It's Back, It's back, after almost 50 years the Tow'd is ...

[Iguana]

Well I was over at Meyers Manx the other day talking to the main man of the Buggy World and his lovely wife and I am very pleased to say It's back ..

My wife was not so pleased as of course being as nutty as I am I managed to find some cash and quickly fit Kit "TOW'D - 001 - 14" into the back of the Subaru and speed home before Bruce changed his mind.

After over 45 years of lying dormant Meyers Manx have decided it is time to once again bring to market the Meyers Tow’d.

The original marketing line of the Meyers Tow’d was simply “It’s the toughest, simplest and lowest-cost off-road buggy yet created “ and even with so many years gone by this still rings true.

Unlike the other Kits in the Meyers Manx line up the Tow’d is aimed firmly at the DIY Builder with the skills and desire to build an effective On and Off-Road Buggy with the factory support of Meyers Manx as well as the unmistakable lines and history of the Meyers Tow’d.

The initial offering will be the iconic Meyers Tow’d Tub complete with Meyers Manx Build Plate, Decals and Build Instructions. Over the following months additional kit items will be released with the culmination of a complete line up of all Meyers Tow’d Parts available for purchase by Jan 1 2015.

In order to keep costs and supply times down the Meyers Tow’d will be available in Primer Gel Coat Only and will require sanding and painting prior to assembly if you are that way inclined.

With the starting kit being just $1200 for the Tub, Hood, Decals, Build Plate and Instructions I thought it was a great way to get another piece of history.

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[BL3Manx]

What does the 14" signify? I hope its a couple inches longer and wider

[Iguana]

[EVfun]

No frame? These aren't built on a VW pan though I have seen a couple cases where the rear torsion housing was cut long to retain the VIN.
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[Tom_Kathleen]

Bruce & this guy should get together - http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1594571 new body & new chassis. Tom
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Manxter #16, 1968 Meyers Manx & Kick-Out SS #16 (WIP)
Manx Club & CVA

[wythac]

Cool. Nice thing about a kit like that is that I can hang it from the wall or ceiling of my shop until I am ready to build it....I think I know what my next project is.

[Iguana]

[Iguana]

[l8sho]

That's great! The Tow'd has always been one of my personal favorites, in part because of its scarcity. But.....you've just devalued all of the existing Tow'ds.

[Iguana]

[joescoolcustoms]

Unfortunately, 2015 is not that far off, (where is 2014 slipping away to?). Will be a lot of work ramping up to offer full kits.

I will have to keep tuned in so that when some kits come east, I get on board for some body parts for mine.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[l8sho]

Iguana: I can't disagree with anything you've said, but you've ignored my point. How many comments have you seen right here on The Samba (and other forums) about the search for Tow'ds that can possibly be resurrected? People happily share every find and their willingness to pay premium prices for what they would normally pass up if it was anything other than a Tow'd.

Consider anything that has had its value increase because of scarcity. Take an extreme example: The $20 Gold Piece (Double Eagle) was last minted in 1933. The gold content is less than an ounce, worth $1200 to $1400 in the fluctuating gold market. But because of its scarcity, a Double Eagle sold several years ago for over $7.5M. If the US Mint started restamping them tomorrow, what do you suppose it would be worth?

Thanks for the offer of a Tow'd. But, No Thank You. I have a Sand Hopper that I am rebuilding and am very happy with. Personally, I think, in some respects, it is an improved Tow'd. But it is unlikely to ever be worth what a genuine early Meyers Tow'd is. And do you know what? I don't care!

As I said at the beginning, I can't disagree with what you say. But if you can't see my point, I see no reason for further debate.

[greenmanx]

I think a better comparison might be the effect to prices for original Manx 1 and 2's when Meyers Manx released the Classic Manx in 2000 and the Kickout more recently. It seems from looking at prices for 1 and 2;s, they went up after the release. So it will be interesting to see who's theory (increase or decrease in value) holds up. IMHO the originals won't be hurt much, if at all.
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GR

[Iguana]

[joescoolcustoms]

[l8sho]

Iguana: You may well be right. Getting Tow'ds back to the market may increase interest and ultimately increase the value of the genre. greenmanx and joes.... have made that point as well. I certainly see the validity of the idea. Makes sense!

Another thing that makes sense (if I understand you correctly), the new body parts and tub can be used to restore original Tow'ds Great concept!! Now there will be a source for those impossible-to-find parts and, maybe, some of those early Tow'ds will find new life.

People who are not knowledgeable usually mistake the Sand Hopper for a Tow'd. It superficially appears to be almost identical. In fact, I'm told that most of the fiberglass is interchangeable including the Tow'dster components. Haven't tried it myself. Okay, the improvements: the first, most obvious, difference is the frame side rails have been reinforced with triangulated tubing that is only slightly smaller than the main rails. The next obvious thing is the dash. Frankly I've always considered the Tow'd dash a bit on the ugly side. Functional, but not terribly interesting, and not up to the rest of the vehicle's design. The Sand Hopper dash is a bit smaller but contoured all the way across in front of the driver (that has presented some serious challenges in my rebuild). Also, the Sand Hopper has a full length tunnel in place of the metal panel of the Tow"d. There are less obvious changes as well, such as the fuel tank has a completely different mounting system which allows the use of an off-the-shelf tank.

I've never attempted to post a photo on The Samba. I will try to do that when I get a bit further along. I'm working in an older, tiny, one-car garage and there really isn't room to take decent photos.

Been an interesting discussion. I've enjoyed it.

[Iguana]

Thanks for the feedback it is always interesting to see what others take on things are.

I can see validity in a lot of what is being said and at the end of the day if the re-release of the Tow'd helps put another Tow'd on the road then I am happy to see it happen.

As far as Tow'd Dash's go the offering will be similar to the Original Tow'd as it allows for fitment issues encountered dependent on where the hood is places relative to the steering support column. This is why is was designed to slide in and out so to speak.

With the advent of CNC Technology there are plenty of options and once we get to that stage I will put a few of my Tow'd Dash DXF Files out so if people want to do their own thing it is a cheap and easy option.

In regards to the rest of the chassis etc the new Tow'd will have a semi truss built in as well as several other nice features which will hopefully meet the majority of peoples needs. If they find it doesn't then that is what Kit 22 is all about, buy the unwelded raw components and assemble them how you think it should be done and modify as you see fit.

When I built my Blue Tow'd I cut the majority of the factory brackets off and made new ones to suit what I was trying to achieve, being able to purchase raw product not welded and do it from there would have saved me a lot of time. I made a new tow'd style roll cage that was 3 1/2" higher to clear my melon and dropped the rear torsion 2" and back 1 1/2" to clear the 5 speed etc. Does that make it any less a Tow'd .. Dunno but it makes it fun to drive

The New Tow'd chassis is being designed from the ground up. It will undergo several design reviews and bring some new technology to the table such as FEA and CAD to ensure it does what it is suppose to do safely and with the required level of simplicity.

If nothing else it will be a great journey and well worth the cost of admission from my point of view.

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[l8sho]

Iguana: Very nice! Obviously your skills and resources are far superior to my own. For example, I don't weld, so I have had to farm out that kind of work when it was necessary. That gets difficult and expensive really fast. So, I must work with what I have and try to use creative problem solving. And it definitely does not always work!!!! But as I've told a friend recently, that's part of the fun.

Absolutely agree, anything that adds to pleasure and involvement of others, can't possibly be wrong.

Good luck with your many projects.

[EVfun]

[mekeys]

An ad for an old magazine DUNE BUGGIES from 1968
Can you believe things could have ever been that cheap..