SHAUN MALUGA
IT ALL STARTED WHEN...
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David has been bitten by the VW bug, but not the VW bug you’re probably thinking. Instead it’s the Italian styling of the German¬-built Karmann Ghia that has David obsessed. ‘They’re sporty, look classy and quick. I always have had fun in them and they’re good on gas.’ He currently owns a 1965 convertible and a ’57 Low Light with a double-fold rag top.
For David, it began in high school when his best friend, Aaron, gave him his 1969 Karmann Ghia before entering the Navy. David and his friends would work on it together, restoring parts and improving performance by adding go-faster bits like dual carburettors. They would go out and race classmates in their V8s and Honda Rice Rockets and would win. ‘Things were dif ferent back then, I was crazy and into street racing a bit back in those days.’
His formative years were spent in the Ghia. Being one of the first of his friends to get a car and licence, he fondly remembers driving to parties with his friends, going on dates and inevitably breaking down in the middle of them. On one occasion, breaking down in the mountains in the middle of the night with his girlfriend with no phone service and no-one around.
David acquired his ’57 Low Light in another serendipitous moment. His high school girlfriend’s father owned the car and was impressed that David was restoring a Ghia in high school. David used to sneak into her place at night, but first would stop and stare at the car. The father put the car up for sale, but David couldn’t afford it at the time with his part-time salary. A year later, after completing the restoration work on his ’69, he was able to sell it. That night he went around to the father’s to make an offer on his Low Light. The father cut him a pretty good deal with one condition, to never sell it, a deal David has kept to this day.
Since then, David has owned and restored number of
VWS, mostly Ghias except for a ’68 Type 3 Squareback and a ’66 VW bus. Restoring cars started as a hobby for David but evolved into a bit of a side hustle. When looking for a project he is looking for any Karmann Ghia made specifically between the years of 1956 and 1969 with as little rust as possible. If it is an earlier ’58 or ’59 model, he says he would be more inclined to take on a bigger project. There also must be something about the car that appeals to him. ‘I have to visualise myself driving it a certain way.’
His current ’65 came from a Craigslist ad around Christmas 2017. The story goes that an older gentleman bought it for his 15-year-old grandson, but the grandson just wanted to ride dirt bikes. So the old man kept the car, taking it to parades and cruising around until he couldn’t maintain it anymore. David made a low-ball offer and, in his words, ‘got really lucky.’
Given the black and silver trim, David wanted to keep this build elegant and classy, maintaining the black and silver look throughout. Whitewall tires and highly sought-after Wolfsburg rims finish off a very refined looking build.
Next on his list is restoring his old girlfriend’s father’s ’57 Low Light with his eyes set on maybe another similar convertible in the future. ‘Convertibles are game-changers, especially when you live by the beach!’ Living in LA isn’t all beach cruising and weekend trips to Malibu though. David has nearly had his car stolen three times. The first, someone broke into the car and started pushing it down an alley. David and his friends heard it happening and chased them down the street before they ran off. The second, a friend heard someone trying to break in, ran outside with a bat and they ran off. The third, they ripped the ragtop and managed to steal his sound system. ‘All my cars have really good sound systems. It is a way of life. In LA you got to have bumps. We’re always cruising to Dr. Dre, Snoop, Juicy J or ASAP MOB.’