1961 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Convertible

1600

Manual

3340813

Clear

Gasoline

This item is being re-listed, at a much lowered reserve, due to non-payment by the winning bidder. Please note the specifications in the payment section, in particular, that the deposit shall be paid within 24 hrs by paypal, and full payment within 3 days, of close of auction. Also, if winning this item with the Buy it Now option, the paypal deposit of $500 shall be made immediately. Once payment in full is received, the car will become the property of the new owner, and the seller will no longer be responsible for its care or safety, and it shall be removed from seller's property no later than 5/7/13. This is an older "cal custom" style restoration, and is titled and on the road in Ajo, arizona -- the vin stamped on the tunnel below the rear seat is 3340813, identifying it as a 61 model, as does the presence of the reserve tank switch lever coming thru the firewall(for those unfamiliar, this year ghia came with a foot lever that when turned to the right, gains 1 additional gallon of fuel -- which is good on this ghia, as the gas gauge does not work) -- i believe this feature was not available after 61 The only modification to the body is dechroming(hood emblem, side chrome strips) -- this is not a stock restoration, and should be viewed as a custom, i.e., some items are stock, original, but others are not -- with a lot of work, and purchasing the parts, it could be returned to stock condition -- or drive it as a custom, which is what i do When i purchased the car, in 1998, in northern new york state, the previous owner had gotten as far as finishing the body, but the roof, interior, and mechanicals were not completed -- the car had not been on the road since arriving in new york from california -- i did drive it a few times with a bad transmission, but gave up on that, and sadly, the car awaited its turn for completion -- in 2003 i retired, moved to arizona, and towed the car out here, where i have worked on it -- however, convertibles need good, secure storage, and I now live in a travel trailer, with no garage, and its costing me too much to store while i'm away half the year The previous owner said the car was stripped to metal and epoxy primered, don't know when that was, and that some bodywork had been done -- I can tell from inside the right rear fender/engine compartment, that a new lower portion of the fender, about 8", was welded in -- this is not evident from the outside -- also, i can see that the floor pans were replaced Although I did not do the bodywork on this car, the original lacquer paint job gradually weathered here in arizona, so i did repaint it in acrylic lacquer in 2011 -- the finish is ok(see photos), but could use a whole lot more compounding(I was able to do the "flat" surfaces with a power buffer, but much of a ghia has to be hand-rubbed) -- I tried to capture the sanding scratches in the photos, but they aren't that apparent -- I did note when i was wet-sanding that there was no "bubbling" from rust I also did all the mechanical upgrades:new tranny, brakes, including lines, hoses --it was necessary to switch from the dual carbs back to a stock(brazil) carb, due to leaking throttle bushings, but you are welcome to the dual carbs, if someone can bush them -- the engine is a stock 1600 dual port, which i rebuilt around 2000 New upholstery, new seat covers, new top(2012), (as pictures show, I did the top myself, and so there are a few wrinkles here and there, but then, i drive with the top down), the top is not fully down in the pictures, as it is still quite stiff, and I don't like "crushing" it -- headliner was not replaced, and has a couple of 1/4" tears in it, and one larger one, which is patched(see photo) -- new window rubber, and side window to roof seals(2011), "empi" style rims, adjustable front beam(which is in the stock position in photos, due to our poor road here) When i had the windshield out to put the rubber in, I also removed the cracked padded dash, and finished the underlying surface, giving it a cleaner look(see photos) This car probably has about 500 miles put on it since 1998, all of which was in summer conditions -- What doesn't work:gas gauge, speedometer, clock, radio, engine hood latch, vent controls, heater/defroster(not connected to engine, never needed it) -- since this ghia is converted to 12v, it has a 2-speed wiper switch/motor from a later model ghia, which works fine, but I leave the wiper arms off -- also, could probably use a new fuse box, as whenever I take it out of storage, I have to fiddle with the fuses to get everything working -- very slidht leak from engine main seal, have never had to add oil --also, there are some scratches in the driver side side window, but they are not in view when you look out that window -- yes, and the odometer, which is broken, reads 08850, which is not correct, so I just guessed at about 1/2 million miles As you may be aware, "vehicle history reports" are not available for a car this old Comes with a spare tire mounted on a stock vw rim, not empi, but due to the large tire size, will not fit in the spare tire area -- I recommend refitting with a standard size tire .