VW Kubelwagen replica price

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I stopped at a good friends house last week, a fellow German WW2 enthusiast. Ive heard stories from him about his Kubelwagen, and finally decided to take a look at it. First of all this isn't a 100% WW2 era vehicle, its made using a 70s era VW "thing" But it does have many components on it that are original WW2. A lot of work has been done on this vehicle to make it look the part, and I have to say I love it. I believe the last time he drove it was about 6-7 years ago, and unfortunately its been sitting in a barn during that time. He told me the rats eat all the wiring out of it over the years, and it will need to be replaced. Here are the only two pics I have of it, sorry I didn't take more. It isn't everyday you find one of these in a Texas barn, I was so exited I only took these pics LoL. He told me he would be willing to sell it to me, because he knows hes not going to mess with it again. He hasn't shot me a price yet, and im guessing he is waiting on me to throw out an offer. Any ideas on what this would go for? Im drawing blanks on coming up with a price. Any estimates you can give will be greatly appreciated.


Best regards- Jarret

[Walkwolf]

I was considering doing this to a VW 'Thing' once upon a time.

Problem with this is that it's not either vehicle as it sits, and
looks to be in questionable condition, even though a fair
amount of work has gone into it. It will require
even more.........

[TrondK]

If you manage to make it look 100% like a ww2 piece then it should be doable to rent/sell to reenactors and or movie producers. I have no knowledge around what a price would be for something like that, since thise is more like a novelty for those with money to flush on big toys.

[Sarge]

Don't know what the rear end looks like, but the front end is not even close to a Kubel!
I did a similar conversion to a 73 Thing. It still didn't look right when compared to an original, but it was as close as I was willing to spend $$$ on.
There is almost NO likely hood that any movie company would be interested in this vehicle since it is so far from an original!
Here it is in war time Lw camo next to the CAFs JU 52 in Texas many years ago.
I now have a replica Kubelwagon that is about 95% correkt. I have rented it out for couple of movies over the years.
Sarge

[Watchdog]

I was considering doing this to a VW 'Thing' once upon a time.

Problem with this is that it's not either vehicle as it sits, and
looks to be in questionable condition, even though a fair
amount of work has gone into it. It will require
even more.........

I concur! The best answers have already been given above but to add volume; I wouldn't be inclined to bother to be fair.

As stated, this vehicle does no more than bear a resemblance to a Kubelwagen and will never convince anyone with the right "eye" even from a distance, The lines are just not right. Also from these two pics and the owners description of the damage (rats will have gnawed on more than the wiring I fear), it looks like what we in UK would describe as "a bit of a shed".

You need to decide what you want to achieve with it. If it is to display alongside authentic gear, forget it. If it is just to "look the part" as some image builder / window dressing as your own ride when visiting shows etc then maybe, but, it will be a "money pit" for sure!

If you really want one like this I would suggest looking to start with one in far better condition. Even if your friend gave you this one it would still end up costing you a great deal in cash and sweat.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear but as fellow collectors we have a duty to act as a "handbrake" when a colleague gets the collectors equivalent of "beer goggles"

If this is what you want to do then you may have fun with it. Just make sure you appreciate what you will have to put in and what the likely returns are.

Either way let us know which way you go

Regards

Mark

[earlymb]

I agree with the above. It's OK as a fun vehicle, but too far off the real thing to be usable for re-enactment or filmwork.

[BlackCat1982]

A friend of mine recently sold an original 1943 kdf 82 for £36000. So this one is going to be far below that.

[stuka f]

The 181 VW are starting to fetch high(er!) prices over here.
So converting one to something that doesn't even look close to a wartime one, wouldn't be the best idea.
Just my opinion.
I still have one to restore, and I certainly would go for the original option.
......If I ever got to it.....

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Thank you all for your valuable opinions!! I greatly appreciate it!! Some VERY valid points were made here. 1- It doesn't look the part of a original war time Kubelwagen. 2- A lot of work will have to go into it before its ready for the road again. 3- who knows what else the rats messed up in it. I wanted it for a personal vehicle to drive around my families property in the hill country, thought it would be cool to mount my k98 in it as I drove LoL. So It really wouldn't be for show, just personal amusement. After considering all the factors, ill have to think a bit on a fair price for it. I would love to get a great deal, but I also wouldn't want to insult him. Ill remind him that I will have to put a great deal of cash into it after buying it from him too. So "IF" I do buy it, it will be a project that will sit for a good amount of time. Once again, I would like to thank you all for giving your honest opinions on this VW thing/Kubelwagen. I now have a better idea of what im dealing with here, and can try to make a deal according to factors you all pointed out.

Best regards- Jarret