A very pretty little classic car. Surely not too hot in power or handling,.. but a classic. Wondering if anyone has experience. What to look out for? What's great about them? Why I should turn around and run to get electroshock therapy for even thinking about one?

A buddy of mine was into them. He said you always had to look out for "pan rot."

I used to say, they looked like a VW that had had the wrinkles pressed out.

Hand built body. They rust heroically.

Just give me your money and I’ll burn it in front of your eyes.

I had a friend in the '60's whose father had one. We used it sometimes to cruise. I believe the running gear was stock bug; no power.

I’ve never owned one, but found them interesting. They were kind of the poor man’s Porsche 356. Lots of performance enhancements for the Bug would probably work for the K-G.

Don't run! Save one! As with anything that old, it may need some tlc but can be rewarding in the end. Make sure you do your homework and check over the car you are looking at real good. But, yeah, drive it and love it!

I had a 1961 Karmann Ghia convertible, bought it when it was a year or two old. Nice little runabout. I enjoyed it. Traded it for a Porsche 356B.

1962 model had an improvement, it was the first year that had synchromesh first gear. 1961 and earlier, you had to double-clutch to downshift into first without grinding and crunching.

Never owned one, but the attraction is easy to see. If televised car auctions are any indication, you may have already missed the opportunity to find a nice one at a reasonable price.

Wife had one in college in the early 80's, does not remember what year it was. She loved it but the Michigan winters/road salt ate up the body. Gave it to her brother who totaled it out a couple of years later. She still talks about that car fondly.

I remember looking at a used one, going to be my first car. Dad would not entertain the idea for a nano second. It surprised me, my aunts had beetles and he wasn't down on them. Hell, he even entertained the idea of a Lancia, for about a half hour.

The old man was into cars a bit, and handy with a wrench. He was adamant about that Karmen Ghia though, mighta been that particular one.

I still like them but have no desire or facilities for upkeep of 50 year old cars. I say get one if you've got the itch and ability to scratch it.

I had a 1973. A great little car and very sexy.

To remove the engine, a 19 mm box wrench, four bolts, pull back as it rests on floor jack. Done

My family owned every VW from the era. Yes every one. Two shipped direct from Germany.

My Dad had a convertible that he sold when I was pretty young but a month ago we started talking it/them as I am in AZ and he was curious if I could find him a rust/rot free daily driver.

He specifically mentioned the pan rust/rot issues but said it was no different than a Beetle.

At 90 years old I am pretty certain he was not too serious about getting one although my daughter and I discussed, if it were to happen, driving the thing cross county (AZ to MA) and making a You Tube channel of the adventure.

Any Karmann Ghia still around at this point is probably restored to an extent. I honestly wouldn't consider one that hadn't been restored.

Before buying one, I'd have it carefully checked by an expert in the model (or at least a Beetle expert), then plan on restoring it again.

When I think of the KG, I think rust while growing up in Houston. I was a big VW guy, and I came close to getting one...but each one in reach of my finances had rust.

The Thing was my ultimate VW, followed by the KG and then the fast back. I never did get a specialty VW, but I did have 3 beetles, a Dasher diesel station wagon, a Jetta TDI and a Golf.

If you live in a dry area and find one with no to little rust, more power to you. I drove a convertible my buddy used work on, and I absolutely loved it.

quote:

I had a 1961 Karmann Ghia convertible, bought it when it was a year or two old. Nice little runabout

Mine was a 62 version convertible; I was a bug fiend in those days. It was a spectacularly enjoyable 'sporty' experience for those enthusiastic about the VW platform of the day. It was my favorite of the 5 VWs I had in 'olden times'.

The exact cosmetics of that era Ghia are classic; the later styling cosmetics detracted considerably IMHO.

If you can live with 60 year old engineering in a 2 seater while paying inflated prices, go for it.

If you want a safer more reliable yet similarly economic-for-the-times vehicle, I'd investigate newer products.

I became a Datsun 1600/2000 sports car enthusiast. Rarely seen on the roads the last 20 years, there's a reason for that too. The last I tried to drive was somehow appallingly unsatisfactory, especially in cockpit size and features.

The Karmann Ghia is a classic design set on a standard VW bug frame/running gear. They can have rust issues. My 6 volt version was frustrating for electrical gremlins. Sheer power was never that much of an issue for me as I was never really a 'go-fast' driver. With the top down motoring in the pleasant surroundings of SW Idaho in the late 1960s, it was a perfect choice at 25+ mpg with gas at 25 cents/gal. My new 69 bug with all the trimmings cost me $1950. The well-used Ghia cost me $700; sold it with a blown engine for $1200 a few years later.

I was a Cop in Central NJ from 74 to 79. The surrounding towns all used the same frequency for quite a lot of our radio traffic.

One night a pursuit starts in Bridgewater and it's a small sports car, got away from the original Officer in some traffic. But a Raritan Officer picked up the chase in his borough.

Now Raritan was a predominately Italian community....Home to MOH awardee John Basilone by the way. Their Chief was Italian, half the force was Italian as well as mostly his relatives.

Anyway...as the Raritan Officer closes in on this car he mentions ; "There's no license plate....but I think the owner has his name on the car....yeah! It's Carmen Ghia".

Poor bastard NEVER lived that one down.

An advantage to buying the car would be that you could also justify buying a copy of this classic of literature, still available for around $25 - $29:

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
Any Karmann Ghia still around at this point is probably restored to an extent. I honestly wouldn't consider one that hadn't been restored.

Before buying one, I'd have it carefully checked by an expert in the model (or at least a Beetle expert), then plan on restoring it again.

In just doing a quick preliminary search on my Dad's behalf I can tell you that the Ghias I found were either full (beautiful) restorations or heavily modded