I have been searching for a VW Thing to convert to electric. So the engine condition isn’t a huge deal to me. I’ve found one but there’s quite a bit of rust. There are a few places around the wheel well that I know would need to be repaired but it’s solid on the floors etc. can someone tell me what I’m looking at and if this is just a no go? I just hate to pay for one in excellent condition bc I’m going to remove the engine anyways. These suckers are not easy to find!.
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Always look for rust pitting. Rust is always worse than it appears. From the pics, those rocker panels are gone. The floors look ok on the surface but someone could have painted over them. Any rust holes will be worse than they appear at first. Also who knows how much bondo is on that car. Primer and bondo can cover all kinds of issues. I always inspect old cars in person. Tap on the car to see if it is all steel. Plastic filler will have a dead sound. Also look online and see if you can buy replacement panels for spots that are bad. You can make the panels but buying them is easier and sometimes cheaper. Usually old cars rust the worst at the bottom where the water sits inside the doors, fenders, quarters, and rockers
I’m not sure how much weight a VW chassis can support as shown, especially without the pans and body bolted on which create a strong unified structure. Original was only slightly above 2,000 lbs curb weight.
They work on dune buggies because you are stripping about half the weight of the vehicle out. (I’ve built two: first one required cutting in half - suggest have a shop do it to keep it square). Any rust on the central tunnel, which is the backbone, I’d say is not a candidate.
Also, the body takes a lot of the torsional loads and creates stiffness by creating a “box”.
If range isn’t a big issue, just go with less batteries to keep the range to say 120-150 miles which is probably good for daily use and recharging over night.
I assume it will be a rear wheel drive as the front suspension geometry would not be conducive to putting motor in there. Interesting project, but I see a fair amount a stress analysis/engineering going into this as batteries are heavy.
Oh, for those rusted pans, trash 'em. Buy replacements they aren’t that much and you’ll have bolt-in new structure. And save a lot of hours of work.
But a general rule of thumb and life lesson: If your Thing has a lot of rust on it - you’re going to have problems with it working right. 
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Thank you guys for taking the time to respond. You’ve given me a lot to consider!
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The only thing I can add is try it. Failure is my best teacher. And,and maybe you can figure out something no one has considered.
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We have a spot welder to where you can make assemblies for repair. Then you can replace those panels. You can learn hammer forming as well.
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A cursory search suggests that panels are available on the internet. The cost per panel seems to be about $150.
I would suggest that you replace them one at a time, to prevent distortion.
It’s a good sign that you can’t see the road beneath your seat.
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I’ve never been a fan of “structural” floor mats.
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I would say based on pictures it depends on how adventurous you are.
If it was me I would google for VW Thing sheet metal panels and see if anyone in the restoration world is making new sheet metal parts (common in the American Muscle car world). If you are lucky you can find some and maybe repair as needed.
Otherwise there are hours of videos available online and on various TV shows of people repairing rusted out panels. Just takes a little YouTube searching.
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I know this is “reviving” an old thread for some, but as a European Gearhead, and current VW Thing owner among other models…I’ll throw in a few things here.
Does your 1973 Thing pictured - still have the gasoline heater in the boot ?
Replacement floor pan halves for a Thing have not been $150 since the hell froze last. Poor quality Beetle pans can still be found for close to that price but they are made from .02 thing steel and really don’t fit anything well at all, but hey with a big hammer and snips…
Beetle pans are NOT the same as Thing Pans - the “closest” is the Karmann Ghia pan - those are out there but again you get what you pay for. If you want really good sheat metal for a Thing the folks at the Thing Shop in Chandler Arizona are the folks to see - are they cheap? cheap is relative.
Gerson might offer Thing floor pans - his company is KlassicFab - he makes some of the best VW metal out there. I’ve use his metal on Vintage VW Busses.