How big a job is building a buggy?

[GregR]

Got this from a guy in Tulsa. I sent him a response but maybe you guys would like to give your .02

Hello, this is James in Tulsa, OK. I am purchasing a kind of a homemade dune buggy from this guy. Mainly for the engine. The engine is rebuilt and has a new muffler and some chrome and a good transmission. It is on a vw frame and I think they tried to weld a roll bar on it. But I want to build a street legal dune buggy. I have been reading up a lot lately on your site and the internet about dunebuggys. In the last three years I have built two full size hovercrafts and sold them. I am looking for something different to build and the dune buggy looks like it would be fun. I am mechanically inclined but my question to you is how big a job is this. And how much money do people usually put into this type of project. And what do they mean about cutting the frame or pan 14 inches. Any help would be great.
James
Tulsa, OK

[CoryN]

Well I'm not mechanically inclined and I am wading my way through it. If he's built hovercrafts this should be a walk in the park.

As for $, I think it depends on what you want to do. I've got less than $600 invested in mine so far, but I haven't bought wheels and tires yet, rollbar, windshield or seats. Paint will be the other big expense.

I want to do as much of the work myself as possible, that was the whole reason for the project for me. I think that will keep the costs down, but I could just as easily drop several thousand very quickly.

[jspbtown]

I have built 3 buggies. Each one costing slightly more. the first was no bodywork, and minimal chassis prep. It was what I know consider basrely a driver. I think I had $2k into it. My second was was entirely rebuilt but basically stock. That one had about $3500 into it including the basic shell I bought. My third had about $7500 into it but tht included the original $2500 purchase and about $5k into really nice stuff. That did NOT include a really fancy motor.

If I had to guess I would say $3500 into anything you buy to make a nice driver. IF you do alot of the work yourself.

[Buggy1]

I have done for anywhere from $2500 to $8,000. But the rull is:

1. Most of them are never finished or at least that has been my personal thought.

2. If you have to ask ask if it done, then you just don't get it.

3. You spend what you want to create what you want and everyone seems to have lots of fun with it. It is an exercise is creativity!

Neal

[Bill K]

This piece of advice I'll really urge you to consider. BUY A NEW BODY .
A lot of folks are at first are put off by the cost, but I guarantee you, if you want to build a car that looks good, and you start with an old cheap body, you will end up with the same amount of $$$$ spent, or even more, and you will have invested a lot more of your time. This is time you could have spent getting the rest of the car completed.

Oh, one more piece of advice: Have a "wife appeasement" plan in place for the time and money spent.

This one thing is for sure, whatever the cost, I don't think you can own another verhicle that will bring you as much pleasure as a Dune Buggy.

[jspbtown]

Bill,
This is one of the discussions I think has really two good sides to it. Consideration to a new body is definitely important. No doubt about it. However, what is also important is what boundries you feel comfortable crossing. What I mean is: are you ready to play with some fiberglass? Bondo? are you ready to sand? and sand, and sand?

On the average poorly maintained body I would say you have a few larger holes, a crack or two, and lots of little holes. To fix that body you need some glass ($20), some resin ($35), a gallon of quality filler ($50) sandpaper ($40) and thats about it. So for about $150 in material you can get it ready for primer/paint.

This is where the real thought comes into play. Are you willing to paint? I have, over the years, accumulated OK painting tools. Nothing fancy. To finish a body I use Evercoat G2 primer ($50 gal), and Kirker paints (About $150 including paint, clear, paint suit, stirers, and activators) for a total of about $200 in paint costs. Yes, that is with all the painting tools. So if you can beg, borrow or steal (just kidding on the stealing!) enough equipment to paint, then you can get a body redone for $350. Thats alot cheaper for a new body, especially out here in the NorthEast where I am. If you have a local body builder where shipping isn't a factor then maybe new is better.

This is the best part about building buggies...there are so many ways of doing it. When we have different views, its not that one is wrong and one is right, its that they are just different approaches. Lots of choices is a good thing!

[CoryN]

I wonder which school of thought I belong to? Me with the POS body, missing fenders, gaping holes.

I'm the type that can't sit still, I always have to have a project to be working on. I've spent nearly every waking minute of the past 2 months working on this thing. Its my therapy, my escape from the corporate nightmare I live in.

I'm looking forward to getting to the body work, hours of tedious sanding and filling should keep me busy for a while without costing me thousands of dollars. Part of the reason I quit woodworking, I go through projects too fast and the house is full.

May even have to check out the $50 paint job technique from the moparts forum. I could get a few more weeks worth of project out of that.

[David Head]

If you can paint it yourself, Good luck. My thought is---After spending hours and elbow greese on getting the fiberglass ready for paint (filling holes and sanding) Why would you want to risk it all for a poor paint job?
A good professional paint job will cost a least $1500 to $2000,sometimes a lot more. A new body already in Gel-Coat would be cheaper than that, and you avoided all the fibergall work.

Just my thought.

[CoryN]

Point taken. I may very well be approaching all of this totally the wrong way, but I guess I'm looking at this buggy as my learning tool. Figure out how it all works, figure out what I want and what I don't want, try different things, and then apply all that to the next buggy.

I'm already convinced I'll be doing another as soon as this one is done.

[Bill K]

Your point is well taken, jspbtown. If you don't mind the hours of work, have some paint & body experience, and can shoot a decent paint job (or have a friend that can), then maybe a used body would make sense. But, as David said, if a professional has to come into play in any part of the process, then all bets are off on what you will end up spending on an old body, and all through the process having to wonder if it will turn out like you want.

[jspbtown]

in my opinion paint is a matter of level of acceptance. What I mean is what are you looking for in a paint job? Show quality? Then definitely go to a pro. Something that will look good? Then try it yourself.

Here is a buggy that I just painted with Kirker paints. The paint was $60 a sprayable gallon (plus activator). I have no special equipment other than a decent compressor and a decent gun:




For $75 or so dollars and some work it was worth me trying it out. It is nicer than 90% of the paint jobs I see at local shows.

I am also with Cory. I do this to escape my corporate nightmare. I don't do it every night. Sometimes I won't touch it for a month. Sometimes I am out every night until midnight. Its therapy.

Again, just another example of no "right' answer. Just lots of great options!

[CoryN]

What kind of paint set up you using?

I've got the traditional guns and an HVLP set up for spraying finish on my woodworking projects. I'm thinking I could go with either of them.

[Buggy1]

Having built buggies both ways, that is repair an old body or buying a new one, I would say there is a lot of therapy in doing the body work and painting her yourself.

If your looking for a certain body look ( like and imp, dune runner, kyote, or whatever, then your going to have to go the repair route. If you not interested in the particular body style, then we have at two people in our club that build great bodies. I wouuld recomend both of them for a NEW body.................if your looking for that "special" look you have always liked then start looking around. They are out there. What ever you do...........have fun and good luck.

Neal

[CoryN]

Neal -

Who else builds bodies? I'm aware of TexasBuggies, who is the other?

Cory

[GregR]

The other is Neil Decker in Hawkins and Hawkeye Buggies.
Both Neil and Bobby (TexasBuggys) are club sponsors and have great stuff.

btw, Hawkeye built jspbtown's cage.

[CoryN]

Good to know - I didn't realize Hawkeye made bodies also, I thought they only did frames and cages.

Thansk

[jspbtown]

Bill,
You nailed it. If you have friends or tools, or both, and plenty of time, then a used body is a good bet. If you have none of the above, then I could not agree more than a new, perfect, body is the way to go. Same with the chassis I suppose as well. A nice chassis by Neil would be a great starting point.

And Yes, Neil did my cage. And I cannot speak high enough for his work. I put it together myself, and I can't really weld a bit. It fit so well that it made it easy for me and my little Campbell Hausefeld flux welder. TexasBuggies supplied my side pods as well.

My painting system is a Finishline gravity gun with 1.3 tip for paint and clear, and a 1.8 tip for the Evercoat G2 primer I use. I have a compressor from Home Depot. I can't remember the size but it was like $400 and uses 240v power. I hang blue tarps from my garage ceiling and use a windox box fan for air circulation. I also use a good respirator.

[Greaph]

Speaking for myself, I prefer to do as much as possible without using "Pro's".
I do my own glasswork, painting, welding, and, until most of my tools were stolen, frame and cage bending/steel fabrication. For welding I primarily use a small Lincoln MIG welder, although I sometimes use a TIG/Stick for convenience. I have a 3 horsepower 115 volt air compressor with a 30 gallon tank and a HVLP sprayer for color and clear coats (it has a 1.4 mil tip), and a siphon feed with a 1.8 tip for hi fill primer and poly fil primer (the poly fil vastly improves paint adhesion to bare (non-gel coated) fiberglass). The paint comes out nice, so long as you prep well (paint is 90% prep). Any flaws are learning experiences that are easily corrected with some sanding and/or respraying.

Well, really, any thing you do on your buggy (or any other project in life) is 90% prep......

I do know that I achieve IMMENSE satisfaction doing as much as I can myself..no matter the end result...

my .02$

p.s. I wasnt born knowing how to do any of these things, and being new to VW's there is a steep learning curve ahead of me now.. But, with the help of friendly types on this forum, and books, and just being willing to do it, the project can be accomplished


Sorry for the long winded and preachy post....I am passionate about my passions

[blackthree4me]

if your paint comes out bad

sand it off
its only time and money

PS I had some one do mine LOL

[Greaph]

if your paint comes out bad

sand it off
its only time and money

Well, true.....it is time and money...but unless you went insane on the type of paint, the money aspect is negligible.....the time on the other hand, that does indeed add up

[blackthree4me]

I built my car 100 dollars at a time.
if I had to sand off 100 dollars worth of paint I would be pretty mad.
I had to spend a hundred dollars this week on a stupid mistake.
and beleve me it hurts.

thats cash I could have spent on something else.