I took a day off this week and went on a little foilage trip with this wife. While I was up in new hampshire I found a vw thing for sale. I get the feeling that I could get this car for a song. Do I dare sell my beat up jeep and try to ride out this thing for awhile??

round trip to work is about 10 miles....I would be saving a good car. Thoughts?

If you can get it cheap, then its a steal as Things are somewhat rare.

Good luck.

My little sister had a Thing, it was a blast and she drove it from LA to Sacramento

every month for about a year and had very few problems. It's a VW....

I have one word for you: WINTER!

dude.. longtravel suspension and a raby or FAT type 4

Heaters are not a strong suit of the Thing unless it has the Webasto gas heater.
I think they are neat, I would get one but not for a winter driver.
CCL

Made in 1973 and 1974 only for the U.S. 0 - 60 mph in 23 seconds though.

How much do they need 4 it, and do they have pics?

Scary!

Things make GREAT conversion vehicles for TIV power! I have two of them and can attest to the fact that a 2270 will rocket one to 0-60 in 7.5 seconds... Even with offroad tires

Things also made surprisingly great off roaders, even though they are only 2WD. They all still have the attachment points for rifle stands in them. Cool little cars. There is one that lives near me and I always stop what I am doing and watch it go down the road.

Zach

I've been daily driving my Thing for a few months. It's not terrible, but it is loud and rattly and poorly insulated. I would guess that the Ebersprecher gas heater would make it bearable in the winter, although I personally wouldn't drive mine in the salt. I'd honestly be surprised if it wasn't rusted to hell already. The rockers, battery tray, rear decklid, and floor pans are the areas that really like to rust. I've never seen a non-restored thing that wasn't perforated pretty seriously in at least one area.

If you can get it for a song, go for it. Things go for pretty dang good money. I had an offer of $15K for mine earlier this year.

Thanks fellas for the input....

well last night when I posted it was after a long day of drinkin with my buddies at a festival, so I was feeling pretty cavalier about driving it thru the winter.

one problem surfaced this morning (instead of a hangover, I'll take it), the image of the wife driving it in the winter. That would be bad, so very bad. I need to think about this one, I still may be able to pull it off if I could rig up a heating system.

no pics or anything as its deep in the white mountains of nh. I figure I can get it for a song because up there, not many interested buyers. I figured I could call him and offer like 1200 bucks and see what he says.

The rust situation looked pretty good that's why I am interested in the car. Had a nice rollcage installed too and its orange but paint in bad shape.

Ahh the wife factor. Good thing your thinking ahead. My wife made claims of wanting to drive my bus as a daily driver with the kids. Fortunatly I had already been down this road with her and knew the truth. She gets cars that are less than are 3 years old for 3 years. Everything works and the car gets replaced before she breaks it. I call it the 3 and 3 plan.

I had one of them, wife that is and I call that the 11 and 0 plan.

Things are the bomb and one was for sale here and never evn looked at it. Thank God i didn't, it was pristine and probably less than 3K.LOL I love them dropped down low or with big meats and cut fenders like a Hummer. I'd put a role cage in it for insurance though.

How you say add some HPs OMG! Wintertime, think snowmobile suit, balaclava and a big black cape in da winnn top down.

Local, asking $1000. looks more like $500. 43000 original miles.
I will call a little later and see if it is still for sale.
It must be fast, it's yellow.
CCL

Don't forget the all important tetanus shot friend.

914 club prerequisite.

i always love the thing!
they are cool....
probably not the greatest for a daily....
i vote jacked with big meats

pssh, i have people jumping on me for driving my 914 in the winter.

do what you wanna do man, if you want a 181, get one!

Just look for rust and repair appropiately.

In good shape..they are big bucks here in LALA land....not the price of the VW bus....but getting there.

craig i think i have a sickness..... i actually like the look of the yeller rust heap....just like it is.....

You can always keep it like that and just paint army camo over it after a little steel brushing.

Kubelwagens rule....I like em....and you don't necessarily want fast offroad, things get broken....torque is good tho....

Little info on the heaters. They werk great and should DEFINITELY be rebuilt for safety reasons. They are a little scary if you've never had one, when they start up and sometimes when they shut down. As far as adding one.....Things were built from the factory for the heaters. The front trunk area where the heater resides is stamped specifically for the heater, and non-heater cars obviously won't have the correct stampings! It probably can be added, but won't be a day or two job. I happen to have a heater I might be willing to part with, as I pulled it off of a thing I scrapped to put in my Acapulco (yes a real Acapulco) and that was when I found out about the different stampings :angry:Oh one more thing about your thing BUY IT !!!!! Much like the 914 the values continue to rise (slowly) and besides that, they are a lot of fun in the right weather. Think your teener gets looks and thumbs, drive a thing for a day

Hey Drew,

There are a couple guys in the area that are 914 owners and also have Things. One is driven pretty much year round (as long as the roads are dry).

Get one!! If I had the space I would in a heartbeat.

-Rob

You could buy it just to get the limited slip out of the tranny. Thing would be tough to drive in the winter if you lived someplace where it got cold

Hey... so, as a long-time Thing enthusiast/owner/driver, I would highly recommend it as a daily driver... and yes, I too live in the greater boston area...

Realizing that you've re-thought your original question, and likely aren't getting the Thing, the single best investment for the cold-climate daily driver (aside from the '73 model with BN4 gas heater), is glass windows and a hard top... The soft top and side curtains pretty much guarantee you'll be cryogenically frozen by the time you reach your destination in the midst of a New England winter. With that said, my '73 was the best vehicle I've every owned for snow driving - it had a 4" suspension lift and big nobby tires, but it never got stuck or left me stranded.

However, the salt KILLS the Thing... daily driving it in the winter will get you about two years before the holes start to appear. Three years before your battery falls out (ask me how I know).. In fact, my car was nicknamed The Windchill Generator - all of the negative body work from rust cause it to be colder INSIDE than outside on the highway...

later,
-greg-

Craig, shoot lower. That car looks more like a donor...