1969 VW Karmann Ghia Type 34 'Razoredge'

The Type 34 Karmann Ghia was introduced by Volkswagen in 1961, based on its new Type 3 platform.  It was the launch vehicle for Volkswagen's new 1500 cc engine and was the fastest, most luxurious, and most expensive Volkswagen at the time.  Due to potential model confusion with the release of the Type 1 Beetle 1500cc in 1967, the public dubbed the VW Type 34 the "Razoredge" in England, "Der Große Karmann" (the big Karmann) in Germany and "European Ghia" in the United States.  By 1969 when our VW was built the cars were fitted with a 1600 cc engine.  This makes the car 40 now.  Have you ever seen such a funky 40 year old?

 

This car had been the subject of an extensive re-build with much metal replaced, a full respray, including the bumpers, which would originally have been chrome.  To go with the exterior colour scheme, the seats have been re-trimmed in orange and black leather.  The overall effect is excellent, such that the previous owner won a number of 2nd and 1st place awards in VW Concours competitions during 2006 and 2007.

 

In our ownership I worked through a list of small jobs that needed doing to complete the car. When purchased, the suspension had been lowered and needed raising a bit, the heater didn't work and there were a number of other minor items that needed fixing.  To make sure it was reliable enough not to break down while out on hire, I drove it throughout the Autumn and Winter covering at least 1,000 miles in it before hiring it out.

 

Although this car does have a rear bench seat, this is very small, has limited headroom and no seat belts.  Even the instruction manual calls this an 'emergency seat'. 

 

Work completed on the car was as follows:

• The suspension has been raised back to it factory settings.
• A new exhaust has been fitted together with a set of new heat exchangers to fix the heater.
• Unable to find the correct VW heater vents I fitted a pair of Triumph sourced vents in the back - perfect fit and a Land Rover vent to the parcel shelf to demist the rear window.
• The electrics were tidied up and bigger front indicators fitted.
• The old fashioned seat belts have been replaced with modern inertia reel belts.
• Woofers and tweeters have been fitted into the side panels behind the seats.
• A small rev counter has been fitted under the dashboard.
• Some of the carpet has been re-trimmed and extra soundproofing installed.
• The liners for the front and rear luggage compartments are no longer available so I had a full set made up in black carpeting by a local trimmer.
• The car featured on the VolksWorld Magazine stand at the VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park in Esher, Surrey, attended by about 18,000 people, from the 28th to 29th March 2009.

It is amazing how much cars change over their lifetime. In June 2009 I received the Heritage Certificate from the Volkswagen AutoMuseum.  It was originally painted Chrome Blue with a black roof and electric steel sunroof - no sign of that.  It left the factory with the following extras fitted: Twin reversing lights - no sign of them, and a heated Rear Window - no sign of that either.