By Rolando Zapata
On the first day of opening season for Cars & Coffee at the Newburgh Mall to be held every other Sunday, I had a chance to speak with James Currier Sr. James, a Vietnam veteran 68-69 and is retired from the City of Beacon Highway Department. He is the owner of a 1973 Volkswagen Type 181, also known in the United States as “Thing”. James told me that he purchased his car a year ago from an Estate sale in Ulster County. The car was a barn find as he explained. He said that the car sat for years in a garage unmolested. James told me that he had to replace the engine with a 1972 air-cooled 46 horsepower 1600cc Flat-Four motor. Other than that, the car is all original. The exterior is a grayish / silver color, but the color code is called “Marathon Blue Metallic”. The 181 was manufactured so the interior could be hosed out. The windshield folds flat. It has a 4-speed manual transmission.
An interesting note regarding the Thing. In 1973 Ralph Nader pushed to stop imports of the Volkswagen Type 181 because it failed to meet U.S. safety standards. Volkswagen stopped importing them to the U.S. after 1974. Only approximately 25,000 units made it to the U.S. in that time frame.
I asked James what his best and worst times with his Volkswagen were. He told me that his best moment was when he got the “Thing” running. He said his worst moments were when he was changing the engine. I asked him who he like cruising with, what music did he enjoyed cruising with and if he owned any other classics cars. He advised that he loves cruising with his wife and kids and that he enjoys going to the Highland Car Cruise hosted by the Dutchess Cruisers every Saturday night to be with friends and family. James said that he loves cruising to the sounds of Country music. He said that he owns four other classics, a 1959 Chevy Pick-up, a 1946 Plymouth Coupe, a 1970 VW and a 1947 Ford Rat Rod.
Specifications: Original Base Price $3150, 140,000 units built from 1969-1980, only approximately 25,000 imported to the U.S., 0-60mph in 23 seconds, Wheelbase 94.5 inches, Length 148.8 inches, Curb Weight 2006 lbs.