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Difference between 73 and 74 Thing?
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macbones
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:47 am    Post subject: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

I'm looking to buy my first Thing - I see 73 and 74 as the predominant years of Things for sale. I understand the 73 has the rear-view mirrors on the doors vs. the 74 has them mounted on the body. Outside of that, are there any other significant differences?
Thanks!

Pat


Last edited by macbones on Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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TDCTDI
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:54 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

Heat. ‘73s only had the gas heater while the ‘74s had heat exchangers & all the ducting, and sometimes the gas heater.


‘74s will also have the large air intake vents.
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macbones
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:06 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

TDCTDI wrote:
Heat. ‘73s only had the gas heater while the ‘74s had heat exchangers & all the ducting, and sometimes the gas heater.


‘74s will also have the large air intake vents.


Thanks! That's super helpful! Is it possible to retrofit a 73 with the heat exchangers/ducting?
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

Yes, but, unless the ‘73 is a stupid cheap deal, the acquisition & installation of all of those parts, from the fan shroud, to the heat exchangers, to all of the duct work would be more expensive than getting the ‘74.


The gas heater would be cheaper to get running, if it isn’t.

The ‘73s also don’t have the heater cable guide tubes.
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macbones
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:04 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

TDCTDI wrote:
Yes, but, unless the ‘73 is a stupid cheap deal, the acquisition & installation of all of those parts, from the fan shroud, to the heat exchangers, to all of the duct work would be more expensive than getting the ‘74.


The gas heater would be cheaper to get running, if it isn’t.

The ‘73s also don’t have the heater cable guide tubes.


Exactly the information I needed - thank you!
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Dougster43
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

As mentioned above, the major visible difference between a 73 and 74 is the rear side air intakes. The 73 has a louver style intake and the 74 has more of a snorkel. See pictures below.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

and gas heater on 73 vs heat exchangers on 74
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

As mentioned above, 73 had no heat exchangers, it also had a different exhaust with 1 muffler on each side.
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macbones
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

jakokombi wrote:
As mentioned above, 73 had no heat exchangers, it also had a different exhaust with 1 muffler on each side.


Thanks! I'm hoping to install a hitch - just for a bike rack on the back. I was wondering how the exhaust might impact that.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

If you drive a lot of dirt roads the '73 engine will get way dustier than the '74 engine. I added the '74 muffs to my first '73 for this reason.

Also on my first '73 I added heater boxes to the exhaust so I had both gas and exhaust heat. This made the car pretty toasty down to about 20°F and tolerable to 0°F.
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macbones
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:25 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

Wildthings wrote:
If you drive a lot of dirt roads the '73 engine will get way dustier than the '74 engine. I added the '74 muffs to my first '73 for this reason.

Also on my first '73 I added heater boxes to the exhaust so I had both gas and exhaust heat. This made the car pretty toasty down to about 20°F and tolerable to 0°F.


Good to know - my (eventual) Thing will be a city driver (I'm in Los Angeles). I'll put that on my list of potential work to do on it though.
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mondshine
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:32 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

re: bike racks...

I always thought that the accessory spare tire carrier could be converted to a nice bike rack.

From the gallery:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.
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macbones
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:07 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

mondshine wrote:
re: bike racks...

I always thought that the accessory spare tire carrier could be converted to a nice bike rack.

From the gallery:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Love that idea! My ebike weighs aboutr 75lbs so I was hoping to put on a sled-type rack that allows me to roll the bike onto it instead of lift it.
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mondshine
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:40 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

Maybe not such a great idea...

75 pounds is a lot!
Too heavy for that spare tire carrier. Even with a spare tire mounted (which weighs considerably less than 75 pounds) that carrier really stresses the sheet metal attachment points. Most people with those carriers "back up" the sheet metal with thick fender washers to avoid "Euripides / Eumenides".

I believe this could work for a lightweight bike, but not a 75 pounder.

Good luck, Mondshine
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macbones
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:42 am    Post subject: Re: Difference between 73 and 74 Thing? Reply with quote

mondshine wrote:
Maybe not such a great idea...

75 pounds is a lot!
Too heavy for that spare tire carrier. Even with a spare tire mounted (which weighs considerably less than 75 pounds) that carrier really stresses the sheet metal attachment points. Most people with those carriers "back up" the sheet metal with thick fender washers to avoid "Euripides / Eumenides".

I believe this could work for a lightweight bike, but not a 75 pounder.

Good luck, Mondshine


Thanks! Yes - I was planning on having some sort of heavier attachment made to the car for whatever hitch/rack system I put in place.
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