Torchinsky DEFCON 1: VW Hormiga for sale in the US

"tapzz" (tapzz) 05/21/2015 at 12:41 • Filed to: VW Hormiga, basistransporter

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An incredibly crude, old, weird, aircooled VW truck that’s very rare, over here and available in peachy condition. I think we just found Jason’s new ride.

In case you don’t know what a VW Hormiga is, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I know that’s where I first I heard of it.

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For the lazy of click, it’s the Mexican version of the VW Basistransporter, a very basic truck sold in CKD kit form for assembly in various developing countries in the ‘70s.

Crude? It’s a welded square tube frame with flat steel panels bolted on.

Old? made somewhere between ‘75 and ‘79

Weird? It’s front wheel drive yet:

Aircooled VW? yep- plain vanilla 1600cc Type I VW flat-four

Rare? one of 500 left, apparently

Over here? El Paso, TX

Available? $11k or near offer

Also: wooden stake bed to keep those sculptures in check. Perfect.

Find it here at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 12:47

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Its fwd because the bed disallowed for the engine in the rear. Looks to be backward on a vw chassis

tapzz > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 05/21/2015 at 12:49

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Pretty much, though Beetles had a back bone chassis, not a ladder frame:

XJDano > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 12:58

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More interested the the yellow caddy next to it.

Coty > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 12:59

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Gimmie.

HammerheadFistpunch > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 13:00

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We are at TORCHCON 1 people!

tapzz > HammerheadFistpunch 05/21/2015 at 13:09

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Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 13:25

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Considering that there is no appreciable attempt to ‘style’ this vehicle, I wonder how difficult it would be to throw one of these together with basic sheet metal tools? A couple of grand in parts and resell it for $11K? It might become a bit suspicious when there are more than 500 prowling the streets...

kanadanmajava1 > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 14:19

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In Finland we had own version called Teijo. Around 100 were produced (in ‘75-’76) and most remained in Finland. They are quite rare but some still pop up up in local gatherings. The name came from the town were the factory was located. The cabin is made out of fiberglass.

tapzz > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/21/2015 at 15:33

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Hmmm. That is a fair point. The only part that I can think of that isn’t either readily available, or that you can’t make yourself from some tubing and sheet metal, is the transaxle. Maybe they used a Golf, Passat or Polo part for that back then?

tapzz > kanadanmajava1 05/21/2015 at 15:50

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That cab at least looks a lot more windproof- which is a nice thing to have in a Finnish winter.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 15:50

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From what I remember reading, on these transaxles (and on ones from a 911), if you flip the ring gear to the opposite side of the pinion you can reverse the output. This is why a lot of kit cars with V8 conversions use Porsche gearboxes in a mid-engine configuration via this simple ring gear change. Same thing with Formula V racers (mid engine/RWD using Beetle components). By doing this same technique on the Hormiga you can take a rear engine/RWD powertrain and convert it to front engine/FWD using all the same components. Simple, effective and dirt-cheap.

tapzz > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/21/2015 at 15:55

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Wow, never thought it’d be that simple. Next point would be the front suspension, but I guess that the power outputs are so modest that using an existing Beetle front end with some CV joints might do the trick.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 16:03

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I’ve always wondered if this pinion trick was planned by the engineers back in the ‘40s or if it was just a happy accident. If they did plan it I would have to say that it was an amazing amount of foresight.

kanadanmajava1 > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 16:09

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And in 70’s that looked pretty modern. The heater probably worked a lot better than in the original Beetle setup.

tapzz > kanadanmajava1 05/21/2015 at 16:16

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Indeed, not least because you’re sat on top of the engine!

Jason Torchinsky > tapzz 05/21/2015 at 22:14

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Holy crap! Amazing. It's insane that I almost think the price makes sense for something so dazzlingly crude.

tapzz > Jason Torchinsky 05/22/2015 at 05:57

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That’d make an interesting series of articles: can you make a Basistransporter under a shady tree for less than $12K? As long as it doesn’t need to be a perfect replica, I think you probably could.

Canut > tapzz 06/29/2016 at 17:40

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My dad had one of those for his business. They used to transport polyurethane blocks and pipes. A lot of volume / low weight. By 1989 has abandoned in a corner of the plant. I fixed it; new wipers mechanism, new upholstery, controls stalk and new tires. We exchanged it plus some cash for my first car, a 1983 VW Jetta (Atlantic in Mexico).