Mel Hubbard's Veep...

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:18 pm

[quote="mel hubbard;14995"]They do look a happy bunch don't they Dave??, maybe they thought they were gonna get the 12000 euro's asking price for it at that time.. It is my ambition to get a real WW2 MB some day and Mary Whitehouse and her friend can sit in the back, hold tight and shut up!!![/quote] This is a good Craigslist search tool. There's several WW2 on there now. http://www2.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi? ... mit=++++go++++

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:44 pm

[QUOTE="CairoManx;14997"]This is a good Craigslist search tool. There's several WW2 on there now. http://www2.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi? ... mit=++++go++++[/QUOTE] Thank you Nelson, thats just sheer flat fendered bliss!, there's not been ONE for sale on ebay UK for about a week now, so I'll be putting some milage on that site from now on. Not sure if I've ever said before, but I was talking to a guy from Hunstanton a while back and he said that when the Americans that were stationed in Norfolk moved out after WW2, they had so much stuff that a lot of it got buried in the ground as it worked out more economical than to ship it back home. Some of this stuff, he said included new crated Jeeps,, he went on to say that the ground is fenced off and still owned and patrolled by the MOD,, maybe, who knows,, the thought kinda hurts though. Its a bit like a story Meyers once told me about one of the first 12 Manx monocoque buggies being buried in a land fill site,, I cant think were he said it was,, somewhere in So Cal. And yet the best I've ever unearthed was an unexploded bomb from WW2 whilst working in London back in the 70's, my buddy & me strapped this bomb onto my buds Honda motorcycle, because he wanted to take it home as a kinda souvenir,,, anyways, the police and Army got called out and went nuts at my buddy & me,,, they ended up evacuating the area and the army bomb disposal dug a big hole and exploded it. Funny thing was this bomb took up the whole of the seat area and stuck right out the back of his bike, so my buddy would have needed to perch on the gas tank to ride the thing,, it still makes me laugh to this day, the thought of a guy riding through londons rush hour traffic on a bomb!!!!. true story as mad as it sounds.

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:25 am

I think Bruce was probably talking about Ted Trevor's monocoque, #6, the one that won at Pikes Peak. It was in a wreck and instead of rebuilding it he binned it.

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:03 am

[QUOTE="CairoManx;15000"]I think Bruce was probably talking about Ted Trevor's monocoque, #6, the one that won at Pikes Peak. It was in a wreck and instead of rebuilding it he binned it.[/QUOTE] Yes, I think your right Nelson, it was a 10 year old memory and I never wanted to take a wild guess at it,,, well not amongst all you experts anyway!!. I wonder how many out of the 12 are accounted for?. I'm sure we could do something with Ted Trevor's old Manx if only someone could only find out were it was dumped. Just think how cool it would be to own that baby with all the history, and yet it sits in land fill

. Hey, its funny how we junk things, thinking (at the time) that we will never ever want to own them again,, and yet years later we would give our right arm to own them once more. When I think of all the BSA gold stars we junked and the days we could buy Thunderbird & Bonnie Trumpets for just ?20 each. I guess it makes ya feel sad in one way,, but in another way you have to think >>> Hey, we may be old Geezers, but at least we witnessed those good times and still have the memories as proof!!

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:11 am

They know where 7 are. When they had the bankruptcy auction in 71(ish), among everything else was the mold for the monocoques.

rzeller · Post by **rzeller** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:36 am

[quote="CairoManx;15004"]They know where 7 are. When they had the bankruptcy auction in 71(ish), among everything else was the mold for the monocoques.[/quote] So where are all the molds now? I think I've read some veiled references to people close to Bruce having some of the Manx I molds. True? If they were purchased at auction, what was purpose of "hiding them away"? The utility molds (assuming there were more than one mold for everything) must be out there somewhere. I'm not sure I ever heard who bought up everything. Did the molds and inventory go to one person, many people? Just curious.

rzeller · Post by **rzeller** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:39 am

[quote="mel hubbard;14998"]Not sure if I've ever said before, but I was talking to a guy from Hunstanton a while back and he said that when the Americans that were stationed in Norfolk moved out after WW2, they had so much stuff that a lot of it got buried in the ground as it worked out more economical than to ship it back home. Some of this stuff, he said included new crated Jeeps,, he went on to say that the ground is fenced off and still owned and patrolled by the MOD,, maybe, who knows,, the thought kinda hurts though. [/quote] Mel, I've heard stories like that about cargo ships loaded with Jeeps, tanks, airplanes that were pushed into San Francisco harbor at the end of WWII. Urban legends maybe?

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:53 am

[quote="madmanx;15008"]So where are all the molds now? I think I've read some veiled references to people close to Bruce having some of the Manx I molds. True? If they were purchased at auction, what was purpose of "hiding them away"? The utility molds (assuming there were more than one mold for everything) must be out there somewhere. I'm not sure I ever heard who bought up everything. Did the molds and inventory go to one person, many people? Just curious.[/quote] I remember seeing something about a company (that's out of business now) called Action Fiberglass getting a lot of the stuff. I've heard of a Manx 2 body mold and a Manx 1 hood mold floating around. I think its changed hands a few times but was used by Fiberjet of Roseville, CA. The owner passed away and their stuff was sold a couple years ago.

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:20 am

[QUOTE="CairoManx;15004"]They know where 7 are. When they had the bankruptcy auction in 71(ish), among everything else was the mold for the monocoques.[/QUOTE] I reckon there's a very good chance the monocoque molds are still out there someplace, since old molds just seem to get pushed to one side and forgotten about. If you ever find them, tell Meyers I'll jump on the first plane and give the ol fella a hand to mold a few,,, I've always wanted to do a little hands on work with the master!!!. Hey Nelson, whilst I was typing this out, the phone rung,,,, guess who?? > Martin OConnor (Corvair dune buggy.com) with the TC replica,, its a small world,, anyway, I told him I was lip flappin on the forum to you and he sends his regards. He tells me that all the pattern work is more or less done now and says its looking real good. He also said that he's taken molds from the various parts, like the hood,headlamp area, sides & rear cover so he could replicate it in the future if ever he crashed it. Thats also very tempting for anyone wanting to do another TC replica the easy way.

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:19 pm

Did I read someplace that the Utility Manx moulds were thought to have ended up with Karma Coachworks, the place that continued production (with Bruce's help and advice) of the S-R Roadster project? Which Monoquoces are still out there? I've heard of Old Red, Quatro, the blue one that was in VW Trends a while back and the Porsche powered one that Michael Jackson's former lawyer had. I'm guessing that Bruce still has the 'Signiture' moulds or are they gathering dust in the corner of some laminator 'south of the border'???

rzeller · Post by **rzeller** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:01 pm

[quote="Manxdavid;15012"]Did I read someplace that the Utility Manx moulds were thought to have ended up with Karma Coachworks, the place that continued production (with Bruce's help and advice) of the S-R Roadster project? Which Monoquoces are still out there? I've heard of Old Red, Quatro, the blue one that was in VW Trends a while back and the Porsche powered one that Michael Jackson's former lawyer had. I'm guessing that Bruce still has the 'Signiture' moulds or are they gathering dust in the corner of some laminator 'south of the border'???[/quote] I don't know the gentleman's name but I believe there is one in Slidell, Louisianna also. I remember seeing a message about a collector down that way that was hit by Katrina (hurricane) and reported that the monocoque had "floated" but was otherwise ok. I think the blue one is in South Carolina somewhere. Oh and there is one that I keep under my bed

Bud

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:34 pm

[QUOTE="madmanx;15013"]I don't know the gentleman's name but I believe there is one in Slidell, Louisianna also. I remember seeing a message about a collector down that way that was hit by Katrina (hurricane) and reported that the monocoque had "floated" but was otherwise ok. I think the blue one is in South Carolina somewhere. Oh and there is one that I keep under my bed

Bud[/QUOTE] Of course, that'll be Richard Brown's #10, I belive it's green but I've never seen a pic of it...

1856 · Post by **1856** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:50 am

Actually it's kind of a muddy red color ... and Richard is his first name.

TMc2548 · Post by **TMc2548** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 4:29 am

[QUOTE="CairoManx;15010"]I remember seeing something about a company (that's out of business now) called Action Fiberglass getting a lot of the stuff. I've heard of a Manx 2 body mold and a Manx 1 hood mold floating around. I think its changed hands a few times but was used by Fiberjet of Roseville, CA. The owner passed away and their stuff was sold a couple years ago.[/QUOTE] My buggy was produced in this mold. It's whereabouts are a mystery to me but I think it made it's way into the hands of a fellow club member.

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:56 am

[quote="mel hubbard;15011"]Hey Nelson, whilst I was typing this out, the phone rung,,,, guess who?? > Martin OConnor (Corvair dune buggy.com) with the TC replica,, its a small world,, anyway, I told him I was lip flappin on the forum to you and he sends his regards. He tells me that all the pattern work is more or less done now and says its looking real good. He also said that he's taken molds from the various parts, like the hood,headlamp area, sides & rear cover so he could replicate it in the future if ever he crashed it. Thats also very tempting for anyone wanting to do another TC replica the easy way.[/quote] I've seen the latest updated pictures on his webpage. Its really looking good. He has me listed as "Nigel", which I enjoy. http://corvairdunebuggy.com/ I've got a pair of 140hp Corvair Corsa engines sitting in my storage shed. I also have a Manx 2 that was in a front end collision. I've thought about building one myself. The only snag I can see is the wrap around plexi-glass windscreen. To be street legal(quasi) the section in front would need to be safety glass. It would really only be worth the trouble of building one if it was at least visibly accurate. There's some things that just aren't available. The Firestone tires were actually off Andy Granatelli's STP turbine Indy 500 race car. He was an old friend of Pete Condos. The rear American Racing Mags were so wide they had extra gussets cast onto the spokes, not something you come across that often. However, the wheels and tires Martin has really look the part, but without the right windscreen, the buggy just wouldn't look right.