Have you ever laid eyes on such a sight? Acquired by our dealership early 2020, this “Wild Thing” was built up to be a true classic off-roading buggy by its previous owner.
What is it? It’s a Thing. You know, a Thing.
Bad jokes aside, this one-of-a-kind Baja style 1974 Volkswagen Thing was re-styled from the ground up. The project began in 1992 and was prominently featured in the January 2002 magazine issue of “Dune Buggies & Hot VWs.”, before being put away for almost 20 years.
According to the article, the project was completed by an avid VW fan, Dean. He was in the process of trying to piece together one good Thing out of two, but it was “in hindsight a lost cause.” That was, until his father-in-law located and bought the perfect specimen.
The vessel started out as a low-mileage, stock car in 1992, driven around by Dean and his family. As with all project car guys, that wouldn’t last long. In 1994, the makeover began. Starting with bright yellow paint sourced from Subaru, the vintage Thing was transformed four times over in seven years, with the last version completed in early 2001. It was then tucked away for nearly 2 decades.
Later discovered largely dismantled, it was reconstructed in period correct fashion with some notable upgrades:
- New BFG tires front and rear
- New 2180 CC 82×92 thick wall pistons
- Forged pistons H beam rods
- Forged crankshaft black sheetmetal
- Petronix electronics welded fan
- Kennedy pressure plate
- 44MM dual webers jetted and tuned
- Pro street heads pre run
- 4 racing seats, children’s sized in the rear
- New, 4 point racing harness
- Pressurized, custom roll cage
- KC lights
- 4 wheel disc brakes
Now, this wild Thing is looking for a new home! It resides in our showroom temporarily as a central conversation piece.
Connect with us
