'74 VW THING TYPE 181 - ONE-OFF CUSTOM, EXTRAS!

1974 Volkswagen Thing Description

THIS IS A SPECIAL ONE!

1974 VW Thing, Type 181 with special modifications

NO RESERVE!

The VIN number IS CORRECT & straight off the title!

This is a wonderful car and I hate selling it, but I'm getting married and moving 1200 miles. The long and short of it is that I can't take it with me and I need the money for expenses, so here goes...

This is a DRIVER! Let me explain what this car (my retirement project) is all about. The restoration was done on top of a '94 Geo Tracker (frame lines up precisely with the body...who knew?) so it has the 1.6L tracker motor in front while the original engine compartment is now a trunk. The tracker had 10,000 miles on it when the restoration began. It was in a roll-over as a Tracker, but the frame is perfectly straight with no damage. Current odometer is 55k and change.

You can drive this car all day at 65 mph and never worry about burning it up. The motor runs beautifully, especially since a recent tune-up a few weeks ago, NEVER overheats, absolutely reliable start even in Iowa's 20-below winters. You can expect 20 mpg around town and 23-27 mpg on the highway depending upon how fast you drive.

Brand new belts too. New muffler system 2 years ago. Comes with a waterproof cover as well. Also four extra wheels.

It has the Tracker interior, which is nice. But that also means no back seats (see pix), just driver & passenger with storage in back. It also has the Tracker 4-wheel drive, which is super useful in the winter. Five speed shift plus reverse of course.

All new tires put on a year & a half ago, maybe six thousand miles on 'em, they look and drive like new.

As you can see in the pix, I have the ORIGINAL hard top. Those are as scarce as hen's teeth and it's in excellent shape. I bought a new, heavy-duty powder coated convertible frame from the Thing Shop and had a custom camouflage vinyl top made. The rear window has been double-sewed in, so it's not coming loose any time soon. I mounted the spare tire holder on the back, which has a never-used brand-new tire on it plus a matching camouflage tire cover.

I also installed nice windows from the Thing Shop (can you say $$$?). The driver window has sliding glass, the passenger window a vinyl wing that opens and snaps to the outside.

Fresh paint last spring, and it looks great! A couple small bubbles here and there, but I have those repaired and repainted each year. I spent years cutting out rust, bondo and endless sanding, replacing parts (like the rocker panels - one from California and one from Denmark), new metal welded in on the sides and whatever else was needed. This car is SOLID and good to go.

I've been religious about maintenance and oil changes, and whether you believe in the product or not, I use Startron Gas Enzyme at every fill up (which I use in all my motors) and the engine just purrs.

This is not really a "show car”, but then again, I'm not asking for the kind of money those cars go for. It is a good-looking, solid, dependable and just plain FUN car. Take off the doors. Fold down the windshield at the drive-in. Take the top down. Whatever. Oh, and it has the towing package but the boat doesn't come with it.

The radio is toast.

If you're serious, there's a $500 non-refundable deposit due within 48 hours of the auction end. You can come out and drive it home, you're welcome to stay overnight here at the house if you like. Plus, like any older car, it has little quirks I'd want to bring you up to speed on, none of which are deal breakers. Just personality markers.

You'll love this car as much as I do. You won't be able to help yourself.

Questions? Give me a shout at 563-424-0622

I had been requested to post pix of the chassis, but found it impossible to get decent photos. The chassis is in great shape. Solid.

BTW, if it doesn't sell this week, the price is going UP when I re-list it, and will continue to do so each time I re-list it. This is the best starting price I can list it at, so if you're interested, you may want to act on it.