If we compiled all the articles and comments written on the “is this car OK for a daily driver” theme, we’d probably end up with a library full of weird books. Nonetheless, one Canadian automotive aficionado sums all that up by defying everything you and I believe about the assets that make a car eligible for such a job.
Meet Mike McConnell. As you are reading this, the man is flipping the bird to the Canadian winter in a 1968 Karmann Ghia that’s certainly less resto and more mod. For ice-scrapping out loud, the thing has one inch (2.5 cm) of ground clearance!
This Ghia was reportedly on its way to car heaven when a friend of Mike saved it. In fact, the car was nothing more than a Volkswagen shell with some bits and pieces remaining attached to it, but full of rust.
As the Canadian car lover himself explains, he isn’t the kind that can afford to take a car to a shop and watch his dreams become metallic reality. Thus, we are dealing with a deep DIY job here.
Mike has owned multiple air-cooled cars over the years and was determined to stop having to deal with the unhappy marriage between such a setup and plenty of miles. In a bid for extra reliability, as well as for more than the 60 horses delivered by the range-topping engine, he installes a 2.2-liter turbocharged boxer from a Subaru Legacy GT.
The Porsche aspirations
The rear-mounted flat engine isn’t the only Porsche nod here though, as the car also rides on '80s Porsche wheels. Speaking of riding, like we said, the ground clearance sits at around one inch - for the sake of comparison, we have to explain most supercars don’t go below 3.5 inches (90 mm).
While the belly of this FrankenRod scrapes on a daily basis, there’s a trick here - the engine and transmission were raised several inches to keep the driving experience from turning into an oil pan-changing one.
As many DIY projects, this Karmann Ghia comes with a massive wish list, which is headed by a pair of.... seat belts. An intercooler for that turbo would also be nice.
You can see the ScoobyGhia battling it out with the ice and snow in the footage below, which has been put together with passion by the crew over at Drive Canada.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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