Despite looking fairly downtrodden, the seller of this 1974 Volkswagen Thing claims he has the ignition key and title for it, which may offer the next owner some comfort that it was loved before being abandoned. I say this because in most cases, a car that’s been completely written off doesn’t come with keys or a title – and especially not a rare hardtop, like this Thing wears in the photos. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace where the seller has indicated in the comments that he is looking for $5,000 – along with commentary indicating that price is too high.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Doug F. for the find. The seller mentioning that the Thing drove into its current resting place under its own power is likely of little comfort to anyone considering restoring this long-forgotten drop top. The body is said to be in fine shape meaning no major corrosion, and the seller seems fairly cavalier about the state of affairs in this dingy barn. The comments indicate that aside from raccoons tearing up the interior, the rest of the VW is fairly sound. To me, when raccoons enter the picture, all bets are off.
Yikes – those critters did indeed enjoy a feast of seats. The hardtop is nice to have, and comments from the Facebook group members indicate they are hard to find. It’s far from a sound opinion, but I don’t see major holes in the floor – is there a chance that the pan is solid? The seller indicates he is the one that has owned it since the 1980s and drove it into the barn, and also offers that it didn’t experience any accidents while under his car. Again, this likely doesn’t do much to assuage any fears of the unknown, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to know it wasn’t ever wrecked.
The back of the Thing may offer the most encouraging photos, as the paint and taillight lenses both look respectable here. No word on the health of the engine, but it may make more sense to just rip this one out and install a more powerful aircooled unit. The seller may have all the confidence in the world that the damage done is only skin-deep and that he personally put it in its current resting place, but the rest of the world needs to make a judgement call on how much is too much – and whether a rare hardtop can justify the cost of owning a potential parts car paperweight.
Nice cleanup of car to view. I see the seats were vacuumed and cleaned too 🤪
Vacuumed by the raccoons clean off !
One zero too many in the price. Must be a typo.
Never underestimate the power of raccoon urine to rust out metal just as well as plain ol’ rainwater. Truth is, it may be more acidic and certainly adds to the aroma of an otherwise structurally sound Barn Find.
That’s a great price, coolest vw ever next to the rabbit pickup.
How about $50.?
I believe that he rested on the 0 key fortoo long. Maybe he meant $5.00.
Look past the debris! This can be revived.
“I have a pile of trash I want to sell. And I do not want to be bothered with cleaning it up. Give me more money that it is worth.” That covers it.
In Yosemite Sam voice: “Oooooh, ah HATES raccoons!”
Don;t touch that Thing.
Leave that Thing where is is.
Decent amount of rust along the joint under the doors. Repainted at some point, no one ever replaces the welting around the air intakes. Has original air filter, so might be be original M serial motor, but Beetle exhaust. Can’t see the floor under the crap. Dented right front. Needs 4 windows. Not enough details to warrant more than $2-3K.
@Ken. Could the windows be down? Did the Thing offer roll up/down side glass or just curtain panels? The cabin yellow finish is much brighter with a greenish hue compared to the repainted exterior which looks more like “school bus yellow.”. Maybe raccoons did the vacuuming as well as bathing the painted metal with spit?
The windows are really side curtains, with posts that slide into the doors. One is inside with missing plastic, it gets clouded and brittle over time. I didn’t see all four frames. The original color is Sunshine Yellow, and I agree the interior does not match the exterior.
I went onto the FB Marketplace posting to find a couple more photos. Here is one of the rear with the engine cover down. Shows the wild, heavy steel rear bumper and what I believe is an antenna hole drilled into the driver’s air intake. Only one side curtain pictured as you say inside the ‘coon hut….I mean cockpit…I mean cabin.
Anyone that doesn’t understand how rare this is, and just running and driving and nothing done but put seats in it, is worth every penny of what they’re asking is an Amateur that can’t even change their own oil. If I had the cash it would be sold, I passed on one five years ago running and driving no hard top for 2k and every day I kick myself in the behind. It will run forever and it’s like working on a bicycle as far as cars are concerned. And I live at the beach so it’s perfect.
Two Stroke…this Thing needs you. You would be the perfect new owner.