Pelican Parts Forums - Picked up a '71 Karmann Ghia with a 1900cc motor

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Love it! I narrowly missed a nice Ghia and then bought a bug. Loved my bug, but still long for a Ghia. Maybe some day....

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCadaddle (Post 10480248)

Oh well, might as well sell it to me here in Mississippi. :D

Up until a few years ago, The State of Mississippi required a yearly "inspection sticker" for motor vehicles. The cost was $5. Some shops that performed the "inspections" would just fill out the back of the sticker and the corresponding page in the book of stickers, scrape off the old sticker and slap the new one on the inside of your windshield, take your 5 bucks and send you down the road......where sooner or later you would encounter a pulp wood truck with NO windshield and the driver slowing down to make a turn off the rural highway with his left arm out the side window (or where the window WAS at one time) flexing his hand extending his fingers in and out.....that's a Mississippi blinker for a left turn.

On the other hand, the more scrupulous "inspection" shops would find anything they could to flunk your inspection in hopes of making money on the task in order to pass you. This happened to me once, as my reverse lights weren't working. "Oh, we can fix that, might be a bulb, maybe the switch on the transmission...."

Now the ONLY entity that has the legal authority to write you a ticket for an expired inspection sticker was the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The BIG DOGS. The Governor's own Gestapo.

So I ask the guy at the inspection shop that I failed because my reverse lights didn't work....."Do you really think the Highway Patrol is going to care that my reverse lights don't work.....IF I DON'T BACK UP THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE I MISSED MY EXIT?"

Needless to say I went to another shop to get the inspection sticker, a few years later the voters in the State were really tired of this "unwarranted yearly $5 tax burden" so one politician lead the charge in getting it revoked and now we run around sticker free with an extra $5 in our pocket every year.

But that's not the end of the story....

You see, the receipt books that the stickers came from once devoid of stickers were supposed to be turned into the State DMV. There they became public record so that entities like Carfax could denote on their report that on this day at this mileage the inspection was done. Now that data doesn't exist. Wouldn't surprise me one bit the used car lot Barons lobbied the legislature to get rid of the sticker, as it's one less bit of evidence of odometer rollbacks!

I have to say I wish Delaware allowed inspection at private shops. As in your story, I can see why it creates incentive to fail your vehicle, but at least you can pick a time and place to have everything done.

I have to choose between blasting down the Interstate or driving through the worst area of the city to get to our DMV inspection facility, not really a problem in my modern cars, but it was a bit hairy in my old Scout and in this VW. Now I have to take a second trip, likely in the heat of mid-June, and sit in a line of 4-5 cars for a half hour idling in the sun just to have some state employee see that I have working high beams.

I'm not concerned with the cost as much as the gross inconvenience of the whole endeavor.

Here's the 1956 Karmann Ghia I sold a couple of years ago to fund my 356A

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1351813.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911 (Post 10481074)

Here's the 1956 Karmann Ghia I sold a couple of years ago to fund my 356A

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1351813.jpg

Gorgeous! How is the 356A coming along? How do you like it in comparison?

Now that ^ is my fav Ghia, the early ones with small grills and tiny tail lights... I'm less of a fan of 1970+ with the larger tail lights and turn signals up front, and the later canoe bumpers...

Not sure what Thom would say but for me going from Ghia to 356 was a revelation back then. Way way more rigid, more responsive turn in, much better brakes, of course more power, but a sense of a bank vault. In fairness my ghia was a convertible 65 (it had all the torsional rigidity of a wet noodle) and the 356 was coupe...

Reminds me back in the 1960's I was looking at a used Karmann Ghia, an Austin Healy 3000 and a Triumph TR3. I chose the TR which later rusted out amongst other things. The Healy had rust already when I looked at it. The Karmann Ghia would have lasted the longest if I had bought it. Such is life!

Thanks for the great pics...:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deschodt (Post 10481202)

Thanks for the comparison. That's kind of what I would have expected. The brakes certainly leave something to be desired but they aren't terrible or dangerous, just in no way sporty and the pedal takes a long push and some effort to get them to bite.

It's kind of giving me an itch for a hot rodded 356 but I'm not sure I'm in the right stratosphere of pricing.

My Dad bought a brand new 1969 Karmann Ghia for my sister on a Thursday. She hopped in and took it for a "test drive" loaded with her girlfriends to the Atlanta International Pop Festival. Didn't show back up until the following Monday. My Dad, they say, was pissed! :D

So after a few weeks of driving, I find this to be such a pleasant little car. Everything about it is so simple and I can definitely see the draw of "stepping up" to a 356 as I think if everything was just a hair sharper, it would make the perfect motoring companion. The steering is really quick and darty but the feedback just feels a bit gummier than the Porsche and certainly the Lotus. The long brake pedal takes some getting used to but has a nice progressive bite. The quickness of the steering hints at more grip than is actually there which makes it an entertaining back roads companion when you realize how quickly you run out of front tire grip which turns brisk driving at sane speeds into a minor but not frightening challenge. Also, whatever $500 exhaust/muffler the prior owner put on it sounds FANTASTIC, way more aggressive than my relatively tame Monty on the 911.

I also think it's a great stablemate to the Porsche as you can sense the same strain of DNA running through both cars; the Porsche just feels like a more serious, purposeful evolution of this simple, playful little machine.

I'm also enjoying the laughably cheap parts costs which means I am not really going to worry about any mechanical failures like I would if I ponied up the coin for a 356.

Anyone want to buy a soon-to-be partially restored hot rod Lotus Elan? I think I'm over my flirtation with finicky British sports cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBonus (Post 10489069)

I can definitely see the draw of "stepping up" to a 356 as I think if everything was just a hair sharper

It's more than just a hair, it's significantly sharper in all areas... I think the biggest difference is the Ghia is a body bolted to a pan, vs the 356 that is unibody. Feels way stiffer which I imagine has consequences on everything else from suspension to driving feel.

But you are right, the cost of VW parts factors in greatly - it's getting really hard to justify a 356 nowadays. Back when I went ghia->356 it was $8000->$15000 for both in fantastic shape. Now it's whatever a ghia is to -> $80K - for a 356 that makes at most 90hp, whose engine components are starting to fail due to metal fatigue, and whose rebuilds cost 15K ! And both will kill you if you hit a wheelbarrow...

I've given up on both... (though if I was gifted a 50s Ghia I wouldn't kick it to the curb)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deschodt (Post 10489100)

It's hard to make dollars-and-cents of many desirable classic cars now. The 356 and longhood markets are just crazy but alternatively, it's hard to find a suitable alternative if you yearn for a specific driving experience.

I really thought my Lotus would be that affordable alternative but I've put roughly 10 miles on it in the past year and it has spent the last 7 months in the shop with a cascade of "while we're in there" repairs and upgrades. Whoever gets this car once I put it on BaT will be one fortunate soul.

Cool car!

You might check out a 914 before a 356. Any 356 is older than 1965. A 914 is from the 70s and has a lot to offer.

I had a bone stock, but brand new 1974 914 2.0 and my brother had a Ghia with a hot engine in it. The 5 speed transmission in the 914 made a huge difference. From a dead start we were even utill I hit 2nd and the lower gears and the magical 5th let me pull away from him. Four wheel disc made a big difference, and the 911 front suspension on a 914 and overall handling of the 914 was better.

Drive a 914 and see if you don't fall in love. They are still simple, and the 911 steering and front suspension and 901 5 speed make a big step up from a Ghia. And orders of magnitude cheaper than a decent 356.

Enjoy driving that Ghia!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera (Post 10489121)

I've always liked the idea of the 914 but I've never warmed up to them and I don't know why. There should be nothing not to love about a targa-topped 2000 pound mid-engined, air-cooled Porsche but something about the styling has left them a bit cold to me.

I just think there is something beautiful about the curved lines of the 356 (and the Ghia as well) that just does it for me.

Obviously, from a handling standpoint, none of these cars hold a candle to the 914 and with a plethora of engine upgrade options, they're a fantastic starting point to build a monster of a little car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBonus (Post 10489125)

I just think there is something beautiful about the curved lines of the 356 (and the Ghia as well) that just does it for me.

Obviously, from a handling standpoint, none of these cars hold a candle to the 914 and with a plethora of engine upgrade options, they're a fantastic starting point to build a monster of a little car.

I know what you mean. The 356 and the Ghia are great looking cars, but a 914 would run rings around either of them. It's a matter of the march of technology. I remember a Car and Driver story from the early 70s saying the "new" Porsche Speedster is a Karman Ghia - cheap, rear engine, air cooled, etc. They did a side by side road test and the Ghia beat the stock Speedster at every task - but I'd still rather have the Speedster.
Mine isn't stock, I have a hot rodded 912 engine in it - makes it even more funner!