1971 Volkswagen Thing

Safari Convertible

1600cc

Manual

1812657451

Clear

Gasoline

Rare 1971 VW Thing for Sale! Pre-73 VW ThingUp for sale is a 1971 Volkswagen Thing Safari. This is the rarest of the rare in the VW Thing world....especially to see in the US. VW only imported the Thing into the United States in 1973 and 1974. In years before that, a very limited number were produced in Mexico. In Europe, it was referred to as the Kurierwagen or Type 181. In Mexico, where rural roads demanded tight suspension and handling, it was sold as the Safari. If you want a VW Thing that stands out even at a VW Thing rally....this one fits the bill. It includes the original 1971 Bill of Sale paperwork from Mexico as well as the US Customs and Border Protection Entry Summary documents form the Department of Homeland and Security when the car was brought into the US in 2007.Over the years, someone put some work into keeping up this VW Thing and making if a fun, comfortable car to drive. Powered by a 1600cc 4 cylinder engine that was rebuilt in 2012 and mated to a 4 speed manual transaxle with a SCAT shifter, this Thing looks good and drives well for its age. We do not know the actual mileage but can with confidence there's less than 500 miles on the rebuilt engine, it has a new clutch and all 4 tires were replaced less than a month ago. She's had quite a bit of restoration work done, but by no means done by authentic restoration standards. As an example, someone modified the rear bumper tail lights to match the 73-74 models. There are signs of prior rust repair, there are very, very small rust spots that were painted over. The front floor is in great shape and as far as we can tell, has never had any repairs. The back floor has been repaired at some point and currently has 2 quarter sized holes on the back driver's side and a 3" hole under the battery (the notorious weak spot in these old Volkswagens). Over all, there is very little rust on this vehicle. The color is not a factory color, there are some minor chips in the paint and there's a small dinged area on the driver's door at the bottom (seen in photo 11 - not present in other photos as this is new). There are windows but no top and the roof clips were removed. The work is solid but again, it's important that you understand that this is not a show car nor is it 100% perfect....if it was, the price would be 3-4x what it is. Please set your expectations accordingly. This fun car is a perfect fit for piling in the family and cruising around the beach, or because if its rare age, would be an amazing project for someone to fully restore to its 1971 showroom state. If you're genuinely interested in this rare opportunity, let me know and I'll do the best I can to answer all of your questions - just text or call me at nine zero four - five three five - seven five five zero. This car should certainly hold its value and probably even better than the '73-'74 models!