TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:29 am

I'm picking up a '77 Thing from a family member that brought it up from Mexico. Car is currently in AZ.

I have had a '73 in the past, and all of my searching on the google machine and the search tab on this site isn't really going into depth on some questions I had.

How close would a '77 be in reference to parts for a '74? The car is actually super clean, and doesn't look to need much in the need of restoration. I was more so curios on maybe doing some little mechanical upgrades etc to keep it road safe and healthy for many years to come.

Is a '77 100% match to a '74 for all intents and purposes?

Suspension / brakes / steering / etc.

Any cool facts about the 1977 models you might know?

Mon Jul 01, 2024 6:42 am

Hi
100% match.
Bonus on the 77': a glovebox door! 8)

Mon Jul 01, 2024 8:45 am

el_safari wrote: Hi
100% match.
Bonus on the 77': a glovebox door! 8)

Great to know! Thank you!

I had a glovebox door on my '73, but glad to know it's a stock item on the '77.

I am also pretty happy that I don't have to deal with the broken gas heater and missing wiper motor this go-round!

Tue Jul 02, 2024 5:44 am

I understand that the engine bay was modified slightly in order to receive a fuel injected engine. However, the injected engine never came to be but some of the engine tin is different in order to accommodate the modified engine bay. Not sure when this happened though.

Tue Jul 02, 2024 6:14 am

Semper_Dad wrote: I understand that the engine bay was modified slightly in order to receive a fuel injected engine. However, the injected engine never came to be but some of the engine tin is different in order to accommodate the modified engine bay. Not sure when this happened though.

I caught a whiff of this on the resto link that Johann has posted here on the site. His thread was more so about restoration of the body vs. mechanical parts and what not. I'm sure he put new parts on, but I didn't see any reference to being essentially similar to a '74 for suspension / brakes etc so I wanted to clarify here.