1973 VW Thing
A 1973 VW Thing (Type 181) belonging to a Park Hill neighbor was recently serviced with new front ball joints, tie rods, brake lines, and wheel cylinders, improving how it drives. The Type 181 shared its mechanicals with the Beetle and its platform with the pre-1968 VW Microbus.
- The VW Thing was manufactured in Germany, Mexico, and Indonesia between 1968 and 1983, and its concept came from the Kübelwagen used by the German military in World War II. It is a rare sight to come across one in good condition.
- This particular example is in nice shape and received several mechanical repairs that made a noticeable difference in how it drives. The work included new front ball joints, tie rods, brake lines, and wheel cylinders.
- Because the Type 181 shares many parts with more common Volkswagen vehicles, replacement parts are readily available. This makes servicing and maintaining these cars more straightforward than expected.
The 1973 VW Thing, also known as the Type 181, was manufactured in Wolfsburg and Hannover, Germany, as well as Puebla, Mexico, and Jakarta, Indonesia. It shared its mechanical components with the Volkswagen Beetle, its platform with the pre-1968 Microbus, and its design concept with the wartime Kübelwagen.
We don’t see many of these, so I thought I would post a couple of pictures. From wikipedia, “Manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany (1968–1974), Hannover, Germany (1974–1983), Puebla, Mexico (1970–1980), and Jakarta, Indonesia (1973–1980), the Type 181 shared its mechanicals with Volkswagen’s Type 1 (Beetle); its platform with the pre-1968 Volkswagen Microbus;[2] and its concept with the company’s Kübelwagen, which had been used by the German military during World War II.”
These are pretty cool little cars/trucks. This one is in real nice shape and belongs to one of our park hill neighbors. We fitted it with new front ball joints, tie rods, brake lines and wheel cylinders and it really drives a lot better. Since it shares many of its parts with more common volkswagen vehicles, the parts are readily available.