Decent Karmann Ghia is Decent

 1974 VW Karmann Ghia for sale

The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia used to be everywhere, at least in the rust-free Northern California days of my youth. They blended in with the classic-but-yet appreciated, oxidized, band-stickered Beetles, Mustangs and endless early 70s GM midsizers. Then – suddenly – they were all either total basket cases or restomoded out to $12 grand.

Today, we find a rare “decent” example of a [sc:ebay itemid=”261200724886″ linktext=”1974 VW Karmann Ghia” ] for sale. It’s clearly been bonked on the right left front, and in the repair process they saw fit to weld over the openings for the front bumper. Wheels and stance are a matter of taste, but most would agree this combo’s pretty tasty.

We’re treated to a few good shots of the cadaver-skin beige exterior, but neither pictures nor description of the insides. With the seller using phrases like “well on its way to being a custom car” and “will be head turner when finished”, we can assume partial assembly is required. Luckily there’s still no shortage of cheap VW aftermarket parts, meaning you could rebuild the whole thing as needed.

1974 VW Karmann Ghia for sale1974 VW Karmann Ghia for sale1974 VW Karmann Ghia for sale

It’s $1,200 today (reserve unmet), where will it be in four days when the auction ends? [sc:ebay itemid=”261200724886″ linktext=”1974 VW Karmann Ghia – eBay Motors” ]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

11 responses to “Decent Karmann Ghia is Decent”

  1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    Did you mean to say "bonked on the right front"? I I see bonkage on both the left front and left rear, but the R/F fender seems fine to my eyes…or am I missing something?
    An old body man told me that back when they were new, K-Gs were notoriously easy to "total" with just sheet metal damage. They were relatively cheap to start with, and had so many tricky curves to the body that required laborious welding and finishing, that he literally drove a number of nearly-new Ghias across town to the scrapyard.

    1. JayP2112 Avatar
      JayP2112

      Those noses were pretty fragile.
      VW mags in the 80's were full of Ghia sheetmetal- I can see why since trying to smooth out that nose looked like a real proposition.

    2. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      Dunno what you're talking about 😉

  2. Irishzombieman☆ Avatar
    Irishzombieman☆

    Saw one in LA this weekend that sounded like it had an old Porsche 6 in it. Nicely restored with a dark blue metal flake paint job.
    My 8-year-old son standing next to me, his head and mine following it down the street, says, "I'd drive that sucker to Omaha."
    Laughter explosion in my chest. I have no idea where he got that. Neither does he.

  3. Garland137 Avatar
    Garland137

    It looks like he started blacking out the trim.

  4. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    You could rescue it, before someone totally ruins it.

  5. Metric Wrench Avatar
    Metric Wrench

    A fellow stockboy at the IGA had one that, like so many girls back then, had a nice body but smoked like a ham. He saved up his $3.33 per hour all summer, and invited me over for a going back to school / throw the JC Whitney catalog at the little Giha.
    We installed new jugs, pistons, rings, and supposed performance heads. He even had enough left over for a header exhaust. Once we got the carbs jetted out right, the smoke was gone and she ran, well, she was as fast as a Super Beetle.

  6. Raphael Orlove Avatar
    Raphael Orlove

    10/10 would baja-ize

  7. Van_Sarockin Avatar
    Van_Sarockin

    There should be good aftermarket support for these, especially for those delicate body panels. I've been told that some of the chrome trim is pure unobtanium.

  8. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    Where are you located?