Restoration Candidate? 1973 VW Karmann Ghia Coupe
In 1965 when I was ten, my dad bought his first new car: a Ruby Red ’65 VW Beetle. I remember tagging along with him to the small VW dealership in town one Saturday. As Dad was “negotiating” with the salesman, I was busy checking out and walking around this cool-looking two-seater coupe on the showroom floor called a Karmann Ghia. It looked nothing like a Beetle. It was sleek and low-slung and downright sporty looking. I was smitten and have been in love with Karmann Ghia’s ever since. Although the coupe had been introduced in 1955 (the convertible in 1957) and remained pretty much unchanged for nearly 20 years, mandated safety features and slowing sales ended the Karmann Ghia’s run here in the U.S. in 1974. Here’s a ’73, the next to last year, that appears to have been sleeping in a barn at one time. Located in Long Beach, California, and described as “runs great,” this potential restoration project is for sale here on craigslist for $4,900. Another “much obliged” goes out to T.J. for sending this wunderbar tip our way.
The seller is very light on details about the Karmann Ghia’s history or how it went from a dusty barn car to a dust-free garage car. Based on the photos, it appears to be wearing Zambesi Green paint, one of 13 color options in 1973. It is faded and there’s a small dent on the rear fender. Rust-wise, you can see some around the front “grilles,” the driver’s headlight, and along the bottom of the driver’s door and side. The front and rear bumpers are also showing some age rust. Most of the trim appears to be there (except for driver’s side door and fender trim) and some wheel covers are missing. The glass and lenses look okay, but we don’t see what the passenger side looks like and there are no undercarriage photos.
The brown interior appears to be original and it’s showing its age, but we’ve seen much worse in 49-year-old cars. It’s a dark photo, but you can spot the usual age-related issues: a cracked dash, some wear and tear on the seats and door panels, and it will be needing a new headliner. In 1973 the Karmann Ghia’s obligatory rear “seat” was removed due to safety regulations.
In the rear is the familiar-looking VW 1600cc four-cylinder air-cooled engine. The sellers states that the Karmann Ghia “runs great and drives” and has “new plugs-points-condenser-rotor-cap-carburetor-fuel pump-master cylinder-shoes-slave cylinders-rotors-calipers-brake lines- gas tank.” The seller also says that he has “all of the original engine bay pieces to go with it.” Mileage is listed at 49,000 and has rolled over.
There are many questions remaining to be answered (the seller says he has a clean Pennsylvania Title, so it spent some time in the Keystone State) and further inspection would be needed to assess the underside and other typical areas of Karmann Ghia rust. If it’s solid though, it could be a good candidate for restoration. Sales of Karmann Ghia’s peaked in 1970 with nearly 39,000 coupes and convertibles sold in the U.S., but in 1973, sales dwindled to around 13,000 (2,555 of which were convertibles). The sun was obviously setting on the aging “sporty” Volkswagen and it would be replaced by the Scirocco sports coupe in 1975. So, what do you think? Any Karmann Ghia owners or restorers out there who would like to comment on this one?
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Comments
Hum in California clean Pennsylvania title let’s check the undercarriage.
We saw this one before.
https://barnfinds.com/fixer-upper-1973-volkswagen-karmann-ghia/
Yep. Was $2500 then in PA. Guy in SoCal probably got it for $1500, and now wants close to $5k for it. Sounds like a nice flip.
Running and driving. If it’s not about to break in half from rust? In todays crazy market? This is a steal.
Some used this model to build a tubular frame with Poorsch
911 drivetrain. Usually this cars drive at the right side on the
highway. As Porsche-Karmann in their second life on the
left side. But Karmann’s generally are not my case.
Nice Porsche! Won’t see yourself driving past you at the country club, that’s for sure. Rarity is the name of the game. Great asking price, 2!
Did you read the guys ad? With that attitude, I wouldn’t waste my time calling him. There are others that are not from PA and were not listed for $2500.
To me that seem like the pretty typical Craiglist language used to try to discourage all the scammers and time-wasters. At least he didn’t say “I Know What I’ve Got!” lol..!
When I had a new ’68 Corvette, my wife bought a newer Karmann Ghia. With 435 horses in the garage, she managed to blow up, her words, cute little car. I don’t think those motors are durable.
Your wife’s own unfortunate experience notwithstanding…these are the same motors used in VW Beetles and are famous for their simplicity and reliability. But as always, YMMV. It’s possible to pop a cork on any engine.
I’m curious, though, how the Corvette figured into the demise of the Ghia? Was she trying to race the vette? lol!
True Clipper, you cannot measure millions of VW’s on one bad experience. She was driving the Ghia as though she was racing at Wilkins Glenn on the back roads of the Ozarks. I mentioned the Vette as she could have been driving it, if she felt a need for speed, no need to stress the little air cooled engine. LOL
And you know the heads are the weak link in the VW and Ghia’s.
“She was driving the Ghia as though she was racing at Wilkins Glenn on the back roads of the Ozarks” – That sounds like fun! HP not always needed nor desired :)
Mine was a 70 Ghia, ‘butterscotch yellow’.
IF that car could talk.
One story was dad-the Colonel- was away on duty, so I drove it with 3 friends in HS from desert to Oceanside to watch the sunrise…west facing-lol but we were in HS.. so youth, ya know.
Well, when we got it back, as many guys worked at gas stations, they put it up on blocks and ran it for hours to ‘roll back’ the odometer..
As you know, that doesn’t work. When dad got back, he never mentioned the excess mileage.
I packed the Ghia with all my stuff and my surfboard stuck out of the window so I could drive to San Diego for college.
Then there was the time I drove it from SD to San Fran to visit folks..drove it home early one AM and picked up a hitchhiker..proceded to give the wheel to him while I slept.
I have some BIG guardian angels for sure!
As for the body, I slowly backed into a telephone pole- small dent on left rear fender.
And one year it rained so much in LA over Thanksgiving, as I was driving around, the floor board got an inch of water when I drove through intersections. So must have gotten rust on floor board.
Good times. LOVE these cars!
Sure would like to know the state of the car. I can think of few cars that has such an availability of parts to fix up and restore. Engines are very reliable as long as you change oil with regularity and adjust the valves
I always thought they drove a lot better then the bugs and looked better
Like most collectible cars, the valued cars are the early ones, starting with the very early “low light” cars, and then generally, the cars 67 and before . . . the earlier, the better. The early cars are so “clean” and unadorned.
I owned a 69 but only for a couple years. Loved that poor man’s Porsche. Drove it year round, set of winter tires and I never got hung up in New Hampshire storms. Although windshield defrost sucked I recall.