WARNING.— The person in whose name this vehicle is displayed may or may not be the current owner of the vehicle. Readers are warned, therefore, that this entry is not proof of ownership.
Details
- Registration Mark
- JBI 141
- (a) Type:
- Karmann Ghia and Type 1
- (b) Year:
- 1970
- (c) Colour:
- Bahia Red
- (d) Paint code:
- L30E
- (e) Engine CCs:
- 1600
History
- (a) Country of origin:
- Germany
- (b) County first reg'd:
- Monaghan
- (c) Current or last known location:
- Monaghan
Model information
Type 1 Karmann Ghia
Info
These two entries (JBI 141 & KBI 666) are linked as they both belonged to the same man in Castleblayney, County Monaghan. Christopher Conlon from Monaghan knew these old VWs very well and tells us all about this Karmann Ghia and the Beetle (KBI 666) which is also on the Beetle.ie Census. Sadly, both the Karmann Ghia and the Beetle have long since been scrapped.
Christopher remembers all of the cars that his local GP owned and drove until they couldn’t drive any longer. They weren’t scrapped but instead were parked on his land where they would deteriorate over time. Sadly they are all scrapped now.
“The Karmann Ghia was a very cool car, very unusual for Monaghan and Ireland in general back then. It was a 1970 model but it was imported into Ireland and registered in February 1972 with a local Monaghan registration. It was very very rusty! The original headlights fell out and were replaced by Beetle headlights which made it look really odd. It had seen the welder many times but by the late 1990s it was unsafe and the doctor parked his Ghia in his yard and drove yet another one of his special cars. Doctor O’Gorman was a lovely man, well respected in the community and was a total petrol head. It’s a shame but all of his old cars have been scrapped now. He told me about another Karmann Ghia, a Type 34 Ghia, that his sister used but I never saw it at the house so I can’t give you any information on that one.”
Beetle.ie: The Type 34 Ghia Christopher that mentions did exist and it still exists today believe it or not. It’s owned by an Irish man living in France and we’re thrilled to say it’s currently undergoing a full restoration. We’ll be adding this Karmann Ghia to the Beetle.ie Census shortly so keep an eye out for NZU 506
Submitted by: Christopher Conlon
Additional Photos
