Thing Owners Roll Call!

[Dopevolkswagen]

My Shop car here on the jersey shore . Not prefect but does what it needs to

[obus]

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July 1959 Mango Standard Bus aka Obus L346 L347 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256592&highlight=
June 1973 Pumpkin Orange Thing aka Othing L30H
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=711775&highlight=
1960 Paprika Red Karmann Ghia Convertible aka Schatze L452 built 5/20/60
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=
66 21 window bus built 8/31/65 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=777273

[Gwinnetts]

New Thing owner. My name is Steve. Live in Winder Ga. I am currently in the middle of an amateur restoration of my 73 Thing. Body off.

[NormGarr87]

Hello, I'm Norm Garrett in Anderson SC. I have been associated with aircooled V-Dubs since 1971. I purchased my first Thing last month and I am aggressively attacking the problems. This Thing was obviously a "barn find" and needs a lot of work. But that is part of the fun of owning a V-Dub. It is now sharing garage space with my forever 72 Bug project. I am retired so they will hit the road. I'll post pics later as I learn how.

I learned! The Thing at home with her stable mates, the forever Beetle project and the Boxster.
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72 forever project Bug
03 Boxster S
18 Tiguan SE
73 Thing
81 Caddy w/2.0 liter ABA
Every VW has some Porsche DNA and every Porsche has some VW DNA. Sorry boys, they started as hopped up V-Dubs.

[BJT]

Bought my 74 Thing from a used car dealer in IL, he said he bought it at an auction in NC, seems to have been a beach Thing as I’ve found plenty of sand all over. Replaced the front end, proper Thing front end, new exhaust, other minor work since I’ve had it, a little less than a year. It’s frustratingly fun to own.

[AS350driver]

My 73 Thing that I acquired recently. I had an avocado green 76 Thing for a while back in 2013 or so, but sold it as getting in and out of it and the seats was hurting my back really bad. Fast forward to 2019, and a big back surgery in 2014 that was 100% successful, and I'm going to try another Thing. This Thing is not hurting my back at all so far, probably the first one wasn't the real culprit either

[wizrod]

New Thing owner...

No pics as yet as it won't arrive until Saturday.

Its a '73 (manufactured 21/Dec/1972) in Germany and (according to the Birth Certificate) originally delivered to Mexico.

Its been in the UK since 1999 & has been stored in a dry garage since 2003.

cheers

Paul

[Cheerwino]

Hi, here in Greenville, SC working with my son to revive a 73 Thing he bought from his uncle earlier this year. We've only recently made some headway, just trying to fix fuel line leaks and figure the thing out.

Notably, it has a Raby Aircooled Technology 2270cc engine from 2003, which is way cool but adds complexity for this mechanical noob. Thankfully, we had the honor to meet Jake Raby earlier this month at Kubeltreffen East so I feel confident he will answer any questions we may have as it relates to engine issues.

I'd love to hear from any other Thing (or Raby engine) owners here in the Upstate South Carolina/NE GA, Western NC area!

Guy

[pallettman]

Hi from Pensacola, Florida
Just joined with a '74. It's in pretty good shape just need to fix a few things to really make it a nice driver.

[Serpent7]

1973 (slammed) Thing owner here... Nothing special except its Pink! Terrible paint job but pink none-the-less. I am getting it ready for the road... Summer, 2020 for its debut! Currently installing a used gas heater I bought last week for it (heater was missing when I purchased it in April, 2016). It has a Base access sticker in it from Oklahoma but when purchased it had an Alaska title? I'd like to find out more about it? I heard it was originally owned by a couple that had His and Her's Things and this one was hears (hence the Pink). Ill post pics of its current state in a few...
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2019 Audi Q5
2014 Volkswagen Touareg X
1997 Honda Shadow
1979 Kawasaki KZ1000
1979 Volkswagen Transporter
1973 Volkswagen Thing

[medic88]

Hi, not new to the site, but new to posts etc. Have a 73 thing we drove for years and then barn stored it. Now in process of hopefully full restoration. I think it's great eveyone here is so helpful with answers or can at least point you in the right direction. Will probably have loads of questions, it's gonna be a project!

[volkybus]

Well I just read the post from the dude in one of the out islands in the Bahamas... Wow what a story you have.
.My thing n is in VT and I've owned her since Jan/04..., Bought it in SD CALF ,And drove her home to VT..It's still my favorite car and I drive her from apr to the snow stick in early Dec..28 states so far and only had to be towed home once due to s defective aftermarket fuel pump... still has 2 strikes to go before I let it go.
..Here in Puerto Rico where I winter now I miss it...a lot... Soon I hope to go back north.
.Good Luck with your Things.
. Bill

[volkybus]

Well I just read the post from the dude in one of the out islands in the Bahamas... Wow what a story you have.
.My thing n is in VT and I've owned her since Jan/04..., Bought it in SD CALF ,And drove her home to VT..It's still my favorite car and I drive her from apr to the snow sticks in early Dec..28 states so far and only had to be towed home once due to s defective aftermarket fuel pump... still has 2 strikes to go before I let it go.
..Here in Puerto Rico where I winter now I miss it...a lot... Soon I hope to go back north.
.Good Luck with your Things. Whereever they are worldwide.
Only a pheasent wouldn't have a convertible,,(my brother's saying)
. Bill PR N VT

[volkybus]

Well I just read the post from the dude in one of the out islands in the Bahamas... Wow what a story you have.
.My thing n is in VT and I've owned her since Jan/04..., Bought it in SD CALF ,And drove her home to VT..It's still my favorite car and I drive her from apr to the snow sticks in early Dec..28 states so far and only had to be towed home once due to s defective aftermarket fuel pump... still has 2 strikes to go before I let it go.
..Here in Puerto Rico where I winter now I miss it...a lot... Soon I hope to go back north.
.Good Luck with your Things. Whereever they are worldwide.
Only a pheasent wouldn't have a convertible,,(my brother's saying)
. Bill PR N VT

[cellobus1]

I'm Andy and I have owned a '73 Thing since October 2014. A very dear friend died then and bequeathed me his Thing, which he bought new. I also own a '76 bus daily-ish driver, and have been concentrating on that since it broke a valve guide 4 years ago. Now that the bus is back up to snuff and then some, COVID-19 has freed up days and weeks on end (I'm a classical/jazz musician- not much going on), so I am free to bring this Thing out of hibernation. It isn't particularly pretty, but then they were never known to be chick magnets. I have installed many, many new parts because neither my friend nor his mechanic really knew what they were doing. If tomorrow wasn't supposed to be rainy, I would be reinstalling the engine.
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1976 unrestored daily driver Standard bus, "Stella"
formerly, 1959 Standard bus
formerly, 1973 transporter which was 4 years old when it taught me to drive

[suntour]

Hello, fellow Thing owners!

After years of being away, I thought I might show my fellow comrades my new find. This was sitting in a garage in Puyallup Washington for years just wasting away.

I still have 80% of my old white one, but this one runs...

Original engine and transmission. Neither has been rebuilt. Windshield and top are from my old white Thing, along with a bunch of other random parts.
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Order of the Voodoo Spoon

[74GreenThing]

First time Thing owner here and this site was recommended...Just thought I would post a pic and learn my way around.

[Sonoran Safari]

[quote="bljones"]Well, someone was dumb enough to make me the moderator of this forum, so i figure i'd better introduce my omnipresent self.

Hello Mr. Jones, another Jones here. Darrin from San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico
Just bought my first Safari / Type 181 this week. It had been sitting in an old mans garage that bought it from the original Mexican owner and it has been in that garage for 12 years.

Well maintained and very little rust. I need to install new shocks and would like to address a few other small items. Joined the forum to share the enthusiasm for these super fun vehicles. At first tect drive, it took me back to my first fun car a 72 Karmann Ghia convertible.

[Trophy Husband]

Greetings from Mexico!

I've got a 1975 Safari (a.k.a., "Thing"). Built in Mexico. I'm the 21st owner (as best I can tell).

I've been doing a minor refurbishment as time permits. Just finished a bumper-to-bumper rust removal and re-spray. Next on the list is a new top.

[StuporDave68]

We recently picked up our 1974 Thing. We have always seen Things out at the coast, but here in the San Joaquin Valley, they are pretty far and few between. Until this one popped up in a front yard of a house. We took it for a spin and drove it home. I think the guy that owned it wasn't the type of guy to wrench on it. It drove alright, but it needed some TLC. A new carb, shifter bushings, installed an Empi shifter, adjusted valves, grounded the tail lights so they would work again. She is pretty sweet. I have an oil leak which looks like it could be the front seal. Needs more investigation. I need to figure out why the reverse lights don't work, but that should be easy to figure out. I see a lot of fun in our future. The pictures are the first time my daughter is learning to drive a "stick". She did pretty good and really liked it. I might have to get another Thing so I can drive.