Hi,

First post in the forum but I have been lurking for a while. I have found a 59 Karmann Cab which has been imported from California.

I was hoping for some feed back. A mamoth task to restore or a worth project? I was thinking of a RHD conversion and maybe an IRS rear and ball joint front end.

Feedback and comments much appreciated.

Thanks

Scott

A few more pics

and another

looks like an oval window but that would be wrong for a 59..??

Very nice find,get it out of the weather before its to late,the back window looks right for a karmman to me.
cheers shane.

looks good. where are you located scott.

as vwmad said that is a cabrio back window & get it under storage even if you don't resto it too good to rust away.
p.s. if you want to move it on pm me.
cheers wally

Thanks for the comments guys. The floor halves are shot so would be looking to either replace the floors or a whole new refurbed pan. What would be the easist way to do a RHD conversion? I'm thinking a donor RHD dash...

Hood is totally shot. Thinking of sourcing one from the US unless anyone knows someone is Oz that can supply?

the hood will need a lot of TLC

The donor RHD dash is the way to go. If you get hold of a RHD ball-joint pan, the RHD conversion is almost done.

Chuck's Convertibles [USA] is where I got most of my bits [mine's a '56 cabriolet], and although Chuck is not the cheapest, he really knows his stuff. Make sure he knows it's a RHD that you are doing.

Please cover it up!!!!!!!

Cheers, Greg

If your looking at doing a right hand drive conversion i have a body shell that would suit what you need for $100,depends on your location i guess ???
cheers shane.

if you want opinions, mine is leave it l/h/d... itll be as gay as 2 dads with a rhd conversion and same for b/j and irs.... i dont see why you would? maybe your not the right person for this project.....

it a 50+ year old car and you wanna go cutting up the dash and changing all its running gear? ill swamp you a 1972 beetle for this thing if thats what you want... it rhd and b/j and irs and ill even cut the roof off for no extra charge.

do it some justice and restore it as is... maybe a narrowed linkpin beam and some adjustable spring plates then call it done as far as running gear... ive drivien many lhd cars and after 5 minutes of driving you completely forgret your shifting with you right hand

thats my feedback otherwise a freaking cool project... and i wish i had one

Absolutely get into it - a great project, though be aware that these can be expensive projects. As far as the LHD / RHD argument, some people just don't want, or feel comfortable driving a LHD car. A good RHD conversion won't affect value - a crappy one would. I wouldn't suggest a narrowed beam if you're wanting to improve handling. I'd be personally reluctant to make any drastic modifications to it - these early ones are becoming harder to find.

LHD isn't too bad and you do get used to it until you go to order your Macca's at the drive through or grab your ticket out the machine when parking in the city

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with converting, but must stress, it HAS to be done right!!! My mates in the U.S are doing the opposite and converting their lefties to righties. It won't effect resale (not that you would want to sell it), after all we live in a RHD society, only a select few would go out of their way to purchase a Lefty. Its a personal thing. I love lowered dubs, where I often get chastised for doing it as that isn't stock! Pffft, make it yours, own it, love it.

As for the rear window glass, that is correct, it isn't oval vert glass. Oval vert glass has even less height to it. You seem to have all the hard to get parts there, it's definitely a good starter. Do your research on the samba.com, plenty of info on their for you.

Of course it will effect resale as it want be the same car ( as body no's) anymore ( not factory anymore)
I drove a chevy around for years left hand hook , that is part of owning a car like that , yes it becomes easy .
That car restore properly is want it deserves and you will have a got investment forever .
Then, it is a collectors dream car .

Another thought on the left verus the right conversion.

How often do you think you would drive it once finished???

IF the answer is probably not that much then if it were to stay left hand drive is it really that much of an issue??

As for the maccas problem,.. take a friend!!!

My vote would be save the money on RHD conversion and put it into other areas of the restoration,.. these things tend to cost alot more then anticipated.

And Finally,.. If it was a great restoration and you had to sell it down the road,.. there are more people with more money in the USA,.. maybe it would find it's way back there.

But then again what would I know,.. I like vw's

11k tell him he is dreaming

11 k sounds like a lot. I am no expert on these but I would want more for that.

This could be a better proposition, tell George I want commission .Mitchell

http://www.classicveedub.com.au/Car_Sales/Car_Sales_Results.asp 

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1146398 

This ones got all its windows...

but a lot of rust as well.....

Samba numbers says this should be a Nov 1958 build. Or did the Karmanns have different numbers?

waste of time

For that kind of money, This would be a much better LHD Karmann Cabrio to restore. It already has ball joints, discs and double jointed rear (IRS...)

It's also complete and intact, and looks pretty unmolested.

And so as to not upset the diehards, it came that way from the factory. Oh and even better.. it's a Ghia.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Volkswagen-Karmann-Ghia-L-1969-2D-Cabriolet-4-Manu...