Will the Ghia Gods strike me down?

[56Island]

So here's my question.........

I have a 1957 Ghia coupe that is very date correct but I am trying to decide what to do with it. The good is that The body, pan, engine, trans, front beam, gauges, wheels and even the wheel trim rings are all dated together.
The bad is the body has a good amount of rust. The pans, heater channels, heat risers, spare wheel area, battery area and quarter panels are rusted and there is some rust on the door bottoms. The interior is mostly gone also.
While I am not new to working on and restoring classic VW's have just completed a ground up restoration of my 1956 beetle it is a hobby for me. I cannot seem to justify spending more than the car would ultimately be worth to restore it.

So I guess my question is should I just sell it on and keep it all together or should I part it out and help other early Ghia owners complete their restorations?
Thanks for your input-Bryant
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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[VWSTORECHICK]

How bad is the nose?That is the hardest and most expensive to fix rust -wise..Lowlight values are only gonna go up up up, I wouldnt cut it up unless it is rotted beyond belief. If it is too much of a project for you to get into, keep it intact and pass it on for resto. Or mothball it in a barn and see how much it brings in 10 years. Dennis

[56Island]

Nose is good and other than the rust in the spots I mentioned the body is pretty good. I'll post some pics when it stops raining here so people can get a better idea of exactly what I'm talking about.

The only reason I'm even considering the idea is I only have so much space to work with. I have a large garage but it's not enough space to park my 56 beetle, the Ghia and leave me space to work on another project. I have come across several other projects that I have passed on because I lacked the space.
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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[Mellow Yellow 74]

I say to sell it to someone else as a project rather than parting it out - the areas you mentioned are not unusual to need replacing during a resto
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1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon)

[slalombuggy]

If you can't justify the final cost (which is perfectly acceptable I wish more people would go into projects with their eyes open) of the finished car I say pass it along to someone who loves early Ghias and can justify the cost. Since the car is so intact and correct it would be a shame to carve it up or part it out. Numbers matching cars are getting near impossible to find. If this is one I personally would try and keep it all together.

brad

[Exaktaphile]

If it's the car in your gallery, there's people that would leave it "patina", weld in some angle iron for support, and start driving.

It might cost more to repair than the car is worth right this minute but the finished car will escalate in value quite a bit faster than a rolling project.

The restoration would be a good "trickle" project that takes several years and spreads the cost/time out so you don't have to live in a van down by the river.

[trelms]

Yeah if this is yours. Get it running and drive it everywhere. Some one will by it from you on the street.
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'74 Ghia Vert SOLD

[56Island]

Yep, that's the old girl.
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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[c21darrel]

I like it!
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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[sancho58]

What's the Vin Number/ Month 1957 ?

[56Island]

1467684
I think it puts it somewhere like April/May of 1957
One neat thing is it has the 3-in-1 fuel/oil/amp gauge.
In my readings on this site the concessions is that started in the 1958 model year but the back side of the dash does not appear to be cut so I'm assuming it came from the factory equipped with it.
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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[John Moxon]

[Starbucket]

I had a 57 Ghia I bought for $35 because the owner thought they blew the trans as it wouldn't move in any gear forward or reverse, I towed it home and found out it was just the rear brake drum has the splines stripped out, $10 and I drove it anywhere for 7 years and gave it to my old girl friend. Miss the good old days. It had the 3 in 1 center gage too.

[56Island]

As promised here are some more pictures....

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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[56Island]

Rockers.....

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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[56Island]

Floors......

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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[56Island]

Interior, or what's left of it.....

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Rock, stock and 2 smoking tail pipes.

[crazy tarzan]

I'd fix it. But I like a challenge...

I wouldn't part the car out. Sell it as a whole if you don't want to invest the time into it.

The early low lights are getting harder to find. Someone would take it on if you're not wanting to.

Yours has a lot of original stuff that's hard to find. I'm picking up a '58 this weekend that is missing a ton of stuff, but still worth it (IMHO).

[c21darrel]

I agree w/ Tarzan, Its gonna need a lot of rust repair, most do. But its nice. Plenty of ghia lovers are doing way more repair$ on later cars with less value once complete. Keep it til you have the time and $$ or sell it to someone ready.
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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[kiwighia68]