Ah, the Volkswagen Thing: one of the wonkiest cars ever built, with a natural alignment amongst beach bums and surfers who didn’t care about speed as much as they cared about waves. The Thing is really only built for limited use around an environment that allows for slower-paced vehicles; I couldn’t imagine using one of these in a region with fast-paced suburban traffic. Regardless, the seller claims the Thing as shown here on eBay was his in a previous life before he took it back in trade from the last owner.
I always feel that people who go out of their way to own a vehicle like this are the same ones who aspire to own a 21-window Bus. It looks like a good time, and you’ll probably get plenty of waves and likes. But when it comes time to actually spending a few days in it, or use it like you intend, the actual experience may fall short of what the owner had hoped. Or, in a similar vein, it’s just an itch that has to be scratched and then you can cross it off your automotive bucket list.
I know I felt like an old, slow vehicle built for living in a surfside town would make for a good time, and if I lived in such a place, it would have been; however, the 1981 Toyota HiAce I once owned and talked about on these here pages was a bit of a burden in real life. Like this Thing, it got lots of thumbs up. But aside from that, the driving experience was nothing to write home about and with just 65 horsepower, it crawled everywhere it went. The Thing shown here appears to be in excellent, unrestored condition, and the seller claims it has 13,000 original miles.
It does appear to be quite original, and the floors are also said to be in great shape and the ones it left he factory with. Very few air-cooled VWs of any variety still have their original floors, so that’s a good sign it spent many years off the road and in dry storage. The seller also notes that the Thing is completely original, save for the carburetor and battery. Bidding is sitting at $7,100 at the moment with the reserve unmet; do you think this Thing will find a new owner?
Wasn’t this on here not long ago? Aftermarket exhaust with a lot of rust. Motor mods too. 13K miles?
My brother in law in 1973 purchased one for his only family car. He was not so affectionately called “Meathead” by my dad
There are several here near me in So Cal that have been restored to like new condition and they look like a blast to drive around town. Not on the freeway though. Air cooled VWs are icons here and treasured. But I guess haters gonna hate.
We drove one when in Tahiti- it was a blast. You guys banging on it as evil should get over yourselves. As far as speed it is still basically a bug under that body so not sure where the “can’t go on the freeway” is coming from. I live in Honolulu and would own one in a flash! (I used to have a ’58 bus with 36 HP- now that was speed limited!)
This is the second or third Thing on here in the last few months. That’s awesome to see! This car needs a top and side curtains which are not cheap for these cars any more. They were only sold in the US for two model years, ’73& ’74, as The Thing. They came in 3 colors in ’73. Pumpkin Orange, Blizzard White, and Sunshine Yellow. ’74 brought us Acacado and a Blue and White car Affectionately known as the Acapulco. Although, they could also be special ordered at VW Dealerships and were built in Germany from ’69-’72 and those were Type 181s similar to the Military versions. They are the rarest in this segment to locate. Things were built in Puebla Mexico, were sold here as The Thing, a Safari in Mexico and a RHD Version exported to the UK called a Trekker. They are loosely based on the original Kubelwagen (Bucket Car) which was used for multiple purposes in WWII, but we didn’t get that version. They have some Beetle parts, but are on a Karman Ghia Pan and the rest are a Thing only parts. The signal indicators on American versions are Super Beeetle as is the steering wheel and they have a lot of common VW parts throughout. They are fun cars to bomb around in because they still handle like a Karman, which is the body Ferdinand Porsche used to design his first car. They have 1600cc flat fours like any other aircooled VW from the era. The transmission has lower gears than a Beetle or a Karman and they can only reach 70mph on the highway, if you push it hard! While not the most practical car on the road, they were made to have something different that could handle off-road use. Not to mention, highway speeds at the time they were sold was only 55mph. The doors can be removed and the windscreen folds forward and flat. Many have been converted for today’s highway speeds by either swapping the trans to a Beetle trans or by changing gears in the Thing transaxle. Some folks have changed front axle beams too, so that they can use different wheels as Things are on 14″ wheels and have their own offset and are also Thing specific. This car isn’t for everyone, but there were only about 15k each of the two model years, so prices are going up. If you don’t like it, that’s your choice, but I have owned many over the years and still have a ’73 and a front clip of a ’74 that I made a trailer out of. They get lots of attention when or wherever you go because lots of folks have forgotten they exist. This would be a great car to restore, but be ready to do some work, because there’s lots to attend to, to do it right. I know, I’ve been restoring my Thing a little at a time as I enjoy it since I found it in San Antonio in ’98. This car could be worked the same way. Hope someone buys it that knows what it is and can do it some justice. GLWTS
The lower gearing was due to the use of reduction gear boxes at the axle ends (see my ’58 bus above for low speed!) for torque and ground clearance. I still maintain that it can make it on the highway. My wife had a ’58 Ghia back in college and that one could fly on the freeway with a 36 horse engine!
That fresh fuel filter needs hose clamps ASAP.
Was ist das hier? Eina Kline rennwagen . Das ist gut!
Don’t believe the naysayers …my 73 Thing cruised on the freeways at 70 with the stock 1600 motor and went faster than that and climbed hills with modern cars once I put in a 1776.I commuted in it, did 500 mile roadtrips fully loaded, went down through Baja and up to the mountains.I used it as a camera car and shipped it down to our island home in 2006 where it made short change of the insanely steep roads and terrible surfaces.It survived Cat 5 Hurricane Irma only to be ruined by a mechanic who left it outside while we were were stranded by Covid.It is by far the most versatile, fun vehicle I have owned.Need a new one!
Do you know if this was purchased in Montgomery, IL in the late 90’s?
I bought one in Montgomery, IL in the late 90’s for my daughter to drive to. HS. Sold it to a man from the Carolinas when she went to college
The Thing was imported to the USA by VW in 1973 and 1974 only, it did not have reduction boxes, like it’s Military Cousin. German Military Things had reduction boxes, special ignitions, and some that were radio cars, had 24 Volt electrical Systems. The Engine has a GEX sticker on it. That alone tells me no way it only has 13,000 miles. The GEX rebuilt engines are know far and wide as complete Garbage. Great Car, neither the doubt about 13,000 miles or the GEX engine should keep anyone from buying and using this thing as Things were intended to be used. But the GEX engine will blow smoke, and leak lots of oil until it dies, or the new owner rebuilds it correctly.