VW Pingo of Uruguay

[Kubelmann]

I have been contacted by a guy in Uraguay. He is restoring a VW Pingo. This is an all plastic/fiberglass body based on the shape of a VW Thing. It has a 1300 cc ac VW motor front disc brakes...




Pretty cool looking... K-mann

[Bucko]

All plastic/fiberglass bodies? Cool! No rust problems.

Are these bodies available today?

[Kubelmann]

http://www.geocities.com/autosuruguayos/vwpingo.html


Paste the url above into the babblefish translater web site at

http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr if you have any trouble reading the VW Pingo web site in Spanish. Select from Spanish to English. Click on Translate and it will come up in English. Some of the data is not totally correct. This web page shows a total of 12 Pingos being produced while Gustavo from Uruguay says the production numbers are somewhere around 60. In Uruguay in the 70s a number of cars were designed for the public market (not for export) based on cars from other countries' automotive market. How cool would it be if the molds for the Pingo body still existed?

[ztnoo]

Pingo....interesting vehicle. Narrower at the fenders, two doors.
K-mann, inquire if your new acquaintance can supply you with more pics, especially of his restoration.

If one clicks on the back arrow in the left column of the Pingo web page, it takes you to a review of some other interesting South American vehicles.
I had no idea of the extent of diversity in this market in the way of light trucks and suv type vehicles.
Particularly interesting looking to me is the Renault Roundup and the Citroen Ranger/Mehari.
Seems to me PJ Macua has one of these in his stable of vehicles, or something very close to it

Vehicular diversity on the global scale is pretty amazing.

[Kubelmann]

Aside for the Mehari there is also the GM Opel Indiana which gave the Mehari a run for its money interms of poplarity in the
Uruguian market. The same guy that designed the tow mentioned above also designed the Pingo. My new found friend Gustavo has promised to not only join in and post on this forum, he also has promised to send bunches of photos of his resto and other Pingo images. I still wnat to fidn a Pingo body to bring to run on a tube frame down the beach at my place on the Sea of Cortez. Fiberglass body sealed tube frame. Stock Thing suspension and running gear... No rust issues, no worries. A trailer hitch on the back to pull the kayaks and Pongos into the water. Then cruise down the beach to The Bay of Sanfranciscito.. K-mann

[pjmacua]

Particularly interesting looking to me is the Renault Roundup and the Citroen Ranger/Mehari.
Seems to me PJ Macua has one of these in his stable of vehicles, or something very close to it

Hello

My parents owned a Citroen Mehari in the early 80's.

It was a fun car, but only during the summer: light car, good ground clearance, soft top removable,...

There is a club in France for this car. Their website is http://www.mehariclubdefrance.com/

Regards
Pierre-J MACUA
www.181spirit.com

[gusrodnic]

I am Gustavo from Uruguay, I am so glad you guys are interested on the Pingo. I was very lucky to find one, and as K-mann said, I am restoring it completely. I just posted a picture of it when just purchased. It looks practically exactly as the thing except from the 2-doors. As the body is made of plastic and fiber-glass it is rust-free, although the floor is metalic and vulnerable. I am replacing it with a new one, and doing some work to fix scratches in the body. I also have pictures of the Citroen Mehari, for those who would like to see it.

Gus

[ztnoo]

Gus,
You sent me the Pingo picture, but I don't see it posted anywhere else on this web site.
Thanks for sending it to me.
Try posting it to the site.
I want to see Mehari pics too.
Send me all you have by personal email

Looking forward to seeing detailed pictures of your Pingo project.

Regards from the North,
Steve

[markie61]

Steve,
If Gus can't post it, can you? I'm actually kind of anxious to see the Pingo from another view. I love these oddball multi-purpose vehicles - that's why I have a Thing!
Speaking of which, I was watching the end of 007's "Living Daylights" where they escape from a crashing plane using a jeep-like vehicle. Anyone know what it is?
Mark
PS Or you can foward the pic to me and I can post it...
PPS And "welcome" Gus! Glad you are here!

[ztnoo]

Pingo from Uruguay
Gustavo Rodriguez's Pingo prior to restoration.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/249567.jpg

[gusrodnic]

Many thanks Steve for posting the picture of my Pingo, if you don't mind I will send you pictures of the Citroen Mehari in a couple of days so that you can post them. I will also have a few of my Pingo's restoring process, but I guess that will be not so interesting to you.

[markie61]

Wow - that is a good look. I thought it would look awkward with only 2 doors, but it is very balanced.

I will also have a few of my Pingo's restoring process, but I guess that will be not so interesting to you.

Wrong guess! We are ALWAYS interested in restoration pictures!



Mark

[ztnoo]

Gustavo,
I agree totally with Mark on this point.
Please send us all you have...with all the little stuff you are discovering in the restoration.... particularly areas that are different from a Thing on your Pingo.

btw.....the doors look longer front to rear, than on a Thing..
Please measure your door length and let us know what it is for comparative purposes.

I also would like see any Mehari pics you have.

Thanks,
Steve

[surferdudedav]

just something about fiberglass that does go well w/ me..... i guess cuz it doesnt rust.. lol.. but i think its cool!

[Penelopesbythesea]

Your Pingo is beautiful! I would like a front roll bar like yours & would like to see a picture of the hitch on the car- if you still are on this forum 13 yrs later