1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Convertible

1600 DP

Manual

Salvage

This car has been refreshed in the last year in almost every way. The title is salvaged but I was told that it was salvaged after being stolen in the '90s and recovered after it was written off. The nose is pristine, it's clearly never been hit, and the pans are perfect. No signs of an accident that I can see. It's my daily driver right now and I take it out of town frequently; this spring it's been to San Diego twice, LAX twice, Anaheim, Paso Robles, and Santa Barbara. It runs perfectly, cruises happily at 70 mph and holds 55 up the Grapevine/I5 with no trouble, could probably do both much faster but I take it pretty easy. It's not perfect but it's definitely the best deal on a great convertible Ghia at my low reserve of $8500. Paint was done last summer but the body wasn't 100% perfect, the rockers are lumpy and need replaced. I did cut out the rust and install fresh steel where needed, but they're not super straight. I have new rockers and will include them with the sell. I also have about 2 quarts of the paint left from painting the car and brand new 12 piece chrome side body trim and clips that will be included too. The matched paint and body molding will make this repair very affordable and will look good. I wanted to do it myself but I have to drive the car and the work would take me all weekend. I just don't have the time now. The pan is in great condition with no rust. There are small holes drilled in it where suspension seats had been bolted in at one point. I didn't weld them over, I just went over them with All Metal. These holes are a non issue now. The engine runs perfectly and looks great. It was recently pulled in March and resealed (though it does still leak a tiny bit), all cleaned up and repainted. At that time they installed new intake boots, a new fuel pump and an alternator conversion. It was given a complete tune up at that time too. They inspected the clutch and decided it was good to keep and just put in a new throw out bearing. They also installed new CV joints and transmission mounts. They removed the original front beam and installed a replacement because my front springs were sagging. It got a new speedometer cable at this time. It is lowered in the front with 2.5 in spindles. There are no fumes of any kind anymore, no burning oil smell or gas or exhaust or anything unpleasant. The shifter works great, no need for a new bushing. The muffler is a German VW original. Tips are aftermarket chrome though. Interior is all new TMI, seats, door panels, hinge covers, sun visors with passenger side mirror, dash, steering wheel, seatbelts and headliner. The seat frames were trimmed of the headrest post (I don't like the look of headrests in a low body car), repainted, and new burlap, sisal, and foam pad installed on all of them. The seat belts are new retractable shoulder belts that really aren't ideal. I'll also include new, non-retractable lap belts for the front and back. The visors and their center clips are new. All major panels and most of the small ones have plenty of Dynomat applied. The rear hinge covers are new fiberglass units that have been painted to match the seats. The steering wheel and functioning horn ring are new. Door panels and window winders are new, the arm rests are refinished. The dash is new fiberglass and the glove box has been eliminated. The hole around the clock is a too big in one area, the clock could be pulled out of the front and the hole filled just a bit with epoxy the clean this up. The area around the brake warning light is also a little rough if you look real close. But it's still one of the best looking Ghia interiors you'll see. Most people would never notice these flaws. I can fix both of these issues and airbrush them for $100 if the buyer would like; someone else may do the job for half that though. Most of the lights work. Both high and low beams work and are modern bright bulbs in clear, real glass housings. The tail lights and rear blinkers work. All warning lights work including the brake warning light, high beam indicator, turn signal indicator, generator and oil pressure lights. the reverse lights and front blinkers aren't connected. I can fix these things though before the auction ends. One front blinker lens is cracked but you can't tell unless you get down and look real close. The gas gauge works but is a little off, I always keep it above 1/4 tank just in case. The clock doesn't work. All dash lights work, every socket. The dome light only works on the manual switch, there are no pin switches mounted in the car. The rear defroster isn't connected to power (we don't need those here). The cigar lighter is new and works but has never been used. There is no ash tray. Windshield wipers work in both speeds. All windows are good. door windows need readjusted, you have to open the door to get them rolled up all the way right now. The convertible top is new, looks great and functions perfectly. These things are expensive and installation is very detailed. Look at the cost of complete top refurbishing before you buy a Ghia needing a top. The top padding is new, the top frame was repainted in hammer tone grey, new top bows were installed and all of the top cables and springs are new. The top boot is brand new too. There are no locator pins in the header. They poke through the boot when the top is down and I don't like them, I think the side latches locate just right anyway. The tires are all new this spring. 6, count 'em, six of them. Currently has smaller tires on the front because it's on lowered spindles. I have the two brand new ones though that match the back if one were to put the original spindles back on. All but 2 of the rubber pieces are new; light gaskets, all side window and door weather stripping, back window seals, door handle gaskets and mirror gaskets, window scrapers, window felts, door panel vapor barriers, front grill seals, door panel seals, door seals, front bonnet seal, engine lid seal and engine tin seal. Only old rubber bits are the horn boot, which is good, and the good windshield seal (I did get a little paint on these though). The bumpers are brand new stainless steel and they're perfect. New Retrosound Model 2 stereo, which is the top model and over $400. Bluetooth works perfectly, even with the top down. 6.5" Kenwood speakers in the rear seat side shelf things. One 5.5" Kicker in the middle of the dash. A second Kicker is included if you want to change to kick panel mounting but I wouldn't change a thing about the sound system. The radio antenna retracts completely. New amplified 8" Powerbass Tube that is a perfect fit under the back window. It tucks in there tightly and the back glass will drop over it with no interference. It's way to tight to move on it's own and required no drilling. This was a careful purchase. All but three of the pictures attached were taken on April, 17, 2014. On Apr-22-14 at 10:16:28 PDT, seller added the following information: Added on 4/22/2014 The original owners manual is included and it's in great condition. There is also a spare wheel and tire, in addition to the 6 mentioned above; but it is older. It's too wide to fit in the well so really one of the new tires should be mounted on it. The windshield washer system is all there and would function if the spare tire were in place. The ignition key appears to be the original. This key starts the car and unlocks the passenger door. It does not unlock the driver door. I don't think it's a good idea to lock a car with a $3,000 top though that is so easily destroyed with a knife. There will be two new keys included as well but I've never used them. The shifter that is in the car is an EMPI and as the description says it works perfectly. I will include a very valuable and somewhat rare Hurst shifter for this car as a bonus. It should be rebuilt before being installed though if you ever plan to use it. If not, you can sell it for a quick $100+ as it is. I have 4 spare hub caps to include, but they're all a little ugly in some way. The glove box has been eliminated in this car. But I kept the door and will include it. Along with a new replacement bonnet release system. Cable, housing, lever, and knob. Every available service manual for this car is included as well. The Bentley, Haynes, that crazy book with all of the cartoons in it too (two copies). The original jack is included but I don't like it and it is what caused the damage to the driver rocker panel. The engine compartment insulation was only used for a day. It caused high temperature problems so I removed it. It will be included though, just not installed. Some other random spares will be included too, e.g., fuses, interior bulbs and sockets, new throttle cable, fan belt, a spark plug and more ...