TheSamba.com :: View topic - New Mid-travel Manx Body & Chassis

Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:46 pm

Here are some pictures of my Mid-travel Manx body & chassis project. The body and chassis will be sold as a kit. We are making the chassis out of 1 1/2" .095" D.O.M. tubing with 1" D.O.M. tubing lacing. We will offer it with either a 6" wider beam front end or a "J" arm front end. The chassis is design to fit on a stock VW pan.

Sat Jan 28, 2006 12:56 am

Here's a couple more pictures of the mid travel manx

Sat Jan 28, 2006 7:15 am

can i borrow the blue one next weekend?

looks great, i hope you sell a bunch of them....

Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:33 am

Im loving that blue one. Is that an Ecotec engine? How is the reliability of those engines compared to a Subaru??

Sat Jan 28, 2006 2:37 pm

greg mgm wrote: Im loving that blue one. Is that an Ecotec engine? How is the reliability of those engines compared to a Subaru??

Isn't that your car?! MGM.....I wonder where the body came from.... :roll: :lol: Nice work A friend has the MGM regular body.

Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:46 pm

That is an Ecotec in the blue car and the green car is getting a VW engine. The bodies are from MGM/FRP. The new mid-travel body has been working out great because it's 5" wider & 4" taller then the old manx style body plus it has raised fender to acomodate up to 16" front travel with a beam front and up to 17" rear travel with 3x5 trailing arms.

Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:24 pm

I like the fact that it's gonna fit a stock length pan. I always thought the manxes were too short. 8)

Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:15 pm

Nice. Too late for me though, Dan, I am too far along with my Manx clone. I'm the guy from Seattle that dropped by your house in Valley Center last spring to pick up a transaxle and front beam...If these pictures are taken in your garage, I have to say you have been busy since I was there.

That metal stand that the blue one is sitting on had me going for awhile...the rust made it look like wood, and I was thinking, "now, why the hell would someone trust all that weight on a wooden table?"

Good luck with the cars. Any idea yet what a pan/cage/body assembly will retail for?

Sun Jan 29, 2006 3:42 pm

Hey Scott, how is the project been going?
The cost for the body is $2200.00 and the chassis with beam front end and rear cage area for VW engine will cost $4900.00. (No pan with kit)

Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:16 pm

Dan,
Thanks for asking. It is going well, but S-L-O-W-L-Y. Other projects and staying employed keep getting in the way. Jan and Feb look good for available time...I'm shooting for a rolling chassis by April, cage and minor bodywork and fitting body to the chassis over the summer. If I have it wired by then as well, sea trials will commence right about the time it gets too cold and wet up here to drive a car without a roof or a heater. Currently, the pan is bare enough that I am working on it inside my basement in the house (my shop is too expensive to heat), having gotten it down the stairs and through the door with the help of a buddy.

Good to see you are keeping busy. Perhaps my next one will be something like what you guys are building. The extra suspension looks great, and the cage looks well built. What you guys are doing is not something I am seeing more than just a few other vendors offering with buggy kits, so I'm guessing it is a good niche. Good luck.

Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:22 pm

Here's a couple of new pictures of the rear of the project car.

Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:53 pm

Are you going to make the engine cage removable?

Are you worried about the large flat span of unsupported cage over the passenger compartment?

I really wish I had access to dunes in Florida. I would build a car like yours in an instant. It would get torn up in the tight woods we have to ride in though :(

Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:57 pm

Quote: Are you going to make the engine cage removable?

Are you worried about the large flat span of unsupported cage over the passenger compartment?
The engine cage will be removable with 3 bolt flanges and the large flat span will have a supports add to it. I'm putting 5x5 rear trailling arms with 14" travel shocks so I'm waiting to put that last support in intill we figure out the shock location. The blue car that has been finished, has 3x5 rear trailling arms with 12" travel shocks, so the cage supports are in a different location and we did not want to copy that location just to take them back out again.

Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:01 pm

that is exactly what i wanted.
when will you have them ready for pickup? or is it a buy and order?

Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:12 am

seebeebuggy:

As of now we build each chassis as per order and were run 3 to 4 weeks. The Manx body are running the same. You could email me or call me at 760-751-0718 M-F 9:00 to 4:00 for more info.

Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:42 am

what's going to be the price for a turnkey car?

Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:10 am

if the split between the threads is street vs. off-road, this thread needs to stay in the off-road forum

Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:42 pm

Quote: what's going to be the price for a turnkey car?
We have not figured out prices on rollers or turnkey yet, but hope to have something worked out with in the next couple of weeks.

Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:48 pm

Here's a couple of new pictures of the rear 5x5 arms with 14" travel shocks. also have the seats placed as well.

Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:19 am

Does 4900.00 include the body?If that is just the rollcage tat is ridiculous expensive.