It’s probably my life of modest means that attracts me to cars that provide a good value, allowing me a slightly more realistic daydream of ownership. Today’s Karmann Ghia is on the opposite end of the spectrum, a car that, while probably totally worth it, is seriously expensive thanks to a borderline-obsessive restoration just 2200 miles ago. It’s gorgeous inside and out, top to bottom, and the restorer apparently went to the greatest lengths to get every detail correct and perfect. It shows, and while I love me some function-over-form classic German cars, I certainly have respect for showroom-quality classics.
Exhaustively restored 1964 VW Karmann Ghia for sale on the Samba
Just look at that jaw-dropping undercarriage. It has a great description so I’ll leave it to the poster:
Offered is a 1964 Karmann Ghia, restored by veteran VW specialist, Brent Winman. Brent is the Chief Engine Builder at Raby’s Aircooled Technology and has been since 2000. Brent has unparalleled attention to detail and vast VW knowledge with over 30 years of experience. This Karmann Ghia illustrates his dedication to Volkswagen.
You will find cars sold at a cheaper price than this one, but you won’t find a Ghia with the attention to detail and correctness that this car has right down to the infinite details that took Brent years of research to complete.
I brought the body and floor pan back from California in 1998 and had planned to restore it myself, instead I sold the rust free project to Brent and he took the car to a level that simply cannot be put into words.
The car took over six years to restore to the state illustrated by the pictures and video posted in this ad. With only 2200 miles on the entire vehicle since restoration was complete back in 2003 this is virtually a new car, the interior still smells new and the car hasn’t sat outside for one night since being completed, nor has it seen a single rain drop.
Mechanically every nut, bolt and washer was removed. Instead of just replacing many of these fasteners with Chinese reproductions the original fasteners were blasted and reused, that same attention to detail and correctness can be found in every aspect of this car. The entire body chassis and subsystems were completely removed, restored and reassembled and nothing was left attached, this is a full ground up restoration.
The correct 1200cc engine is installed and is detailed right down to the original air filter assembly with the factory writing. The engine performs great and on a 550 mile trip to “Bug Jam” back in 2003 where the car was shot for a Hot VWs Feature it cruised easily at 75-80 MPH with exceptional fuel mileage as I followed Brent in my 912E.
The body of this vehicle is perfect, it has the slickest Gulf Blue paint that can be found and all work was done by Eddie Martin of Murphy North Carolina. The entire chassis was stripped and coated with POR-15 for durability, corrosion resistance and luster.
The car comes complete with the original key and a history that is very interesting. It was restored by a person who is more passionate for VWs than any other person I have met and the job was done with correctness and function. This vehicle is not a daily driver and should be considered a museum piece more than anything else. This Ghia has been restored to showroom condition.
Featured in the January 2005 issue of Hot VWs Magazine, this car has been recognized as one of the best examples of quality restoration in the country.
Totally awesome. I love the color and really appreciate that someone took the time to give this Ghia a rebirth. I can really see it sitting on a showroom floor just as the Beatles hit America. Would I pay $30k for it? No, but I’m not going to say it’s not worth it considering the time and love that went into making it perfect.
-NR
I think he should have spent that amount of time on a 356. I think the only Ghia that would be worth that much would be one that was low mileage original and not rebuilt. Also, most of the trim pieces need to be replated, same with the fasteners if they were Glass beaded. I restore WW2 aircraft for a Hobby and anything we blast will rust quite quickly unless replated. Anyway, definitely nice attention to detail and a cool car.