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Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:06 pm

Anyone have any info?

sorry for the crappy pics...
I got this thing from a guy who had it sitting under a poll barn lookin shed.

Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:15 pm

Vaquero

http://books.google.com/books?id=FIn7Fy__IDQC&...;ct=result

It used a special tube steel chassis, not a VW pan. You need to see if the chassis is still in the pole barn.

Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:41 pm

It is not there...
Not worried either.
Its going to be built to suit.
just might take some time.
Thanks for the fast reply.
I have never seen one before... not many made?

Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:47 pm

Looks like a tobogan to me. Anyway looks like it will be a cool buggy when done.

Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:19 pm

JEDI PIMP wrote: It is not there...
Not worried either.
Its going to be built to suit.
just might take some time.
Thanks for the fast reply.
I have never seen one before... not many made?

There's still a few around, but not as many as the Meyers Tow'd (which it was loosely copied from). You should be able to use a Towd chassis as a model. The tube was 2.5" diameter so you can't just get a muffler shop to bend it for you. It was made by Sand Chariots which also made the Ocelot.

http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/album166/SAND_CHARIOTS_OF_CA

http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/album166/OCELOT

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=215075&highlight=sand+chariots+vaquero

Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:37 am

Thanx for the pics and good info....
it might be harder than i thought to get everything straight when making my own frame...
well see.

Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:16 am

The guy who made the post(Florida Buggy) who took pictures of the other Vaquero in Tampa is an active Samba user. He might be able to help you to track down the other one to get some good pictures and measurements.

Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:44 am

will have to look him up...
If you check out the off road forum I have a post there about a buncha project cars I picked up as one big deal. The yellow dune buggy is the only one im planning on accually fixing up.

everything else will be sold

Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:49 am

http://www.dunebuggyarchives.com/registry/sand-chariots

found one with no hood.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:25 am

I wouldn't believe the claim on that Dune Buggy Archives Vaquero registry, that the Vaquero was created before the Tow'd, until I saw some documentation.

The Meyers Tow'd prototype was produced not later than the summer of 68. A Tow'd is pictured on the cover of the of the Oct 68 DB&HVWs. However, there is a Sand Chariots advertisment on the inside of the same cover but the Vaquero isn't shown or mentioned. There are several Ocelot models shown in drawings at the bottom of the ad labeled "Look at What's Coming", but no Vaquero.

The earliest Vaquero ad and article I've seen is June 69.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:58 am

The thing to remember about our Registery posts on the DuneBuggyArchives.com website is, they are just like posts here.

Anyone can post whatever they want.
It is more of a guest book entry than anything.

If we post it in the model files or under dune buggy ID's theres documentation to support 99% of it. The rest I make up.

This history of dune buggies is and will always be a 100 pc puzzle with about 23 pieces missing.

The earliest buggy of anything close to that style is from Fibercraft of Reno.
Feb. 1968. The Swinger....but I have never seen one.

John

Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:35 pm

I found a few more pics online... apparently there was a trunk lid of sorts. I do not have this one part... i was wondering if it was an add-on.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b372/dunebuggyar...ero69y.jpg

Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:00 pm

247vws wrote: The earliest buggy of anything close to that style is from Fibercraft of Reno. Feb. 1968. The Swinger....but I have never seen one.

The Swinger's fenders do look pretty similar to a Vaquero's. Its hood is similar to both a Vaquero's and Tow'ds. It has the low sides of a Vaquero/Tow'd, but appears designed to use VW seats, so I think it would have used a VW floorpan (like mentioned in the ad). The Fibercraft ad says they'd give you an estimate to produce your own buggy design. I wonder if the Swinger was ever actually made.

Fibercraft is still in Reno, but I know they've changed hands. I wonder if they have an album or something with pictures from the 60s.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:48 pm

There is a good chance I will be building the buggy.
I want it to be just a toy and not too fast.

Just need tube for frame, wheels tires and new brakes, dash electric stuff, engine electric stuff and time to put it all together.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:25 pm

JEDI PIMP wrote: Just need tube for frame, wheels tires and new brakes, dash electric stuff, engine electric stuff and time to put it all together.

Is that all? ;)

Good luck with your build, That's a cool and fairly unique body these days.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:35 pm

I will see what i can whip up.
I think time will be the major problem.
I have to scrounge for some more built pics to get an idea or two.

I know nothing about a turbo ford engine either.....

i got one.... its for sale but i dont know if i will be selling it.

it would be too cool to have it in the buggy.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:55 pm

I have only come across 3 complete Vaqueros and the one NOS body I had in 15 years of doing dune buggy research. So examples will be hard to find. The best article that comes close to showing what the frame should look like is in a Dune Buggy Road Test magazine.

I'll try to find it later this week and post it on the Archives site.
It details the dims on the tubing. There will need to be a considerable amount of fabrication involved as I recall because the stock rear torsion will not just weld in like a rail buggy frame. It has to be modified to be used. The Vaquero chassis had cast parts to support the VW parts.

That was the big reason I sold mine without ever working on it.
I knew it was major undertaking and never had the time to jump on it.
Now I have a buddy that is a great fabricator and I am retired I wish I still had mine to work on.

The best place to start is by flipping the body upside down and building a jig to support it paralell to the garage floor but, upside down. Then you can lay the main tubing into the recesses in the body and start to get and idea of what you are dealing with.

Good Luck !
John

Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:27 pm

I thought someone would chime in from the background on here who had happen to have one with some good pics of the underneath.
I was thinking of a 2X4 square center "tunnel" to attach the irs to and up front to the beam. then have tube for the sides which will also tie into beam and irs.

its going to get interesting but i have a welder, compressor, friends who have crazy ideas and beer.

Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:52 pm

The toughest part is the center tunnel under the body is a great place to support the body but it is too high for the engine to fit under the rear shelf without the rear torsion drop the original frame had built for it.

There were two cast parts made the connected the the torsion cross tube to the central fame.

I made a quick sketch as I can recall. I color coded it. The body is the red blob. The castings looked like the part between the front torsion tubes on an aluminum axle beam. See sketch.

I hope it makes sense.
John

Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:04 pm

thanks for the info....i dont think i will ever find a real frame or parts for this thing. thats ok because remember... there is a 2.3L ford going in it.
should i worry about weight in the rear? lengthen the trailing arms?
ive got a stock bug trans... will it hold up?
i want to be able to do a wheele down the street.