New to Ghias and I'm very excited!

[67 Florida Deluxe]

Greetings! While I’m not new to TheSamba, I am new to the Karmann Ghia world. A little background on me: I have owned a number of bugs, which can be seen in my gallery (I still have my ’67 Lotus White sedan I bought from the widow of the original owner, and my 11K-mile barn find ’65 with A/C that I bought from Jan Brundage of Brumos Jacksonville). I owned a remarkable River Blue Super Beetle Convertible with only 24K miles. I found a fully documented and rust-free 1959 SO-23 sub-hatch Westy many moons ago only 3 blocks from my house and loved that li’l cuss for many years until I let it go to my neighbor, good friend and the best possible custodian to steward its care going forward (also a fellow Sambian.) I also had a 1967 21-Window Sunroof Deluxe walk-thru that I sold around 4 years ago. On my bucket list remains a 1500 S sunroof Notch and a pre-68 Karmann Ghia convertible.

Well, I finally found my Karman Ghia on Sunday and it’s en route from, literally, one corner of the US to the opposite other. I found it here in the classifieds. It’s a 1966 that, aside from one body re-spray, is 100% original, including the soft top. From the history of the first owner, the second owner and the person I bought it from, it was never driven in snow or road salt, and was never taken out when it was raining (although it was caught in a rainstorm sometimes while it was out.) It has the original books with service stamps, service receipts, a little spiral notebook noting fuel fill-ups, spare keys, etc.

Admittedly, I am new to the wonderful world of Ghias, so please be patient with me as I begin my new phase of air-cooled VW adventure and discovery with the Karmann Ghia. I am very familiar with the search function, but it has its limitations and frustrations. Here are a few pics of the “new-to-me” Karmann Ghia. Also, it’s new to the VW enthusiast scene, as none of the prior owners ever showed it or were engaged in forums such as TheSamba. So we’re discovering this car together!
Cheers!
Kent

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-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[iowegian]

Beautiful car, Kent.

[67 Florida Deluxe]

Thanks, Weege
_________________
-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[Braukuche]

Nice car.
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Go Reds! Smash state!

Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now

[jeffrey8164]

I’m gonna be cheesy and tell you to get that plastic fuel filter out if your engine compartment.
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Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[Onceler]

This is gonna come across as dickish. And my car is no perfect example, but did they supply any pictures of passenger side front of quarter? It looks kinda wonky, but could just be odd shadows.
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[Onceler]

From the pic. looks like a depression where the rear trim is attached, and I can’t tell if the torsion bar cover is filled in or not. Again, could be shadows and lighting.
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[sputnick60]

Its a real nice '66. I'm a fan of the '66. Looks like your dash trim is complete.

Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[iowegian]

In case you haven't noticed yet--------the paint on the engine lid springs is not perfect. Hope this helps.

[kingkarmann]

A hearty congratulations!
I seems you have done yourself proud.
Welcome to the sexy side

[boinkffd]

Very nice. Welcome.

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[67 Florida Deluxe]

The upper trim piece at the bottom of the passenger door is tweaked outward a little. But the qtr panel looks straight.

_________________
-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[rbsurfguy]

Welcome Kent to the world of sexy! Looks really good. I was going to warn you that everything wrong(?) will get picked about...seems to have begun already, but since you have been a Samba member, you know how it goes. All in good fun and friendship.

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, there are some little rusty spots along the bottom edge....and your headliner is dirty!! Just thought I would throw in some criticism to begin the beating!
Awesome, Jeff
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1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold


See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[Onceler]

It is a beautiful car and the door gaps are perfect. I honestly think after looking at the new pic.’s that what I thought was a pretty big dent is just a reflection from something next to the car.
Even if it was a dent, I would never critique a current owner, but since it’s not in your possession yet, I felt it might help with any future considerations if there was a dent.
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[67 Florida Deluxe]

^^^ I definitely appreciated your observation. Glad it turned out to be just a reflection, but it did alert me to the trim piece. Very minor in the grand scheme, but at least I know it's tweaked a tad.
_________________
-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental