Here on eBay is a seller who doesn’t want to be a seller, with a 1973 Thing to sell. Volkswagen made these smart, fun utility vehicles from 1968 through 1980, but the US only enjoyed two model years of Things – ’73 and ’74. In 1975, crash testing standards nixed the Thing from our shores. Perhaps the poor rating had something to do with the fold-down windshield, removable doors, and the rebellious lack of even a scintilla of safety equipment. This pumpkin orange Thing is bid to $9300, reserve not met, and we are assured that it can be driven to anywhere from its home in Eugene, Oregon. The second owner relinquished the VW to the seller after 23 years of ownership – time spent mostly luxuriating in a parking spot.
The engine is VW’s air-cooled 46 hp 1600 cc flat-four, mounted in the rear. Gear changes are via a four-speed manual. The Thing is comfortable at 50 mph – higher speeds are hair-raising. The odometer reads just over 13k miles, which the seller believes is the true mileage. The buyer will benefit from the Thing’s new battery, carburetor, brakes, fuel lines, and fuel tank sending unit. Recent maintenance includes a new air filter, oil change, valve adjustment, and gaskets. The tires are new. The seller points out that all the panels including the floors are original and clean. The gas heater in the trunk works, but the fuel pump leaks – a potentially explosive combination!
The driver’s seat is torn as if someone searched it for drugs, but the rest of the interior is respectably intact and gently aged like the exterior. The rear seats are shown folded down. The seller notes that all the trim, handles, switches, and other original Thing accouterments are present. A brand new top is provided with the sale.
A survivor needs a few dents to secure its credentials, so we see a “backed into something” crease under the rear tail light. Aside from that insult to its bodywork, this little VW managed to escape the ravage of its years admirably. The seller waxes poetic in his listing, indicating that we have just this one shot at wrestling this Thing away from him – and since he does have a cornucopia of other cars to sell, perhaps those others can raise the cash he is seeking and this one will remain his museum piece. The market is devoid of survivor-quality Things right now, but asking prices for restored examples run from about $20k to just over $30k. I think the bid is bit light on this one; what do you think?
Yes, the current bid is short of the ones we’ve seen around here but then again we’ve seen strange things happening in the car market recently haven’t we? These aren’t for traveling/commuting often to the next town as they were designed in the Kleenex factory wind tunnel and short on highway engine mojo besides, but as an around town/around campus car they’re great!
My SIL is blind and her college helper/asst. had a habit of parking by Braille herself, so my brother bought one of these new to replace the dented ‘65 Mustang-he swore my SIL was the better driver! It held together very well and bounced off of most objects with just a little sheet metal displacement; got them through their BA’s and her MA so they sold it to a “struggling freshman” but they still talk fondly about it today.
My ’80s go to work car was a ’73 identical to this one. A few cosmetic things and some widened wheels and away we went. Would do 65 mph with no sweat and the gas heater was very effective for cold Oklahoma winters. Fun to drive and a big attention getter.
No offense but “cold Oklahoma winters” are three words I never imagined that could be used together in a sentence! Weather is relative to what we are acclimated to and I totally understand that winter there is cold compared to summer. My first vehicle here in Anchorage was a CJ-5 with a soft top and I drove it year round but it had a caterpillar tractor heater where the backseat belonged so I was toasty warm even in subzero temperatures. I would bid on this VW but right now I have more vehicles than places to put them and it would have to sit in Eugene until next summer.
Frequent wind chill factors in OK go to below 0. No way to run a Thing without the heater. My only Alaska driving was in Anchorage in the early ’70s and we were in a rented Camaro with a great heater.
My Texas relatives would talk about Blue Northers which informed you that there was nothing between Texas and the North Pole but a Barb wire fence.
Not original paint? On a super low mile car? Wrong exhaust, wrong distributor, wrong hubcaps, wrong seat upholstery, Lots of red flags. Looks like hes gets his wish to keep it.
I AGREE with Brian on this one! However, if the 2nd owner had it 23yrs, I’d be willing to bet its 113,00. There’s a lot that isn’t original about this particular car for sure, but it looks like it got lots of use since new. The 009 Distributor has been used on VWs for a long time after the original vacuum advanced units go out. I’ve owned many of these cars and am currently restoring my ’73 which was sold originally in San Antonio, TX where I purchased it in ’98, while there in the Air Force, after it spent some time on a hunting lease. I love these cars because while they may be boxy, they are built on a Karman Ghia floorpan and handle like one too! Not a
Hot Rod, but TONS OF FUN TO DRIVE! I currently have said 009 on my car, but plan to go back to vacuum advance so I can get better launch🤣 That is a centrifugal advance distributor. The thing with Things is that they are unique and a virtual Heinz 57 of VW. They are not the most practical daily driver, but will do long trips, just not over 65mph unless you change gears in the transaxle. Lots of folks have changed axle beams and transaxles to Beetle units to make them cheaper to work on because those parts are easier to come by than any part that starts with 181 on a Thing, which is the VW Type of a Thing. The Beetle transaxles are geared higher for Highway use and the Thing was sold as a Military Vehicle, Type 181, which is why it’s so utilitarian and geared lower. Not a car for Everyone, but those of us who love them are affectionately known as Thingers. The cars are essentially worth what the next guy is willing to pay and Fortunately
those prices are RISING just as they are for all Hobby Cars. This car needs more work to be a 20k car bc it’s never been restored and EVERYTHING is over 45 years old. Lots of time to get it to that price point imo. I know because i’m elbow deep in a seam seal redo. The Majority of these cars were assembled in Puebla, MEXICO not Germany. So the quality of the builds compared to Military 181s, which were assembled in Germany, is much different and why my seam sealer literally just fell off on EVERY SEAM imaginable, so be sure to check in the engine compartment and trunk to see how it’s holding up. GLWTS
Oh, and Bob is correct about those BN4 Gas Heaters, they get you nice and toasty compared to the engine heatbox style heaters in the ’74 Models. Those are like Beetles. 🤓
Wind chill factors are a way for “southerners ” to claim cold…yet it can be +15 degrees with a 20MPH wind and have a “factor” of -2…try weeks of -20 degree air temps with that same 20 MPH wind= -48 degrees..now try and start a car.. or stay warm..completely different animal!
Spent a year living in Goose Bay, Labrador driving a ’55 VW panel van. Electric heaters on the oil pan at night and firewood on the floor in back to take the 30 below temps. Right foot stayed nice and warm though.
Is the gas heater a factory accessory?
Yes. Webesto (?) built the heaters. It’s just a gas powered mini version of the propane garage heaters you see for sale in farm stores.
I believe Eberspacher and Southwind (by Stewart-Warner) were the gas heater brands. I have a Southwind in my 1966 Type 1 and it works great.
That is an angry cat.
Does it go with the Thing or is it sold seperately?
Ha ha, I think it’s sold separately and you better lay in a large supply of kibble, he looks like he needs it.
Well, he says he doesn’t want to sell it. If the reserve is too high, he’ll get his wish. not a bad Type 181. They are rare, but that doesn’t always mean more value. Essentially the “New” Kubelwagon on a Type 1 chassis. I remember driving one back in the ’70’s, it was fun, but like the Beetle, not a lot of power.
I rode in one of these a couple of times, my scout leader had one all those years ago. It was like riding in a steel shopping cart. Little different than an old army jeep. I rode a go-cart that was less primitive.
So any VW should be banned? Nothing like what was used in the war. Simply a utilitarian design. They are a lot of fun, but definitely tend to be a fair weather car.
Well George, the PD has a point. When I see this vehicle, I immediately think of Hitler or some prominent German officials riding in Kubelwagens, deemed the German Jeep, and very similar. Could you imagine what would’ve happened if one of these entered my old mans driveway. WW2 vets are all but gone, and no evidence of WW2 Germany remains, thank God, but this could serve as a last reminder of that fateful war to some. Of course, not all German vehicles should be banned. Porsche unfairly gets a bad rap, VWs are some of the best cars in the world, but a vehicle designed for war, and then marketed, I always thought was in poor taste. One could say the same thing about our Jeeps, with Gen. Patton proudly riding in one,,,but that’s different.
I rented one of these in Alacapulco,Mexico years ago and kept it for over a week. It was one of the most fun to drive of all the cars that I have ever driven.
Was it a pink/white striped Jeep, from hotel las brisis?
I’d paint it desert beige with a palm tree on each two front doors, reminiscent of the “ Afrika Korps “! Similar to the Kubelwagen.
Sold for $15,000. I had no interest in this but HAD to look at the pictures to see the cat. What a hoot. Cat looks like it’s sitting in a lawn chair. Never know what you’ll see on BF!
Ridiculous! If you think that these fine examples of automotive history should go away because the people who built them may have been distantly related to someone who committed war crimes, then, by that standard, we would have to ban ALL vehicles…. For that matter virtually everything manufactured on this planet can be traced back to a history of evil.
I don’t believe you can show me a nation (or culture) extant today that didn’t get to where it is now without exploiting, subjugating, or attempting to exterminate another nation as a means to advance itself…
That’s our history as humanity. It hasn’t been pretty… Maybe just accept it as history and move on.
This particular little car didn’t do anything to hurt anyone!
I read the automotive history of post WWll and a whole bunch of it was the US helping Germany get on its financial feet, especially where transportation was concerned. Did the same with the UK. Are you insinuating that after owning 25 Porsches and 6 VWs I should feel bad about it?
$9000 for that “thing”?? Ridiculous
Ah no….$15 large at the bell.
Fooey.