1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Coupe

4 - Cyl.

Manual

1432720249

Gasoline

1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia I recently purchased this Karmann Ghia from an individual who used it as a daily driver. The car has a little over 70,000 miles on it. I have only owned the car a short time as the driving of it from Texas to Maryland was the purpose of the purchase, not the car itself, but I'll describe it to the best of my abilities and am happy to answer any questions. Drive-train: The drive-train was recently replaced and only has about 5000 miles on. Engine wise the Ghia has a balanced 1641 CC motor with a Pict 34 carburetor on top. The motor was rebuilt with an Engle 110 cam (very slightly more high performance than stock), dual port heads, chromoly crank, empi bolt on valve covers, a heavy oil pump and two piece aluminum pushrod tubes. All engine accessories are new as well including the accel coil, alternator, starter and carburetor. The transaxle was also replaced at the same time as the motor. The motor has a single quiet pack exhaust with J pipes (slight performance boost over stock exhaust) which tried to rust as soon as I got it to wet and humid Maryland so I sanded the rust off and painted the exhaust with a high temperature enamel (except for the exhaust tip which is chromed.) The Ghia has aftermarket KYB gas adjustable shocks and the front end has been lowered two inches with CB performance drop spindles. The previous owner did not narrow the beam or get smaller tires so the front tires will rub on the wheel well when turning sharply. The original spindles are with the car and can be put back on if you prefer. After being dropped the Ghia has had 4 wheel computer alignment. Car has disc brakes front and drum rear. Previous owner told me the front brakes were new and in the process of fixing the parking brake I can vouch that the rear pads have a lot of life left in them and the drums were in good condition. The tires have less than 5,000 miles on them according to the previous owner. I can vouch for the reliability of this little car as I purchased it in Texas and drove it to Maryland without a hiccup. The motor gets roughly 30 miles to the gallon and will run at 65 mph all day (I didn't push it much past that so I can't tell you how fast she'll go.) Interior: I would rate the interior fair to poor. The previous owner started installing a new carpet kit but never finished (the rest of it comes with the car.) The seats appear to be original and are not terribly supportive. The dash pad is swollen and ugly and a hole was cut in the dash for an after market radio (which as far as I can tell may work, but there appear to be no speakers in the car.) The interior light and and clock do not work. The gas gauge is entirely missing (the car's tank has a little over a 9 gallon capacity as far as I can tell, so I just drove it about 200 miles before fill ups to give me some wiggle room (9gal x 30 mpg = 270miles per tank roughly) Speedometer works and an after market tachometer has been installed which was mounted under the dash. The door pads need to be replaced as they're coming off (on the plus side it let me see inside the door which appears remarkably rust free.) The car has been fitted with a bug pack quick shifter system. The lights and blinkers appear to work, however, I was notified by a highway patrolman in Texas that one of the headlights is out. On a positive note the headliner is not ripped or hanging as I have heard they are a real pain to replace. Exterior: As the car was a southwestern car there is substantially less rust than you'd find on an east coast car. However, the paint job is old and does not appear to be professionally done. As a result there is an area of flaking in front of the front left tire. There is no rust under the headlights and appears to be minimal rust in the wheel wells. Overall a great exterior body. However, the floor pans under both the driver and passenger seats have rust holes. The front and year bumpers were removed and the front bumper holes covered and painted. The previous owner told me he still has the front and rear bumpers and I am happy to put you in touch with him if you'd like to try and get them. The passenger door handle is broken (the little button you pull to open the door was broken off) but I have the replacement in hand, which will come with the car. Maintenance done since purchase: I haven't owned it long enough to do anything major, but I have adjusted the valves (.06 on all valves) and recommend the oil be changed soon (I have the gaskets necessary for the oil change.) Overall this is a great little car. Every time I stopped for gas or at a hotel people stopped me to talk about the car. These little Karmann Ghia's are a unique and fun car and someday, when the finances are right, I'd like to own another one. Feel free to contact me with any questions, this is an old car and I don't know what people want to know about. I purchased this car off ebay and know what it's like to buy something sight unseen so I'd rather we both feel good about the sale so please ask any questions now. Disclaimers: Buyer pays for arranges any shipping. I'm happy to help, but let me know what you have in mind. The car is in Rockville MD (just outside Washington DC) $500 deposit due within 48 hours of auction end with the balance paid via cash or check (which must clear prior to the car leaving) within 7 days. Nothing in this description is to be taken as a warranty either express or implied. The car is sold as is and with all faults.