VW Thing Goes for a Drive
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- Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2020
- The VW Thing, or Trekker in the UK, was a sort of German Jeep, made into a fun civilian dune buggy!
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Everyone should learn to drive in a car like this. So much more awareness of speed, physicality and the pure danger of driving.
Totally agreed
I have a twin to this one, and agree 100%.
I learned in an original Mini. Same deal.
No
It’s dangerous
We have two Things, a ‘73 and a ‘74. The 74 was my fathers and one of our main cars, year round in northern Michigan. The ‘74’s used heat exchangers like a beetle and in the winter it did an acceptable job of keeping the cabin warm though the defrosting ability was severely lacking. We had to resort to a window scraper inside and a towel that hung off the grab bar. We took it camping, hunting, skiing, off-roading, pretty much everything. It was a key part of my childhood and shows the age and wear from it. They are excellent in the snow and surprisingly good off-road. It would regularly make it to our hunting cabin when 4wd Suburbans and trucks would struggle. We also had old Willys, a Land Cruiser, and a CJ5 and compared to those, and other contemporary military transport vehicles the Thing drives so much better in the highway and daily driving. Basically car like ride versus being in a penalty box. I also had a couple Porsche 944’s over the past 25 years and the cv axles and joints are shared parts with the 944. In fact the rear suspension in general is very similar. Pretty wild. We use our ‘73 as a beach buggy, still here in Northern Michigan, for cruising around our farm and driving dirt tracks. Given the rarity and value of them now we spare it the winter snow and salt though. My 3 kids absolutely have a ball riding in it. Having had a lot of fun vehicles in my life, nothing touches the Thing. With the windshield down I can live my Speedster dreams, feel like I am going a million miles an hour... all without breaking any speed limits... and if you like attention, nothing really gets people’s’ attention as an Orange Thing. We parked ours at a car show this spring next to a ‘69 Ferrari Daytona (one of my dream cars) and the Thing probably got twice the attention, even being unwashed and full of beach toys. Love it. Great piece, thanks for sharing. 👍
It’s a different experience if you take the trekker out on a sunny day with roof down with the front screen dropped. Smiles per miles ☀️
My father had a Karman Ghia and I’ll never forget the weekend that he changed the cable for the clutch. Yup, it took most of the weekend, he had to get away from it at times and I learned a few new 4 letter words while observing his non-exceptional mechanical skills. This was in the late 70’s.
As a teen I had a '74 Acapulco Edition with a fiberglass top. The back seat folded down and I could get to places that would guarantee me and the girl privacy. It had practically no heat and in the winter I had to scrape frost off the windshield from the inside. I put a header pipe on it and it sounded great. I eventually wrecked it. I had a roll over. The car folded like an accordion. I was so lucky to not have died. I got a scratch on my back from the gearshift because the shift knob was loose and I must have got tossed across it as I ended up on the passenger floorboard upside down.
you seem to have missed several key points in using this for it's intended purpose? Having been a "Thing" owner for years in Spain in the 70's. The door come off completely. Put the windshield down , let the air out of the tires a bit and you have a very fun and functional dune buggy that will take on just about any desert area. Leave the doors on, and it will float across any river or stream, especially useful was an electric winch which could be attached by trailer hitch to the front or rear and water crossings are a breeze. Take out the floor drainage plugs and you can clean out the interior with a hose. I We carried 2 Bultaco Alpina trials bikes in the rear, with the rear seats down and for the colder winters I had a hard shell fiberglass top. Took out the factory seats and installed two Ferrari seats (from the wrecking yard) with 5 point safety harnesses for added comfort. Bulletproof engine, amazingly fun to drive. I traveled all over Spain, Africa and Europe in mine. Wish that I still had it!
The slatted wood floor is, as you might guess, not original equipment. The floor is just bare steel like the rest.
I keep going through Stone Cold Classics' inventory wondering which one Matt will review next...
That is truly great, Matt. Lots of fun to be had. The mother of a friend had a slant back Volkswagen with that optional heater. No idea if it is true, but he told me that once the petrol fired heater was turned on, it had to stay on for a minimum of 10 minutes or the unit could explode. That petrol heater will melt your shoes. The heat is incredible. There should also be duct work that draws heat from around the engine and comes out in the floor between the seats. That system is similar to that used on the old Citroën 2CV. Almost useless, in other words. On that slant back, the defrost function bypassed both heaters, so blew outside at the windscreen. It was not salubrious at -10°C.
Watching this made me pine for another. I've owned 4...and it's Matt's fault that I purchased a fifth....from Texas in Spring 2022! An ex California US spec 1973 VW Thing in white....the made then in white, sunshine yellow and pumpkin orange that year for the USA. THANKS Matt/Furious Driving. Loving ownership.. yet again
To fold window...remove top clamps of hood and fold back and then undo two aluminium dash clamps and then drop screen forward.
Always had a soft spot for the VW thing! I always associate it with island living and tropical climates.
It was a Soft Spot. You , the driver) was its crumple zone. Lol.
Jurassic Park?
And Nazis
I own a Thing, live in Bali and confirm that they are great for tropical island living.
I love the mix of cars you get - from old and quirky to mundane and forgotten.
They're boxy, but they're good. Oh wait, that was for another square car...
Yes, for Lada.
volvo....
@@mirisch64 Boxy but NOT good!
@@bobjohnson205 owned one? No? If not, shut up!
Theodore, another square car? Did you mean the Land rover? Yes, they seem fun, but surprisingly, that hood is SHAMEFUL. You see the bars trying to push their way through the material. Most "Unvolkswagen". I wonder who made the hoods? Did the various factories round the world make the hood themselves? The other CONVERTIBLES were turned into CONVERTIBLES from hardtop, at the Karmann coachbuilders, and not only had a rooflining, but padding round the bars to prevent them bulging. There was a detachable hardtop available, so there was no ugly hood. Does anybody know if the hardtop was sold by Volkswagen, or an independent firm?
They are so bonkers you gotta love them! I love the absolute simplicity of these. Really had a chuckle at the wipers and mention of a certain Mr Seabrook haha. Great review Matt... hope you have warmed up after that one lol
Jesus Christ, went onto Stone Cold Classics site, nearly £26000. Whoever buys it may need medical attention. You can get a Vauxhall Insignia brand new for that money.
But, it does have character, that you cannot argue with.
Love the choice of Insignia for comparison. Perhaps the ultimate antithesis
@@livingthroughtv Ironically I was searching for an Insignia a little earlier so that's what I based it upon. As for comparison, what the hell does one compare it with? An Anderson Shelter perhaps. Us kids down the Old Kent Road in the 50's and 60's used to use corrugated iron to slide down "dirt hills" (rubble left over from the 2nd world war) It appears that VW found all the corrugated iron we left behind to make THE THING.
@@user-itschad1954 Haha!
and it will still be worth that in 3 years, unlike the Insignia
@@furiousdriving sure ..but in 0.003% of the market , unlike the Insignia.
In the early 80’s a VW Specialist here in Yorkshire had one. Sand coloured if I recall correctly. Preferable in terms of “Safety!’ to a Citroen Mehari. Very “Kool” in all respects. Love the ribbed wooden flooring.
The Thing - best name for a car ever.
In Cebuano "The Thing" would be "Ang Butang"! Gotta love something that simple! Here in Mindanao Philippines I have seen many modified Beetles but something like this could have been a big seller! Simple, reliable and you could put as many Filipinos inside as you like!
I had a 1303 as a teen, same color as this Thing! Many recognizable parts...
I was offered to take my young son for a drive in a Thing about 10 years ago.
It was terrible. The kid loved it!!
I’ve had my 73 since 1985. I’ve wanted one of these since I saw the commercials in the 70’s. I used mine as the limo at my wedding and for a prom or two for my daughters.
I hate to say this young man, but for the past two summers I HAVE SPOTTED THIS VEHICLE, THE THING, TWICE! So yes, a collector here in upstate New York has a white example, one I haven't seen in four decades prior!
I don't know if that wooden floor came with the vehicle or when it was refurbished (which it could have been), but yes, this vehicle is just plain utilitarian!
I think if it hadn't been catagorised as a car instead of a truck it would have been today, right now, I think they still would have sold, but with fuel injection which VW added for economy, power and emissions, as everything from this was a Beetle!
I think the steering wheel was standard throughout the VW range; Beetle, Super Beetle, Karmaan Ghia, 411, Fastback and Squareback. And if one drives this as you did must blast the heater. No car smell? Oh, it's the outdoors! All that fresh air!
Thank you for taking us on a ride in THE THING, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
A Thing owner has said it should have had rubber mats, this was a Cali car so wonder if the wood floor came then? And you saw them in New York! You can find the answer to my question "Are these fun in winter in NY?"
@@furiousdriving I actually saw this, à white one, at a car meet-up (cruise in) in August.
The folding roof was off and the windscreen folded, but I went through my photo album and saw that it had a painted floor (white) with black rubber floor, doors off, rear seatbacks folded. I wish I could post a photo of it on here!
As comfy as a Volvo C303, or as the military called them Tgb11, short for Terrängbil 11 or loosely translated to Cross country 11, Volvos early SUV? But not as good at surpling gasoline, I drove one for a year, but it used 28L/100km driving 90km/h reducing the speed to 70km/h reduced the fuelconsumption to a "fantastic" 20L/100km ;) But what a fantastic offroader, with vacuum assisted differential locks both front, rear and in the middle, high and low 4 speed gearbox and portal axles accompanied with large wheels it just simply would not stop anywhere. The somewhat downtuned 120hp B30 inline six from the Volvo 164 was enough to move it up to 115km/h in the same day! ;) After driving it a year having guzzled both premium gas and extra "led enhancer" I did the math and bought a cheap Volvo 240 instead, halfing the fuelcost! :)
Such a characterful car! All these type of cars (Mehari, Jolly etc) are just so fun to drive. Pure driving, great speed sensation, out in the elements just fun. My parents had a DKW Munga for years, also used as a fun weekend car in the summertime. Great video Matt!
I love a Munga, Ive not seen one in years though
I own a Type 182 (RHD) and whilst it may not be the best manufactured car ever made, they are an absolute hoot to drive around in. I live in a tropical country, Indonesia, so the roof and the windscreen is always down
One of the most fun cars I have ever owned 😎
this is a popular car in indonesia (yogyakarta), also known as the vw safari, the most popular in indonesia are the mexico versions with the beetle taillight, i rode one yesterday, the engine stalled every 1 km.
I've owned 4, including an American 1974 Thing and a 1971 Pescaccia. I currently own a nice 181 successor, a 1979 VW 183 Iltis...inspiration for the Quattro.
a true devotee!
@@furiousdriving Just 'sad'. ;-)
@@andytalbot6719 lol
The door closing sound reminds me of builders' rubble being chucked into a skip.
I sold mine several years ago, and miss it every day.
One my associates had one these in the mid 70's,top end of about 55 mph.I believe it had bus gearing,all NA production came out of Mexico,which was much lower std than Europe.
I used to use one daily in the UK. Loves cruising at 65 to 70mph
Great video Matt. Definitely not a winter car! My uncle had a banana yellow Thing for a brief time when I was a teen. Never got a chance to ride in it. My first car was a Super Beetle (1302) bought for $200 in a similar orange. At the time, I didn’t like the orange and had it painted red.
Many who had Beetles would be plowing through snow while others were stranded. I think this would have been very good in snow 🌨! Oops, I said that dirty four letter word!
I've owned 4 and driven them as daily drivers
Civilian version of the Kubelwagen
of the Kubelwagen's 20 year later replacement
I drove this car when i did my service at the german air force. It was so nice und funny to drive , the suspension was for a car of this kind very good. The heater was great in cold winter , but you must be carefull with tis thing when it is wet and you drive curves. The mpg was horrible . the 181 is not a off road car , it is ok to drive at the beach or on a sandy way tthrough the wood or between the fields , but dont go off road you get lost haha . The military car before the 181 the DKW Munga (2 stroke engine) and the car after this VW the Audi Iltis was much much better in off road , cause they had all wheel drive. . BTW the little lamp over the glove box was for the passenger to read a map in the dark , cause you dont whant to light up a military car in the dark that you see him from miles away haha
Wow this looks an amazing thing. I love the colour, you cant miss it on the road. Imagine driving it without the roof or windows that would be like being hit by a wall once you got over 50 mph. It does looks a good car though for the time. Its very utilitarian and wouldn't look out of place on a Garage54 video lol. Great video as always and lets hope you managed to warm up afterwards
fortunately you'd have plenty of time to consider what you were doing before you reached 50!
This really was someTHING unusual...
You mentioned the Eurojeep project, which never reached fruition. Interestingly, the German contender for that, the Volkswagen Iltis, was built for the German military and some others, and gave us another definitive classic car. The 4-wheel drive system from the Iltis developed into the system for the original Audi quattro (small q for the proper turbocharged coupe, big Q for the 4-wheel drive models of other vehicles in the range...)
It looks like the love child of a Mini Moke and a Beetle. Like other viewers I'd spied this on the Stone Cold website and hoped this would be one of the ones you'd be allowed to review.
Got to love something a bit bonkers, especially when it feels like it's going so much faster than it is when driving. I did find myself singing "It's your thing do what you wanna do" all the way through too.
The steering wheel was on the 1974 VW 1300 and the 1303. The 1303 was different in having the curved windscreen and the soft touch dash. It's certainly not an MX5 but hey maybe the Mazda would have been more hip with the square corrugated look. It certainly looked like you could chuck the Thing about like a little sports car.
Still more refined than a Ssangyong Turismo
No name and no picture but stupid comments. 🤢🤮🤦♂️🤯💩
@@bokhans how exactly is it a stupid comment?
It's like a Beetle, but with all the nice bits taken out! I now know what it would be like to drive an old metal dustbin. Thank you for the excellent review :-)
If my daily driver was that Interstyl Hustler4 plywood deathtrap you showcased in August then this would most certainly be a welcome upgrade; so thanks Matt.
The slanted floor - (apparently) is to be reminiscent of the wartime Kubelwagen - where the slats allowed bullets or something to fall between the slats, onto the floor! I'm sure someone will reply, and be more specific!
Those 'duck.boards' were always aftermarket and meant feet were higher and clearance.under steering wheel for legs was compromised. Originally floor mats would be rubber mats with lots of perforations.
Love the colour! An orange Kübelwagen. But £26k..!!??
It sold within 2 weeks of sale
@the Game, Review and Reallife Channel or maybe a good investment
Seen one of these off road at the Hop Farm during War&Peace week, surprisingly capable. Not very far from this road test.
Brilliant video. Loved it that you mentioned the smell even if it didn't smell of anything 🤣
Gosh for a second I was going to put subtitles on , thought I’d gone onto “German Very upset driving show “😂, that accent was so realistic Matt. That’s a great example of a THING !! I bet it’s Cold and Damp in a British winter 🥶.
sorry didnt mean to fool yo with my accent - Duolingo is doing very well, shame Im learning Italian..
@@furiousdriving haha 😂 nice one Matt 👌🏻
Only on FuriousDriving do you see such intersting cars, explained in such detail.
Not too keen on the accelerators' position though, Italian pedal positions can give some of us hip pains, I wonder what this does to you on a longer than half hour journey.
Really enjoyed that!
Gear knobs is original VW accessory gear knob made by AMCO
Had a K reg metallic turquoise 1300 and then a L reg Kansas red 1303 as my first and second cars back in the 1980s can see lots of parts shared with this. Great review Matt now you need to review a Kubel Wagen and Schwimmwagen
And find a lake for the Schwimm..
Bench doesn't fold. Squab can lift off but seat backs cantilever over to fit horizontal with a bar in a rubber receptor. ;-)
Good review, a yellow one was on Wheeler Dealers a few years ago
designed with etch-a-sketch! love it!
Great for the states 👍 I'm not so sure of the UK it looks very cold there , I love it but I love all AirCooled , Great review Matt 🙏
I really miss my Thing! I lost it when my wife died of cancer along with all my VW's and my house and everything. I had no less than 6 insurance duck out on me and left me pennyless and 1/4 million dollars in medical debts.
A cool looking thing but I bet you were glad to get back into the quiet, warmth and comfort of your Merc afterwards!
Im always glad to get back in that, odd cars are lots of fun but theres alot to be said for very comfy heated seats!
Funny how it was on sale stateside for a couple years, but just about everyone can recognize these. I saw one just 3 days ago on a walk, a guy had one parked under his car shelter behind a Karmann. It was also orange, but this one appears somehow.. larger? Is it the chunky tires? I came up on one of these on the highway a couple years ago in my truck, and the poor guy couldn't go faster than 60! I felt bad and decided to follow him for a bit to give him some cover from all the aggressive drivers.
Love these. Would love one with my 68 VW Bay.
There were quite a few of them here in the States back in the day. Unfortunately they rusted away very quickly.
Not a old skool VW person but have to admit there is something to like about the Thing, germany's answer to the Mini Moke perhaps??
same idea and intended purpose, but the army didnt buy the Moke in the end
Hi Matt,nice drive in theThing, definitely a wild colour,I would be a bit fresh in the winter,but ideal in the summer.
To Steven Hughes. The colours on these were beautiful - and gave them different characters! My favourite is RED, like the car in the Brigitte Fonda movie CAMILLA. I'm not sure if it was the car's, or the friend of Brigitte Fonda's name. She was the young woman looking for inspiration, and found it in the older woman who was forever young at heart, and needed a young friend to inspire HER. Such a charming film. See it if you can, on the internet!
Good research.
I've just bought myself a 1973 Thing from Texas. It should be with me in early 2022.
In "MY DAY", cars had REAL tyres!
Cool car . Spotted quite a few in California last year
I spotted the same one the past two summers at a local classic car show meet up.
My dad had a 1972 VW Beetle in the same colour in the poverty spec, VW 1200 "Sparkäfer" as they called it, had even less amenities because no auxiliary heater and you needed tailwind to reach 60 mph. He was so fed up with German cars having no luxury at all, his next car was a Citroën DS!
Never had an issue with driving position on the 181s I've had...although depends what you're used to.
I really struggled t get my knee under the wheel
Awesome as always! Crikey though - more than a mustang?! Mustangs must’ve been quite affordable back in the day...
£25,750 Wow, you'd want to be a true enthusiast. Didn't get these here in Au.
We did get the Moke and they too are commanding crazy money.
13:54 HubNut porn.
VW Australia , before this, developed built and sold the Australian VW country buggy. From the VW Clayton factory.
Google it. Wikipedia has some good info.
@@johnd8892 How very 'cool'! Like a Moke just uglier (if thats possible). Thanks John!
@@CathodeRayNipplez I now see lots on RUclips as well. Not a success even though it was the cheapest new car in Australia on release.
AMCO did also produce similar gear knobs for the 911 in the US
I really like dead basic cars like "the thing"
sadly they don't seem to sell nowadays
A few sheets of corrugated roofing is all you need to weld it back together
I like how the bonnet/frunck looks like a metal chest tilted at 15 or 20 degrees.
I'm unsurprised that this didn't succeed in the UK. Not one for cold days.
Another off beat review; keep them coming!
Reminds me of a Gator or a Polaris definitely off road only if I was to drive it , looks terrifying on the public roads!
Only asking 25,750! :( But that includes a free cup of tea or coffee! Quite the deal! lol
It sold as well
@@dickie35 There's a sucker born every minute! lol
I have always liked those and kind have wanted one. I don’t really know why?🤔 I probably would have went with the Mustang! 🐎
that wheel would have to go...smaller one, i like clearance under the wheel, engine sounds great, strangely haven't seen one on Mustie1 yet
The speedometer/fuel gauge looks like the same one that was in my dad's '73 Super Beetle.
The whole interior looks like a super beetle. Its because it's a parts bin car. Everything is reused from another car to keep costs low
Well with the gas tank in front, if you hit anything, your worries are over.
Buenos recomiendo estos de niñez que me trae ese Safari, del tipo y color naranja, porque mi papá tenía uno igual en la CdMx,....👍
Love it 👍 I could see it driving along 90 mile beach here in NZ.
Yeah, that's really what it's for. Not late Autumn/early Winter in the U.K.
That would have been perfect test conditions!
I had a trekker in 1988, HJJ ???N wish i still had it
top marks had never heard of this one👍
a Thing of beauty
Crash protection is a layer of paint.
Is that a cantilever?
Is it not just a connecting rod?
cantilever is more exciting
I have a 1993 GEO Tracker and a 1921 Model T. I would love tomadd a Thing to the collection!!!
The 100 mph speedo isn’t that optimistic. In my army days i drove a VW K181 and a topspeed around 150 km/h is realistic. If you have the time.
Despite the danish winters they weren’t too bad. Obviously you can’t expect to drive around in january in T-shirt and speedo’s but once on the move they were pretty okay - and we didn’t have the gas heater in the army version.
I’d love to get one for private use.
that was brave! and must have been a long road!
Lol, when I first started watching this video, I thought you had a new haircut, but then realised it was your hat.
wait till you see the one tomorrow...
Does the windscreen fold down?
I understand the policy of not demonstrating the roof whenever you drive a convertible, but it's a bit of a shame.
Its not a policy, but if it not a roof Ive used before and no one is there to show ho wits done Im not going to risk breaking it or getting it stuck..I once spent a long evening with a Stag with its roof half up half down in the middle of the Yorkshire hills, utterly stuck for about 2 hours..if you only used post MX5 or electric hoods they can appear easy but older ones need a thick instruction book and break easily
I've seen a hard-top version of this!
I once owned a genuine VW hard top version US 1974 Thing, here in the UK.
Before you start to go for a drive you knock on the gearknob first for good luck.
Great review. Amazing cars.. 26k though, I’d consider selling mine for 20k. like this one but sexier 😍
i simply love this rare VW Thing car this is more than way cool
Million thanks for your review. I loved it.
Una "cosa" intelligente e fantastica, peccato che al giorno d'oggi non se ne costruiscano più!
I'd buy in a minute un fortunately I think the shipping cost would be out rages seeing how I'm living in north central Texas.
Look in California, the US was the biggest market for these Things
When you had the decklid open, should of start the engine to listen to it.
Is that "The thing from outer space"? Lol