First Drive: My Dream VW Thing Finally Hits the Road!

[@tedporterfield8523]

I owned a 73 Thing for many years. Definitely the most fun car we ever had. Some advice, lose the Chinese mechanical fuel pump. Modern gas has a much lower boiling point and those fuel pumps run hot and vapor lock. Get a good quality electric pump and mount it under the tank. You will save yourself a ton of walking home on hot days. Good luck!

[@bobbyv5143]

That first drive in the "wild thang" had me laughing the whole time! What a hoot!

[@67comet]

"You know what's really cool? Driving your car, then fixing all that." Exactly what I tel people that worry about making their cars perfect before they drive them. Get it working, then fix the leaking, squeaking, worn out bits. Whoop! (And I'm trying to convince my son to get a Thing - his daily is a "95 Escort LX Wagon that's wonderfully original). Good episode :) .. I use the same battery terminals on my summer only cars so I can disconnect them in storage.

[@ericyeoman2687]

I told my wife, early on. If I see one of these for sale I'm buying it. All you need to say is."so you found one then.". I didn't, but, we both agreed on a new 13" wheeled Mini Moke. Just as much fun & still got the appropriate thumbs up from VW beach buggies & one day a "Thing"!!! Eric in Oz.

[@HHWheels]

Oh heck yeah!! Those Mokes are so cool! We have a handful here that they are renting out & I have a neighbor who has one. They seem like so much fun!! Thanks for watching.... p.s. dont give up on the Thing, the right one will find you!

[@pitbulld45]

Best one liner of the video, Caroline " this things got no balls"......James " Just the way I like it"

[@HHWheels]

😂👍

[@svventure844]

I had a Thing as my daily driver through high school and college. Oh, the stories! Then I shipped it to the east coast when I started grad school. And it sat in my yard, sinking. Then marriage and kids and early career and no time for car work. Along drives a dude in a VW bus who sees the car, slams the brakes, gets out and introduces himself as Garth Vader (his parents were apparently Start Wars nerds). I gave him the car on the spot. "You tow it, it's yours". I have no idea what happened to my thing, and I've had recurring dreams for the last 20 years about driving that car. I dearly miss it. You make me want to find one in a condition just like yours. Thanks for the memories and inspiration.

[@TheShornak]

I remember seeing the commercials for The Thing back when they came out. I was 10 in 73 and I remember the commercial showing the car changing color and adding dots or stripes on them. I wanted my parents to get one because I wanted to see it change like that. Haha.

[@Ken-f150]

I'm a truck driver for a very large private fleet and we ran with those balancing beads. We stopped using them cause when we would add air to a tire the beads would get caught in the valve stems and all the air would leak out. So just be aware of that.

[@61BlueWhale]

Always great seeing people and family having fun.

[@joelvinson]

I was DYING watching the driving portion. Y'all are nuts, and I'm here for it. LOL

[@ScottPotter-j1k]

This was a GREAT episode!!!!! I enjoy the mechanical portion but the DRIVING portion was EPIC!!!!!!!!!! "I HAVE WATER IN MY BUTTHOLE." omg!!!!! HILARIOUS!!!!

[@HHWheels]

Hahaha we try, there is never a dull moment around here 😂

[@doglife5441]

What are the best videos I've seen in a long time better than the best it was awesome.Do it again

[@boomerbassmeme]

Best test drive video EVER!!! 🤪😂🤣 Grats on getting it running Caroline! 😊👍🙏🙏

[@DaSoulmann]

I did this in a yellow 65 valiant convertible, we laughed like nutters as we froze our asses off in the pouring rain... folks definitely knew we were crazy. This video convinced me, I am watching the right people, so I subscribed.

[@andrewnajarian5994]

You need scuppers in that thing! I love James hanging out the window like a dog in the rain…classic! 😂

[@VicSwanby]

Y'all are too darn funny. The wetsuits had me rolling. Thank you for the smiles this was a thoroughly funny video and just what the Doctor ordered lol I'll answer your question...Caroline I like your thing lol its lemony fresh and ready for any...Thing!!! keep smiling and having fun its very infectious and priceless to see!

[@chrismredsox1]

Loved this and agreed that Caroline is an awesome mechanic - you guys are so much fun together! I have a '63 ragtop beetle, '65 Karmann Ghia and '66 hardtop beetle and totally appreciate your enthusiasm for these cars.

[@colinmaceachern9]

Just came across your channel. It's a breath of fresh air and so much fun.

[@johnt.848]

I've never seen IRS with 5 stud wheels, it's a very odd combination, I would have thought it would have had a swing arm transaxle from the factory.

[@DerrickG-u8f]

It’s funny how your dad seemed against the wild thang at first then he helped you get it going and he looked like he was having alot of fun riding shotgun. Cherish those moments with him not everyone has that opportunity keep on wrenchin!

[@expatmoose]

So I’m watching this living in Germany between Hanover and Wolfsburg,,,, which are two from 3 places I know these were made, these cars are few and far between here. I’m enjoying watching this as a VW fan myself, had many Golf’s And now a Polo (not sure what that’s called in the US) Thx for showing, new sub here

[@HHWheels]

Thanks for watching! Hello over there!! :)

[@russrockino-rr0864]

I was on the floor laughing so hard, when you guys were out driving The Thing,lol. You guys are hilarious!

[@isaacbenjamin389]

Driving in the rain part was hilarious.

[@SpunkMonkey]

OMG I thought from the environment you were in coastal GA but I KNOW that beachfront access spot in southern SC! Great work to you all, for everything you've accomplished so far and I look forward to the rest to come. Special shout-out to James; my daughters choose not to drive, so I'm living vicariously through watching you happily sharing the drive and supporting yours. Salute!

[@finaljesus]

this is the best episode i’ve seen so far it was hilarious you 2 driving out in the rain with those outfits on goin to Starbucks lol you guys have balls driving that “thing” lol love these videos

[@vjnobody]

Another fun video :D Ever bottle-blead your breaks? Hook up a tube that fits on to the break bleeder and run it to a small bottle of brake fluid. I don't even have to mess around with having another person there helping push a peddle anymore. Absolutely less chances of brake fluid in the face.

[@larrybeussink7737]

Love the test drive! Never been in a tropical storm but have done stuff like that in snow with similar results. James is a great sport!

[@firbolg]

I thought I was crazy for cycling and swimming in the lake year-round, but you all are hardcore! Love your antics!

[@MeneGR]

I love videos in the rain and they're rare, so this is my new favorite!

[@HHWheels]

👍👍👍

[@patrickvanhoesen9425]

We've got a 74 Acapulco edition. Pulled it out of a field, got it running and driving. Thing purrs.. lol.

[@HHWheels]

AH! That's a bucket list car for me too :) That's freaking epic!

[@f.d.robben159]

That was fun!!! Back then, a friend of mine drove a 181 as his daily. In the summer, with the windshield down and removed doors 80 km/h felt sooo fast. The noise, the wind and all the flies and bees hitting you in the face. We laughed our heads off, so it didn't matter that it was way too loud to talk anyway. Here in Germany, the 181 was actually just called "Kübel", which translated to bucket.

[@keiththeakston3125]

Just gotta love the flipper look in the rain 😂

[@joshuaweitzel9310]

As a life long Volkswagen man I love your Thing. I own a 1973 Volkswagen Superbeetle and I love it. Love your channel.

[@nerfzombie6242]

The test drive was fantastic! If I didn't know you were in South Carolina, I would've sworn it was Florida. Nothing out of the ordinary there...

[@michaeltotter8546]

Have you ever heard of bottle bleeding your brakes? I use a Arizona ice tea bottle with a rubber hose the fits the bleeder fitting drill a hole in the lid , insert the rubber hose tight all the way to the bottom of the bottle. It makes it easy and mess free. When the bubbles stop you are good to go ☮️❣️

[@HHWheels]

Yeah but, the content was great seeing her get dowsed 😂😂😂

[@danielfoster2339]

You guys have too much fun!! Keep up the great entertainment and awesome content!🎉🎉

[@HHWheels]

Thank you! Will do!

[@richardhill6125]

Well done!!! So much fun in the rain!

[@richardhill6125]

Put some seat rail bushings on the seat rails and those seats will slide back and forward a lot easier. No metal to metal contact.

[@DansAm76]

I highly recommend the front disc brakes from Jbugs, I did end up switching to Wagner pads, though. Stops on a dime now. Also, I switched to 17" Cip1 Black Radar wheels with 235/65r17 tires. Way better on the hyway. Also recommend a battery cut out that you can reach from the drivers seat. Glad you are having THing fun :) they are probably my favorite Thing to drive. The convt top that is sold by The Thing Shop is 2k but my lord is it amazing quality and comes with the frame and everything needed. Also their side windows are outrageously expensive and worth every penny. Makes the Thing a watertight(Ish) vehicle.

[@philipchampagne3586]

Holy crap im falling over with laughter! Thanks I needed that today, you have no idea!

[@HHWheels]

haha we are so glad. As I am sure you can tell, we had an absolute blast filming it :)

[@sealgrey.911]

This car is very reliable. I used to say "VW even run under water" meaning that these old air cooled machines run at any condition. But the type 181 is not very popular over here in Germany where it is originated (although there is a VW 181 scene here, but that's only for hardcore 181-fans) because the car reminds people of the Kübelwagen (0:19). A fellow student at the university used to own one and took it to Norway on vacation. Even though the car was painted in orange some people there did literally spit at him and calling him Nazi because the car reminded them of the German occupation of Norway in WWII.

[@ronaldguerrieri1988]

Glad I ran into you guys.

[@Harko-]

I can to watch the Thing, subscribed for the brilliant humor! Thanks Caroline and James!

[@HHWheels]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@petersalter4269]

Just love your relationship, what a unique test drive!

[@HHWheels]

Thank you!

[@kevinbarrett9615]

Very entertaining , the Thing lives !

[@HHWheels]

The Thing lives! Thanks for watching :)

[@donnamoll3159]

My husband and I were in our mid teens when these hit the USA. Odd but still drew a lot of attraction when we saw them in real life. Shame they couldnt keep shipping them here for a few more years.

[@MrThetaphi]

We had these 'things', when I was in the German army some 43 years ago. At 8:50, you should have put on the wrench first, and the fixed a transparent 1-foot-long hose on the hollow screw. Then you could have collected the brake fluid excess in a glass - rather than in your face. The electric idle-cut-off valve was a common issue with my later VWs.

[@Rustic_Beauty]

It’s the flipper slaps on the Starbucks floor!😂😂😂🙌🏻

[@stevehiser6833]

Look up solder pellets for battery terminals. They are pretty nice. Put your terminal in the Vice and put the pellet in the terminal. Heat it up with the torch until it’s melted and stuff the cable in and wait for it to cool.

[@samfeldman1508]

If you ain’t prunie. . . you ain’t looney. Great job 👏

[@Squirrelnutsrc]

You 2 are NUTS and i love it

[@GlenSeymour]

Standing there waiting for it to start ! Oh yeah it goes!

[@jesusfuentes49]

That looked like a lot of fun

[@ShaneLewis-n2o]

Great job girl!

[@stevetarantino1977]

Y’all are awesome! Very enjoyable to watch yall

[@wayneward5777]

Fantastic family love watching it.

[@bdd1469]

Sweet thing. Throughout the 80's, 90's and early 2000's I worked at an aircooled VW specialty shop In Grand Rapids Mi. We repaired restored and modded some of the baddest air cooleds on the planet. Drag cars, sand cars, show cars, etc. We even had one in the Grand Rapids childrens museum. But, for some reason, the thing is still my favorite VW of all time. On a side note, In my experience, balance beads suck on anything smaller than a 37" tire. They can't keep up if you accelerate quickly, so your whole rig starts shaking until you slow down. I've tried them on several big Jeeps and couldn't vacuum them out quickly enough. I'll run unbalanced before I run beads again. Just my experience, maybe yours will be better. Not that you'll be doing much quick acceleration until you build a motor for it. Lol.

[@joemoore9874]

that was great love your honest characters very funny and the thing is awesome.

[@freddymardiceii3273]

Singin' in the rain, just Singin' in the rain! 😂😂 legendary video guys!! Btw, never rode in a Beetle or Thing, South Carolina is calling me for a visit 😊 love you guys and the videos! Make it legendary 🤘🤘

[@adamdecker5785]

I'll update my previous text, I have to take you back in time, way back, I grew up in northern, ca back in the 1970s, I am not kidding you, back then, a car was a social status, we drove mild to wild custom creations, however, if some dude or even Dudet drove a Ford pinto, chevy Vega, or or a Ford edsel, or a vw thing, the endless heckling would have been atrocious, believe me when I tell you this, now, I will say this, you are very brave and an honest soul for opening up and showing us your vw thing. I tell you what, if you like a vehicle that the top can go down, there is a car that no one ever got their hands on and moderned the drive train, and that car is the 1957 through 1959 Ford skyliner retractable top. With these cars, you had to be careful putting the retractable top back, you had to have a person on one side of it and the other on the other side, pulling it back together, bending the sheet metal happened more than once, I read a few articles on the retractable part of it. So if in the future, if you buy a car, remember, those classics have either a very good appreciation by all, or, if the generation that I was around back then, the looks on their faces said it all, now am I saying that is right, no I'm not, it's actually rude, however, I had to live with them, because, cruising every Friday and Saturday night was the thing to do, man I miss those days, and I miss the rude dudes, they, like me, have opinions, some, like mine, gets your attention, so don't take offense to my comments, if you were going to drag race me, Oh hear comes the insults, think I'm kidding, watch American graffiti, when the two cars were cruising down the strip and both were insulting each other's car. Get my point, anyway. Have a great day, and keep your videos coming.

[@rickthrelkeld9694]

Great episode. Little Fun little humor. A little Rain. Hey I'm likin your content. Young Lady. God Bless You 🙏🏻🕊️. Keep the videos coming.

[@charlesloar3210]

Love your videos. Real word wrenching here. What is the grumpy guy's problem at the tire shop?

[@HHWheels]

he's just a grumpy old man :) we love messing with him!

[@Fitzinyourhead]

OK I’ve always thought you two were pretty cool. I was wrong… You’re freaking amazing. Way to get your thing wet. Keep up the fantastic content you guys

[@foulger75]

Loving the test drive.

[@dubworldvwadventures]

Hope you didn’t smoke the engine! Light on means stop and check things!

[@HHWheels]

Haha no biggie. It's all good! The oil light is the scary light :0

[@petergrimes2466]

OMG thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!! I damn sure needed these laughs today!!!!!!!!!! I love your thing!! What an awesome video!!!!!!!!!

[@TheyoutuberMechanic]

Never r had a vw but .....kinda want a thing now!! great video love the channel

[@theadvocate4698]

That was really fun! I'm in! 🌧

[@ccbiezenbos]

So much fun! Now subscribed.

[@andytalbot6719]

Im on my 5th 181. Im near Liverpool, UK and own an ex California 1973 Thing u imported...and its rust free

[@eightycutty]

Episodes like this YT needs a laugh button luv you guys 🤣🤣

[@hemilover5315]

please when bleeding brakes wear safety glasses and a plastic bottle with a hose in it to and over the bleeder helps keep the mess down.

[@Eaz7y]

Second this, when you get brake fluid in your hair you should really go in the shower right away also, in case you didn’t. That is really bad for your skin, don’t even know what it could do to hair.

[@4ndy530]

Hey the Thing looks great! If there's anything I've learned from the Duckman.......you gotta have a vacuum advance distributor! I couldn't see if yours is, just an observation 👍

[@HHWheels]

Thanks for the tips!

[@jeffsousa399]

You were overheating the engine and the gearbox was hot too, since you had zero fan movement when the light comes on, you stop immediately on that!!! Or, cook your engine…. Always carry a spare belt. Best $10 insurance to have…

[@christopherhutchinson8043]

😎 , very rare here in Africa only seens pics , reminds me of the 60's song by the Troggs , Wild thing

[@JoelSpike]

Great Job! This made my day!

[@Dbiers7743CA]

OMG, I havent laughed that hard in a long time. Loved the driving in the Hurricane.. !!

[@MrSpork1978]

The Viper and Charger do not even compare. You know to work your Thing!!!!!! Be fun to have a Thing mounted to a pontoon. Essentially shell of the Thing. You then could have a Thing on the road or a Thing on the lake. Would be the Thing everyone talks about at the lake as well. Maybe add deck chairs a cooler in front of the body on the deck of the Thingtoon.

[@thomaskoppel-k7q]

had 2 of 'em , Mass. rustbucket to a 2nd 73 prerunner/overlander. (in the late 80's) coast to coast on #! & baja on #2. Btw , I live in the Sierra foothills. 181's are SO much fun, but not 4wd,sadly sold it 10+ yrs ago.

[@NormanF62]

The Kubelwagen was a German Jeep; a Jack of all trades vehicle. Would love to see VW to revive it! 😊

[@patrickmann7455]

Wow those flexi hoses came off so easy you would of thought they had been pre loosened ?

[@HHWheels]

Which flexi hoses are you referring to?

[@ralphtaylor3796]

congrates on the thing,.

[@thomthom3420]

Love your ‚thing‘-project! Best from Germany!

[@HHWheels]

Thanks so much!

[@type4revolutionstudio]

Dixie cup install of balance beads.....epic😂😂😂❤oh Rob🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@HHWheels]

flawless install

[@christaunton5675]

Definatly flyby wire length of that throttle cable

[@JohnRadford-iy7db]

Its a kubelwagen

[@panamafloyd1469]

31:45 - I *love* being a Southern car guy! I see SCCA friends of mine from New England and the MIdwest sweating over 'legal' titles for some rust-bucket. And then relax because all I need is a Bill of Sale..and an arm that works. This one must have been someone's 'beach wagon', seems like that would be the only reason it needed floor pans. I'm ex-NC OBX from back when you could drive on a lot more of it, the two best ones my high school friends had were a 181 and a Subaru "Brat". Mine was a FSJ ('77 Cherokee), I'd just stop before I got it stuck and climb on board my friends' cars. 🤣

[@goclunker]

You need to neutralize the acid... baking soda. Otherwise you will get crazy flash rust, even if you oil coat it.

[@RobertPirtle-q9g]

The last 10 minutes was the best.

[@VWJawbreaker]

That was awesome.

[@jimalesia8508]

It's not the "Wild Thing", it the "Yellow Submarine"!

[@allenmenard777]

you had the old part hits trash can sound but missed it hit the cat sound lol

[@HHWheels]

haha!

[@glenns9557]

Like a broomstick in a barrel. good one.

[@robcatlow7620]

i like the flake powder coating ..

[@kevins4229]

I think O'NEILL Wet Suits should sponsor you, based on how good you look in one :)

[@AdCab77]

Subscribed! Great content.

[@MCscarfacematt]

being its always constantly raining here and i daily a topless golfcart (when it starts) if not im pushing my crippled ass in a manual wheelchair with one arm and one leg so i should get a snorkle kit and wear that to the store. they're used to my antics now and thats not to far off what i normally do

[@valdezjrjose78]

You n dad da best!

[@joeysartain6056]

loved this video

[@chachimatthew]

you both dress up for swimming, you have forced me to subscribe. lol love it funny wholesome and great program.

[@HHWheels]

Thank you for the support! We will keep bringing it✊