New guy doing it the wrong way

[fullup12]

Hey guys (and gals). My name is Don and this ain't my first vw or buggy but I'm new to this forum.I thought I would show you how not to build a buggy. I bought a complete non-running Dune buggy from Oklahoma after having a relative look at it for me. I got it home and realized that it needed A LOT more work and parts than I thought. I got a good deal on a Berrien frame so I figured I would move all my components to that. It seems that I didn't have nearly as many good parts to move to the new pan as I thought, so basically I will reuse the transaxle from the original buggy. During this process I found a better body so now I will be using the transaxle,headlights, taillights and shifter from the original buggy. The front beam is being replaced with a rebuilt adjustable one just in case you thought I was smart enough to reuse the one I have.

[IMG]

[Brock12]

looking good
where do you live?

[fullup12]

I'm in Red Oak, just south of Dallas.

[Jim B]

Looks like you got off to about the same kind of start that I did. I am new to buggies & VW and didn't know where to look for problems. It started and drove pretty good other than no 3rd gear. The more I looked the more problems I found and now the body is off & doing a rebuild. I'll know what to look for next time.LOL Your's is looking good.

Good Luck,
Jim B

[BrianB]

It's good to see another Berrien chassied buggy being built. We'll have to compare notes as we build them

[Bryan Porter]

I also have a Berrien frame and I like it
its nice and rigid.

[fullup12]

Jim, I've been watching your posts and on the plus side, you got a complete car so you have a good parts source if nothing else. This is my second dune buggy and trust me it will be worth it when you're done. Brian and Bryan, I've got some questions I would like to bounce off you guys but this may not be the best place to ask them???

[Jim B]

fullup12- I do have a lot of the basics that are needed. The body only has one little crack (front fender) about 1-2" long. It has a really good running 73 DP 1600 engine, so I guess I need to quit griping & go to work on it.LOL This is going to be a really fun little project. I should have found this hobby a long time ago, it beats the heck out of bending over under a hood of a hotrod or climbing up under the hood of a truck. Got a few honey-dos to catch up on & then back to the buggy.

Jim B