What got you interested in Manx style buggys?

[TMc2548]

Wow. Great stories. Hard to follow those. However... My VW experience started in HS. There was a group of us kids that commuted to school together in a 67 bug. I wasn't fond of the little car. Sitting in the back seat bouncing around in the cold wasn't my idea of a comfortable ride. I made it my mission to complain as much as I could every time we got in the car. When it was my turn to ride shotgun I chose not to. I absolutely hated the car. Didn't help that the owner and I didn't get along to well. I disliked him as much as I disliked the car. He still gave me rides to school though. You gotta admire him for that. He was always tinkering with the car. Taking the engine out on weekends, changing the carbs. I remember one time he had a Holley Bug Spray on it without a heater pipe. The carb froze alot. The car was not the most dependable ride in town. But it was the only one at the time. I still hated it. Especially after he lowered the front end and bottomed it out on the stops. Not to say that I had never seen a Dune Buggy. I was a fan of Speedbuggy and the Kroft shows too. However that was just about the only exposure to them that I had until about 1992. I was a part of a group of friends that gathered once a week to watch really bad movies, play cards and just have a good time. One night a movie was selected. Called "The Spirit of '76" Starring the honorable David Cassidy. It was sure to be a hit. Directed by Rob Reiner so it had to be palpable. Turns out it wasn't too bad. During the climactic final sequence our heros found themselves in need of a car. Guess what they got a hold of. A Dune Buggy. A blue metalflake Dune Buggy. Gorgeous. From then on I had the idea in my mind that it would be cool to own one. Not putting the VW and Dune Buggy together just yet. Now I've always thought about taking a car and restoring it. I had a friend that owned a Triumph TR4. It was an absolute blast to drive. Small and nimble. Not being able to actually afford the cost of owning a Triumph I sought out cheaper hobbies. It wasn't til I picked up a JC Whitney catalogue and noticed that they offered a Dune Buggy wiring harness that the desire came back. I turned to the wife and said, "I want to build a Dune Buggy." She promptly replied, "No you don't." Undeterred I ventured onto the net and found this humble site. The rest is history. I now have a buggy build in progress and cannot wait to get it on the road. As for liking VW's? Well, needless to say I think my friend was on to something back in the 80's. I probably owe him a few apologies and maybe a beer or two. And the wife? She's into it. She just doesn't know it yet.

[skyking]

A friends dad in 60's built them and have liked them since. But mostly because I did not have one. So I build one.

[Paul Shook]

In the "Tech Talk" column (Page 12) in the Feb. DB&HVW issue discusses Paul Hadley's "Veep" kit car. In 68 Paul & I (little Paul) was going to build a Manx to race in the Baja 1000. At the time, Paul owned a liquor store in Newport Beach. I moved in 69 with my crew to Westport, Ct. and put the project out of my mind. Now that my kids (6) are grown with 19 grandchildren and still counting......my time has come after 38 years! A MGM long body is now in the garage and should be on the road this summer. That is, if our Goverment doesn't go broke and stop my SS checks and the Good Lord doesn't come calling. Pablo of LaCosta Manx #2620