Garage fire turns VW Thing into 700hp frankencar
Published on Jul 07, 2022 at 9:29 AM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on Jul 13, 2022 at 3:05 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This bizarre-looking creation is a mashup between a Nissan GT-R and a VW Thing.
When Tim Schmidt’s GT-R was burned in a backyard fire, he couldn’t bear to say goodbye to it.
So when firefighters were able to start the engine, it was music to his ears and he knew he had to salvage what he could.
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That was the beginning of the weird and wonderful frankencar known as the GT-R Thing.
To help him create the “crazy cruiser”, Schmidt reached out to his friend Stony from OddBallStony.
Stony, an auto genius from Toronto, got stuck in and started the process of merging the Nissan GT-R with the 1974 VW.
Ultimately, he needed to take the driveline out of the 2013 GT-R and stuck it in the VW Thing.
In order to do this, he “cut the hell out of the GT-R” to make it fit.
“I expect to get a lot of hate mail, but it’s going to be fun,” he said.
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Then he needed to remove all the body panels and unbolt everything from the GT-R.
It was almost completely rusted out, but he salvaged what he could.
Then he went to town cutting the Thing to make room for its new engine.
And because the GT-R was wider than the VW, this was no easy feat.
Stony then went to work rebuilding the dash, molding as many parts of the GT-R as he could inside the VW.
He also completely removed the door posts and reattached them to transform the Thing into a 2-door.
After all that, and so much more, the VW Thing now had a 700hp V6 twin-turbo engine under the hood.
While most of the project was now complete, even the paint job, Stony still wanted to add a few finishing touches.
He plans to add upholstery and also a convertible top – all totally custom.
This ‘Thing’ already looks epic, so we can’t wait to see the finished product.
Speaking of weird and wonderful creations, check out the Supercar Blondie team’s Soapbox at this year’s Red Bull Race.
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Kate Bain is the Page Editor at supercarblondie.com. She is based in Dubai and coordinates coverage of the latest news across automotive, technology, and lifestyle. Kate has a bachelor's degree in business and post graduate in journalism. She is an experienced editor and journalist who has worked for News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. When she's not at work, you'll find her attached at the hip to her dog, Thor.
