My fourth Ghia – The “roller”
YEAR/MODEL: 1971 143 Coupe
VIN: 1412624318
ENGINE: 1584cc dual port, 60hp
PURCHASED: 31 May 2010
FROM: Timothy Hoepfner, Grand Ledge, MI
SOLD: 30 June 2010
TO: David Satterly, Belleville, MI
My fourth Ghia lasted only about 30 days, but was probably the best deal I ever made on ANY car – Ghia or otherwise.
lly owned, and came to the conclusion that the 1971 model would be best suited to my needs and desires. By 1971, all of the major technological advancements had been made (12v electrical, 1600 dual port engine, Independent Rear Suspension, glass back window in the convertible, etc.) while all the undesireable federally mandated features hadn’t yet been instituted (‘fat chick’ bumpers, EGR, front bumper shocks, oversized 13” taillights, etc.).
A lot of Ghia enthusiasts prefer the 60’s “cat’s eye” or “banana” style taillights, but I never liked the bumper mounted backup lights on the ’67-69 models, so I thought the 9” taillights with the integrated backup lights found on the ’70 and ‘71s was a nice compromise. Ghia purists also criticize the ’70-71 models for those horribly ugly wraparound reflectors under the taillights, and rightly so, I think. Fortunately, those are easily removed and many owners of these years, do just that.
So the 1971 model with the dual-port engine was the one for me! Ideally, I would find a coupe in the light blue with charcoal interior (reminiscent of my ’66) and a convertible in Irish Green with tan interior – a combination that I always liked. In fact, shortly after returning to Battle Creek after living in Lexington, KY for 15 years, I saw a convertible with this color combination running down 20th Street in Battle Creek, and that was what got me to start thinking about getting another Ghia someday.
So I began a casual search for a ’71, preferably a convertible, as I already owned the ’74 coupe, but I’d replace the coupe if the right car came along. I started perusing, eBay, Craigslist and the Samba website for ’71 Ghias.
One day, my automated eBay search notified me via e-mail of a 1971 Red Ghia coupe at auction in the Lansing area. I followed the link and put it on my eBay “watch list”.
The car was an uncompleted restoration project and the owner freely admitted that some things done so far in the restoration were not up to par and should be redone. Still, the car overall, was in good shape and it had great potential, but a body-off restoration was what was needed and it was NOT running although he assured me that the engine and transmission were fine. Frankly, if this car had been any further away than the 58 miles it was, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
At some point, Bren Hartman, a friend of mine in the GoodVolks air-cooled VW club, sent a link showing where this same car had been on Lansing Craigslist earlier for $2,500. It wasn’t worth nearly that much and of course, did not sell at that time.
I’m what they call a “sniper” on eBay. I only bid with 4-5 seconds left. So when the final day of the auction came along, I set my timer to warn me a few minutes ahead of the auction close. When the time came, the car was still well under $1,000. I decided to bid a few dollars more than $1,500. Entering my bid with only seconds to spare, I won the auction for $1,030-and-change.
I immediately contacted the seller and told him that I was in Battle Creek and would be 4-wheel towing the car out. I offered him the full payment via Paypal immediately or $1,000 cash when I came up to get the car the following Sunday. He opted for the cash and saving the Paypal fees.
The car came with brand new 5-1/2” chrome wheels and brand new Kuhmo radial tires (the stickers were still on them!). With inbound freight, these wheels and tires were worth over $800 alone! In addition, I got the old original wheels and tires, another tow bar, an engine stand and several boxes of uninstalled restoration parts.
So I went to the ATM and got the money and drove up to Grand Ledge on Sunday, 31 May 2010. The skies were threatening rain.
After locating and signing the paperwork and surrendering the cash, we pushed the car out into the street and hooked up my tow bar (in much better shape than his) and threw the original wheels and tires in the bed of the Sonoma. We also loaded the boxes of parts into the Ghia and cab of the Sonoma. I headed off to Battle Creek down M-100 to Potterville and then what was old M-78 to Battle Creek. By the time I got to Potterville, the rain had started and it was coming down pretty good.
There was no side glass installed in the car and the lights weren’t hooked up so I stopped for a sandwich at a Subway in Potterville and hoped the storm would pass.
It didn’t, and I eventually began down old M-78 in the rain. Towing a 2000# car with a small, underpowered 4000# truck can be a little dicey, even in good weather, but the car handled remarkably well under the circumstances. The only really exciting part was when I arrived in Pennfield at the M-78/M-66 split, I decided to “fake a full stop” and rolled through the intersection and actually found myself in an “eight-wheel drift” on the wet pavement as I crossed the crown in the M-66 roadway. After I got my heart back down out of my throat, I continued home without further incident.
Pictured here still hitched to the Sonoma just after arriving home; I got a neighbor to help me push it into the driveway and unloaded the wheels and other restoration parts.A quick inventory revealed the following parts:
·
· bench mount engine stand (new)
· Bugpack chrome oil strainer cover
· EMPI chrome engine dress up kit
· Ernst muffler (new)
· (2) tailpipes (new)
· all NEW rubber weather-strips
· new shocks (still boxed)
· new steering damper (still boxed)
· new inner and outer wheel bearings (pair – still boxed)
· used tow bar
· …and more.
I sold the tow bar and engine stand almost immediately for $40. Taking my investment down to $960.
I hadn’t really done much with the car over the next few weeks except tow it over to my Dad’s house to store in his garage while my new driveway was poured and cured.
Shortly after bringing it back home, I was on Craigslist again and I found a beautiful ’72 convertible near Indianapolis, that would eventually be my 5th Ghia. So I decided that if I was going to get the convertible, that this one would have to go. I removed the new chrome wheels and tires and replaced them with the originals given to me by the previous owner and then placed an ad on The Samba.
I had quite a few inquiries, considering the car was described as a “roller” and eventually sold the car to a man in the Detroit area for $700. After selling off some additional parts, and installing the chrome wheels and new Kuhmo radials on my ’74 yellow coupe, I was down about $180 total investment but had $800 worth of wheels and tires on my coupe and shelves full of new and good-condition used parts!
