1974 VW Acapulco Thing
1974 Volkswagen Thing Acapulco
Technical specifications of Volkswagen Thing 1974 | |
|---|---|
| Price: | - |
| Condition: | Used |
| Item location: | Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, United States |
| Make: | Volkswagen |
| Model: | Thing |
| SubModel: | Thing |
| Type: | Convertible |
| Trim: | Acapulco |
| Year: | 1974 |
| Mileage: | 106000 |
| VIN: | 1842542004 |
| Color: | White |
| Engine size: | 2110 cc |
| Number of cylinders: | 4 |
| Fuel: | Gasoline |
| Transmission: | Manual |
| Drive type: | RWD |
| Drive side: | Left-hand drive |
| Vehicle Title: | Clear |
| You are interested? | Contact the seller! |
Car description |
|---|
Up for sale is a genuine 1974 VW Thing Acapulco. It has a clear title in my name. It comes with the soft top that is pictured. I bought it in 2013. It was solid then, but it is better now. I keep it in an enclosed storage facility when not driving it.
Starting in 2015, I made some notable changes. With the odometer reading 03145, the owner of the VW specialized shop I have been going to since 1988 built a 2110cc engine for Thing. At that same time, a fresh transaxle was ordered and installed. As of the placing of this ad, I have only driven it maybe 1,500 miles. It drives nicely in all situations. There are absolutely no drips, and no loss of oil.
The mileage is an estimated total. It was used for my daughter's wedding, and I do drive it on nice days.
Besides the stock speedometer, a VDO tachometer, a VDO oil temperature, and a VDO oil pressure gauges have been neatly added.
Thing also has front disc brakes, 15-inch chrome wheels, and fairly new Yokohama tires.
Thing has rubber floor mats from The Thing Shop. It came with duck boards. I didn't like them. If I still have them, they go with the car.
I believe the top and the curtains were fairly new to the previous owner because they are in excellent shape and are very clear to see through. As you can see from the pics, the top's frame is unbent -- the curtains line up with the top as they should with no gaps.
The chassis is solid as I tried to capture in one of my pics.
I also added Hella H4 headlights. I replaced the H4 bulbs with LEDs, and night vision is greatly enhanced without blinding oncoming cars (unless you leave the high beams on).
I took the radio out, but it is still wired with speakers.
If Thing sells for $15,000 or more, I will include two very special extras. Since this is a no reserve auction, I will not disclose what those extras are. I will offer both very special extras at a very fair price to the winner of the auction if less than $15,000.
I will help with shipping not including monetary help.
*******
I accept PayPal for the $1,000 deposit. I do NOT accept credit cards for the balance (not sure why it came up that way). All payments must clear before the title or Thing is released.
*******
Answers to some questions I received:
1 - The rust question is one I never liked as an online buyer or seller, yet I know it's necessary. One person's "rust-free" is another person complaining about surface rust on the pins where the doors pivot and can be lifted off. I encourage setting up a time to see it in person. That is why I shot the pic of the under-carriage. No patches, no nothing. That is also why I keep Thing in its own special storage since our house doesn't have a garage. Not mentioned in the ad is the big rust issue that I took care of a few years ago -- the windshield. The frame and the glass were replaced at that time and I removed virtually all of the staining on the paint. Same thing was true when I replaced the headlight rings. This Thing is not a concourse show car -- hence not a doubled starting price -- but it is a beautiful example that has been in shows and displays. Even the mods on it could be reversed if one wanted to make it stock some day or a concourse show car. I like driving my cars.
2 - Although I am not the original owner, I am very confident this has never been in an accident, large or small. The paint is so nice on it, I half-think it must have been repainted at some time, but I also see no evidence of even that anywhere. So it either has the original paint or the original owner paid a lot of money for a first rate paint job.
3 - The mileage when I bought Thing in September 2013 was 87, 602. I do not know if that was the original mileage or not, but I have no reason to believe the odometer was replaced. The odometer when I had the engine rebuilt and enlarged to 2110cc was 03145, which if assuming the 87,602 was genuine would have made the mileage 103,145 at that time. The 106,000 was my guess at its current mileage. Thing was in storage when I placed the ad last night and is in storage now due to the weather. I will double-check when I get the chance but I'm 90% sure I'm high, if anything.
*******
A few more updates ...
I took Thing for a spin today and took some pics of the interior as per a request. Four of those pics should be uploaded.
Also, the odometer after my romp through Baltimore County read 04660. Therefore, my guess at 1,500 miles having been driven since the drivetrain upgrade was closer to being correct than 106,000 total miles. If the odometer was true at my purchase, the total miles would now be 104,660 plus any other excursion or test drive.
One final note I had forgotten is the wiper motor stopped working last summer. It's not that important if one only drives Thing in fair weather, but it was something I checked just in case my daughter's wedding had crappy weather. It was topdown weather all the way. There are folks who can spruce up the Thing wiper motor if you are not a do-it-yourselfer.
The retail value of the special extras is $1,925 not including shipping (Thing Shop pricing). None of these extras were ever installed so they would be like getting them from The Thing Shop in Chandler, Arizona.
*******
Starting in 2015, I made some notable changes. With the odometer reading 03145, the owner of the VW specialized shop I have been going to since 1988 built a 2110cc engine for Thing. At that same time, a fresh transaxle was ordered and installed. As of the placing of this ad, I have only driven it maybe 1,500 miles. It drives nicely in all situations. There are absolutely no drips, and no loss of oil.
The mileage is an estimated total. It was used for my daughter's wedding, and I do drive it on nice days.
Besides the stock speedometer, a VDO tachometer, a VDO oil temperature, and a VDO oil pressure gauges have been neatly added.
Thing also has front disc brakes, 15-inch chrome wheels, and fairly new Yokohama tires.
Thing has rubber floor mats from The Thing Shop. It came with duck boards. I didn't like them. If I still have them, they go with the car.
I believe the top and the curtains were fairly new to the previous owner because they are in excellent shape and are very clear to see through. As you can see from the pics, the top's frame is unbent -- the curtains line up with the top as they should with no gaps.
The chassis is solid as I tried to capture in one of my pics.
I also added Hella H4 headlights. I replaced the H4 bulbs with LEDs, and night vision is greatly enhanced without blinding oncoming cars (unless you leave the high beams on).
I took the radio out, but it is still wired with speakers.
If Thing sells for $15,000 or more, I will include two very special extras. Since this is a no reserve auction, I will not disclose what those extras are. I will offer both very special extras at a very fair price to the winner of the auction if less than $15,000.
I will help with shipping not including monetary help.
*******
I accept PayPal for the $1,000 deposit. I do NOT accept credit cards for the balance (not sure why it came up that way). All payments must clear before the title or Thing is released.
*******
Answers to some questions I received:
1 - The rust question is one I never liked as an online buyer or seller, yet I know it's necessary. One person's "rust-free" is another person complaining about surface rust on the pins where the doors pivot and can be lifted off. I encourage setting up a time to see it in person. That is why I shot the pic of the under-carriage. No patches, no nothing. That is also why I keep Thing in its own special storage since our house doesn't have a garage. Not mentioned in the ad is the big rust issue that I took care of a few years ago -- the windshield. The frame and the glass were replaced at that time and I removed virtually all of the staining on the paint. Same thing was true when I replaced the headlight rings. This Thing is not a concourse show car -- hence not a doubled starting price -- but it is a beautiful example that has been in shows and displays. Even the mods on it could be reversed if one wanted to make it stock some day or a concourse show car. I like driving my cars.
2 - Although I am not the original owner, I am very confident this has never been in an accident, large or small. The paint is so nice on it, I half-think it must have been repainted at some time, but I also see no evidence of even that anywhere. So it either has the original paint or the original owner paid a lot of money for a first rate paint job.
3 - The mileage when I bought Thing in September 2013 was 87, 602. I do not know if that was the original mileage or not, but I have no reason to believe the odometer was replaced. The odometer when I had the engine rebuilt and enlarged to 2110cc was 03145, which if assuming the 87,602 was genuine would have made the mileage 103,145 at that time. The 106,000 was my guess at its current mileage. Thing was in storage when I placed the ad last night and is in storage now due to the weather. I will double-check when I get the chance but I'm 90% sure I'm high, if anything.
*******
A few more updates ...
I took Thing for a spin today and took some pics of the interior as per a request. Four of those pics should be uploaded.
Also, the odometer after my romp through Baltimore County read 04660. Therefore, my guess at 1,500 miles having been driven since the drivetrain upgrade was closer to being correct than 106,000 total miles. If the odometer was true at my purchase, the total miles would now be 104,660 plus any other excursion or test drive.
One final note I had forgotten is the wiper motor stopped working last summer. It's not that important if one only drives Thing in fair weather, but it was something I checked just in case my daughter's wedding had crappy weather. It was topdown weather all the way. There are folks who can spruce up the Thing wiper motor if you are not a do-it-yourselfer.
The retail value of the special extras is $1,925 not including shipping (Thing Shop pricing). None of these extras were ever installed so they would be like getting them from The Thing Shop in Chandler, Arizona.
*******
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