Saved from the grave - 1961 Type 34 Razoredge


 


This year sees the 50th Anniversary of the Type 3 and Type 34 Karmann Ghia, so what better way to celebrate than featuring one of the earliest models left?


 


The Sergio Sartorelli-designed Type 34 Karmann Ghia was launched alongside the new Type 3 Saloon in September 1961 at the Frankfurt Motor Show and instantly became the most prestigious car in the whole VW range. It was not only the best-appointed car in terms of luxury that VW had offered, it was also the most expensive. The car was vastly different from the Beetle-based Karmann Ghia, not just in its mechanical components but also in terms of its bold styling. Some say this led to the car being a sales flop, but that’s perhaps missing the point. I can only agree that a total of 42,500 units during its eight years of production is a low figure when compared to other VW models, but certainly not bad when compared to a similarly pitched German sports car of the time such as the Porsche 356! Compare production figures and pricing between these two and you’ll find that Type 34s did very well indeed, despite being around the same price as the Porsche and twice that of a Standard Beetle! 


VW now offered a sports coupé for more affluent buyers, and the car found greatest favour with its home market. It was never destined to sell in vast numbers or to be a massive hit with export markets. In fact, only 30% of the production was sold outside Germany and from my research I can find only one example of a car being ‘officially’ exported to the United States of America. The fact VW did not actively attempt to sell into its Number 1 export market suggests it always planned for the car to be a low-volume model. It also meant that VW did not have to produce back-up spares to stock its huge network of dealerships in the USA. However, a number of US servicemen based in Germany clearly liked the Type 34 as many shipped these cars back home as personal exports.


There’s no doubt the Type 34 was a very stylish and exclusive car and the same applies 50 years later. However, they are very thin on the ground today, and really good ones are seriously hard to find. The vast majority have long since rusted away – in most cases Karmann’s coachbuilt bodywork went on a ferrous oxide frenzy shortly after coming in contact with salted winter roads. Those that survived are either restoration projects, patched up to stay on the road or have benefited from a life in a more favourable climate. So to see a car this good is a real treat and it is thanks to Andy Holmes that we can enjoy looking at it. 


Andy found this seriously early car for sale in South Africa and we can only imagine how keen he was to get it! He told us, “It was built on 20th November 1961 [chassis 0002910] within a couple of months of production commencing and is the fourth oldest one known to survive and probably the oldest Type 3 of any kind in the UK.”


The car was originally black with a red/white interior – exactly the same as the car featured in the very first Type 34 sales brochure, which only added to its allure. It had been sold new in Denmark to a chap called Storck-Nilsen who shipped it to his home in Capetown, South Africa where it remained until 2002. The car arrived in the UK early in 2003 and it was clear it would require an extensive, total restoration. That work was to end up taking six years to complete, but there was no rush, as Andy was more concerned about doing the job as well as it could be done rather than rushing anything. It wasn’t like he didn’t have one of the best RHD Type 34s in his garage if he fancied a drive at any time! 


Work started in 2004 with the removal of the body from the chassis, which needed serious work. The floorpan halves were in a bad way. One had been replaced with pop-riveted steel sheet and there was virtually nothing left on the other side. Type 3 Detectives supplied good used sections from cars they had broken up and these were professionally let-in to the chassis. Once the welding was complete, the floorpan was shotblasted and powdercoated. 


A written off ’62 Notchback donated its correct early 1493cc single-side draft engine. The engine was stripped and rebuilt with a new camshaft, lifters, bearings, oil pump and barrels and pistons. The rest of the engine components were well within tolerances due to the fact it had only done 50,000 miles since new. Andy had to track down a couple of bits of tinware (easier said than done on such an early engine) but here thanks are due to fellow Karmann Ghia enthusiast John Figg, as he found the parts needed in France. The Solex 32PHN side-draft carb was replaced with a rare New Old Stock item.


The original transmission was given a full rebuild. The subframe, axle tubes and backing plates were also all blasted and powdercoated, then Andy rebuilt the whole assembly with new subframe mounts, shift rod connector, gear-shift bush, all the brake components and period shock absorbers. He also stripped and totally restored the front end with New Old Stock or OEM components throughout. He told us that his wife, Theresa, helped him fit the chassis back up. 


When you’ve been around Type 34s as long as Andy has, you know to expect rust. It goes with the territory. But this one had what he refers to as “unexpected horrors”, and they were so plentiful we haven’t got space to list them all here (the repairs fill three photo albums!). But along with the rot there was accident damage! Well, thanks to another long-standing Type 34 fan, Clive Richardson, and Type 3 Detectives, Andy was able to track down used panels along with new repair panels and handed the lot over to John Williams of Chesterton Coachworks. Eventually, the body was restored and sent off for blasting. But it came back with a bent passenger door, which wasn’t good news – after all, it’s not like you are likely to find a new replacement. But that’s exactly what happened at the 50th Anniversary of Karmann Ghia meeting in Germany, when Andy found an NOS ’62 door! He is ever thankful to Derek Frow for bringing that door back to the UK. Eventually, the body was at the paint stage, and obviously, the only colour it was going to be painted was Tukan black, just like the one depicted in the original brochure.


The interior was in a terrible state after 40 years in South Africa. The seats had been poorly re-covered and the other interior components were fried. To cover every element here isn’t possible, as each and every part has either been stripped and restored (such as the gauges) or a good used part has been tracked down after extensive searching, or a part has been replaced with an unused original sourced from eBay or thesamba.com and lucky finds at VW shows. 


 

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