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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