Old VWs have no heat in the winter - especially drafty convertibles - and using any 30+ year old car as a daily driver here is problematic unless you're a good mechanic.
Air cooled VWs need a lot more periodic maintenance than a modern car. Oil changes and complete chassis and suspension lube every 1500 miles, valve adjustments every 3,000 miles, periodic head retorquing, carb and points adjustments, even the brakes must be adjusted manually every 1,500 miles to keep the pedal up.
Rust is the killer, making for expensive repairs to the floorpans, inner and outer rockers, heater channels and frame head (where the torsion axle is bolted to the frame up front) and the front torsion beam itself.
They are a lot of fun though.
My advice to anyone around here who needs a dependable year-round car but wants a fun classic is to buy a cheap Japanese subcompact as a daily beater ( a five year old Corolla for instance) and use the classic for fun when the weather is suitable. That way, if the Ghia takes a dump, you're not walking until it gets fixed.
Air cooled VWs need a lot more periodic maintenance than a modern car. Oil changes and complete chassis and suspension lube every 1500 miles, valve adjustments every 3,000 miles, periodic head retorquing, carb and points adjustments, even the brakes must be adjusted manually every 1,500 miles to keep the pedal up.
Rust is the killer, making for expensive repairs to the floorpans, inner and outer rockers, heater channels and frame head (where the torsion axle is bolted to the frame up front) and the front torsion beam itself.
They are a lot of fun though.
My advice to anyone around here who needs a dependable year-round car but wants a fun classic is to buy a cheap Japanese subcompact as a daily beater ( a five year old Corolla for instance) and use the classic for fun when the weather is suitable. That way, if the Ghia takes a dump, you're not walking until it gets fixed.