Manx Club

There is a thread on the Samba that's made me wonder about something I thought was true about Manx2s. I thought most Manx2s didn't have reinforcing tubes. Now I don't believe that's correct. I'm wondering; What percentage of Manx2s don't have reinforcing tubes and when they began to be omitted? Do any of the earlier Manx2s(with the A serial numbers) not have tubes? If its only the 4 digit serial number Manx2s that don't have tubes, what is the earliest to not have them? If you have a Manx2 that doesn't have reinforcing tubes, could you post your serial number please, Thanks

Nelson, tag number 1167 M2 never had the underbody tubing when I got it,,, the FG was really thin on that buggy kit too, but I always got the feeling they were made that way to nest better for shipping,, maybe wrong, just a guess. As a rough guide I would say that the siggy Manx I had, was around double the weight of the 1167 M2, not sure how others differ. Its not much of a big deal for guys to add the tubing under a new M2 either,,, just to confuse things even more!!,, which is what I did on 1167.

Interesting. My tagged Manx2 is number 1259. It shows no sign of ever having underside tubes. That said, I got into the buggy craze in 1969. By the time I was shopping for my first buggy body Meyers was only advertising the Manx2 as 'simpler to build', able to fit the 'new' IRS suspension, and at a new lower price due to production changes to better compete with all the other 'low cost' bodies out there. Sadly, by the time I had saved enough newspaper delivery $ BF Meyers was out of business, so I built a Potty Sand Rover instead. A very nice buggy I might add! I always assumed that the simpler to build Manx2 changes which lowered the costs included: 1). Most of the other buggy bodies left it to the builders to install the wiring harness with cable clamps. So eliminate the extra factory lamination steps to make and install. 2). Eliminate the fussy step of drilling marrying the hood/dash-brace/dash/windshield mounting by bonding the hood to the new hefty fiberglass dash. The new dash had a larger face so that the wiper motor could be mounted further from the wiring too! 3). Eliminate the spare tire and battery wells for IRS suspension clearance. Very few other (low cost) buggy bodies had either. 4). Replace the front badge with the new decal. I don't remember what hardware was supplied in the mounting kit, (Front strut to gas tank brackets?, Rear platform to shock brackets, Rear deck to platform support bars, License plate stainless trim, etc.) Perhaps someone has an inventory of the Manx2 A & B kit contents. I always assumed these improvements were so folks could really build a buggy in a weekend. I can now see the efficiency of being able to nest the bodies would also be great for reducing shipping costs. Thanks for bringing the topic up!

My Manx II has tubes,,Its # 1089,,,,

Rob, I actually used both 1167 M2 and the siggy manx as plugs to produce both buggy kits here in UK. I clearly remember the first few buggies that came from the M2 molds, because I stacked them myself to save room,, but after those first few I started putting the tubing in and stopped stacking them. ManxDave, if your reading this, although you have the 02 tag, yours was never stacked with the first few, as the tags were mailed from Meyers in order of the sales, so the orange was ordered just for you because you refused yellow!!!.... Tell me,, did yours have the tubing??? I just cant think. Hey, remind me next time you pop in for a brew and I'll dig out some old snap shots of the little stack!

[QUOTE="tim morgan;14919"]My Manx II has tubes,,Its # 1089,,,,[/QUOTE] Wow,, we're getting close now!

Nelson and the Gang, My M2 is #A0176 and it DOES have tubes. Bob

[quote="manxrob;14916"]I always assumed that the simpler to build Manx2 changes which lowered the costs included: 1). Most of the other buggy bodies left it to the builders to install the wiring harness with cable clamps. So eliminate the extra factory lamination steps to make and install. 2). Eliminate the fussy step of drilling marrying the hood/dash-brace/dash/windshield mounting by bonding the hood to the new hefty fiberglass dash. The new dash had a larger face so that the wiper motor could be mounted further from the wiring too! 3). Eliminate the spare tire and battery wells for IRS suspension clearance. Very few other (low cost) buggy bodies had either. 4). Replace the front badge with the new decal. I don't remember what hardware was supplied in the mounting kit, (Front strut to gas tank brackets?, Rear platform to shock brackets, Rear deck to platform support bars, License plate stainless trim, etc.) Perhaps someone has an inventory of the Manx2 A & B kit contents. [quote] Rob, I thought the same thing, that they first started eliminating the tubes the same time they eliminated the seat wells, ABS dash, and plastic front badge. I know that on some Manx 2s you can find different combinations of wells/dash/and badge. In fact the only thing all Manx 2s have in common is a Manx 2 serial # tag(A or 4 digit). However, I'd like to see some data(a couple dozen tag #s) on Manx 2s w/o tubes to really be sure when that change began. I believe the last tag with a date of manufacture/color code was June, 70. The 4 digit tags probably came right after. They continued to produce kits into 1971. I can tell you one different piece of hardware that came on Manx 2s without rear seat wells was a piece of 1"X1" steel angle with tabs that bolted to the rear shock mounts and ran across under the rear seat supporting it. I'm pretty sure they also came with battery mount brackets that attached above the torsion housing. Thanks everyone for the serial numbers you've posted so far.

Just when I thought I'd gotten a handle on what came with genuine Manx kits but I've been proved wrong this week. I was always lead to belive that the Manx 2 was a budget kit to compete (too late as it worked out) with cheaper copies. Articles from publications at the time seemed to imply that Manx 2s came with a basic body moulding with no stiffening tubes or battery/ spare wheel sump, larger dash moulded into hood with larger badge moulding to take sticker, a windshield but very little if anything else in the way of brackets, hardware, other fixings etc... I'll go to the bottom of the class!!! lol

[QUOTE="Manxdavid;14934"]Just when I thought I'd gotten a handle on what came with genuine Manx kits but I've been proved wrong this week. I was always lead to belive that the Manx 2 was a budget kit to compete (too late as it worked out) with cheaper copies. Articles from publications at the time seemed to imply that Manx 2s came with a basic body moulding with no stiffening tubes or battery/ spare wheel sump, larger dash moulded into hood with larger badge moulding to take sticker, a windshield but very little if anything else in the way of brackets, hardware, other fixings etc... I'll go to the bottom of the class!!! lol[/QUOTE] Dave, I thought the same as you,, My guess is, it must be almost impossible to keep track of what went on after Meyers left the company. I even tried to find out what happened to Meyers Kubel molds a few years back, but had no luck, so to find out what came with the M2 kits after Meyers left, must be like just stabbing in the dark IMO. One things for sure, my old M2 never had any brackets, just a tag and a hood badge which I showed Meyers when he came to England a few years ago and he said it was an SR badge. Maybe after Meyers left the company, it was more like a lucky dip and you ended up getting a mix n match of whatever stuff was kicking around the shop floor,,, a kinda Manx salad!!!.