This is James Kramers 1966 cobalt / bermuda blue Australian delivered 344.
Originally delivered to Melbourne, the car now resides in Queensland.
Follow the link to read more about this car.
This vehicle was originally purchased in late 1965 by a doctor from South Australia and used primarily (and sparingly) by his wife. I purchased the car from Bill Sundermann in 2006. A proverbial "barn find," the car never had any rust, damage or even any notable dints. There are just a few small nicks and tears in the original two tone interior, and even items like the original trunk liners are in excellent condition. It has spent all its life in Australia's dry inland climate.
Bill had replaced/updated some mechanical items (eg brakes) and also had the car resprayed in its original colours (Cobalt Blue roof and Bermuda Blue body). It was otherwise pretty much as it had been delivered to Melbourne in 1965.
Most of my work in the last several years has centred around diligently and progressively renewing or adding to the original or slowly perishing items. I've been replacing things such as old brittle rubber, window felt and scrapers, door hinge straps and pins, the dome light, headlight lenses, mushy sunvisors, exposed screw hardware and the like. I’ve managed to track down "extras" such as a correct set of VW three-point seatbelts, a NOS reversing lights kit and a passenger side vent frame with side view mirror.
While this work may seem trivial by most restoration project standards, T34 owners will attest to how hard (and expensive) it is to even find many of these parts. I prefer to keep cars "stock", so it adds to the challenge. I've been chasing a correct radio face plate for many years and I'm also eager to secure a spare front and rear windscreen "just in case". Although the car shipped with an optional MPH speedometer, in 1970 Australia went metric like most other countries - so it now sports a km/h gauge. My car had two other original options (M277 and M286) that "cannot be identified".
True to VW reliability, this car has travelled significant distances without fail. I shipped the car across the Tasman Sea for the 2007 Australian Bug-In (the first time it was staged in Tasmania), and the show organisers led a procession on a tour of Tasmania’s East Coast after the show (at which this car won the Karmann Ghia class). The T34 travelled more than 1,600km over the course of a week (with two passengers and filled with luggage no less) and never once missed a beat. It has also journeyed 2,000km over a three day period (from Melbourne to Brisbane) to attend a show. The car generally only gets driven a short distance once every few months or so, however.
I belong to the Karmann Ghia Owners Club of Australia, a comparatively small but enthusiastic group of owners. The Ghia currently enjoys life in the dry air of Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland, 30km inland from Surfer's Paradise.
More pictures are available at http://flickr.com/photos/7491005@N04/