Vehicle Description
1974 Volkswagen Thing (Type 181) - Fully Restored - Rare Auto
StickShift Transmission - Awesome Beach Cruiser (Please note: If
you happen to be viewing this 1974 VW Thing (Type 181) on a site
other than GarageKeptMotors.com, it's possible that you've only
seen some of our many photographs of this vehicle due to website
limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 150
photographs, including a short walk-around-and-startup video,
please go to our main website: GarageKeptMotors.) 'The Volkswagen
Thing is weird, fun, and affordable as ever �€" Hagerty, November
2018 Back in the day, Volkswagen advertising asked and answered the
obvious question What's a Thing? It's the anything car that'll take
anybody anywhere. A joy all week, a joyride all weekend. It's tough
enough to stand up to the elements (an all-steel body that's tough
as a turtle's) as well as the oil companies (a tight-fisted engine
that gets about 21 mpg). The people at Hagerty provided a more
detailed explanation of the Thing's origins: The Type 181 was born
in 1969 when the West German military revisited the boxy, open-top
theme last seen in the World War II-era Type 82 Kübelwagen. Using
the Beetle Type 1 driveline and Transporter Type 2 suspension, the
Type 181 formula proved sound. In all, nearly 91,000 were built
worldwide, with 28,930 brought to the U.S. from Mexico for just two
years, 1973 and 74. The white-over-black 1974 Thing offered here
comes to Garage Kept Motors in the company of three other vintage
Volkswagens from a local collector who owned it for 11 years. In
2015, the vehicle was fully restored including replacement of the
drivetrain with a 1974 Beetle engine and automatic-stick shift
transmission (never offered from the factory in a Thing, but an
addition that pleased drivers uncomfortable with a manual). Wheels,
tires, hood-mounted rack were upgraded, and the body was
hand-sanded. The overall restored condition of the vehicle is
excellent, consistent with the collector-owner's high standards.
The tire-and-wheel combination adds a bit more of an aggressive
look. Black-painted tube-steel running boards, bumpers, and hood
rack are all properly mounted. The simple sun-shield roof affords
passengers high SPF protection, and the well-padded roll cage adds
more physical protection. Interior and exterior paint is excellent,
and all upholstery is undamaged and virtually pristine. That same
accolade applies across-the-board to everything from glass, to
lighting lenses, to dashboard gauges, and to other switchgear. The
Thing-exclusive wood-slat floor mats are a special delight. In
particular, the condition, cleanliness, and good order of the
engine bay, front trunk, and the entire undercarriage is
impeccable. This Thing is 100% sorted. (To fully assess the
vehicle, be sure to look closely at the more than 150
high-definition photographs-including of the undercarriage-are
available at the GarageKeptMotors site, as is a short
walk-around-and-startup video.) This '74 Thing is ready for a host
of outdoor-driving fun, from beach duty, to parade duty, to
VW-owner gatherings, to autumn-color tours, to evening sunset
drives. We welcome in-person visits to our Grand Rapids, Michigan
showroom to see the Thing up close and sample its many charms. We
only ask that you call or email us in advance to arrange an
appointment so that we can devote our full. attention to you. In
the same spirit, feel free to contact us directly with any
questions. The Hagerty writers concluded their review of the VW
Type 181 this way: The Thing's thing, true now as it was in the
1970s, is that it's a mechanically simple oddball with a unique
personality. You're guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows when you
roll by in a Thing, and most examples are regularly used enough
that owners don't mind a shoeful of beach sand in the footwell.