toms_elleck
Go drive it.
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2003
- Location
- Ben Lomond, CA
After the Overcrest Rally, I drove the car a lot. It has working AC, heat, decent stereo, soft but tight suspension, sound deadening... The engine mounts are still pretty harsh but all in all it's a comfortable ride. I have had it all up and down the CA coast on 1000 miles road trips several times. I'll coordinate sales calls around rallies and events, and take the Volvo down to LA for a week at a time. It's excellent for that.
Frequently found in hotel parking lots, and occasionally valet parked which is sometimes pretty funny.
One day a friend of mine told me about a 1957 Karmann Ghia barn find. WHAT?! an early Lowlight car! I've had a handful of Ghias through the years, and I even had one lowlight before, but I had to sell that one before I ever drove it. I've wanted another one ever since. So I struck a deal with the seller and bought it sight unseen, just off a few grainy pictures. The car was down in Brea, CA which is about 400 miles from me. So of course I bought a tow bar and headed down there in the Volvo to tow it home. I coordinated it with another event while I was down there.
Busy bumper-to-bumper LA traffic with the little Ghia on the hitch was pretty stressful at times. Folks would try to merge into traffic, bullying their way inbetween the Volvo and the Ghia. This happened more than once.
Safe at home with the rest of the fleet:
1975 Volvo 242- 6.0L LS swap
1962 Chevy Biscayne Wagon- 5.3L LS swap
1958 Ragtop Beetle- 2.2L Turbo Subaru Swap
2016 GTI- manual, no sunroof, plaid interior, miracle machine
1957 Karmann Ghia- bone stock, 6V, not running, most valuable in the lineup
A build thread (well, a non-restoration, more like preservation thread) on the Ghia can be found here if anyone is interested: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765982&highlight=
Frequently found in hotel parking lots, and occasionally valet parked which is sometimes pretty funny.

One day a friend of mine told me about a 1957 Karmann Ghia barn find. WHAT?! an early Lowlight car! I've had a handful of Ghias through the years, and I even had one lowlight before, but I had to sell that one before I ever drove it. I've wanted another one ever since. So I struck a deal with the seller and bought it sight unseen, just off a few grainy pictures. The car was down in Brea, CA which is about 400 miles from me. So of course I bought a tow bar and headed down there in the Volvo to tow it home. I coordinated it with another event while I was down there.





Busy bumper-to-bumper LA traffic with the little Ghia on the hitch was pretty stressful at times. Folks would try to merge into traffic, bullying their way inbetween the Volvo and the Ghia. This happened more than once.
Safe at home with the rest of the fleet:

1975 Volvo 242- 6.0L LS swap
1962 Chevy Biscayne Wagon- 5.3L LS swap
1958 Ragtop Beetle- 2.2L Turbo Subaru Swap
2016 GTI- manual, no sunroof, plaid interior, miracle machine
1957 Karmann Ghia- bone stock, 6V, not running, most valuable in the lineup

A build thread (well, a non-restoration, more like preservation thread) on the Ghia can be found here if anyone is interested: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765982&highlight=
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