible for the addition of several brand new swear words to the language.

The Ghia is probably more difficult than many bugs due to the presence of a trans mid mount and an secondary oil cooler over the trans...both of which restrict access the the trans end of the clutch cable.  Never the less I can probably do the job in about two hours total time now that I know what to look out for.  You could probably cut another 1/2 -3/4 hr off of that time with an overhead lift instead of working underneath the car in the driveway.

Final tip.  Clutch cable replacement time may also be a good time to replace the throttle cable tube that's between the tunnel and engine cooling shroud.

Gerry