Karma non Ghia

[Lee152]

I'm road tripping in California! and I found a Karmann Ghia in a lot that needs some work but guy wants a grand. question is, is this reasonable or am I being rose tinty glasses etc. some pictures, unfortunately was getting dark and I as rooting around. Asked if there was likely to be anything nasty in the car and Sod's law as I opened the engine lid he pointed out a Black Widow spider! Shat myself and stopped poking around. I can say the shell seems to be hole and rust free apart from Ariel hole and hole in floor pan to rear. Flaky paint covered with paint and primer around previous work. Creases on front of both doors. No interior apart from rear seat worth salvaging. Engine presumably shagged as car has sat for 4 years. Not completely clueless as imported my bay last year but no nothing about Ghias, but I know I want one. Is it worth buying at this price and hoping there's nothing worse? Any helpful advice as here for another couple of weeks, though not able to get back to car.

 

[aspro]

Ghias are really good at hiding lots of rust. You just don't find rust free ones. They all seem to be rotten for some reason. Proper inspection required from someone local and in the know. Jump on the samba and ask around.

 

[reezvaan]

^^^whs, also, there are plenty of ghias on the samba which owners would let go for cheap and for the obvious reason: they all are hiding rust issues from the naked eye and a real pain in the arse when it comes to restoration and would need deep pockets to resurrect one correctly.

 

[Lee152]

bugger! Thought I was onto a winner. Where's the rust on these then cause I had a good root around arches and floor pan seems fine.

 

[reezvaan]

Jason Hamilton maintains an excellent page on all things Ghia, including a buyer's guide
http://www.type-14.com/buyers_guide.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dustrat]

I've got a Ghia that I imported from Japan, RHD. Its bit like a Californian car pretty solid but still cost me quite a few grand to get as I wanted it. Although mine was OK the main points to look for are :-Spare wheel well,water gets in because horn grommet not fitted , front wings around headlanps and inner wings. also check door post where hinges are and sills.I see from photo that doors are creased, Its cheaper to get good second hand doors than fit skins. You will no doubt have to overhaul front and rear suspension ,steering and brakes etc There are a lot of VW breaker in California if you want doors etc, I know it's a big state, look around if you still interested in buying. I bought most of the spares that I needed from KGPR in Ventura CA. Still cheaper paying import duty and freight costs than buying here in UK.If you are in that area go in and see them. If the Ghia is 'SOLID' a grand would be OK, even better if it's $1000. You say that you have imported from USA before so work freight and how much you want to spend on restoration.Enjoy your roadtrip
Bob

 

[Graham L]

Having bought 2 ghias recently I would take a punt if it's $1000 as even with shipping and duty it's a cheap car that could be sold on.

Important bits to look at on a Ghia are:
Condition of nose, it's made of lots of pieces and not easy to fix
Sills and end of sills, are they solid
Damage to lower panels, these are all expensive to replace
Doors are relatively cheap to replace
Main pan is like a beetle with with a different shape

 

[dcuplover]

I have a low light shell with parts in Colgne Germany I am thinking of selling. Paperwork is all complete. Good rust free shell from California that was just painted VW bus colours sealing wax red with a nut brown roof. There is a ding in the front right fender from shipping the car but it is an easy fix. If you are interested please email me for pics. Thanks Alp (akarcioglu at gmail.com)