1971 VW Karmann Ghia

[Nick1994]

My aunt is right about to buy a 1971 VW Karmann Ghia. We're told from the dealer it is a fresh built 1776 motor with about 2k miles. It's in really good shape. We're wondering what kind of maintenance it's going to need, how often to change the oil and what other things need tuning. I've heard they usually need a lot of work, but I'm just wondering what they need. Also what kind of oil do they use? I've heard 20w50? Thanks.

 

[Nick1994]

Here's a picture of it-

http://tinypic.com/r/28jb9sh/5

 

[NHGUY]

Mobil 1 15w50 is a good choice.

 

[Clevy]

Personally I'd start with a 30 grade but leave it a quart low. Monitor the oil pressure. If it's too low thicken it with a 50 or straight 60 grade such as the Amsoil v-twin.
Use as much as needed to get oil pressure to the spec recommendation and go from there. But that is just me.
You could try a 40 grade and go from there.

 

[Papa Bear]

I had a '76 VW BEETLE new.
Drove it until the floor rusted out in '84. It had 150k miles on it when I drove it to the recycler. Ran like a top. Original clutch and shocks/suspension .. only brakes and tires replaced.
10W-30 @ 3k miles and adjust the valves regularly. No filter on my BEETLE. 15W-40 would likely be just the ticket in AZ.

 

[CourierDriver]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I had a '76 VW BEETLE new.
Drove it until the floor rusted out in '84. It had 150k miles on it when I drove it to the recycler. Ran like a top. Original clutch and shocks/suspension .. only brakes and tires replaced.
10W-30 @ 3k miles and adjust the valves regularly. No filter on my BEETLE. 15W-40 would likely be just the ticket in AZ.
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I had a '76 VW BEETLE new.
Drove it until the floor rusted out in '84. It had 150k miles on it when I drove it to the recycler. Ran like a top. Original clutch and shocks/suspension .. only brakes and tires replaced.
10W-30 @ 3k miles and adjust the valves regularly. No filter on my BEETLE. 15W-40 would likely be just the ticket in AZ.


I had an 67 beetle,,10w30 Havoline,,,ran great,,,no problems

 

[Chris142]

Adjust the valves every 3k and retorque the heads. Keep an eye on #3 cylinder

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Adjust the valves every 3k and retorque the heads. Keep an eye on #3 cylinder


Yeah, the one that doesn't cool properly and tends to have stretched exhaust valves.
No air cooled VW is an entirely satisfactory engine, from this Type 1 through the Type IV, which liked to crack its heads.
I had a Type IV in my Vanagon.
Guess what I found on a teardown at around 105K?
Clean engine, still had crosshatching in the bores, and cracks in the combustion chambers on both heads.
The Karman Ghia is a neat little car.
I'd love to find a decent one and drive it as a summer daily.
Whatever happens to it mechanically will be cheap and easy to fix.
Air cooled VWs do fine on a straight thirty in warm weather or a 10W-40 year round. You might use a 15W-40 HDEO. No need for nor advantage in a 20W-50.

 

[Robenstein]

Previous post about adjusting valves for sure. I would run 15w40 diesel oil at first. In the hot summer you may need 20w50. I would use Valvoline VR1 or Kendall GT1 for the 20w50

 

[andyd]

Yah bug engines will drop #3 exhaust valve on a regular basis about 100K miles. That was on leaded gas. By now, it prolly has up graded valves and seats for no-lead. Does it have an external oil cooler? I would want one on an AZ bug. I'm drooling. Does it have McPherson struts or torsion bars? TBs are better. Bugs were assembled by people with 13 mm wrenches. A cheap little car, hand assembled,that didnt need much of a road or fancy tools. The Karmann Ghia was built in a separate factory on a bug floor pan. They also made the bug convertible The only trouble is how well it has been maintained in 42 yrs. Does it come with a service history? That would make it a bargain for 9 K$ Does it have a generator/fan still ? I had mostly 6 volt bugs that I hopped up with later model stock parts. It would be spiffy for 'round town use. As a daily driver, maybe, for a short commute. Aunty must be aware that she is the crumple zone with the gas tank in her lap.

10 w 30 or 20 w 50 air cooled motor cycle oil changed every 3 thousand miles. I'm thinking stock factory stuff. 40 yrs down the road. If it has a bigger than stock oil pump for an external cooler, it may have, should have, a spin on filter.

 

[wvrailroader]

I second keeping an eye on the valves on the #3 cylinder. I always set the #3 exhaust valve a little loose on my rail buggy and never had a problem. There is a shop here in WV that will UPS any air cooled Volkswagen parts you could ever need. They are very knowledgeable on anything VW. The link is http://www.keithsautoparts.com/ (and no I have no financial interest in this at all).

An excellent book is: How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive - A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot by Tosh Gregg. It is written in layman's terms and helped me much more than any other VW book I have.

I always wanted a Karmann Ghia - I love the styling and the ease of maintenance on VW's, but alas here in West Virginia, the salt has pretty much destroyed most all of them.

 

[tom slick]

You'll need to check the points every so often, if it still has them.

 

[Anduril]

I drove a '69 Bug in high school and yes, it was easy to work on. I would love to have a Ghia some day.

 

[bruno]

Keep an eye on the area at the base of the oil cooler - those seals leak . Adding an electronic ignition is a good move as well .That oil cooler is the reason the #3 cylinder valves run hot - the cooler blocks air flow .

 

[Robenstein]

If I recall from way back when my dad had an early 60's Bug, don't they make overdrive pulleys you can put on to help keep it cooler in hot climates?

 

[dnastrau]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Personally I'd start with a 30 grade but leave it a quart low. Monitor the oil pressure. If it's too low thicken it with a 50 or straight 60 grade such as the Amsoil v-twin.
Use as much as needed to get oil pressure to the spec recommendation and go from there. But that is just me.
You could try a 40 grade and go from there.


Be careful doing this test if the engine has a stock oil sump as these engines only hold 2.5 quarts to begin with. Adding a deep sump kit might be a good idea if it doesn't already have one.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: dnastrau
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Personally I'd start with a 30 grade but leave it a quart low. Monitor the oil pressure. If it's too low thicken it with a 50 or straight 60 grade such as the Amsoil v-twin.
Use as much as needed to get oil pressure to the spec recommendation and go from there. But that is just me.
You could try a 40 grade and go from there.


Be careful doing this test if the engine has a stock oil sump as these engines only hold 2.5 quarts to begin with. Adding a deep sump kit might be a good idea if it doesn't already have one.


Thank you for that info. I didn't know the sump was so small.
Taking that into consideration I suggest ignoring my entire post. That's just a bit too much potential for catastrophe

 

[Propflux01]

If it is a 1776, it has been bored out for bigger cylinders. Either 90.5 thin-walled cylinders or 90.5 Thick-wall, you'll have to ask the builder/owner. If it has the small "power pulley" on the crank, remove it for a stock setup. Make sure it is a dual-relief case. Worry not about the #3 valve IF the oil cooler is offset ("doghouse type"), and the air deflectors are installed in the fan housing. If the builder was worth his salt, all these, and many other items would have been taken care of. For oil, I recommend Rotella 10w-30. If the engine consumes oil (If it is built right, it won't) or you run regularly in temps over 100, Rotella 15w-40. If the engine has a full-flow filter installed 3K to 5K OC intervals are ok, if it does not, no longer than 3K.