Which Rear-Engined Rarity Is Your Pick? 1959 Fiat 600 vs 1973 VW Thing

Happy Friday! Today, instead of the typical Friday runoff, we’re going to look at a new pair of cars, because the week’s contenders just don’t really go together, and I don’t feel like looking back.

We really should look back as far as yesterday, however, just to declare a winner. We looked at two Nissan Sentras that were both set up as race cars, and most of you didn’t like either one of them, it seems. Comment and vote totals were both low, which is a pretty good indication that excitement was low as well.

The final vote was really close, with the ’82 hatchback with some history behind it taking a narrow win. I think that’s the way I’d go as well, assuming I could title and register it for the street. I don’t really have much interest in race cars either, but that Sentra looks surprisingly cool in its stickers and race numbers. And big round driving lights look good on just about any car.

Earlier in the week, you all legitimately surprised me. I showed you a reasonably cheap, reasonably solid, running and driving VW Type 3 Squareback, and it lost. Granted, it lost to a Saab, a marque which remains undefeated, but still, I was surprised. My plan was to pit it against the rest of the week’s losing cars in a second-chance runoff, but I just don’t feel like writing about the same cars over again. So I’ll give you air-cooled VW enthusiasts something new to vote for, and I’ve got an adorable little Italian jellybean for everyone else. Let’s check them out.

1959 Fiat 600 – $5,100

Engine/drivetrain: 767 cubic centimeter OHV inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Yorba Linda, CA

Odometer reading: 14,000 miles

Operational status: Not running, but engine turns over by hand

It’s funny just how insulated car markets around the world are, or were, before the modern era. Nearly five million Fiat 600s rolled out of various factories around the world over the course of three decades, and I think I’ve seen maybe two in person. But I bet the same holds true for the average Italian enthusiast and the Chevy Impala. I’m sure there are a few Impalas floating around Italy, but they have to be as rare and special a sight as this little Fiat is in the US.

Like so many other 1950s European small cars, Renaults and Volkswagens among them, the Fiat 600 is rear-engined and rear-wheel-drive. The standard engine displaces 633 cc, but if I’m understanding right, this one has a larger 767 cc engine from a later 600D. It doesn’t run at the moment, but it does turn freely, so it should be able to be revived. One worrying thing is that there is no cap on the radiator; hopefully it isn’t too corroded inside. The seller seems to know a lot about these cars, and has a stockpile of parts, so they should be able to provide some help getting it going again.

Open this 600’s rear-hinged “suicide door,” and you’re faced with an interior badly in need of restoration. The seats originally had some really cool plaid fabric, but it’s completely worn out. The door panels are missing, as is the lower cushion for the rear seat. I would imagine the soft top needs replacing, too. It can all be fixed up, but you’ve got your work cut out for you if you want to properly restore it. You could also install some other seats, and make your own door cards, of course.

The body is in good shape, though. It looks like it’s about as rust-free as an old Fiat gets. The taillight lenses are missing, but I would imagine you can get them from somewhere. There are some other bits of trim missing as well, but it won’t stop you from having fun with the car once you get it running.

1973 Volkswagen Thing – $7,200

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter OHV flat 4, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Florence, AZ

Odometer reading: Looks like 96,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Looking at a typical Jeep Wrangler in a parking lot today, with its colorful paint and its row of rubber duckies on the dashboard, you’d never know its roots were a strictly untilitarian, no-nonsense miliraty vehicle. Likewise, you’d never know from looking at this car that it started out as a slapped-together stopgap military vehicle for the West German army. In most of the world, it was known as the Type 181, but for two glorious years, it was sold in the US as the Thing.

Mechanically, the Type 181 is more or less a Beetle. It uses the same flat-four engine, and the same torsion bar suspension. I honestly don’t know these engines well enough to tell exactly what this one is, or how much of it is stock, but I’m sure someone will provide all the details in the comments. What I can tell you is that the seller says it runs and drives fine, and that the four-speed transmission shifts smoothly. That’s a pretty good start.

The interior of a Thing makes a modern Jeep look like a Rolls-Royce: steel door panels and dash, vinyl seats, and rubber floor mats. There’s no heater, no instrumentation apart from a speedometer with a fuel gauge in it, and no sound deadening. Luckily this one has a whole rear deck full of speakers to provide a soundtrack besides the VW flat-four burble. Seriously, do you actually need four 6x9s and a couple of tweeters for a car this size? Probably not, but it’s got ’em.

Outside, it’s mostly original, and pretty rough. It has a little rust, and a few mismatched body panels. The seller also has a pair of orange front fenders in good condition that go along with it, which is good, because the fenders on it are bad. There is some good news: it has spectacular aftermarket wheels on it with new tires, and the top is fairly new too.

Good condition examples of either of these cars go for big money. And scruffy examples like these don’t come up very often. Either one of these is a good opportunity for the right person – probably not to restore, but to experience. A faded, rusty example of a car you’ve always wanted is still an opportunity to own one. Why let the Pebble Beach crowd have all the fun?