Ghia

I bought the 1969 1/2 VW Karmann Ghia in 2002 not really knowing what I was getting into. The car had previously been a nitrous injected 2173cc (or so) drag racer without a lot of street time. The previous owner got it from the back yard of a relative and had it partially restored six years before I got it.

The original drag engine was sold separately and I got a thing that somebody had put together without knowing what a torque wrench was and who thought all the world could be fixed with Red RTV.

S-10

When owning an old VW it is important to own a tow vehicle. I had an old Isuzu P'up that ran and was sufficient and was used several times to retrieve the Ghia (new, clutch, and throttle cable). The P'up kept backfiring nearly causing me to break my nose on the steering wheel and whenever smog testing came up I had to dump money into it. The guys at the shop kept telling me about trucks they knew of for sale.

I'm actually not a big truck fan, but I figured if I did want a truck I would like one that looked like the one my friend Randy had. I looked through a magazine and found one that looked like his - the ad said to call Randy.

Chevy truck

Current Status

The old VW is running pretty well on the old once-overheated engine. It still spews a bit of oil, but has been going about 20K miles since overheating. The new 1808 engine is finally under construction! Check the Engine link for pictures.

The S-10 is starting to show its age a bit. Most of the age is the paint is starting to show some wear - chipping in the front and the front valence is a bit beat up. A pile of chains tore through the rear roll pan. Still a nice looking and driving truck at 260K miles!