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1972 VW Karmann Ghia

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  ToasterTan 
#1 ·
Growing up in the 60's & 70's ACVW's were everywhere. From bugs to buses and I knew lots of folks that owned and wrenched them. The 1st time I successfully drove a 4 on the floor was in a beetle. Yet I never owned one. That is until I hit middle age when I bought a 72 Ghia just to keep it from wasting away. I rescued it, enjoyed it and have since traded it to a lifelong Ghia fan.
I put together a little short video on my short experience with in the world of the ACVW.
 
#2 ·
Pretty awesome-my friend..Pretty awesome--that was definately--how say--
'labor of love'...The whole video is neat--I like the little attention to details, also.
I'd give this one a "9" for sure.

BTW--what about my missing 'spinner'?:tango_face_devil::tango_face_devil:
(you knew I'd ask--)

glenn
 
#6 ·
I'll bet driving it through Deals Gap is a lot of fun.
Try doing The Tail of the Dragon on a 530 lb duel-sport.... I was exhausted from throwing that bike from one side to the other 318 times! :tango_face_surprise

But I've earned the badge of honor on the side cover. :tango_face_grin:
 

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#7 ·
Thanks guys.
Glenn, I eventually got around to installing a spinner on that wheel. Actually it took 2, the 1st one blew off the 1st time I took it out, I learned to properly tighten the 2nd one LOL. Good to hear from you.

Mark, bad grounds caused all kinds of problems for that car. I'd say 90% of it's electrical problems were due to missing/bad grounds. This is a link to a post I did on the GMC.https://www.mytractorforum.com/112-trucks/1224953-49-gmc.html

Austen, The Dragon will definitely exercise your arms out. Deals Gap is a nice stop off. They definitely cater to 2 wheelers.

Paul, yep. I came oh so close to stroking that 1600 out to a 2110. It would have upped the fun scale exponetially LOL.

T Tan, Congrats, I saw one fellow skidding around a curve on it's side, lucky he was going slow enough to stop before he hit the edge.
 
#10 ·
I have a friend who proposed to his wife in a Ghia. Years later he bought another convertible Ghia, like he had at the time, and had it restored the same color. The only upgrade was dropping a Porsh-a engine in it and beefing the suspension. His wife drives it.


Thanks guys.

T Tan, Congrats, I saw one fellow skidding around a curve on it's side, lucky he was going slow enough to stop before he hit the edge.
 

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#8 ·
I had several VW Beetles,my first car was a '63...bought it off a neighbor for $150 when I was 15,didn't even have a learners permit yet!..he let me pay him a little at a time,by the time I got my permit it was paid for..

I later bought a '59 VW I found in Fall River MA,it was stashed in a barn for almost 20 years..it only had about 40K on it,the original 36 HP engine ran sweet--until I drove it 70 miles home,and the mouse nest in the fan shroud made it overheat--at first I thought it was the fuel pump vapor locking ,so I bought a 6V electric pump,and it ran great,didn't bog down or stall once ..but the next trip back from to my parents house 70 miles away,it got so hot the #3 cylinder had its exhaust valve drop into the piston,it hammered a hole in the piston ,made its way into the crankcase,where it wedged between the crank counterweight and the block...had to get another engine,all I could find was a 40 HP...

My uncle had a '63 VW "Khombi" factory camper,that he and another uncle both drove to CA twice ,and as far as Alaska..when one uncle who owned it first died,the other one who inherited it had the engine rebuilt in CA..after he was done seeing the USA,it sat in his backyard a few years,and he sold it to me for $1 !...I wish I had kept it,despite it having quite a bit of body rot and being patched up,I bet it would fetch 20 grand today easily..

I never owned a Karmann Ghia,I came close to buying one from another neighbor,but it had sat too long on grassy swampland and was badly rotted--I was going to get it just for parts ,but it got scrapped soon after I asked about buying it..

We had one at a junkyard I worked at that was from CA,it had factory A/C,first air cooled VW I ever saw with it!..a customer bought the whole engine just for that,despite it being seized up and was likely blown up before it got junked..

I wish they still sold air cooled VW's..or the few left still running were not priced so ridiculously high..one would fit my transportation needs fine now..my only dislike about them was no heat in the winter,and my 6 foot 5 inch body doesn't fit too well in one..
 
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