tips on buying a VW that's been in "mothballs"?

[Lynn]

If you've noticed my sig line, you may notice that I seem to be stuck in the '70s when it comes to car purchases. Here's the latest. We've found a '69 VW Karmann Ghia with only about 90,000 miles that's been "in mothballs" (actually, it's been sitting in a rural barn) for the past 20 years. And it's being offered for seriously-cheap $$. I'm intrigued by the notion of buying it -- maybe to use it as a "parts donor car" for the '70 Ghia, or maybe try to restore it since the body looks really great. But I need advice about whether this is just a PROFOUNDLY stupid idea.

Here's the situation: Body is in good condition. One flat tire. Interior is very bad, but we don't really care about that. Haven't yet had a chance to examine the suspension/undercarriage and other "nether parts." Major question for me at the moment is: How to evaluate the engine? No idea whether it runs. Don't have a clue what kind of "inner corrosion" it might have -- how to determine whether it will be salvageable. I can imagine that, having sat for 20 years with no lubricants running in the engine, transmission, etc., there may be all sorts of problems that I haven't even thought of.

I know some of you have experience with putting cars into (or getting them out of) mothballs. So can you offer me any tips on what to look at, in order to determine if it's salvageable? Or, if we buy it, what procedure/cautions for bringing it back to life? I bet there are published/Web resources on this topic, too, so if you have links to those, I'd appreciate them too.

Many thanks!

[4DSC]

I don't know much about this, but here's some partial 2nd hand knowledge.

I think after 20 years the engine will need at least a partial rebuild and the fuel and electrical system overhauled. I wouldn't even try starting it, and would probably trailer it back home.

Check under the carpeting and in the trunk for rusted out floorboards.

HTH or gets the ball rolling...

[TurboCat]

Hey Lynn!

I love the Kharman Ghia. What a cool car.

You might get on www.vwvortex.com and post your question. You can post according to model on that site, and I would think there would be a few KG owners on there.

Good luck with the Ghia!

[detailbarn]

Hey Lynn , you found the right person for this question I am a long time VW fanatic I have owned somewhere around around 50 aircooled models. I'm actaully pciking up my next one in a week a '67 sunroof bug. Ok on to your question depedning on how much you got the car for and what you want to put into it. As long as the body and the floor pans are soild then the car is worth the time and effort. The engine should be a very easy rebuild being that it only had 90,000 on it. It actually may only need a freshening and a cleaning not a complete rebuild. To give you a better idea I bought a '68 that had been sitting and it had 170,000 on the engine and it fired up on the thrid crank. THe biggest concern on the Karman ghia model is the body unlike the bug body work is expensive due to the fact that all the seams are leaded together. I would say depending on the actual condintion this car is worth about $1500-$2500 unrestored. Good luck Lynn if you need any air-cooled VW info shoot me a PM and we can chat.

[rek]

After sitting for 20 years, you DON'T want to just try cranking it over! Remove the spark plugs and squirt some oil in and let it set, while you drain the oil, and put new oil in. You might want to add some GM, Engine Oil Suppliment, to the fresh oil. EOS, contains a heavy dose of friction reducers. Crank the engine over, without the plugs in, till you get oil pressure, to restore lube to the dry areas. By now, the ignition points (if equipped), are in need of cleaning.The carb gaskets are probably dried out, and shrunk, so it could leak gas. Speaking of gas, If there is any in it, it should be drained, and replaced with a gallon or so. If you have any leaks, (fuel line, carb, fuel pump) it's better to have a small amount of gas to leak, rather than gallons, till you fix the leak. You could do a compression test, to see how well the rings, or valves are sealing. As long as they are pretty much equal, (cylinder psi.) it should run. If they are low, squirt in a couple drops of oil. If the pressure goes up, the rings are bad. If the pressure stays the same(low), the valves aren't sealing.

[Lynn]

These are great tips, guys -- Thanks! Detailbarn and rek, this is exactly the kind of info I need, and I'll probably be hitting you with PMs soon. Going over to look at it again tomorrow. BTW, the asking price is a mere $600. (So ... detailbarn ... do I have to go to confession tomorrow? )

[butchdave]

Lynn,

Its Beetle based but has some good tips especially on buying etc
The Bugshop

[Lynn]

Many thanks, y'all, for the tips and leads. We've decided not to buy this one. As it is, taking care of 3 vintage cars is about to wear me out. But somebody really oughta pick up this baby. The body looks to be in great condition. Front bumper is kinda bent, but otherwise no real signs of damage. Underneath, there are the usual little specks of rust, but no rust-thru. If anybody's interested in pix with a view toward a purchase, let me know and I'll see what I can do. And NO!--I do not have any financial interest in this.

[Brad B.]

VW engines are so easy to rebuild yourself or so cheap to buy rebuilt in either short block or long block form that the engine is probably the LEAST important issue on the car.

I have pulled, rebult and reinstalled engines in my Bugs and Busses, unassisted, in less than 24 hours with no lift. Gotta love it.

Body corrosion on the Ghia, especially the enclosed tub panels is the problem and should be carefully checked. look for tell-tale signs of rust "lines" along body panels and holes at suspension mounting points, subframe assemblies and pedal box. A hole in the middle of a floorboard, while not great for a winter run down I-70, is easily rectified.

Grab a some VW Trends/Hot VW magazine of the news stand and start collecting names of vendors who cater to Ghias. They will be valuable for specialized trim needs.

Here's the good news.....it's a bunch cheaper than getting parts for the XJ!

http://www.jcwhitney.com/JCWVW.jhtml?TID=216000108

I have always had a catalog of theirs laying around, and there's always been a big Ghia section.

There warehouse is about 1 1/2 hrs from chicago, and there used to be a store in the city too. . .