Texas Manx Club

by **Old Buggy** » 27 Thu Sep, 2007 10:41 am

hello from maryland!

been wanting a buggy forever, and I have decided to get/biuld one.

I know thier biult on a bug chassis, what should I look for???
I can get a 68 for about 400-500 dollars right near me. I know I 'll need to cut it down. what are the credical parts that are sometimes bad on a bug. are the pans repo'd and a good fit?

would I be better off to wait a just buy one dune????

any buggy guy out this way???

thanks

Will

by **MURZ** » 27 Thu Sep, 2007 12:53 pm

My advice is to buy a titled/registered buggy that is running and driving....but looks bad. Remove the body, restore the chassis, suspension, drivetrain etc and then plop a brand new body down on the chassis. Most economical and time saving way to do it.

ebay, the samba, and craigslist are all good sources for donors.

Also if you can, buy a 69-up chassis for the ball joint, IRS suspension. Parts are easier to come by.

by **Old Buggy** » 27 Thu Sep, 2007 1:14 pm

thanks! I'll keep an eye out, everything on ebay is out west at shipping is a killer 1600.00 .
I'll pass on those 68's.

thanks again !

Will

by **Aquabuggy** » 27 Thu Sep, 2007 2:34 pm

If the 68 has an autostick trans then it is IRS.

by **blackthree4me** » 27 Thu Sep, 2007 7:44 pm

welcome oldbuggy

glade to have you!
ahh the decsion. to build or buy :?:

that is a decision you must make for yourself
my story is I bought an old buggy, rebuilt what was there, had fun, sold it.
took moey from sale, bought another buggy.
took it all apart and built what I wanted.
the problem was I paid for a car I dient use.
I took it all apart and only used the body and break pedals
basicly building a new car from scratch. could have done without the running car.

its not that hard but it does take time and patience.
how much do you want to spend?
how soon do you want to be driving?
do you have the skills tools and place to build for no less than a year
it can be done sooner but lets be realistic.
do your research and make some decisions
if you decide to buy one an fix it up great we can help
if you decide to build one Great we can help
the choice is yours based on your situation

here is some good reading for starters

this come from a memeber that has gon on to VW buses but it is one of the best total sheets I have seen to date thanks fracdog

http://www.fracdog.netfirms.com/pricelist.htm

enjoy and post away
the only dumb question is the one you dont ask
blackthree4me

by **Old Buggy** » 28 Fri Sep, 2007 1:20 pm

well money is always an issue.
I have most tool needed I think. I've reored a 67 camaro and have biult and race several dirt cars over the years. I currently have a 55 chevy dirt car that I am restoring to race next year. We are getting a vintage motor home in the coming weeks and and it a prefect to have a buggy to tote behind.

if redoing and old buggy is cheaper but more work I can deal with that.
although I have seen some for about 4k ready to good.
only got about a grand right now, side work is slow

some of my projects
http://community.webshots.com/user/fastorange67

by **blackthree4me** » 28 Fri Sep, 2007 4:52 pm

With your qualifications you should easily be able to build a buggy
and its always cheaper to do it your self.
my two cents is you build your buggy instead of buying one.

We can start on what style you like?
There are hundreds of differant body styles with esintialy the same chassie.
So find a body you like or go with the new body for starters
new bodys come from a couple places,
Closest to you would be Bearin buggys
we are lucky here in Texas with two body makers.
Texas Buggys as well as Hawkeye buggys both contributors to the site and dang good folks to boot (see sponsors page)

as the guys stated before chassies come in two tyles
old and new.
old chassies are VW based and will do fine for most street and trail riding
old chassies also can be broken down into swing axil or IRS
IRS is preferd for its handiling and ease of seting up its stance.

new chassies are being built by several folks right now including the above mentioned and can be built to do what ever you mind and pocket book can stand

a doner bug is recomended as it realy speeds up the parts hunt if you intened to buld a stock buggy.
DONT BUY A super Bettle MCpherson struts they are not for buggys
most beetle parts even after 40 years are in usable shape and can be cleaned up inspected and refurbished with new parts if required.
parts for VWs are readily available and quality depends on what you buy.

so that ought to give you and Idea of the next set of decisions that have to be made.
Once you get those down we can move forward.
Do your research on the net to help you make the decisions
some light reading is in order.
http://dune-buggy.com/buggytalk/index.cgi
http://www.manxclub.com/
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/
http://www.dunebuggyarchives.com/groups ... 0Shoemaker
and the endless VW type forum sites.
the above 4 sites alone could take you months to read thru :shock:

LOL

and above all
the Texas Manx club
you will not find any nicer folks on the planet
Blackthree4me

by **MURZ** » 29 Sat Sep, 2007 5:36 am

There is a see saw with buggies. On one side you have time, on the other money. No time....better have some money. No money.....better have some time.

But......I would say just to get on the see saw you need at least 3-4 thousand...minimum. Most buggies you see at our shows have 8-15K in them. It cost money to build a nice one.

Not trying to discourage you, but just let you know before you get in too deep. Fracdogs list is VERY, VERY realistic.

by **Bill K** » 29 Sat Sep, 2007 11:40 pm

I just want to re-confirm something Murzi said earlier. START WITH A NEW BODY. $1,200 - $1,500 can be a bit discouraging at first glance, but by the time you are done with that $300 used body, you will be at or over the new body cost, be way behind schedule on completing your buggy, and have invested a ton of your time.
Lastly, Steve is so right: There's not a better group of folks on this planet than our Club members.
You've found the right place to be.
Welcome

by **Old Buggy** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 8:18 am

yes research is what brought me here, not alot of buggy boards with current traffic on them.

I've been to those other sites, but either you need to pay to read any good info(manx) or there is no current posts or the board is just hard to navagate.

this board does seem tobe a good board and nice bunch of guys.

so looks like I'll be looking for a 69 and up bug(non SB)that will give a ball jiont frt susp. , are all stock bugs a swing arm style rear susp.

for give me as bugs are fornien(punn intended) to me

by **Old Buggy** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 8:29 am

does Bearin buggys have a web site, I did a search but nothing came up.

also I will stick with a basically stock engine buggy, and add to it as I go.

I seem to like the manx style best rather than the T-buggy, or the square looking "VW thing" buggies.

by **Bryan Porter** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 9:02 am

talk to dave at berrienbuggy.com nice guy.
I had a buggy shop in south texas in the 1980's and sold his frames and bodys

by **Bill K** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 10:31 am

Of course it's always a matter of personal taste, but I like Berrien's "Nostalgia" body.

by **Old Buggy** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 11:47 am

yes I like nostalgia body too, I l;ike the lancer as well.

does one know if the hard tops are removable ?

thatchassis almost seems the way to go.

by **blackthree4me** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 12:32 pm

sounds like you are doing the deal
that good!

Bugs came in two different style rear susspentions.
68 down was a swing axil, basicly a straight axil that pivots at the trans.
69 up came standard with an IRS it has two CV joints one at the trans and one going into the hub assembly.

one of the first tools I bought while working on bugs was a manual
three types
Bently (pretty much the only one you need but Pricy)
Haynes I havent neede any other one yet, but then again I know how to use the internet.
and allot of others that cover the same information but just not as well as the above two.

once you have a manual it will explain allot of things that need answering
still done be afraid to ask
blackthree4me

by **Bryan Porter** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 1:23 pm

Yes thay do have tops and as far as books go vw repair for the complete idiot is the best book made.

by **Old Buggy** » 01 Mon Oct, 2007 1:44 pm

I think once I get a bug and start working on it(takeing it apart) i'll be fine with them, thats have I learned on the camaro.

I'll want mostly street with some trail/beach riding, nothing hard core.
which rear susp is best I would think irs has it's the newer style.

just found 2 bug on my block I never knew where there. of course I wasn't looking for them either.

even with that berren chassis I'll still need a donor bug for the rest of the susp, motor transaxle, and such. correct.

that berren site helped alot

thanks!

Texas Manx Club

getting started----what to look for

getting started----what to look for

Who is online