Teach me about DUNE BUGGIES

[aigel]

I'd like a cheap street legal presmog open air 4 wheel vehicle that's cheap and easy to work on and that I could beat around locally ... saw a really nice buggy on a trailer the other day and was wondering ... how about a 70s style buggy with fiberglass body with metallic paint? What do I need to know before I dive in??? Any good forums out there? The Samba?

Cheers,

G

Manks Style Baja Buggy 4cyl

[aigel]

TheSamba.com :: VW Classifieds - VW Ocelot 1 Dunebuggy

Lol!

[crustychief]

Very simple cars. An actual Manx body is getting hard to find these days. There are two wheelbases for those, The short wheelbase had the builder cut a section of floorpan out. Make sure the weld wasn't done by a drunk with a crappy welder. Look on the floor behind the seat for a v shaped weld across the width of the car. Everything else is pretty much bug parts.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by aigel

TheSamba.com :: VW Classifieds - VW Ocelot 1 Dunebuggy

Lol!

Is that street legal?

Don't worry, I do not have $5000 burning a hole in my pocket.

[Dan J]

One thing you should think of is these thing have absolutely no structural integrity,
no crash protection whatsoever. I came upon a crash with one of these that was a very low speed low impact event where the driver was killed because the Corolla just decimated the thing. They're really not safe. Sorry to be a wet blanket

[Don Plumley]

My dad made one in the late 60's. VW pan, cut out 13", green metallic fiberglass body. Large tractor tires on the rear on modified VW rims. His craftsmanship was amazing.

There are no rear seats - I used to sit in it unrestrained as he tooled around SoCal freeways. Lucky not to be a red streak on the pavement in retrospect.

I took it to college for a while as a fun car.

He still has it in the garage with probably less than 10K miles on the engine...

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Dan J

One thing you should think of is these thing have absolutely no structural integrity,
no crash protection whatsoever. I came upon a crash with one of these that was a very low speed low impact event where the driver was killed because the Corolla just decimated the thing. They're really not safe. Sorry to be a wet blanket

I saw a picture of one that had rolled on the freeway. It had a rollbar, and the buggy ended up upside down - with the feet of the rollbar sticking up through the pan.

[aigel]

Man, I may have to switch it to a Chrysler LeBaron?

That ocelot thing is awesome.

Georg

[onewhippedpuppy]

Seems like you'd be better off with a sandrail. You still get the VW drivetrain but with a tube chassis and roll cage. Throw on lights and seatbelts and you're street legal. Plus you can pop wheelies at will.

Or just get one of these:



There was a nice one in my area for $8k a while back.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Seems like you'd be better off with a sandrail. You still get the VW drivetrain but with a tube chassis and roll cage. Throw on lights and seatbelts and you're street legal. Plus you can pop wheelies at will.

Or just get one of these:



There was a nice one in my area for $8k a while back.

Caterham 7? That would be so nice that I'd have to track it!

G

[Paul K]

How about a Mini Moke?

[ckissick]

This.

[aigel]

The Baja Bug would be fun but I need open top.

The safety concern really has me worried on the dune buggy now ...

Are Sandrails street legal in CA?

G

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by aigel

The Baja Bug would be fun but I need open top.

The safety concern really has me worried on the dune buggy now ...

Are Sandrails street legal in CA?

G

No.

[IdeNoreen]

There are two wheelbases for those

[Joe Bob]

75 911 Targa made into a cabriolet.....

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by aigel

The Baja Bug would be fun but I need open top.


G

This one is sort of open top.

[Joe Bob]

I have a friend with a 74 "Thing"....He's in Orange CA.

[scottmandue]

[URY914]