A Thing Like No Other – Ron Jones Garage Combines a VW Thing with Porsche Performance
The VW Thing was the U.S. name for the company’s Type 181 model, a four-door utility vehicle with roots dating back to the mid-1950s. It was originally created for the German army as a multi-purpose vehicle and borrowed components from VW parts bins. Civilian sales began in 1971, and the darn Thing was built until 1983, with about 90,000 produced for different markets worldwide. In the U.S., though, it was sold for just two years: 1973 and 1974.
The aggressive-looking ’73 Thing you see before you is the result of four-plus years of custom fabrication by Colorado-based Ron Jones Garage. Acquired eight years ago at an auction by car dealer Roger Weibel, he thought this Thing would be fun to display it at his VW store. “I looked at it one day and it was so homely, I called Ron and said, ‘Let’s make this Thing as cool as possible’” Roger says. “Then I got out of the way.”
Ron Jones and his team are busy builders these days, but we connected with he and son Gunnison to learn more about this off-road Teutonic Jeepster. “The idea was to build an AWD Thing that Porsche might have created back in the ’60s,” they told us. With that sort of Baja vibe identified, the Jones’ talented team rolled up their sleeves and got to it.
They started with a custom tube frame utilizing an off-road-friendly, long-travel suspension with Fox coil-over shocks, then stuffed in a 300-horsepower, 3.2-liter flat-six engine from a 930 Porsche and an all-wheel-drive system pieced together from sibling 996 and 997 911s. Custom-machined components and one-off parts abound on the chassis, and it all touches down on terra firma with 18-inch Porsche-style wheels custom machined by Curtis Speed, Alcon brakes, and all-terrain Mickey Thompson tires.
The body was rusty as found, so hours of fabrication work were invested to fabricate an exoskeleton with cut-down doors that could be attached to the custom frame. The sheet metal was eventually sprayed in a Glasurit Porsche hue called Gulf Blue and fitted with custom-machined headlight housings, taillights, exhaust outlets, and other trim.
In the cockpit, it’s all about old-school German cool and minimalist style. The plaid seats and custom, Porsche-flavored steering wheel shine here, not to mention the custom dash and multiple textures and finishes on the exposed mechanical elements.
Ron Jones Garage succeeded in its goal of making this Thing both cool and potent and has been rewarded with the Engineering Achievement Award at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show, a 2025 SEMA Battle of the Builders Top Four finish, and a Top Five finalist nod for the Goodguys BASF Most Bitchin’ honor. That’s certainly some-Thing to be proud of.
Photos: John Jackson, Damon Lee
