1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

coupe

1600

manual 4 speed

1432225393

Clear

Gasoline

Thanks for looking . Here we have a 1973 Karmann Ghia and it’s nice, but needs additional work as we all have our dreams ideas of how we want them. I had this car in the body shop almost a year straightening and fixing all sides of the vehicle. The car surprisingly was pretty rust free. Then came a new silver paint job has about six months of fresh paint. ( No wax on it as yet) It isn't perfect but it is in good shape. Let me start with what it needs. The door panels were water soaked and warped so I made some new plywood laminate door panels and ran two coats of varnish on them and they are ready to be upholstered ( I actually left them the way they are because I preferred the rod look). The windshield has a nick in it so I got a window company to treat the speck and has a guarantee on the glass. All other glass is perfect.The headliner needs to be replaced but all metal bows are there. The front seats are descent and have no rips. The carpet and rear seats are also in good to fair condition. I replaced the door hinges and outer door handles. I also rewired the tail lights turn signals and placed new clear glass custom halogen lights and with fluorescent blue parking lights. The dashboard was really bad so I opted a new wood grain look skin that makes it like new. I also purchased and mounted a new padded dash. Please see pictures. The dash had a clock that usually “never works” so I took out the clock and was able to place an aftermarket tachometer with a red line light indicator. It’s awesome. Its perfect. You set the tach to desired RPM and shift when red light appears. The gas gauge was also bad so I placed a new custom gas gauge. You will see pictures of the dash. I also took out the old paper glove box liner and replaced with a new plastic insert and its perfect. The turn signal indicators on the instrument cluster we almost faded gone so I mounted some new steel chrome led’s between the instrument clusters and are easy and awesome to see. The seat brackets were also way to low, so I built new ones and they are bullet proof and light. The seats now are in the proper position and make the ride perfect. When I took out the door panels I also took the opportunity of greasing all the door and window mechanism and they are in great shape. The bumpers were pitted and rusty and bent. I took them and had them straightened and re chromed. Please note I have some pictures shown without bumpers, just to give you an idea without them, however they are on the vehicle and obvious go with the vehicle. Man what a difference a day makes. I found some euro set or rear mirrors and had them mounted on the forward fenders. I must tell you the passenger mirror is only for looks because they are way too small and blocked by windshield post. But a Ghia looks lousy with just one mirror. I searched hi and low and found a unique portable radio that mounts under the dash. (See pictures) the neat part of this radio is that it is “Portable picnic ” radio, so anytime you hit the beach or a park, you can pull it out and it has its own batteries and antenna and besides being AM and FM its shortwave. Awesome day with this little jewel. Let’s do to the mechanics. The motor had a blown rod. I took the motor to a Mercedes mechanic that had over fifty years of VW experience and he rebuilt the entire motor using a new German crankshaft and rings pistons etc. Cut no corners on this motor and $1100 dollars later I had a screaming 1600 cc motor along with an additional $450 dollar two barrel style Weber with dual port manifold. New clutch throw out bearings clutch return spring etc. degree wheel and electronic ignition makes this an incredibly reliable engine. The exhaust is stainless steel. The trans axle shifts perfect no howling no shifting issues its perfect. All wheels were removed and all new wheels received new breaks. I also dropped all the ball joints upper and lower and replaced them. The car steers and drives straight and steady at 90 miles per hour. Tires are in great shape. As you can see in the pictures the car has been dropped down and it handles great, however it is a stiff ride. There is an adjustment on the front suspension if you wish to raise it up a bit higher however I love the look the way its sits. This is an extremely dependable car no mechanical issues. If you live in New York come down then drive it home. On Jan-12-13 at 10:09:44 PST, seller added the following information: I have just included some pictures of the inner nose piece and also the underside and front under the hood. I also have a spare rim for the spare and a few other loose items . Thanks for looking. On Jan-14-13 at 05:42:59 PST, seller added the following information: As a note to everyone on my last statement in my description I mentioned " If you live in New York Come down and drive it home " Meaning that my car is in located in Los Angeles California and I feel its reliable enough to drive it cross country from Los Angeles to New York. So again for all to know, my car has been a California car and is located in Los Angeles California. Thanks.