1974 VW Karmann Ghia Convertible For Sale

Pictures

What’s Good

This car is great:

1. It runs and drives!
2. The convertible top works.
3. The convertible top has the rear glass windshield.
4. The car has its spare tire.
5. The car has its emblems.
6. It comes with a car cover.

Karmann Ghia convertibles are rare. Only 18% of all Karmann Ghias ever produced were convertibles. VW produced only 1558 Karmann Ghia convertibles for the 1974 model year – lower than all model years except 1955-57. Although it may look rough, this car is a survivor.

What’s New

I put a lot of work into restoring this car. Mechanically, the car is sound.

• Interior:
  • New interior carpet with padding
  • New back bench (in lieu of the backseat that VW removed for the 1974 model)
  • New seatbelts
  • New rear side panels
  • New EMPI trigger-style shifter
  • Refurbished steering wheel with new leather grip
• Exterior:
  • New tires
  • New side mirrors
  • New rear emblems (“Volkswagen”, “Karmann Ghia” script)
  • Refurbished hubcaps
  • New tail light mounts and rubber
• Engine:
  • Volkzbitz-restored 34 PICT-3 carburetor
  • New timing belt
  • New battery
  • Oil changes and valve adjustments
• All new brake system:
  • New master cylinder
  • All new brake lines (hard and soft)
  • New front discs and calipers
  • Rebuilt rear drum brakes
  • Fresh brake fluid with cleaned reservoir
  • Refurbished parking brake with new boot and levers
• Clutch system:
  • New clutch plate
  • New throw-out bearing
  • New shaft and arm
  • New Bowden tube and cable
• Front-end:
  • New tie rods
  • New steering knuckles
  • New steering shaft
  • De-rusted and refurbished gas tank with a new sending unit
  • Cleaned and painted the trunk
  • New trunk carpet
  • New speedometer cable (which fixed the speedometer and odometer)

What Needs Work

The biggest need is body work. This car is a survivor. On the front-end, the nose has been smashed more than once, and the passenger-side fender is dented. The whole front-end is caked in body filler up to 1/4″ thick. The driver-side door post has rusted and weakened to the point where the door falls about an inch when it opens. The rear driver-side bumper mount has rusted off. I de-rusted and paint-sealed vulnerable spots while uncovering them during my restoration work.

Some things are broken and need repairs:

• The fuel gauge needs to be calibrated.
• The horn is broken.
  • The circuit from the steering wheel down the column to the relay works.
  • I suspect the horns themselves broke when the nose was crunched.
  • I have new horn parts for the repair.

There are other parts that could be improved for a full restoration:

• The convertible top should be restored.
• The door panels should be replaced.
• The dashboard should be refreshed.
• The sound system is not connected.
• The steering box should probably be replaced because the steering has a lot of free play.
• The front bumper is missing. (I do have the original rear bumper, and I restored it.)
• The heating system is not connected. (But, c’mon, it’s a convertible!)

What’s Odd

The floor pans are not stock. A previous owner welded them in. Thankfully, they are very sturdy. The seats and their tracks are also not stock.

The speedometer cable was broken when I bought the vehicle. The speedometer did not show velocity, and the odometer was frozen at 62202. When I replaced the cable, the speedometer and odometer started working again. I do not know the true mileage of the car, but all the mileage after 62202 is what I have driven.

The Backstory

The earliest I can trace its story is back to a title in Virginia in the 1990s. Somehow, it ended up in the hands of a VW enthusiast in Tennessee who purportedly planned to chop its top and part out the rest. It was saved in early 2022 by a lady named Ms. Anna. She was friends with the VW enthusiast, and she wanted to buy an old VW Beetle from him as her dream car. When she saw this Karmann Ghia, she changed her mind on the spot and bought it instead. Ms. Anna drove it through the backwoods for a few months as her “fun car” until she decided to sell it due to a change in life circumstances. She did not make any significant changes to the vehicle.

I purchased the Karmann Ghia from Ms. Anna in June 2022. The car was in rougher shape than I expected, but it was still a good car. On my first test drive, the transmission shifted as smoothly as butter. The speedometer was broken at the time, but I could shift by listening to the revs of the engine. I drove it through the mountains of Tennessee from Dunlap down to Chattanooga and then hauled it home to North Carolina from there.

Why I’m Selling

I love the Karmann Ghia, but I’ve decided to sell this one for one main reason: I want an earlier year model. I like the earlier design elements. My grandfather drove a ’67 convertible, and I also own a ’70 Beetle. I’d like to sell my current Karmann Ghia convertible to buy another one within that year range.

I’m ready to sell this car immediately. I don’t have anything to hide. If you’re interested, please message me through the Contact form.