1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Ghia Coupe

4 - Cyl.

Manual

Gasoline

1965 Karmann Ghia I bought this car from a coworker a year ago. My intention was to completely restore it, but it's not a practical project for me right now. Here is a brief history of the vehicle: My coworkers' parents bought it on 12-12-1964 from Ralph Cutright Co in Santa Monica. See the original Purchase Invoice attached. They owned and drove it until 1987, when they gave it to their son, my coworker. He removed the original engine and replaced it with a high performance 1835cc with dual dellortos and other performance mods. He also had the transmission rebuilt and strengthened by a local VW speed shop. He had it painted, restored the interior, installed a new front drop beam axle, etc. He drove it like this for 2 years and put an estimated 10-15k miles on it. In 1989, he bought another car as his daily driver. He kept the Ghia covered &would start it only to drive it around the block from 1989 until 2010, when I bought it. Fast forward to 2010 (after the car sat for 21 years). Overall in good shape, but with issues. The main issue was that the brake line that connects front to rear broke right where it goes under the accelerator pedal. This brake line is hidden inside of the car at the drivers' side base of the tunnel. This flooded the floors with highly corrosive brake fluid, removing the undercoating and paint. Eventually water leaked into the car and started accumulating in the floors, primarily on the drivers' side. When I took all the interior stuff out to figure where the brake fluid was going I found a huge mess of brake fluid-soaked carpet, original insulation, etc. Thus began the process of installing new floors and all new brake components. The drivers side has a new floor pan from KGPR. The floor on the passenger side was still solid with only a few small holes, so I treated the metal and fiber-glassed it with a couple layers of heavy duty glass cloth. I didn’t see any reason to remove the sheet metal, since it was not completely necessary. The new stuff is never as good as the original. I completely redid both sides, painted it with 2 coats of rust preventative paint, sealed it, and put dynamat down everywhere. This was followed by a complete carpet kit with original quality carpet. I painted the inside, added a bunch of new rubber parts, treated the rest of the inside of the car, put in new door panels, rebuilt the rear seat, etc. The interior, although incomplete, came out very nice. The inner doors and rear inner panes have been repainted. From here the interior restoration is a breeze. the headliner is in good shape, the pillar upolstery could easily be re-glued and cleaned up to look pretty good. Mechanically, it's in good shape, with a couple of issues. I did nothing to the engine other than change the oil and fix some wiring. 21 years after it was parked (23 years after it was built) it runs great. I literally just changed the oil, put gas in it, adjusted the valves, and started driving it. I have 1000 miles on it in 1 year. There is a flat spot on light acceleration (the carbs need new accelerator pumps for sure), but it idles fine, starts up immediately, and when you punch it, it really flies. My dad has a 1965 356 Porsche and I think this car is faster. I drive 65-70 on the freeway. When you open the throttle at 70 on the freeeway, it really moves. The braking system is completely new with the exception of the front drums and shoes. ALL lines are new, all hoses are new, new master cylinders, slave cylinders, rear drums, wheel bearings and seals. Front drums/shoes are in good shape, so I have been running them as-is. The brakes are solid - they surge a little, but no pulling. I added a VDO temperature sending unit to the oil baffle assembly so I could add an oil temperature gauge in the future. Here is I have replaced in the past year: Floors Carpet Braking system Tons of little interior parts. I would have to check the receipts but I spent about $1500 at KGPR on parts while rebuilding things. Carpet Door panels Rear interior panels Rear seat rebuilt and recovered (I have matching light grey front seat upholstery, but the front seats are currently pretty nice) New Porsche rear wheels and new Bridgestone Potenza tires. These are the widest tire/ wheels that will fit on the car. They really stick to the road. The wheels were $250 and the tires were about $100 each. Re-welded Fixed Battery Strap and replaced battery wiring Rebuilt one door hinge What was done to it by the last owner in 1987: New 1835 with complete dellorto dual carb kit and empi ignition Rebuilt trans with strengthened gears and beefed up internals to handle the hp (the output went from about 40hp to about 100hp). It shifts great. New clutch Adjustable front beam New rear Porsche wheels and new rear tires New fuel lines and filter What it needs: There is a grinding sound coming from one of the wheels. I believe it to be a warped drum. I put a new one on the left rear and the problem did not go away. I have a new one for the right rear but have not yet installed it. It has not gotten worse, but it's consistently there and should be addressed. Dent in passenger side door The interior needs to be completed. Door panels need to come off and things need to be done a little more thoroughly. I was basically trial fitting everything when I decided to stop restoring it. Dash (original) needs to be recovered. I spent a LOT of time trying to get this right. It's tricky. Door alignment and hinges rebuilt or replaced. I rebuilt the top drivers side hinge and this made a huge difference in how the doors close. The other 3 are worn. Other details and small items for a vintage VW which has not been used much for 22 years. Here is a list of what goes with the car: Original keys and a bunch of spares (amazingly all locks still work with the original keys) Front seat upholstery which matches the rear light grey upholstery, new If the buyer wants it, another new carpet set, black, low quality. Original bumpers. The front has been welded together to create the single blade euro look. The fab quality is nice but its not been prepped or painted yet. Original black/yellow license plates front and rear (front is a little banged up) Original, banged up spare wheel and a REALLY old spare tire Original wheels Lastly, I can probably get the original motor. It was actually rebuilt in the late 80’s right before the 1835 was installed. Its complete and the #’s match the VIN from the car. I cannot guarantee it, but I don’t see why I cant get it for the new owner. I have driven the car about 1000 miles around town and on the freeway with no problems. It's fast and has been reliable. This is a running and driving project car. A few weekends, paint, and it's a very nice ride. 2 last side notes: 1) I have a really expensive restored muscle car. This Ghia actually gets more attention when driving around. People love it.2) I was approached by a photographer last week to use it in a photo shoot for a model. If it works out I will be able to include a print.