Hehey!

Well ive just bought myself an old crusty Karmann Ghia I saw rusting in the back yard of someones house. It had been parked there 4-5 years ago and not moved since. For the past 10 years ive had a dream of one day doing up one of these beautiful shapely cars. Unfortunately I got so excited about my find I jumped straight in before I gave it a thorough inspection and now think I may have over committed. I always wanted to get a car that needed maybe a bit of body work, was prepared to change pans etc, strip down, paint and redo the interior. Not to the purest sense but to something I would be proud of.

Sadly the passenger side of my beloved first Ghia was bogged up against a garden bed and I didnt realize the extent of the rust until it was being loaded on the truck to my place in Brisbane's northern suburbs. The door is fine but the rockers are shot, passenger heater channel buggered and most of the rear and front quarter pannels need replacing. Ive even discovered there's a lot more bog on the car than I initially thought. Especially around the nose. I couldn't help my self and have been chipping it away. Ive even stripped out all the crappy inside carpets, linings etc.

The car is a 1959-60 model, has the 1600 motor and had the 12 volt conversion done. Has what was suppose to be the best sunroof in its day fitted (Alpine) (still in great nick) apparently has porsche 356 wheels (if that matters) and has an “S” that goes next to the “Karmann Ghia” back badge (that is missing anyway). Ayone know what the “S” means? Ive never seen it on any other karmanns before. Its the only part of the badge that remains.
At least vertually all the car is there and most os the chrome moldings etc seem to be in good shape

Anyway im a bit depressed at the moment at the thought of the sheer size of the project. I plan on doing a pannel beating and car restoration course at tafe shortly. Im quite good with my hands, use to love metal work at school 15 years ago, and have a lot of time to devote seeing as I work from home. Im thinking about picking up another 63 model Ghia I saw a while back that was in much better condition for a couple of grand and combining the two. I so need to buy a mig...

This forum has been a big inspiration to me so I thought Id share a little for once.

Come on give me some eggin on! Lift my spirits! I certainly need it

Cheers!

Anything can be done if you have enough time,energy and finance.I personally love these little cars and depending on the extent of the rust ;ie not just what is showing externally but the inner sills,air intakes pan etc,these all take a lot of energy & expertise to repair properly. You may be better off to look carefully at the other vehicle and work it out from there. Regardless of the direction you take it is an expensive time consuming exercise and should not be undertaken lightly as there are more half finished projects in back yards & sheds than finished ones. But don't let me talk you out of it as you are obviously vey keen. Good luck Les

i hear ya Les! Yep i think the tidier 63 model might be the go. At least i can swap parts if needed. I can always put this aside for a while and tackle it when i have more experience....or just sell it lol.

Hi Isky,

Sad to see the little car in a poor state. What's the interior like? It would be pretty hard work to restore the body by the looks of it. I am sure it can be done but probably needs professional help. It might be easier to get a straighter one of similar vintage and play mix and match. Can I ask how much you paid? Keep us updated on what you decide to do.

hi isky, i got a 62 that i think is in a fair bit better condition than yours, and in retrospect i still think i would have been better of, saving up 20k plus and tried to find one i knew had been done correctly. unless i had a talent or a desire to do it myself. so i agree, better to find another one in fairer cond and use that one as a spare, and it still wont be cheap. yet even a rusty one looks good just not practical [usable]

hi guys....to be honest even though i love my restored Karmanns i think id prefer driving an old clapped out Ghia with character than buy one that's been done up by some one else The only reason id want to drive a shiny restored one is if i knew i had done most of it myself. But that's just me. As it turns out this car is neither! lol!....Ill figure it out Besides i always knew id get my money back if i sold it later on so not really much lost i guess, just a bit of messing around. Yeah i think getting the clean 63 is the go and swapping parts (although i think its mostly complete anyway).

At least now i can say Ive owned one! The interior is pretty good....Hmmmm, that is it looked good till i skinned it the other day.

You sound a bit down in the dumps. I wouldn't worry too much. Its potentially one of 3 good things for you:

1. Donor car
2. Something to sell off and get your money back
3. Car to Junk and make a profit by selling its useful parts

1960 (ie. 1959/60) & 1966 Ghias apparently have a lot of parts unique to their model years. I read this on some site that went through what to look for when purchasing a Ghia. I don't know the specifics of what parts are unique to the 1960 Ghia, but it probably makes the 1960 Ghia harder to restore and more valuable if you Junk it.

Probably start by reading a little Ghia history. I am going to get some books from Amazon in the next few weeks to do the same.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

PS: I am not trying to encourage you to junk it with vested interest. I'd probably keep it as a donor if you could afford it, and sell off the extra bits once you've figured out what you need for your next car.

I have restored a fair few of these cars now and i can tell you nearly every one of them needs new sills and lower nose, h/light buckets etc welded in, it is typical for a lot of ghias to be bogged up, dont let it turn you off too much, floors are expensive but easy to weld in, the body will need all new lower sections welded in which is also not cheap but you could buy a more expensive ghia which someone has bogged up as well and be back at square 1.I will admit its a lot of work ahead of you but if you have the time and money anything can be fixed, even that factory ragtop

Gday rexy!

mate ive seen you around quite a bit and admire your work...i almost contacted you for advice I appreciate your input and advice mate. I wish i had your talents....need an apprentice lol! Ill work for free

gday mate, once you have practised on yours you can do a couple of mine afterwards no worries get yourself a decent welder and start cutting and welding, its the only way to learn mate

thanks kg1962, i think we must have read the same do's and don'ts when buying a Karmann mate. I think the 66 model was also mentioned. Not sure what the parts were that differ but ill do some research Ill definitely keep you posted, and that's for the enthusiasm, its really appreciated

hey rexy...i plan to do just that mate. Ive always wanted and definitely needed to learn that skill I might need to ask you a bit later onwhere is the best place to find replacement sheet metal body parts for these cars, and floor pans. There seem to be a lot of places out there. I saw a post earlier of someone who replaced pans on his Ghia for $600 so i must find where he got them from cause so far the only quote Ive had is $395 per side. Oh and the heater channel eventually...maybe (if i decide to fix this car or give it a go )

Cip

cip?

WOW good luck isky

lol thanks phaeton...think I'm gonna need it

Mate take it easy a bit at a time as once you start you are committed, there are more half finished projects in backyards than finished ones..As you feel you really want to do the repairs good luck. I think most of the guys on the forum wil help with advice or whatever if possible.I wasn't being negative I just wanted to let you know what you may have in store.
Cheers Les.

The sill looks pretty scary , but the good news is that with Type 1 Ghias there are plently of repro panels available. The real good news for you is that your Ghia looks very complete. Still wearing the various trim bits and jewellery that can cost a bucket load to get hold of.
Early Ghia well worth saving. Like others have said mate take it slow and easy, use the wealth of knowledge on this forum and you will get there.

@ grumble and Grey 57,

thanks guys...yep the good news is that im going to tackle this little project. Im just finishing work on a two car carport on the side of my home so will be parking her there till i start. Ive decided to get another easier car to work on initially (one that doesn't require so much body attention). Next week ill most likely find the start dates for the next tafe welding course i need to complete before i enroll in the panel beating and resto courses (unfortunately its an Oxy welding course...i wish it were Mig). Ive only in the last few nights got my brain around how these panels go together on the Ghias thanks to constant research. The "Bug Me" videos have given me some inspiration on changing the left heater channel also.

Yup your correct in saying most of the shiny expensive parts are still in tact. But just the cost involved in buying parts like heater channels is a bit daunting. Oh well it can stay put until i get and work on my next one. I'm loving the fact that when i spend all night researching Karmanns on line and drooling over certain cars all over the world i can walk out at midnight and see one in my drive The amount of time ive spent just sitting in her and patting her is pretty embarresing

Think i might try and kick over its 1600cc motor that's been sitting idol for the past 5 years next week! Whoo!! at least ill feel better when i see something on it working. Thanks for the support!

Ant

p.s i wish the previous owner had found the keys for it...oh well, just another thing to add to the to do list lol....

PPPHHHOOOAAARRR!!! GUESS WHAT!!

today i got my new old rusty Karmann started...I was so excited! Its been sitting in my carport whilst ive been making a dedicated two car carport for it and my soon be be added next Karmann. So how did i achieve such a task? Well im glad you asked. Answer: The good old R.A.C.Q! Yep you guessed it.

Many years ago i had to get the R.A.C.Q out to help with a flat battery. The mechanic was so friendly and helpful. A while later i saw him outside a house just a street from my own and thought that he must live there. Then i met him a couple of times at the local 'Fish and Chips' shop and he always said "hi" and asked about my transporter and Maxima etc. Ever since i got my Karmann ive thought of asking his advice on getting the motor going...especially since its been sitting in a garden unstarted for 5 years.

Well today i saw his car outside his house and decided to go a knockin. I felt a bit strange but after he greeted me i felt so at ease. The funny thing is is that he got a 'call out' as soon as i got there but proceeded to chat with me and give me advice for another 35 minutes before deciding he better go help a the stranded Queenslander lol (yes i felt so bad). In the end he said "ill come take a look later this afternoon"...

He arrived checked it out and said "wanna try and start it" HELL YEAH!! was my response and after a bit of jittin around and a trip down to Streets Auto for some fuel line, clasps, fuel filter etc we were back at it. At first it didnt go and we discovered (or he did) that the points were buggered. No probs, he just happened to have an extra set in his car. After a quick change we had the car ROARING!! it was AWESOME! ive never owned such a meaty sounding car in my life. Im mean this 1600cc sounded pretty Shweeeeet!

Whats even better is he checked in his car and found an old VW key from 1964 that just happened to fit my ignition and you guess it, it started my car! Before he had to fiddle with the wiring inside the front bay of the car to get it going whilst i worked the throttle and held the can of petrol with a line in it. And we also got all the lights and indicators working etc. How sweet are the lights and indicators lit up!

So now im even more on a high. He gave me homework to do. Which will come in the form of another thread asking about disk brakes etc. We want to get it drive worthy so i can get it from place to place with out having to get it towed every where.

Anyways that was my day. Thanks D#%&!!!!! you rock man!!

Congrats Isky thats great that the RACQ guy helped you out

I wonder if the key is the original or whether all 64' keys fit each other

Thanks Phaeton!

Yeah i know i couldn't believe my luck...First for the help and him giving up his free time and then the fact he had a key that fit. He did say that it was quite worn and that a lot of these old key setups if worn can sometimes be compatible. Even stranger is that it was from his mums old 64 bug! He had literally hundreds of spare keys but only one VW.... You only need to give it the slightest bit of wiggling.

He's a great bloke and is going to help with my engine conversion from this Ghia to the one i just bought today! Wooo!! Time to buy some beers

thats awesome man! sounds like your really getting into it and thats great you've found a mate who's got experience that will help you out... (you'll definitely get some things done a lot quicker as your not trying to figure them out by yourself... i know what that can be like from experience!!

hope to see you driving around when you get it on the road... i drive a white(ish) '65 Squareback and am just down in newmarket

Isac hi,

I hear ya mate. Its great just to ask someone with knowledge rather than google it for a change. My new old 61 Ghia rocked up today (photos coming). You'll definitely notice me driving this sweet ride around shortly (just think Patina , for the moment anyway). My mate came over with his son a few hours ago and we started this car up for the first time in maybe 17 years. The carby needs a bit of work but it started! We just dribbled the fuel in manually lol. Im just glad that apart from the wheel arches being cut, that its nice and solid.

Now i just need to find out whats the best way to fit windscreens in and ill be half way there. Ill definitely keep an eye out for your squareback mate!

good to hear about the new ghia!

Theres nothing wrong with a bit of Patina I say!! everyone asks me when im gonna paint my car

Dont paint it dude! if you do it will be just another car deprived of its (rightly deserved) historical character. If you paint it make sure you leave something inside or out on the car that tells a story...if you know what i mean.

The Ghia i just bought has these quick release pins on the hood. I hated them at first but now love them because they show its history as a car that was once done up for rallying (even though it never was rallied lol) When i get the rest of the body sorted and the wheel arches fixed ill eventually paint it but leave the pins on because that's part of it past (chromed up off course). Come over for a look if you want mate, im just down the road off Patricks road.