I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Volkswagens. My first car was a 1968 VW Beetle. I continue to be drawn into the 'old volks' world again and again. In the past few years I've owned two different bug's a 1964 and a 1966. I enjoyed both and miss them both but I have a restless soul and I've moved on.
Several months ago as I was sifting through Craigslist I came across a car I knew. Or at least I thought I knew. The car in question was a 1960 Karmann Ghia coupe. I had seen it before when I visited the owner who owns and operates a local VW suspension fabrication company. It was his personal car that he had built a narrowed air bag beam for it. It had an awesome patina to it and someone had clear coated over the patina to preserve it. He had put VW Thing wheels and lower profile tires and an extremely unusual interior. The interior is essentially a mexican blanket that was trimmed by a local upholstery shop to create a very colorful interior. The interior, the patina and the stance 'make' the car. It was special.
I saw the car listed and I contacted the owner. I went to see the car and I brought a trailer and cash with me 'just in case' I decided to buy it. Well I bought it. My original thought was, it wasn't going to take much to get it on the road. I was wrong. It's taken a lot.
One of my friends who is an old school VW guy told me "Dude that this is a bigger project then your think it is and it's going to snowball on you and turn into a huge project." He was right. But even so, I love this car. I am still in the process of resurrecting it and getting it back on the road.
The car needed the following: rear shocks, new wheel cylinders all the way around, new brake shoes on the front and back, new bearings, all the drums were turned, new brake lines all the way around. The air ride beam and bag were installed but it needed everything else installed. Luckily it came with most of the needed parts and luckily I have a friend who is extremely mechanically inclined. My friend set up the air-compressor, air tank, lines, solenoid, air tank, switch etc. I bought a new battery and purchased a used 1300cc motor for the car as the original motor was seized.
The car is almost complete and I am really looking forward to driving it around town. If I own it long enough it might make it to the 2014 Bugorama, but who knows. Below are some pics of the car, enjoy!
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