Dan's 1974 Thing

While in the process locating parts to build a buggy for a friend we found this 74 Thing hiding 15 feet off the ground in a warehouse. The owner had intentions of restoring it someday. Well someday never came and my wife purchased it as a Christmas present. Reconstruction started in Sept 2004. The front was smashed, fenders were rotten as was the floor. The windshield frame, rockers and roof were also finished. After completely stripping all paint I welded in new floor sheetmetal, formed my own rocker panels and front nose sheetmetal and welded all parts in place. For the fenders I removed the rotten metal and added filler pieces that would extend them out 2 inches.
The fenders were then welded on and full length running boards were added and flared into the body. The powertrain is the original 1600 dp with 4 speed trans. All brakes and hydraulics have been replaced as well as any worn suspension components. When I was happy with all the body work I applied 3 coats of black enamel then wetsanded for the artwork. My neighbor, Yves Genesee, handled the task of turning my thoughts into reality with his airbrush. Special features include a grenade shifter, machine guns in the front door pockets, self made duck board floors and Iron-Cross tail lights.