The Karmann Ghia thread

[Figment]

I sold the Triton years ago because it was no longer the right tool for the job.
I picked up the Mako because it would be a more convenient (driveway instead of boatyard) project, which it was, but over the summer I got it to the point of not being such a project anymore, it was an actual Boat with nothing much wrong about it..... and I just didn't love it. I sold that 15-20GPH beast while gas was still cheap, becoming a boatless inlander, searching for the meaning of life-aground.

I've done a project-house, a project-sailboat, a project-powerboat... I needed a new groove. And I missed my jeep. And I've long had a hankering for a late 60s Jeepster Commando. That hunt quickly proved fruitless. I blame Ford's reintroduction of the Bronco, which has sent the values of 1st-generation Broncos skyrocketing, which has dragged the values of all small 4x4s from that era along for the ride.

So one thing lead to another and I picked up this Karmann Ghia instead.


No, I'm not in love with the color. It's "Texas yellow", and I'm more of a "Fighting Lady Yellow" guy.

[Peerie Maa]

^ Yes it is a tad nappy (diaper) brown

[bobbys]

We'd had one just like that for awhile.

Wife drove it for one year.

Now she tells me she cannot drive a stick shift car.

I told her she drove the KG.

??????.

[amish rob]

Oh, I'm all ears. And these are the ONE type of car I know about. Well, I know about all three types

Peace,
Robert

[Norman Bernstein]

I was always of the opinion that the Karmann Ghia was proof that it was possible to wrap what is basically a cheap car, in a really beautiful shape. I think modern inexpensive cars NEVER do that.

[Figment]

^ Yes it is a tad nappy (diaper) brown

no that's just the late afternoon overcast 43-north daylight. It's actually a rather obnoxiously loud yellow.

This is the same paint on a Beetle in better light...

[bobbys]

I remember jumping in it and thinking this is a real sports car it's like I have a corvette , then you drive it and go ,hey it's a fancy VW and just as slow.

However it has a real cool factor that makes up for that.

[bamamick]

The prettiest girl I went to high school with drove a Karmann Ghia, so I guess I just have a generally positive impression of those things.

Mickey Lake

[amish rob]

Shoot. Drop 150 horse into a ghia and go embarrass fools.

Peace,
Robert

[Phil Y]

I like the Karmann, and the bug

[Dan McCosh]

Dunno if I've mentioned this before, but my father brought one of the first dozen or so in the U.S., and it was the family car when I learned to drive. One quirk was the lack of a gas guage. Another problem was it sharing the garage with a Hillman that also was a stick shift, but with the shift pattern reversed, in a mirror image.

[Lew Barrett]

Worthy project. I think it's a better toy than a Bronco anyway, not second fiddle. Congratulations.

Looks good from here. What's on the menu for this car?

[David G]

Great project. I have an ex-neighbor I still see sometimes. He restored a K. Ghia convertible, painted it the factory 'B.RacingGreen' color, and owns it and loves it and babies it to this day. Dated a girl in college who drove one, and it was surprisingly nimble.

[Dan McCosh]

Great project. I have an ex-neighbor I still see sometimes. He restored a K. Ghia convertible, painted it the factory 'B.RacingGreen' color, and owns it and loves it and babies it to this day. Dated a girl in college who drove one, and it was surprisingly nimble.

Can you paint a German car British Racing Green? Did the Germans?

[David G]

Can you paint a German car British Racing Green? Did the Germans?

Dunno what the official VW name for the color was... but it was BRG to most eyes. And I'm sure that was the effect they were aiming for.

[Lew Barrett]

I like yellow on sporty cars. The temptation to add a few ponies would be hard to pass up if I was building it for myself.

[Figment]

The car isn't really a car, it's an incomplete project. That is to say; the PO bought it off ebay ten years ago in need of much work, spent about five years restoring it and got it most of the way back together again when a back injury stalled his progress. Four years and three surgeries later he surrendered to the reality that he was done working on cars.

Evidently I did a fair job of convincing the guy that I intended to finish what he'd started (instead of stripping it and selling the pieces) because he threw EVERYTHING into the deal. He combed his garage and attic for two days finding every little bit and piece that could possibly be used on this car. In the OP photo above the Ghia and the FJ are stuffed with boxes of parts. The trunk lid is held down with a bungee because it couldn't latch with all the stuff inside.

I spent the next two days just sorting through everything. This is what the interior looked like halfway through the emptying process...

Amid the extra plug wires and fan belts and window gaskets and such are a complete new carpet kit and door cards, aftermarket wheels, ridiculous yellow steering wheel, etc.

The whole thing is mostly-done.
The body job is mostly done. The doors and deck lid and trunk lid don't quite latch properly.
The electrical system is mostly done. New wiring harness installed except for engine connections.
The motor is mostly done. rebuilt and reinstalled except for the tins and electricals.
The floor pan replacement is mostly done. etc etc etc.

What's on the menu... I don't really know yet. I'm going to get it back together, drive the piss out of it for a while, and then figure out where I want it to land in the spectrum between "cute toy" and "death trap".
One thing I'm NOT doing is making any effort whatsoever to "keep it original".

[amish rob]

Something mild, like this, would be nice.

Peace,
Robert

[stromborg]

Can you paint a German car British Racing Green? Did the Germans?

I just did...some assembly still required

[Lew Barrett]

The car isn't really a car, it's an incomplete project. That is to say; the PO bought it off ebay ten years ago in need of much work, spent about five years restoring it and got it most of the way back together again when a back injury stalled his progress. Four years and three surgeries later he surrendered to the reality that he was done working on cars.

Evidently I did a fair job of convincing the guy that I intended to finish what he'd started (instead of stripping it and selling the pieces) because he threw EVERYTHING into the deal. He combed his garage and attic for two days finding every little bit and piece that could possibly be used on this car. In the OP photo above the Ghia and the FJ are stuffed with boxes of parts. The trunk lid is held down with a bungee because it couldn't latch with all the stuff inside.

I spent the next two days just sorting through everything. This is what the interior looked like halfway through the emptying process...

Amid the extra plug wires and fan belts and window gaskets and such are a complete new carpet kit and door cards, aftermarket wheels, ridiculous yellow steering wheel, etc.

The whole thing is mostly-done.
The body job is mostly done. The doors and deck lid and trunk lid don't quite latch properly.
The electrical system is mostly done. New wiring harness installed except for engine connections.
The motor is mostly done. rebuilt and reinstalled except for the tins and electricals.
The floor pan replacement is mostly done. etc etc etc.

What's on the menu... I don't really know yet. I'm going to get it back together, drive the piss out of it for a while, and then figure out where I want it to land in the spectrum between "cute toy" and "death trap".
One thing I'm NOT doing is making any effort whatsoever to "keep it original".

Sounds good to me.

[Old Dryfoot]

I vote for "death trap." Turbo it up, and go have some fun embarrassing Mustang 5.0 owners.

[Paul Pless]

rat the hell out of it

[Jim Bow]

I once looked for a Ghia. Every one that matched my wallet had a dent right in the nose.

[Shang]

Loved my Ghia!
It looked like this one in the picture, "Sunshine Orange." The best rag-top ever made. Same engine and running gear as the VW Bug, but heavier because of the body lead that faired out the fenders.

[img]

Unfortunately the roads in Upstate NY use a ghastly amount of salt-like chemicals on the roads in the winter, and the Ghia has many nooks and crannies which conduct salt into the interior of the car, and there is no way to clean them out.
I gave my rusting Ghia away to a young lady forest ranger who, with her father, restored VW's. They were able to utilize the engine, but had to scrap the body.

[Old Dryfoot]

Just doing a little quick reading, the KG is not a car I know a lot about, but it looks like a WRX engine will drop in with little to no fuss. Then again, you could go Porsche and keep it in the family as it were.

Or you could go off the deep end with your first step. . .

[Garret]

A friend has a 914 he dropped a WRX motor into. Thing will fly.

While not an air sucker fan, I had a Ghia for a while that was pretty fun. I'd think hot rodding one would be fun. To steal an idea from another thread - maybe a Merlin engine?

[amish rob]

Subarus, Fords and Mazda rotaries will all go in there. The radiator can be put up front, and coolant run through tubing in the shifter tunnel.


I've heard...

Peace,
Robert

[stromborg]

I'd put the thing together and drive it for the summer, then decide if it really warrants "hotrodding".

[epoxyboy]

I had the chance to buy a KG years ago, for the princely sum of $2500. A bit rough around the edges, but all there..........DOH!

Pete

[The Bigfella]

I just did...some assembly still required

Is that an Airhead behind the Kombi?

[Iceboy]

Nice find! How was the Fj pulling that load?

I sold the Triton years ago because it was no longer the right tool for the job.
I picked up the Mako because it would be a more convenient (driveway instead of boatyard) project, which it was, but over the summer I got it to the point of not being such a project anymore, it was an actual Boat with nothing much wrong about it..... and I just didn't love it. I sold that 15-20GPH beast while gas was still cheap, becoming a boatless inlander, searching for the meaning of life-aground.

I've done a project-house, a project-sailboat, a project-powerboat... I needed a new groove. And I missed my jeep. And I've long had a hankering for a late 60s Jeepster Commando. That hunt quickly proved fruitless. I blame Ford's reintroduction of the Bronco, which has sent the values of 1st-generation Broncos skyrocketing, which has dragged the values of all small 4x4s from that era along for the ride.

So one thing lead to another and I picked up this Karmann Ghia instead.


No, I'm not in love with the color. It's "Texas yellow", and I'm more of a "Fighting Lady Yellow" guy.

[Figment]

Just dandy, it's set up for towing the Mako, this tow was at least 2000lb less.
Air bags in the rear springs, aftermarket transmission cooler, and a scangauge to keep an eye on it all.

Shang's comment on the heavier body amused me.
In that pic on the trailer, the driver's window is mostly-open (so that he could throw more parts in after the doors were closed) but when I got home that night it was about to rain so I needed to hustle it off the trailer and into the garage. Not running, so it's a push-job.
I removed the straps and chains and gave it a shove... moved a couple inches. Another shove, another couple inches. I thought I was just having trouble getting the wheels up and over the little chocks on the trailer so I gave it a BIG SHOVE/LIFT and it moved about a foot. WTF!!!
Some of that internal cargo had moved in transit and had moved the gearstick into 1st.
This thing weighs so little that I was able to move it a foot with both rear wheels locked.

[Garret]

A car salesman I know told me about a customer he had: For a 10+ year period, he bought a new Toyota Corolla every 2 years. When he ordered it, he also had them relocate the seat back about 4" as he's 6'8". When he came to pick up the car (& drop off the 2 year old one), he would walk up to the new car & kick the rear quarter to put a dent in it. According to the salesman, the trade in car always had that single dent & nothing else.

[stromborg]

Is that an Airhead behind the Kombi?

Yes, a 1975 R75/6 that has been under restoration for far longer than I would like to admit. The paint has been done for years and there are boxes of new parts (including a nice "S" fairing) scattered all over the shop, it is far easier to store a motorcycle when it is in pieces! I've sort of been waiting for a decent sidecar to show up so I can do a full-on leading link front end on it.

[ahp]

I had one, after having a 1958 Ford Thunderbird, talk about cultural change. The Ghia won Industrial Design magazine product of the year award, if my memory serves.

It was a beautiful car, and I liked it. It was great on snow, and very controllable in a sliding corner. Did it all the time. It could out corner a NY taxi cab.

There were some things one needed to accept. It was under powered, 40 hp 1200 cc engine, 0-60 in 25 seconds, 75 mph top speed, if the exhaust valves weren't leaking. Exhaust valves were a problem because I found myself driving with the peddle to the metal because of that 40 hp. There were three hills on the Merritt Parkway where I could not maintain 55 mph.