1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

mkraus
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:14 pm

1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

Post by mkraus »

Ok, my wife had a 1972 or 1974 Ghia with the lame-a** automatic. I considered it to be DANGEROUSLY slow under accelleration from a stop. You could be trying to get across an intersection and get run over by a bus. Does anyone know if this was "normal" for the automatic transmissions, or did she have a dog? Other than being sluggish, are these transmissions troublesome, or are they pretty reliable. I would love to get her a similar vintage Bug or Ghia, but she really does not want a manual transmission. Any info or suggestions are appreciated.
jgilbystl
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:57 pm

Re: 1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

Post by jgilbystl »

Yours may have had some issues. My sister had a similar beetle with the auto-stick and I don't remember it being that slow. A friend that lives close by now has an auto-stick ghia and it isn't dangerously slow either. Unless it's going to be her daily driver, convince her to drive a stick!
VW's are gone but not forgotten...
1968 Ghia - 1st car, 1961 crew cab pick-up - cost me $1100, 1963 23 window, 1959 Bug & 1960 panel van.
Wish I still had them all!
jgrosho
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:37 pm

Re: 1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

Post by jgrosho »

The Auto stick was actually a manual transmission with both a torque converter and a clutch that was disengaged via an electric switch operated by the gearshift lever. So to accelerate quickly you would have to be in 1st gear and shift to 2 and third like you would a stick. If you were lazy, you could leave it in 2nd gear for around town and shift to 3rd on the road but it didn't accelerate from a stop very quickly. Even the engine had a special double oil pump to operate the torque converter.
I would bet they are pretty rare, as multiple and complex adjustments were needed to keep it operating.
thehab
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:04 pm

Re: 1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

Post by thehab »

My ex-wife had a 72 Ghia with the auto stick in California - I remember it being OK around town. It was no barn burner on the freeway - I would check the electrical connections and make sure the oil pump is working properly for the torque converter.
LudwigVan
Posts: 51
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:26 pm

Re: 1972 Karmann Ghia Hardtop

Post by LudwigVan »

There's plenty of them still on the road and parts are available incredibly.
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