74 VW Thing question from Richard

[VWNut]

I am looking at 74 vw thing….looks good, told it runs well. I am a VW novice. Any hints or advice when I take a look at it? any issues or potential pitfalls?

I would like to use it year round and would need to either reconnect or ad a gas-heater. Is the thing ok in the winters? i live in the Southcoast of New England (Providence-cape Cod area) or would I have to winter it? Any help wouldbe greatly appreciate it

[VWNut]

Reply given by Roy Crosier:

On the Thing, look for rust! It is a miracle that yours is even still around because most of them have rusted away. That model was the worst VW for rusting. If there is no body rust, look around where the heater, clutch and parking brake cables are underneath. Those are classic rust areas, along with the floor under the battery. Gasoline heaters are wonderful but get professional help as you don’t want to take any chances patching them up. The car itself is immune to the cold. It will always start if the basics are taken care of. (tune up, battery and charging system, choke and valve adjustment)

For cold weather also check the fast idle cam travel limit pin. What? On the left side of the carburetor is a little floppy thing, almost triangle shaped with a curved side and a side that has little teeth on it. There is a slot in this cam, and there should be a little roll pin through the slot and into the body of the carburetor. This keeps the fast idle cam from spinning around too far when the choke engages on cold mornings. That pin often falls out. You can go to a machine tool supply house and buy a replacement pin that is very slightly larger than the hole the other one fell out of. Just ask for a “roll pin”, but of course there are thousands of sizes. Parts places will know what a roll pin is.