TheSamba.com :: View topic - What year peashooter exhaust for 74 thing?

Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:40 pm

K, I looked in the stcikies and i cant find this specifically adressed. I like the look and the sound of the peashooters. What year fits? Most of the sites ive seen list them by year, so do i say 74 beetle? 71 beetle?

Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:48 pm

Any 1300-1600 exhaust will fit on the engine. Use a 71-73 (I think that is the year range) if you don't have the EGR system, 74/Kalifornia exhaust if you do. You can usually tell by the extra hoses and fittings on the intake manifold.

Are you sure you want peashooters on a Thing? They hang well below the bumper, have no protection (ask me now I know :oops:), and look a little odd. But if you like the sound, it'll work..

Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:20 pm

Well, I like the sound and the price...Ive done enough offroading in my life so I dont need to do it in my thing, so im not to worried aobut the ground clearance. Its a toss up whether the odd look of the peashooters is visually cooler than the thru the bumper exhaust...

thanks for the info!

Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:36 pm

Yarkle wrote: Its a toss up whether the odd look of the peashooters is visually cooler than the thru the bumper exhaust...

This...

vs. this?...

Not much of a toss up in my opinion. Having the exhaust exiting through the bumper is one of the Thing's coolest attributes. But, to each his own I guess.

Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:04 pm

The biggest draw with me is the sound...hey, you are in connect-i-cut? I'm in Maine, got any spare stuff you want to part with? email me a list of anythign you have spares of, cuz my newly acquired thing needs alot!

Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:19 pm

I'm digging the dual air cleaner setup on that yellow Thing in the photos...

As for the pea shooters, with a good number of Thing-specific exhaust systems finally on the market (and some of them are actually affordable), It seems a shame to put pea shooters on a Thing. It looks ghetto, though it's sort of correct in one respect: I can tell you from personal experience that by the early 80's, once your original exaust went, even the VW dealers would install pea shooters on Things.

I would think that the sound of the '74 repro-stock systems available from CIP1 and GMW come close to the sound of pea shooters, but while I've had one in a box waiting for my Monza muffler to crap out, I've never heard one in real life.

Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:22 pm

you can get a new stock exhaust for the thing (74) for 200 bucks.

http://www.jbugs.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PRO..._Code=3250

you can get a beetle muffler for about 135. because you have to add the tips and mounting kit for them.

http://www.jbugs.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PRO...Code=10014

personally, id spring for the Thing muffler. might as well be correct.

Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:39 pm

norcalvw wrote: you can get a new stock exhaust for the thing (74) for 200 bucks.

http://www.jbugs.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PRO..._Code=3250

Looks like you can't get a new stock exhaust for a 74 at JBugs. That link reads "CURRENTLY OUT OF PRODUCTION!!! CALL FOR AVAILABILITY"

Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:21 am

Yarkle wrote: Well, I like the sound and the price...Ive done enough offroading in my life so I dont need to do it in my thing, so im not to worried aobut the ground clearance. Its a toss up whether the odd look of the peashooters is visually cooler than the thru the bumper exhaust...

thanks for the info!

As for ground clearance, I had a pea shooter exhaust on my Thing and you have to worry about backing into curbs. Ask me how I know... On a rusty exhaust (and in Maine, it will rust) it doesn't take much to pop a weld or dislodge an exhaust gasket on a curb.

Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:45 am

Fun 181 wrote: Having the exhaust exiting through the bumper is one of the Thing's coolest attributes.
I concur. A whiz-bang custom exhaust might be some justification for not having the exhaust exit from the bumper. But pea shooters have an "I don't give a crap about this car" air about them. IMHO.

Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:23 am

Hey, its your Thing, do what you want to do (hmm, there was a song about that wasn't there :lol:).

As you can tell, most consider the peashooter to be a less than desireable choice for the Thing, but its not like you are cutting apart the car or anything. Put it on there and drive it. Just be sure to keep in mind that the tailpipe is there when backing up.

Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:03 pm

yellow73kubel wrote: Hey, its your Thing, do what you want to do (hmm, there was a song about that wasn't there :lol:).

Not the original, but neither are pea shooters. :wink:

Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:30 pm

i love it-thanks! :181_yellow:

Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:35 am

Putting the exhaust back through the bumper cutouts was a must for me when I built my exhaust.

Mon Jun 08, 2015 10:22 am

I have an actual VW Logo pea shooter muffler on my Thing... It's rusty and the heat riser has developed a leak.

It was nice to have an actual VW muffler on the back, but I'm not putting a pea shooter back on it. To many burned/ bruised chins... it's in the way for oil changes and it's hot most of the time.

I want a quiet muffler - while I do love that VW Wheem sound, I can do without it for a quiet muffler that exits through the bumper.

I'm thinking one of the repo OE style 74 mufflers...

-Rob

Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:02 pm

im the OP, and even though I LOVE the fweem, im going to get one of those vintage speed exhausts like jsquared has...once the boys bus is done

Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:50 pm

Hi,
My Thing has a Beetle exhaust, since I had already spent a lot of money in the restoration of my car and since the exhaust was still in good shape, I just took the car to the exhaust shop and I ask to customise my Beetle exhaust. It was a lot cheaper than a new Thing exhaust.

Here some pictures before/after

Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:02 am

I am also digging the dual air cleaner setup, anybody have an idea where I good get one?

Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:41 pm

When I bought my car it had an EMPI Monza style exhaust. Sounded terrible and looked bad. One of the first items I changed. Replaced it with a stock set up from TTS.

Before

After

Would not want anything else and as mentioned you save your shins.

Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:07 am

Mine has a bug exhaust with shortened pea shooters. Works well enough for me.