1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia With 60's Era Mods on 2040-cars
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
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For sale is my 1974 VW Karmann Ghia. I've owned this car since August
of 2012, and it's been my extremely reliable daily driver (although I
work from home, so daily driving for me is only the occasional trip to
the grocery store, etc). If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area there's
a good chance you've seen me cruising around in this air cooled beauty.
I've put roughly 8,000 miles on it in these past two years. It fires
up the first time every time, and has not once left me on the side of
the road. If you're looking for a Ghia that is a rock solid car you can
enjoy, drive every day, and not worry about...then this is the Ghia for
you.
If you're familiar with Karmann Ghias, you'll probably immediately notice that this looks like no other 70's Ghia. It's been modified to have the much nicer early bullet front turn signals, early low back seats in the interior, and a killer ORIGINAL flat 4 GT wood steering wheel (not a modern repro). An aluminum dash panel has also been added that houses a voltage gauge, a fuel gauge, and an oil pressure gauge, the oil warning light, the alternator warning light, as well as a toggle ignition switch (the key still needs to be turned to the on position for the ignition switch to work). The hi beam switch and indicator have been moved to the dash just to the right of the clock. The large toggle is conveniently reachable with your right hand still on the steering wheel. The e-brake handle has a 3 digit combination lock. If you don't know the combination, you can't release the parking brake. A nice low-tech theft deterrent! The gas tank was also replaced with an earlier style that requires you to lift the front trunk hood - another throwback to the 60's Ghias. This is a one-of-a-kind Ghia, that has the styling of the earlier 60's Ghias, but with the IRS handling and 1600dp power of the later 70's Ghias. You won't find another one like it. A little history... This Ghia lived most of its life in Wilmington, NC. There the car was eventually disassembled by the original owner in the early 80's and painted black from it's original green. After that the car sat painted and disassembled in the owner's garage for about 15 years. It was then purchased in 2000 by the 2nd owner (also in Wilmington, and who I bought the car from), who finished the assembly and got the car back on the road. He put ~3,000 miles on the car between 2000 and 2012 and sold it to me with roughly 37,000 miles on the odometer, and I brought the car to Raleigh. By his accounts, the mileage is original; and by how well it runs and drives, I don't doubt it. Now being 30 years old, the paint does show its age up close. The clear coat is peeling and cracking in a few areas, and the paint does show signs of checkering on the roof. But it's a very mild patina, and from 5 feet you'd probably never notice it. There are also a few chips and dings from road debris up front. I religiously wash the car, and 4 times a year it gets clay-bar'd and waxed by hand with carnuba wax. In terms of rust, there are some areas in the floor pan and in the lower rear fenders that the previous owner POR-15'd. He didn't do the prettiest job, but it's areas that you can't see unless you're under the car, so it never really bothered me. The rockers appear in pretty good condition with no evident signs of rust. And you can even see in the pics in the photobucket album that the three factory drain holes on each side are still there, open, and functioning. The interior is in excellent shape and presents very nicely. The car runs and drives great, never overheats, and keeps up easily with modern traffic. I've driven this car on a handful of roadtrips through North and South Carolina with no issues whatsoever. One thing I recommend if you're interested in this car, is that you probably will need to know how to double clutch to downshift from 3rd to 2nd. The gearbox does have the usual 2nd gear synchro wear. As long as you double clutch, there's no grinding and it shifts extremely smoothly. If you don't double clutch, the 3rd to 2nd downshift can crunch if the rpms are too high. Again, not an issue if you can double clutch...and honestly if you're not double clutching, you're not driving a manual correctly. I did an entire brake system overhaul in early 2013 (new front calipers and pads, new SS hoses on all four corners, new metal lines up front). At that time the rear shoes still had a lot of meat on them so I didn't replace them. They are now getting close to needing to be replaced. I have a new set of shoes and springs that will be included with the car. There is also a 3rd brake light that has been added for safety. Both door locks work, and the car comes with 3 matching keys. Keep a spare in your wallet in case you accidentally lock yourself out! Since I have owned the car, the following has been done to it: - oil change every 1,000 miles with Castrol GTX 10w30 - new oil strainer gaskets and copper washers at every oil change - replaced the original sump plate with one that has an oil drain plug to make oil changes easier. I still have the original sump plate that will be included with the car - adjusted valves every 1,500 miles to .006 - new valve cover gaskets at every valve adjustment - new tires - greased front axle beams every 6 months - replaced oil in oil bath air filter every 6 months - new wiper blades (the original aluminum aerofoil blades are included with the car) - upgraded headlights to H4 halogen - replaced shift rod bushing - replaced shift rod coupler with urethane coupler - replaced shift lever - new front ATE-style calipers from KGPR - new braided stainless steel hoses on all four corners - new MC to hose metal brake lines up front - new OE german brake light switches - brake system flush and bled - new fresh air controller - new passenger and driver seatbelts - new cap, rotor, wires (Bosch 09001), and plugs (NGK B5HS) - timing set - changed transaxle gear oil with Royal Purple 75w90 - new urethane sway bar bushings I have about 90 pics of the car in this photobucket album: Karmann Ghia Photobucket Album Feel free to ask questions, or let me know if you'd like to come view the car. I can be contacted via craigslist email, or by phone at 919-3 eight 9-nine 9 one 5. I would consider a trade for an excellent condition 70-74 Porsche 914, any color but red. |
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