The lure of the mythical barn find is strong, no matter where you are. Every car nut has a dream of unearthing something old and valuable sleeping under a tarp, retrieving it from a cobweb-filled garage, fixing it up just enough that it can go back on the road and keeping it “as is,” preserved forever in its originality.
Is this Karmann-Ghia the ultimate expression of that elusive perfect barn find? It’s a little too perfect, even. How does a car get surface rust to be ”just so”? The brightwork’s pitting is not uniform at all – some trim pieces look almost new. Depends on how the car was stored, I guess. Or has the owner replaced bits that were too far gone?
On the other hand, there are plenty of signs that this is the genuine article. One is the license plate, which is a ‘60s original. This car was sold here new. That fact, in itself, is already pretty remarkable – VWs were relatively popular in Beetle form in this country (as they were around the world), but K-Gs were a different kettle of fish. These were expensive cars – definitely something that would have stuck out of the crowd.
And now, it also sticks out of the crowd, but for different reasons. Patina is a very niche thing over here. Classic vehicles are generally restored (or were miraculously preserved through incredible dedication and fastidious attention to detail) and cleaned and polished to the highest degree possible.
In other words, the ethos is that if you drive a classic, it has to look new. Bit of a contradiction there. But if you showed up on a date or at work driving a classic that has as much patina as this one, your average colleague / companion / onlooker would judge you harshly. You have to be a special kind of otaku to appreciate this VW.
Almost predictably, the interior looks very well preserved – but it’s not an uncommon thing to see cars with weather-worn exteriors hiding exquisite cabins.
Although one might note that it’s difficult to tell how well the seats have survived – if those door cards are anything to go by, they might be a bit on the mouldy side.
But then, look at that rear seat! Maybe those covers are just there to protect the upholstery rather than hide anything…
Like a number of other ‘60s imports (such as this Cadillac) that must have come with a driver’s side rear-view mirror installed by the factory, our Karmann-Ghia received a (mismatched) fender-mounted passenger side mirror, likely mandated by Japanese authorities.
Not sure about turn signals on older K-Gs – were they all like this, i.e. no amber? If I recall correctly, Japan accepted red, amber and white for turn signals in those days, so it didn’t matter to them.
It’s little touches like these that give this K-G its depth – more so than the coating of dust or the green paintwork dulled and sanded down by time.
Restoring this car to showroom condition would be a great pity. At the same time, one wonders how long it could reasonably stay like this and remain roadworthy. Surely, if it were to be out in the pouring rain, water would pool into the cabin… and elsewhere, probably.
There is a non-zero chance that someone will give it the full rat rod treatment. Had our Karmann-Ghia been awakened from its slumber in Western Europe or North America, it very likely would have been turned into that already.
Luckily, this sweet little 60-year-old is – so far – still in this condition. I have seen it a few times over the past few months, and it hasn’t changed one iota. By eschewing both the rat rod route and the showroom condition restoration, this VW might be showing us that patina is starting to find its public in Japan.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Karmann Ghia – The Fairest Volkswagen Of Them All, by PN
CC Capsule: 1967 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia – The Perfect Curbside Classic for the Crunchy Granola Set?, by Jim Grey
CC Capsule: 1973 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia (Type 14) Cabriolet – Wie K-G In Frankreich, by T87
In-Motion Outtakes: 1970 – ’71 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia – Grape Creamsicle, by Joseph Dennis
COAL: My Karmann-Ghia Obsession, Part 1 and Part 2, by RetroJerry
Love this KG – great patina! And it is great that it seems to be regularly used. Love the grey green color on this example and the early instrument panel is wonderful. I see it has had a rocker repair on the right hand side, so the owner seems to keep it in good running condition.
These are fun to drive and very usable, as all mechanical parts are readily available.
Mine is scruffy, but not quite so patinated – just an old car doing its job as my cheap to maintain daily transport and providing lots of fun in the process….
My ‘71 Ghia…
Tatra, thanks for this find. It is a lovely, unmolested example. Look at those shut lines and how undented the panels are. I hope the rust is of the surface kind, particularly around the front vents and headlights.
I believe it was fashionable in Japan to buy one’s foreign vehicle in LHD form when this one would have been new – is that true?
Yes, LHD was almost always the default for imports until very recently. Couple of exceptions to that rule were Volvos (no idea why) and some (but not all) lower end cars, like Peugeot 205s or Minis.
Nowadays, RHD is becoming more common on imports, except really high-end stuff like Ferraris, Porsches or Bentleys.
” But if you showed up on a date or at work driving a classic that has as much patina as this one, your average colleague / companion / onlooker would judge you harshly”
This goes a long way towards explaining how so many older cars in Japan look absolutely pristine. I’d hate to see how they’d react to my daily driver ’85 Mercedes 300D whose paint is about as thoroughly trashed as it’s possible to get with the actual primer showing in many places.
But could you use a perfectly restored old car as a daily driver? I couldn’t!
Another great find Tatra. I like the Patina, and it’s more distinctive than a full resto.
There was a Salvage Hunters TV show in the UK recently where they had a patina Beetle cabrio and paid someone to fake patina on replacement paintwork.
As far as the brightwork goes it looks as if some has gone missing, so maybe it is of different ages. Karmann would have sourced the brightwork from different suppliers, so the base metal, thickness and quality of the plating will vary. It might not even all be chrome, some of it could be stainless steel, so levels of pitting will vary.
I saw that program; Drew Pritchard thinks he is god’s gift to style and is always right.
They promoted the car as a survivor, yet it was a crappy body that survived without its engine and gearbox, hardly a survivor in my book and a bit of a con, I would laugh in the face of someone who claimed that
Fake patina is a con as well
I worked with the Japanese, like them as a people, no way can I see them going for that level of patina, as mentioned earlier, even their old cars are pristine
It looks solid enough but those window rubbers Ugh
PS to the web developer, your site is showing as not secure, it was OK yesterday
Nice find, I like the original color. I’m always impressed when I see a K-G how good they made it look, given it’s parentage.
If it was mine I’d try to show it a bit more love, but painting cars is very expensive and patina is free and fashionable.
I’m a little torn about the patina here as it just doesn’t look authentic to me, particularly the stuff on the front fender and right side door as pictured. I’m distracted by trying to figure out just what natural situation would have resulted in surface rust on that door and yet nothing extending to the adjoining rear quarter panel. Maybe it’s authentic, but somehow it sticks out in a way that takes attention away from the car itself…and that’s what I mean by “distracting”.
The interior is lovely, but someday I’d love an explanation for Japan’s fascination with throw cushions in cars. fwiw, I’ve lived in states where things on front seat seating surfaces that are not fully attached were illegal. I’m thinking of those beaded seat covers/attachments that were popular in the 1980s…here in MA, you could get denied an inspection sticker for those as they were considered unsafe. (I have my doubts about that determination…) Sitting on a little throw cushion actually DOES seem unsafe to me.
What causes patina (of the kind seen here) is that the paint has worn away, from UV exposure or other environmental effects (rain, algae, airborne chemicals, etc.). These cars were of course painted by humans, not robots, and the exact thickness will vary depending on the experience and abilities of the painter as well as his mental state on the given day and hour of his time in the paint booth.
Thus variations on the paint wearing through and allowing surface rust to form is typically highly variable, the main exception being cars that have sat out in the direct sun for much of their lives, which cause the paint to wear mostly on the horizontal surfaces or those vertical surfaces that face the sun (to the south).
It’s precisely the fact of the mismatch of the patina on the door and rear quarter panel that tells that this is authentic and not fake, which is usually quite easy to spot because they tend to be much more even and consistent. Also, the rocker panel repair is another tell that this patina was there well before that happened.
Those double chrome strips on the sides are always falling off – ask me how I know!
I like it. I don’t know if I’d go so far as saying I admire “the” patina on it, but rather that it looks good as is and the patina doesn’t detract from what’s underneath it. In other words I’d like it just as much if if it just had faded dull paint or even the glossy coat it came with originally.
It’s when the look of the patina itself becomes a greater attraction than that which it is patinating that there’s a problem. No such issue here.
It is believed that lapses in quality control at the Osnabruck factory meant that some of these KG’s (and BMW E9 coupes) were not fitted with the standard ferrous-oxide package and so have survived till now, rusting only gently on the surface rather aggressively dying from deep within as was the traditional practice.
Patina is an interesting topic, and not least because Americans seem congenitally unable to pronounce it. (The word-sound of the discreditable and distasteful defence “I swears, your Honor, I was only pattin’ ‘er!” is correct – if not correct at all, as it were – but I am digressing). Howsoever named, it is a practice with no defined edges, which is what makes it kind-of fun. In this case, for example, should the owner replace the not-recently deceased rubbers? For my 11 cents-worth, yes, of course, elsewise the bastard will leak and rust. For someone else, no: it’s part of the art-object reality of the whole, and, well, just don’t take it out in the rain. For yet another soul, it’s a cry to do your utmost to revivify the existing bits, as they can be made better, if not perfect. (And of course, for yet another, it’s “For god’s sake, restore the thing and save it, you fools!”, but he doesn’t like patina in the first place and so is a digression I shouldn’t have invited).
This car is fine by me, though it tips a hair towards too much: actual holes in bodywork is less “there’s patina” than “there’s a hole in ‘er”, and needs careful attention, though I do note that screen edges and such aren’t holey at all (much like a cardinal after hours, but I’m yet again digressing and also mis-spelling).
My real question is always whether or not the KG is actually a good-looker, and there, my own patina of mind invades. Some days, hell yes. Others, what an awkward thing you are.
I probably need a good de-rusting upstairs.
Patina is an interesting topic, and not least because Americans seem congenitally unable to pronounce it.
It’s you guys that don’t know how to pronounce it!
The only question is what percent of the global population that knows how to speak English (native or learned) pronounces “patina” the way you do. Either way, it’s correct. But I have noticed over the years and decades that it’s invariably the British English speakers that are the ones that always claim we (majority) American English speakers are wrong in our pronunciations, and never the other way around.
It’s not about constantly claiming Americans are wrong, but let’s not pretend that British English doesn’t have a certain authority when it comes to the language—it did start here, after all or does that count for nothing?
Americans have taken it in a different direction which is fine, but your different pronunciations are very noticeable to us.
I feel, because of the many differences in the interpretation of words, it is more correct to say you speak American English whereas we speak English, because English English sounds odd
Just because the majority speaks a certain way doesn’t make it automatically correct.
your different pronunciations are very noticeable to us.
Really? How curious. We never notice such things.
Just because the majority speaks a certain way doesn’t make it automatically correct.
Please note that language is constantly changing. That applies to British English too, of course. In fact, it’s quite widely held that American British is actually “conservative” and closer to the King’s English as spoken at the time the colonies split:
Linguists often point to the tangled differences between the spellings and usages to illustrate the shifts that the English language has undergone over the centuries. Studies on historical usage of English in America and in Britain seem to suggest that spoken American English is actually closer to the “King’s English” spoken when America was first colonized, according to Bill Bryson in Made In America, an exhaustive survey of American English published in 1994.
There is no “correct” in this sense. American English is simply different than British English, which has evolved a lot of its modern affectations since the split of these two streams of English.
I find it very hard to believe that you don’t find the different pronunciations noticeable, I speak to US citizens very frequently over Teams, they often bring it up and we have a good laugh, there is even a song about it.
The sarcastic tone in your second line makes you sound as though you have to be the authority on every subject, God I would hate to share a car journey with you
You love stats, you state one source, there are many linguists who don’t support his theory I could list but I don’t see the point
I guess you can’t see tongue-in-cheek (or sarcasm) when it’s quite obvious. I guess I forgot the smiley emoticon. 🙂
There is no “right” or “wrong” pronunciation of this word. It just depends whether you speak American English or British English. And yes, spending time in a car with someone who makes snooty, judgmental and condescending remarks about the way Americans pronounce words would be very unappealing indeed.
You started this ridiculous spat by telling us that Americans are wrong in our pronunciation. That’s not exactly a good way to start a car trip, eh?
Easiest thing to say it was in tongue in cheek, what a cop out
Your original comment came across as very condescending, perhaps you should consider how people other than American English speakers interpret your words
Nor did I say Americans were wrong, I merely said they have taken it in a different direction which was fine.
So anyone who dares disagree with you is guilty of starting a ridiculous spat
Oh dear, how sad, never mind
/pəˈtēnə/
Looks like a long e to me which means I should hear eee in the word. Here you go:
https://youtu.be/WHG1CiY29DQ?si=o4Iuitn_4Unz6unL
https://youtu.be/aJ0nFQgRApY?si=gieLo6Xt6vmgUBS7
Meant to add, “Oh deary me, that all went south quickly. Watch this for recovery and a laugh”.
Nice although I hate patina because it never stops and one day the car will be ruined .
I know VW made right hand drive K-G’s so why was this LHD one sold new in Japan ? .
I like the sticker over the ignition switch and the flashlight holder, I wonder what brand & where the accessory AM/FM radio was made ? .
If it’s truly a ’63 it’s a bit of a unicorn as this is the first year of the vastly improved “fresh air” heating system that takes heat from the exhaust pipes rather than the cylinders, it uses two year only heater boxes that few these days remember or know about, they were *just* the thing when fitting later, larger engines into any early VW .
I hope this one at least gets some clear coat to slow the rust down .
-Nate
The LHD thing was extremely common on all imports until about 15-20 years ago. Many higher end imports are still LHD to this day — even for British cars. Makes you stand out of the crowd even more.
This lowlight Ghia shows up at the shows near me. It’s perfect, slightly more weathered than the featured car. It’s so much more interesting in a field of same-same cars to see it like this. There is a limit, when a car is too rough, but I love this. And for sure, you have to garage store it, but I talked to the owner and it does get driven
Rear
Dash
I have NO idea why “patina” would be desirable.
I’ve spent pretty-much my whole life–and certainly my “formative years”–driving heaps of junk. The LAST thing I want to look at is a car “like I would own”.
Hehehe, yes yes, it’s why I’m utterly ambiguous about it. I do actually get the patina thing, but I also resent it at some level, because of exactly what you said: my “patinated” cars were not willingly owned in that form, as all I wanted was the dough to get them up to nice!