Wait... Mad Max's Karmann Ghia for $50?

"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv) 04/28/2020 at 19:29 • Filed to: None

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This car is absurd and I like it. I say spray-paint it matte black, put safari tires on it, get its turbocharged Corvair flat six running again, and terrify the neighborhood. Or sneak into a Karmann Ghia club and see how many Volkswagen snobs lose their minds :) This car is a beast and I want it.

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If there is such a thing as a charismatic and charming crime against humanity, this car is it.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 19:32

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That is hideous , and just like you, I love it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 19:34

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Nothing could have prepared me for that spare tire mount 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 19:36

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DO IT!!!

Jim Spanfeller > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/28/2020 at 19:44

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Believe me, I want to. It’s not the price that’s stopping me... For once, I could afford that. It’s the space, which I don’t have enough of for another car. Plus, this thing is really far away from me, and I don’t think it’ll make it home under its own power, and the HOA would fine the crap out of me for even THINKING about buying something like that. If they wanted to fine me because my Thunderbird didn’t have hubcaps, there’s no way they’d be okay with this thing.

Jim Spanfeller > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 19:46

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It’s the latest advancement in pedestrian safety! Simply make the front end bouncy ;)

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 19:50

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The Ghia’s nose is so iconic it seems so wrong to cut it up like that. I’m usually all for safari/rally/overland type mods on cars where they don’t belong. But this one makes me sad.

Ah that’s better

dumpsterfire! > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 20:00

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Not a full on Ghia snob, but as an owner of one, uh....

Nope, just wrong on so many levels.

SiennaMan > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 20:30

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You know, parking this on the front lawn feels like an appropriate response for an attempt to fine for not having hib caps.. (by the by, are there any covenants against lawn art where you are?  Just a thought..)

ranwhenparked > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 20:52

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Particularly since you can just mount the spare on the roof.

ranwhenparked > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 20:54

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Look at the rust, and the amount of hacking that’s been done, I doubt there’s a single structurally sound panel left on it.

I’d guess the impetus behind this conversion was a combination of serious corrosion and a nasty front impact, and the owner just tried to amputate the worst of the damage.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > ranwhenparked 04/28/2020 at 21:11

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Now that looks cool

ranwhenparked > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 21:12

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An air cooled VW doesn’t really need drastic modifications to handle off-road use. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 21:14

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I hear you. Im trying to sell my 850 so I can make room for the 240 Jankwagon which I already own but will definitely not make it home under it's own power.  And yet, my HOA is super lax, they don't bust my neighbor across the street who has 4 POS cars and parks them all over, so I don't think they would mess with me. But I don't want to tempt fate, nor develop a reputation with the neighbors. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 21:16

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I love Ghias, and you're right, that hurt. Otherwise I love the thing. 

Nom De Plume > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 21:20

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I don’t care what anyone says, you have good taste in what used to be socially acceptable to call a jalopy.  

Nom De Plume > ranwhenparked 04/28/2020 at 21:22

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I mean if you really need to critically analyze this bad of an idea...  Didn’t this site once give away a car to watch the treachery performed to it.

glemon > Jim Spanfeller 04/28/2020 at 21:59

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Nice Price

glemon > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 22:01

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I suspect the subject car didn't look quite like the ones pictured before the surgery, but I get your point.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > ranwhenparked 04/28/2020 at 22:18

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Yup, flat pan, light weight. Just some taller knobbier tires and your set.

I when I was in NC last month my brother told me that to get a permit to drive on the beach where he lives your car has to have 4wd. Which made me sad because that means no VW based buggies could go on the beach where they belong. 

ranwhenparked > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/28/2020 at 22:25

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I get that they have to have a rule to try and keep morons with FWD crossovers from getting stuck, but there should be exceptions. Rear engined VWs were famous for their traction, certainly not your ordinary 2WDs.

Jim Spanfeller > SiennaMan 04/28/2020 at 23:57

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I live in the suburbs, so the HOA is always ranting about “ blah blah property values DON’T WORK ON YOUR CAR OUTSIDE.” They claimed my lack of hubcaps + the car cover on it was evidence that the T-bird was a non-running junk car... Had to write them a letter saying that 1), removing the troublesome hubcaps every time I want to drive somewhere is absurd and 2), just because it’s under a cover doesn’t mean it doesn’t run. But HOA complaints are like a right of passage for car nuts, right? ;)

Jim Spanfeller > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/28/2020 at 23:59

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HOAs are insane... They complain about my lack of hubcaps, but they don’t say anything about the purple Cadillac with big bling rims nearby...

Jim Spanfeller > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/29/2020 at 00:04

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Well, the seller does say that this was built in the 70's as a sort of baja... thing. At the time, this would’ve been just an interesting used car, which helps explain the shameless butchery to the front end. Honestly, though, it kind of just adds to the car’s whole “I don’t care what you think” attitude.

Jim Spanfeller > ranwhenparked 04/29/2020 at 00:08

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Also, it was built in the 70's. Interestingly, the seller says that the fender flares are metal, and that despite the rusty body, the pan is solid and structurally sound. So it would be totally possible to get it running again.

Jim Spanfeller > Nom De Plume 04/29/2020 at 00:11

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Thank you. The hacked-togetherness and whatnot just give it so much character... It looks like it belongs in a Mad Max movie.

ranwhenparked > Jim Spanfeller 04/29/2020 at 00:16

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Oh, running is entirely plausible. Old VW engines rarely die, they just sometimes  have their bodies rot out from around them, in which case, you just transplant them into something else. 

Jim Spanfeller > ranwhenparked 04/29/2020 at 00:19

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One technicality: This doesn’t have a VW engine. It has a Corvair Monza engine, which is probably the most valuable part of the whole car. Turbocharged air-cooled flat six ftw!

ranwhenparked > Jim Spanfeller 04/29/2020 at 00:25

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Eh, those are pretty robust, too. 

SiennaMan > Jim Spanfeller 04/29/2020 at 08:54

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Sadly I think so (except for the lucky ones living on 20+ acres in the middle of nowhere).

To be honest, I’m surprised the one person on my street who clearly prefers the snarling growling version of an hoa hasn’t complained about our Civic (which is car 3 for 2 drivers), since it sits on the street and in the last month definitely hasn’t moved once every 3 days.  The 3 days  is a city ordnance here, but the cops definitely have more sense than to enforce it during a stay at home order.  HOA neighbor?  I wasn't so sure..

Stay strong, stay healthy.

Jim Spanfeller > SiennaMan 04/29/2020 at 13:36

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Honestly, though, if I brought the Mad Max Karmann Ghia home, I imagine the inevitable letter from the HOA would hilarious enough to be worthy of framing :)

SiennaMan > Jim Spanfeller 04/29/2020 at 13:42

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 Or would they be so flabbergasted that they'd be at a loss for words?  There are so many questions that enquiring minds want to know.  

Jim Spanfeller > SiennaMan 04/29/2020 at 13:50

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I mean, the thing is basically a giant, four-wheeled middle finger to everything that they stand for, and yet if it runs and drives (and maybe gets a paint job, so you can claim it’s in good shape), then by their own rules it should be allowed... Too bad, I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my family to ditch the 2002 C ivic in favor of the monster Volkswagen....