Manx Club

Hi guys, my name is Joe and I'm 19 years old. My dad and I have a buggy that we recently started building and while doing some research I came across this website. For starters, my dad and i are making this a father/son project which i am really enjoying. At least 10 or more years ago my dad bought a buggy but never had it registered and then somethings happened and it sat in our yard for a looooong time before i finally pestered him long enough to do something about it. So our original buggy is built on a shortened 1961 VW Bug chassis with either a 1956 or 1959 engine which i believe is 1200cc 36hp but i could be wrong. when we dug it out we realized that the chassis had rotted to death so we decided to buy a new chassis. we purchased a 1967 vw bug chassis that we had shortened 14 inches. this was in much much better shape than the original one we had. so slowly but surely we are trying to rebulid our buggy and hopefully we can swap some parts from the older chassis with the newer one if need be.

so thats pretty much my story so far. but what im having the most trouble with is trying to figure out what kind of buggy body we actually have. i dont think its an original manx because i cant find any markings on it but i could be wrong. here are a few pictures, any help now and in the future is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe











sorry about the size i dont know how to resize them yet!

Welcome Joe ... looks like a great project.

Thanks 1856. I'm really excited to get this thing up and running. here are some more pictures.



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Joe,
Your buggy body appears to be a "Sandwinder" they made two different bodies but used the same hood. The body and dash are a close copy of a Manx like yours the other body had a raised up area in the rear. Several other buggy bodies also used that same style of hood. Good luck on your build and hope to see you soon on some club runs.

Bob

towd dude wrote:Joe,
Your buggy body appears to be a "Sandwinder" they made two different bodies but used the same hood. The body and dash are a close copy of a Manx like yours the other body had a raised up area in the rear. Several other buggy bodies also used that same style of hood. Good luck on your build and hope to see you soon on some club runs.

Bob

Thanks for the help towd dude! and yeah i would love to come on some runs with you guys but two things are stopping me. 1 this thing not being finished and 2 living in Connecticut ! i dont know what its like out there for you guys but it snowed here last night

Snow on the ground just means more time to wrench in the garage (hope you have some sort of heat!). If you haven't seen them yet, there are several good books out that can help guide you along the path of rebuilding your project. The Haynes manual for the VW Beetle and Karmann Ghia (I think 1958 to 1978 or something like that) is a good start, among others. Before you know it, you will be up and running. If you get bogged down any time, just come here and we will give you a swift kick….. I mean a mental boost to get you fired up and going again. Welcome to the asylum!

Thank you 5150bossman and yes, the garage has been my hiding place for a few weeks now. We have to rebuild the brakes on all 4 corners and replace the drive shaft seals then we can flip the chassis on its side so i can finish painting the bottom with some rustoleum paint. After that we're going to start running cables and lines. i cant wait haha

Another CT buggy!  Do you know about the 3 VW shows in CT every year?  Does the buggy have a CT VIN #?  I can give you some tips for getting it registered if you like, and welcome to the club.  Tom

Tom Kathleen wrote:Another CT buggy!  Do you know about the 3 VW shows in CT every year?  Does the buggy have a CT VIN #?  I can give you some tips for getting it registered if you like, and welcome to the club.  Tom

Where would i find the CT VIN? i doubt it has one because since it's been in our hands we've never had it registered. and no i dont know about the 3 VW shows. and once we get closer to registration i will probably contact you for those tips. i think we have to take it to Wethersfield to get it registered...

The CT VIN would be a metal (old) or stick on (newer) label "CT XXXXX" on the chassis or body.  For the lowdown on CT registration, go here http://www.dunebuggyarchives.com/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=2048 .  The best start is to get a copy of the rules, and follow every one.  You should go to some of the shows even if your car is not done.  You can get parts on the swap area and ideas and tips from looking at the buggies in the show.  Have fun with your build.  Tom

It does appear to be a Sandwinder.     www.dunebuggyarchives.com has a lot of pictures of hundreds of clones to look through to help i.d. your project.

I cant find any of those markings Tom but thanks for the info on registration. i will have to look into those shows also.

and thank you too Sandwinder ill check that website out too

Does anyone know where i can get the rear axle seals and gaskets for the outside bearing cap? Or do we have to make our own?

Have you tried Bugcity? http://www.bugcity.com/ They are in Berlin, CT right off the Berlin Turnpike.  Where are you in CT?  Tom

Thanks Tom, i couldnt find what i was looking for on that site but im sure that i will check there for other things in the future. We ended up making our own gasket but we bought new o-rings and seals. And Im from Stratford, literally a 5 minute walk from Long Island Sound.