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Guys - Talk me into getting an old VW - Bug or Karmann Ghia


dZjupp

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so i grew up restoring old British sports cars with my dad and am really interested in the idea of getting a car i can work on again - myself.

 

i've always been enamored with old vw's bugs, karmann ghias, even the old buses.

 

you guys have any experience with them? i live about 30 minutes (all interstate) from the city i work/hang in. do these things operate well on the interstate?

 

just wondering if i should look somewhere else, as i will have to learn how the entire car operates.

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out of those three, i'd go with the Karmann Ghia, such a cool design

with dull performance, bad brakes, poor handling and rust problems

I once drove an old Beetle and thought it was a terrible car

and I used to drive a Triumph Spitfire for many years and thought that was fun

Mini Cooper as well, great fun little car

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out of those three, i'd go with the Karmann Ghia, such a cool design

with dull performance, bad brakes, poor handling and rust problems

I once drove an old Beetle and thought it was a terrible car

and I used to drive a Triumph Spitfire for many years and thought that was fun

Mini Cooper as well, great fun little car

 

 

 

thanks b

 

I've had mgbs, bugeye sprites and jags (well, my dads - heh heh)

 

i've also thought about a mgbgt, which, i know an mgb front and back, everything on it. but those karmann ghias just scream to me. they are the coolest.

 

jag xjs' are also cheap here in the states, but i cringe when i think of the v12 and electronics in them.

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karmann ghia, in terms of looks. do you enjoy working on cars?

 

 

i used to alot, yes

 

I've restored a 1963 mgb.

with my dad, i've restored a 1959 bugeye sprite, a 1963 jag e-type coupe, a 1959 jag xk150dhc s, a 1966 mustang, a 1978 jeep cj-7

 

so yeah, growing up, thats all i did, then around 16-17, i got into guitars....

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the prices on vw's has gone up so much in the past 15 years making it difficult to buy anything cool without paying through the nose. if you're in the states check out corvairs, still super affordable and super cool imo. they are aircooled, six cylinder and they have vans, trucks and square back looking ones too.

 

60-64 look like this

shla63.jpg

 

65-69

STINGERC.jpg

 

trucks

2557203352_3e72198ffb.jpg

 

 

vans

chevy-corvair-van.jpg

 

 

wagons (lakewood)

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQjzd-vrs-MphRdDdzv3Oa

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i used to alot, yes


I've restored a 1963 mgb.

with my dad, i've restored a 1959 bugeye sprite, a 1963 jag e-type coupe, a 1959 jag xk150dhc s, a 1966 mustang, a 1978 jeep cj-7


so yeah, growing up, thats all i did, then around 16-17, i got into guitars....

 

 

sweet. if you enjoy that type of thing, i say go for it

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I have owned a couple of VWs from the late 70s. If it will be your only car, I recommend not doing it. It isn't that they aren't reliable (they CAN be, but too many have been poorly taken care of by the shade-tree mechanic), it is just that they aren't very safe, they aren't very warm in the winter, they aren't fast, they don't have good brakes/steering/etc, but they are super fun as a second/hobby car.

 

I would try to find a VW 1500 fastback. Those are cool and rare.

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i think its time for you to settle down and get something senisble. how about a chevy volt? theyre terrible, terrible vehicles but very expensive and supposedly environmentally friendly. youll hate it.

 

 

ha ha, i've got a friend (gm technician) had to go to a week long class on how not to die working on a volt. apparently the load in them will shoot you to the moon

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I have owned a couple of VWs from the late 70s. If it will be your only car, I recommend not doing it. It isn't that they aren't reliable (they CAN be, but too many have been poorly taken care of by the shade-tree mechanic), it is just that they aren't very safe, they aren't very warm in the winter, they aren't fast, they don't have good brakes/steering/etc, but they are super fun as a second/hobby car.


I would try to find a VW 1500 fastback. Those are cool and rare.

 

 

 

i have a few other vehicles so it would be a 2nd car

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MGB GT is a cool car, and if you know how to work on MGBs, than that would make more sense

 

I always liked the Triumph GT6, but after my Spitfire experience (used on a daily basis, it was really high maintenance), I stayed away from 70s Triumphs

 

1973_Triumph_GT6_MkIII_000.jpg

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i've never seen one of these stateside

 

 

well, you don't see much of them over here, when I first saw these (there were 2 for sale), I thought it was US imported

and they were, although it was not offered officially in the USA back in the day. Many still made their way to the USA and the USA has the largest number of known Type 34s left in the world (400 of the total 1,500 to 2,000 or so remaining

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