Austin Mini Cooper or VW Karmann Ghia?

[space invader]

state of dilemma.. i've seen karmann ghia sa may parking lot sa araneta cubao.. very rare and one of a kind.. but i'll choose mini nlng cguro.. very fun to drive and easily appreciated on the road..head turner, cguro because of the influence of mr. bean.. hehehehe..

[qman]

Im for Mini ... head turner but I havent driven one

OT

Mini and Miata was was my choces before sa project/weekend/restoration car... pero now sa ford mustang na ko If only have the moolaah

[niky]

Agree with some of the other posts... The Mini is a great resto-mod car, and you'll have to mod some stuff... the stock Mini electricals are crap, and many people replace them with Japanese parts.

Hmmm... a front wheel drive four seater box is more fun to drive than a rear engined coupe? Heaven forfend!

But it is true, sharing the VW engine makes the Karmann Ghia kinda sluggish, and the Mini is the closest thing to a go-kart you can drive on the road (go-kart = no suspension, quick handling, quick acceleration but low top speed... )

The Karmann Ghia would be easier to take care of, mechanically, though... and there are ways to soup up the VW engine...

Both cars would be difficult to care for cosmetically, anyway, so I guess the choice is up to you.

I vote for both.

[jlo1]

thanks for all the inputs.
was able to see the karmann again this afternoon, had a chance to drive it...not bad for a 44 year old car. learned that the engine was replaced with a 1600 vw engine, still air cooled. by the way, everything is original except for the front seats, the engine, and of course the paint.
i was also able to set up a sched. for a test drive with the mini either saturday or sunday. hopefully, after this test drive, i would be able to decide. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that either 1 would still be available when i make up my mind.
pls. keep all the suggestions and advices coming...

[niky]

Hmmm... 1600 na yung engine ng Karmann? So it's pretty peppy, isn't it?

[slyfox]

just out of curiousity...how much are you most likely to spend on restoring either car (the KG and the mini). i know it all depends on the state of the car pero rough estimate mga magkano kaya? TIA

[the_wildthing]

Hmm... ang tanong san galing ang 1600? Sa bagong Super Beetle?

[t43m4n]

I'd go with Karmann Ghia. Poor man's porche

[wildthing]

the orig engine ng KG ay 2.0L and not 1.6L....kahit hindi superbeetle series merun nilabas na 1.6L...mas maganda lang yung superbeetle kasi dual carb.

Pag binili mo yung KG, it would be best to put back in a 2.0L engine (likely a donor engine is available naman - mostly coming from the volkwagen van).

[jlo1]

wildthing, most probably it came from a super beetle. i also searched the net regarding the original engine of a type 1 '62 karmann, which is a 1.2L 40hp engine. also, the it came out with a 6 volt electrical system. the unit that i test drove yesterday had been upgraded into a 12 volt electrical system. most probably, if i get this car, i might just retain the engine and its current set up. i'm sure it would be very hard to source out an original karmann engine.
slyfox, cost would depend on the degree one plans to restore a car. some authentic hard to find parts are very expensive to acquire.

[wakin]

both cars are great. personally i choose KG. mas exotic ang dating sakin. pero both cars are difficult to maintain. baka me mga car club for mini and kg. they would be a great help to get the parts you need.

[niky]

How about an old Porsche engine? :evil:

Give the Karmann the muscle to match the looks.

[t43m4n]

How about an old Porsche engine? :evil:

Give the Karmann the muscle to match the looks.

yun na!

sleeper

[1D4LV]

wow...two of my "most wanted" toy cars.
but if i am to choose, i would choose the karmann ghia... its basically a volkswagen beetle in a different form and chassis.

i had owned a volkswagen beetle before and its definitely great to maintain. lagyan mo lang ng langis, ok na. tatakbo na.

and besides, parts are still available.

ganda nyan... karmann ghia tapos top-down. tsk-tsk-tsk. tapos white side walled tires in original hub caps.

[1D4LV]

Hmm... ang tanong san galing ang 1600? Sa bagong Super Beetle?

most likely, imho. the original karmann ghia has only 750 cc.

[midinite]

if it is a real mini cooper i would go for that over a karmann ghia. the one that the rally cars were based on. is it is just a mini i would go for a karmann. i noticed here how many would liberally add the cooper name to a mini.

mini coopers once ruled the tracks....3 monte carlo wins! how many for the karmann? but who's counting?

but again make sure it really is a mini cooper or cooper S

[wildthing]

it is probably just an autin mini...converting it to cooper would be the thrill...hehehe

[Airwalk]

i would go for the mini..been dreaming to own one

[midinite]

it is probably just an autin mini...converting it to cooper would be the thrill...hehehe

Correct. the hard part is that here a lot of people call the austin mini....a mini cooper...and they say it with such authority one cant help but wonder...hmmm is ignorance bliss?

[midinite]

can someone explain the historical significance of the karmann ghia?