Damon: Happy hippy girlfriends are cool! Their suitability for married life
is a subject I'm pretty well qualified to address and in no way have time or
energy to expound upon.

Ghias are also cool.

So, on to your question: I have had good luck with women in the past by
simply giving an open-minded tour of the major systems of a motor vehicle.
This must not assume much previous knowledge nor assume ignorance. Just
point out the parts and explain how they do what they do and I've found that
most women are A) impressed as hell, and B) immensely grateful for the
plain-spoken de-mystification.

If she seems interested, there's always John Muir's "Idiot's Guide to VW
Repair and Maintenance," or whatever it's called, which is pretty
plain-spoken, covers Ghias and has some good drawings explainifying how
things work.

I didn't see where you're from, but the first thing to look at on Ghias in
New England (and elsewhere in the road-salted North) would be floorpan rust.
Maybe you could get it up on jackstands and include an inspection of the
underside as part of the tour. (It appears to me now that there are many
opportunities for double entendre when talking about the cars/women nexus.
I'll leave that for others.)

I came into partial responsibility for a 69 convertible when I married. As
much as I look forward to it as a project, if she'd had a decent fishing
boat it wouldn't have taken me so long to commit.

Ed Carroll
87 Weekender