Dune Buggies

kmhemi · 10-16-2008, 11:36 AM

Anyone mess with dune buggies? I'm considering building a fiberglass body dune buggy just for an easy project and tinker toy. I might change my mind but it seems like it might be a fun project. They have full tube steel frames now. You dont have to have a donor VW anymore.

Rick V · 10-16-2008, 11:48 AM

This belongs to a fellow Pelican. I don't think he will mind me posting it. It is powered by a 2.4 MFI. I still want to run something over with it. Very bada$$

kmhemi · 10-16-2008, 11:57 AM

Wow that thing is awesome. We arent allowed to run rail buggies on the street here in WV so I was thinking a fiberglass body so it could be driven on the road and off road as well. (being careful not to break the fiberglass)...this is the kit I am considering.

Rick V · 10-16-2008, 12:58 PM

I thought you were allowed to run anything on that side of the mountains.

Howdy neighbor

kmhemi · 10-16-2008, 01:34 PM

Howdy Neighbor !!
Nah they are jerks over here. We have to have full fenders, no open wheels at all not even on trailers. we have a seatbelt law too. Our biggest pain in the a$$ is our annual motor vehicle inspection sticker...they even check for a cat converter...so I might have to title it before 87 or whatever makes it exempt.
Thats is why I was considering the glass body on a dune buggy. thats the only way I can run one here.

daepp · 10-17-2008, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick V

This belongs to a fellow Pelican. I don't think he will mind me posting it. It is powered by a 2.4 MFI. I still want to run something over with it. Very bada$$

Rick - any more photos you could share or point us to. I'd love to see the MFI motor in the back of that rail!

gtc · gtc's Garage

How about a Tow'd? The car that maimed Bruce Meyers...
I saw this one at a car show this summer. The owner had just finished restoring it.

Oh yeah, and it's street legal, though the owner says it gets floaty at speed.

pwd72s · 10-17-2008, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmhemi

Wow that thing is awesome. We arent allowed to run rail buggies on the street here in WV so I was thinking a fiberglass body so it could be driven on the road and off road as well. (being careful not to break the fiberglass)...this is the kit I am considering.

The classic Meyers Manx style...I love 'em! Corvair & VW power were both popular back in the day...

scottmandue · 10-17-2008, 10:27 AM

I also would like to have a Manx... when I looked on ebay to get an idea on prices they were a bit higher than I expected.

pwd72s · 11:05 AM

Nothin' fun is cheap these days...this one would probably cost you as much as the $7,500 asking price to build:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volkswagen-Beetle-Classic-Voltswagon-VW-Manx-Meyers-Dune-Buggy_W0QQitemZ290268302402QQcmdZViewItem?hash=ite m290268302402&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Rick V · 10-17-2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daepp

Rick - any more photos you could share or point us to. I'd love to see the MFI motor in the back of that rail!

I wish I did have some more. The fellow goes by "cire" here. I havn't seen or heard from him in a while, but if you can catch up with him, I am sure he would have lots of shots, and current info. That pic is like 3 years old.

kmhemi · 10-17-2008, 11:41 AM

I kinda figured everyone would flame me for buliding one ...they really arent that costly to build. The complete body shell is $1099 bucks and the full tube steel chassis with floor pan is another $1099.. for another $325 they will powder coat it.

pwd72s · 10-17-2008, 01:50 PM

engine, trans, brakes, electrics, lights, etc...all these "bits" add up...the "roller" is the cheap stuff.

dheinz · 10-17-2008, 01:57 PM

Michael...

Jared at Pelican Parts · 10-17-2008, 02:22 PM

I've built a Manx replica as well as a few Baja bugs. I also used to have a sandrail with a Ford Pinto engine in it. From my own experience, the Bajas were much easier/cheaper to build. Basically, new fenders/hood and some suspension work.The replica I built needed floor pan mods, new wiring, fiberglass fitting, suspension

You planning to use a VW drivetrain?

kmhemi · 10-17-2008, 02:50 PM

Yes, I was planning on using all the VW drive train. I think I might have located a complete bug with engine and trans for a donor car
I could either shorten the pan and use it or build it on one of these tube frames
If I had the complete bug it would save me alot of misc cost and give me a title to work with.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

pookie · 10-17-2008, 06:38 PM

Kmhemi--that WV inspection sucks. We were in WV for 19 months and it was 19 months too long. With that said if your turn signals and windsheild washer work, you'll pass. They just look for a cat, they don't put sniffer on it.

Couldn't you build a rail and then put a sheet metal body on it like the one in dheinz pics?

Would one in URY914's top three pics be eligible for SCCA autocross or rally event's? That thing is bad arse.

And now for a hijack, is a regular rail buggy eligible for SCCA autocross and rally events?

johnco · 10-17-2008, 06:53 PM

Built my first one at 15 to teach myself how to weld. cut 3' from VW pan, bent and welded rolls bars, cut inside lips from 2 rims, welded them together for extra wide wheels and started tearing up the canefields. had to tow my 4yr old brother to jump start the engine since I didn't have a starter. welded an extra pully onto main pully with a notch for a pull rope. worked great for a while until my weld broke and I got a pulley to the face cranking it one day. I've built 8-10 or more since and still have 3 or 4 behind my shop. I even have a single seater with reduction gears I never finished. I had a fiberglass one like above pics but it just wasn't built for places I would go. we don't have "dunes", but we had cypress knees and small trees to bulldoze over, swamp and wooded areas so thick you were driving blind I made trails thru and canals and levees to jump. much more fun driving at night with lights off. I got bored thru the years waiting for others to catch up or even follow me most times, so one day I just parked them and quit. hard to stop these things though. lost a v belt one night.. used a piece of rope to make a replacement. center carbon in dist cap broke, replaced with gum wrapper and kept going. lost a plug wire in the dark. found rusty piece of baling wire, stuck in cap and twisted around plug and I keep going, only with a light show in back. put a rod or two thru the case and still drove it out of the mud before my motor quit. flipped my homemade Baja Bug 4 wheels up on my first ride.. rolled it back over, kicked out the windshield and kept going. we got one stuck so bad all you could see was the carb and header sticking out of the mud.. pulled it out, cleaned off as much mud as possible and away we go. put a tooth thru my lip more than once hitting trees and stumps. we've put these things in places no 4 x 4 could ever hope to go. passed a couple 3 wheelers one day that had to stop the because the undergrowth was so thick. no problem! I just knocked down trees and cypress knees, plowed thru briar patches and palmettos and made my own trails. years of thrashing the canefields and only once did someone have to visit the ER. something about not following my directions, hitting a ditch straight on instead of at an angle, smashing his throat against the steering wheel and face against the windshield as he buried the bumper in the dirt. 40 mph-instant dead stop. quite funny watching him wheeze and bleed but had to bring him in as the tunnel vision came on..

daepp · 10-20-2008, 07:56 AM

Great stories John. Where in LA are you? I just spent a week in Laplace.