what is a ghia?

[kilrcady]

I am new to this please explain.thanks

[twistedstang]

Its a trim package. Ussually more "luxery" based things such as plushy seats etc. Ghia is a Italian company that does automotive design.

[Bryan Knebworth]

haha, I remember a friend of ours brother just bought this Mustang, and was telling us all about it. "Its an '80 Mustang GEAR--and its fast as hell!" My friends and I were only into '60s cars at the time, and no idea what he was talking about

[Mustang-junky]

From what I have seen Ghia=ugly. Of course this is just my opinion.

Jess

[Rick Schmidt]

Ghias ugly ?? since when ?? My 82 is a GLX which if I remember right was the 82 designation that replaced the Ghia name. The car was no where near ugly. In fact it looked like any 79-82 hatch ya see posted on here. She just had the "Fancy " interior in her

[grabbergreen84]

I think the Ghia package first showed up in '74 or '75, on the Mustang IIs. As I remember, Ghias were all notchbacks in the Mustang II era, and they usually had the Landau vinyl top.
The package carried over to the foxes for a few years.

[Gemini1999]

Ghias ugly ?? since when ?? My 82 is a GLX which if I remember right was the 82 designation that replaced the Ghia name. The car was no where near ugly. In fact it looked like any 79-82 hatch ya see posted on here. She just had the "Fancy " interior in her

I had a couple of Ghias. I had a 1974 Mustang II Ghia Coupe - the only external difference on that car was the type of vinyl roof it had and the vinyl/chrome side moldings. On the interior, the seat fabrics and carpeting were a bit more plush than the base models, but they were pretty much the same. One feature that I did like is that it had the aluminum 5-hole mag wheels that were a factory option for the Mustang II.

I also had a 1980 Ghia Hatch. It was Dark Cordovan Metallic with Black interior. On the outside, it had one Ghia badge in addition to the standard badges. It had chrome window frames and the sail panels were painted the same color as the body. Other than the white sidewall tires and the turbine wheel covers, it looked like any other 1980 Hatch. Mine even had the black louver panel for the rear hatch window and the faux hood scoop. On the interior, the seats were a black cloth that had a brushed cotton feel (not quite like velour). It also had other trim/equipment items that were available on other 1980 models.

Externally, if you swapped out the wheels & tires, it would appear a bit more sporty than it was. Interior wise, if you added a sport steering wheel and got the "cobra" blackout dash panels, it would nearly change the look completely.

I don't really see how a Ghia model car would be considerably uglier than any other of the same year. It doesn't take much to change one to another.

Bryan

[Live Fast]

Nothing really different other than the interior/wheel selection. Calling a Ghia ugly would be about the same as calling any other fox ugly. Any fox can be ugly, just depends on your taste and what you do with it.

[foxmustang84]

Surprised no one has mentioned a carriage roof.

[Live Fast]

Surprised no one has mentioned a carriage roof.

Hey hey now that is a touchy subject lol.

Very few I have seen look good. I personally didnt like mine so off it went. Plus finding an upholstery shop capable of making a new top would probably be slim around me.

[vascj]

can't we all try to refrain from insulting comments like this. my rule is...if something you are about to say insults another car guy...then you should probably think twice before saying it... this goes for just about anything...mods, options, colors, models, etc.

[foxmustang84]

Hey hey now that is a touchy subject lol.

Very few I have seen look good. I personally didnt like mine so off it went. Plus finding an upholstery shop capable of making a new top would probably be slim around me.

I'm not knocking them, I'm actually thinking about putting one back on my 80 Ghia when I finish it someday. I think yellow with a black roof would look cool, but as you said, finding someone to do it is another story.
Heres one, I dont know who's it is though:
[IMG][/IMG]

[twistedstang]

can't we all try to refrain from insulting comments like this. my rule is...if something you are about to say insults another car guy...then you should probably think twice before saying it... this goes for just about anything...mods, options, colors, models, etc.

Friends dont let friends do bad mods to their cars

[FoxChassis]

See the factory literature for what the Ghia had as standard equipment in addition to the "base" model. And even what was standard on the Ghia was most of the time optional on the other models. There are showroom sales brochures posted here in the Library and negusm has Ford product fact guides on his 'site.

Leather, carriage roof, vinyl roof, etc. ... those were all options. They were not standard in/on the Ghia.

[Brian@DBR]

This is an image from a 1979 brochure that I had doctored to help with my current project.

[Live Fast]

I'm not knocking them, I'm actually thinking about putting one back on my 80 Ghia when I finish it someday. I think yellow with a black roof would look cool, but as you said, finding someone to do it is another story.
Heres one, I dont know who's it is though:
[IMG][/IMG]

The reason I have never seen one that looked good is because most people did not care for the top and maintain it. I would however like to put a vinyl top on mine like you have pictured here. I do like the way those look.

[roush235]

I always liked the look of the Ghias. I also like vinyl roofs, they look "period correct."

[Mustang-junky]

can't we all try to refrain from insulting comments like this. my rule is...if something you are about to say insults another car guy...then you should probably think twice before saying it... this goes for just about anything...mods, options, colors, models, etc.

If you are referring to me. I said I felt the Ghia models were ugly because I don't care for all the tacked on stuff. As stated in my first post, this is my personal taste, if others like it, more power to ya, no insulting here.

Jess

[webestang]

This is an image from a 1979 brochure that I had doctored to help with my current project.

HOT! Those rims look like they were made for that coupe.....!

[69clark]

Friends dont let friends do bad mods to their cars

+1, LOL

[79_5.0]

I have a 1979 Capri GHIA model. its got no options at all. manual everything. its got the exterior chrome trim package, and the TRX wheels... but thats about it. nothing else that I know of would be considered part of the GHIA package

[XLCR]

I have a '79 Ghia hatch. I certainly don't think it's ugly, even with dents and faded paint, and amazingly, I have gotten many compliments on it, including one Foxaholic that followed me home from Wal-Mart to ask me about the car. I think he was hoping I was some fool in the mood to let go of it real cheap.

On the outside the only real difference is the extra chrome window trim and rocker panels and the body-color sail panel, plus the turbine hub caps, which are very unusual for having holes for the real lug nuts to poke through, rather than the usual fake nuts. You can actually remove the wheels without taking off the hubcaps!

I think what the Ghia option is really about is the interior. It really is very much like the RS option on an older Camero. A little extra trim on the outside, and an upgraded interior. The thing is, the first gen cars really need a better interior. My ex had a base '80 coupe and the interior on that car was cheap in the extreme. Everything was plastic and vinyl. The seats were awful, burning butt would set within 80 miles. The Ghia is much better. The seats are better upholstered and more comfortable, though they still don't recline, and carpet is far nicer, you get the fake wood dash, a sucky T-bird looking wheel, and bits of carpet, upholstery, and patent leather map pockets on the doors, which cover up at least some of that cheap looking and brittle plastic.

I fixed the steering wheel problem with a new Grant Walnut Mustang wheel. It matches the fake wood dash and the Chamois interior really well. The really nice thing about my Ghia is whoever ordered it wanted their performance with the luxury. Sort of like an SS/RS. Along with the Ghia package and air conditioning, it also came with almost everything that could be called a performance option in '79. It had the V-8 option, the SROD four-speed, handling suspension, power steering and power brakes. The only things it didn't have are the TRX package and the Traction-Lok diff.

Now of course it has a lot of things. The turbine wheels from my '89 GT look right on it, I think, in the spirit of the original turbine hub caps. The stock engine really came alive with an Edelbrock carb and manifold, a set of factory headers, a custom dual exhaust, and a first class head job. I'm amazed by how strong it pulls considering the bottom end is untouched with 163,000 on it. It also has a new HD T-5 box, a new Borg-Warner rack, and upgraded brakes, suspension, and chassis. It's a surprisingly good performer for a car that came with only 140 HP. All it takes is a few simple upgrades to easily match the performance of a later carb car. The potential was always there, it just took a few years for Ford to figure it out.