Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 out of those three, i'd go with the Karmann Ghia, such a cool designwith dull performance, bad brakes, poor handling and rust problemsI once drove an old Beetle and thought it was a terrible carand I used to drive a Triumph Spitfire for many years and thought that was funMini Cooper as well, great fun little car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 karmann ghia, in terms of looks. do you enjoy working on cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 out of those three, i'd go with the Karmann Ghia, such a cool designwith dull performance, bad brakes, poor handling and rust problemsI once drove an old Beetle and thought it was a terrible carand I used to drive a Triumph Spitfire for many years and thought that was funMini 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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 65-69 trucks vans wagons (lakewood) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arthurdent'd Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 corvair death machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 shhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i used to alot, yesI'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-7so 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr.Picklebottom Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i've never been a corvair fan, knew a guy who fully restored one with his dad for 3 years ( a 63 i think) anyway, it had been done for a week, he took it out and hit a patch of ice, totaled it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 ooh and then there's the karmann 34, I once thought about trading my Spitfire for one of these (not as good looking as this one though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i've never been a corvair fan, knew a guy who fully restored one with his dad for 3 years ( a 63 i think) anyway, it had been done for a week, he took it out and hit a patch of ice, totaled it ignored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boytbpc Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cryptosonic Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Bus, or a squareback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 ooh and then there's the karmann 34, I once thought about trading my Spitfire for one of these (not as good looking as this one though) i've never seen one of these stateside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i had a 78 westphalia in college. great bus, had a ton of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dZjupp Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i have a few other vehicles so it would be a 2nd car that doesn't make any sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheFigurehead Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Why not go with a Volkswagen Type 181 "Thing"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 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 importedand 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KRAA!! Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 I had a '71 bus in high school. I had to downshift to make it up almost any hill and the heater basically is worthless. Busses are cool as hell but not practical at all unless you're doing exclusive city driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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