This is Dawn Weiskirchers’ 1973 Thing Type 181. Gary, her husband took the better part of two years to completely go through the project. Dawn and Gary are long time members of the Boise Thing Group with Gary driving his own yellow Thing daily. Gary has helped many of the other guys with their restorations. We installed his new engine yesterday and burned in the cam.
Note: Click on images to enlarge.
This is our standard platform…..1835CC, counter-weighted crank with an Engle 110 cam and highly modified 34pict3 ‘stock’ Solex.
Tri-mil exhaust has worked super well for us too.
Gary & Dawn opted for the Cyberdyne Digital gauges which really made the interior POP!!
Gary does all the upholstery for the Boise Thing Group………but this interior for Dawn was super and beyond what any shop out in the world could deliver for a reasonable cost. Just stunning !!!
Dawns choice of BRMs was great as well.
The first drive after cam burn in. She smiling or what??
MAN!!!! That Thing glows coming down the street. Great choice of color.
Applause from the other Thing Babes. Mare has her own Thing, Zelda that we just completed last month. Sherry is looking for her own.
What this shows is that YOU can restore your own Thing within a budget and skill level. In the Boise Thing Group we now have collectively done many restorations and they are all to the best quality and performance designs we require. We don’t build Trailer Queens . All these Things participate in our long distance rallyes as well as back-country runs on gravel. There are two more waiting for their turns in the hands of guys like Gary, Andrew , Kai, Brady, Doug, Duke, Larry, and Mike.
Gary will be finished with the bumpers and the steering wheel may be up graded…….depending on what Dawn says
Gary and Brady made this a true Father/Son project for MOM. The best part of the project.
While back in the shop 16 year old Kai replaces the front wheel bearings on his Thing and sets the wheel bearing pre load. Love to see new air-cooled guys coming into the world of computer driven stuff.
Mike Humeston
