HELLO New to the air cooled world

[GTrabbIt]

Congrats, Mike! That Thing is dope! Love the Fuchs!













P.S., all the cool watercooled "kids" have aircooled cars

my '69 with my dad's 20th and my wife's old Rabbit

[MicroCADDY]

Nice Bug

Not all WC have AC. I think a lot do once over themselves & mature ( not about whos fastest or lowest ) OR was brought up in with AC cars.

I could be wrong though

[Rabid Irish]

Hi Mike and welcome. I chatted with you before about this Thing.

Your question on the rear vents. You can remove those pockets on the rear and your car will already have the vents that the 73's have. you will just have some holes where the rivits were that attach them. it shoudl also be painted under them as well. They got put on at the factory after paint.

BTW you def should ditch those seats. Can you say FUGLY!

Here is mine. Still need to lower the rear more. Just waiting on some drop spring plates to come in.



Ever have any questions feel free to hit me up.

[MicroCADDY]

THANKS for the info.

Man your THING is looking SEXY
the polished Fuch wheels


Yeah the seats kill me. Don't know if i want OEM seats though.
I thing i need to make a show me your seats / front interior thread.


I have found a matching hook with matching patina strips i might pick up & i'm thinking about getting the THING pro cut & buffed

[Rabid Irish]

Is it the same hood I sent you a pm about thats on thesamba? If it is, you def need it hands down. The patina it has plus the patina'ed strobe stipe kit just cant be replicated. Thats damn near 40 years of mother nature doing her finest. It would really complete your car.

As far as seats go I would recomend stock Thing seats. Reason being that if you choose to drop the windshield at shows or something you don't have highback seats poking up ruining that flat laid out look. I have some high backs in mine right now, but thats just because I am working on my stock ones. Getting some new plaid seat covers installed with all new cusions and whatnot.

[MicroCADDY]

YES that very hood. I got a OK price from the guy to ship it.

Yeah what ever seat i go with it Fo Sho wont be a high back. I agree that the top of the seats poking out is ugly

[Rabid Irish]

Glad to hear your getting that hood. There are lots of seats on the samba right now. You can also use low back beetle seats. Benefit of those is that the passenger side can recline back, and other than that they are 100% identical to the Thing seats.

[MicroCADDY]

Don't bug seat also fold forward to access the rear seats ? Might come in hand when hauling long things ( not that i'm going to )

[zoom-zoom]

Yes, the low backs in my 62 recline and both fold forward. Not flat forward, just your standard get in the back seat folding type thing...

[MicroCADDY]

Yes, the low backs in my 62 recline and both fold forward. Not flat forward, just your standard get in the back seat folding type thing...

Sounds nice

[Rabid Irish]

Stock Thing seats also lay forward like the Beetle seats. They also have some recline adjustment, but it is very minimal. Like 2-3 different settings or so.

[MicroCADDY]

I gotta have that lean back

ya dig

[zoom-zoom]

Sounds like you'll be modifying them then. They only recline a little. You do realize how small these cars are right? Haha

[MicroCADDY]

I do know how small AC cars are. Not sure how much room exactly is in a THING since not many around

[MicroCADDY]

What antenna does the THING use ?

looks like this
http://www.jbugs.com/product/58-3506.html

[DIE TRYING]

I do know how small AC cars are.

at 6'3" i have more head room in AC cars than i do in mk1s or mk2s. they arent as small as they look.

[MicroCADDY]

at 6'3" i have more head room in AC cars than i do in mk1s or mk2s. they arent as small as they look.

Well in the 50s, 60s & some 70s all cars had much more head room

Don't think head room will be a problem in a THING

It's leg room i'm looking at.

See the prob is i'm 5'7" short legs so i have to sit close but leaned back
the wife is 5'9" long legs so she sits way back but straight up

[Rabid Irish]

As far as antenna's go there were two options. A single post and a double post. You will need to look at the body of your Thing and see how many holes it has. Holes can be on the drivers side or even the passengers side. Most of them I see are on the drivers side. The antenna link you posted is some generic most likely repro beetle antenna.

Single post
http://www.thethingshop.com/prodinfo...=181%20ZVW%206
Daul post
http://www.thethingshop.com/prodinfo...=181%20ZVW%207

As far as leg room goes. Well there isn't a whole lot. I am 6ft 1in and I find that the large diameter steering wheel can be a bit of a challenge to work my legs past to get out of the car, getting in is no problem. I have my seat adjusted all the way back and find it to be comfortable. My knees are slightly bent, another few inches would be nice, but I don't feel cramped due to the openness of the interior.


Edit: Looking back at the pictures of your thing it looks like you have a single post on the passenger side.

[MicroCADDY]

Thanks for the links to the REAL THANG antenna

I would rather have the 2 post

[Rabid Irish]

Let me know if you want to add the dual post to the drivers side. My car is pre drilled for it and I could make you a drilling template for your car. BTW they sell metal plugs to plug up the antenna holes, so you could use those to cover up the passenger side.

[MicroCADDY]

Let me know if you want to add the dual post to the drivers side. My car is pre drilled for it and I could make you a drilling template for your car. BTW they sell metal plugs to plug up the antenna holes, so you could use those to cover up the passenger side.

Cool thanks

I'll let you know once it arrives

[MicroCADDY]

WOW just got a list of everything that has already been done by the P.O.

Front beam is a stock BUG beam that was narrowed 3" and adjusters welded in by my VW buddy Brad
Narrowed tie rods, with NEW tie rod ends were added. Complete front end was painted black(Central Texas Autowerks)
New lowered ball joints were pressed in with New disc drop spindles and Empi disc brake kit (F&R).(Central Texas Autowerks on the brake kit*)
Rotors(F&R) were replaced with 5x130 bolt pattern to fit the Porsche wheels.
Rear calipers were powder coated red while the fronts were painted to match the rear.
New wheel bearings and seals(Central Texas Autowerks)
New gas tank and fuel elbow.(Central Texas Autowerks fuel elbow*)
New front and main metal brake lines, 4 new brake soft lines(steel braided in the front OEM rubber in the rear)(Central Texas Autowerks)
New dual circuit master.(Central Texas Autowerks)
New fuel lines, front and rear including inline fuel filter(Oreilly's auto)
Scat dragfast 60/40 shifter, grant steering wheel
New floor pans, Por 15 in the complete floor
New steering coupler (Central Texas Autowerks)
Aftermarket used front seats(do not know what type of car they are out of)
New roof latches(THING Store)
New windsheild(Jacks Glass)
Top and Mech was bought from a buddy in La
New lowered shocks on all 4 corners(Central Texas Autowerks)
Used side windows (The Samba)
16x6 Porsche fuchs with new tires..tires are from (Progressive Autosports)
New 009dizzy
New rear engine seal(Central Texas Autowerks)
New cap & rotor(Central Texas Autowerks)
New wires(Central Texas Autowerks)
New Bosch blue coil(Central Texas Autowerks)
New points, condenser(Central Texas Autowerks)
New fuel pump(Kermits aircooled parts)
New intake boots(Kermits)
New smoked taillights(Central Texas Autowerks)
New "led" taillight bulbs(AutoZone)
H4 Headlights(Central Texas Autowerks)
Yellow bulbs(Progressive Autosports)

& here are some things that still need to be done

ENGINE wise:
set valves.
Timing set dead on
Tighten up intake boots so backfire will stop.
Could use rebuild carb

INTERIOR:
Check wiper motor
Replace wiper arm(broken)
Seat belts
mirrors
Horn

EXTERIOR:
Wheel spacers(front) inside of tires rub when at 50% turn

[MicroCADDY]

WANT



anyone know where to get ?

[DIE TRYING]

See the prob is i'm 5'7" short legs so i have to sit close but leaned back
the wife is 5'9" long legs so she sits way back but straight up

ok. I'm 6'3" and mostly leg. my girlfriend is 5'9" and all leg.

[GTrabbIt]

Come on Jan 14th

[MicroCADDY]

Yeah 8 days away. Getting things ready for it to show up like a mechanic to be here next day to fine tune the beast. Putting heat in the garage & stocking up on parts & already figuring on some mods

[zoom-zoom]

stocking up on parts

You sir are a brave mutha haha. It's just one way to commit to getting an AC regardless

[MicroCADDY]

You sir are a brave mutha haha. It's just one way to commit to getting an AC regardless

Isn't that what all AC owners do ?

[Rabid Irish]

What size are your Fuch's? It seems weird that they are rubbing. I have 15 x 7in wide Fuch's and my beam is narrowed 4in. I have no rubbing unless I cut the wheel all the way over, and thats only because I don't have the stop bolts in place yet. Whats your tire size? That might be your issue. I think I am running 165/45r15 Federals up front.

[MicroCADDY]

Narrowed 3" & rolling on 16x6 offsets the same all around

[MicroCADDY]

THIS SATURDAY

[MicroCADDY]

Bad news

I got to wait till Sunday for the THING to show up

[tmb077]

very cool, can't wait to see your 'coming home' pics...

[MicroCADDY]

the THING is loaded up ready to depart tonight from Texas & expected to be at my door Sunday morning in Louisville, KY

[TRSuper75]

welcome, I like the stance, never seen a thing like that... I like the wheels