Basket Case Manx II

[manxvair]

Thanks Joseph, In a later conversation with Lori Ann she reminded me of the additional sizing additions you made, I will take you picture advice.

[dbsmith]

Joe

Great recap of the trip.

I really like the way you mounted the oil cooler and the battery in the back. Leaves more room on the interior to stuff things under the seat.
Is that a bug pack oil cooler (72 or 96)? And did it live up to your expectations crossing the desert?

David
_________________
dbsmith
SoCal
#127 Manxter - 99.5% done....

[joescoolcustoms]

[dbsmith]

Thanks
Looks like a good option for the Manxter..
It was great putting faces to the people from all the posts at Big Bear.
Keep up all the builds, it help keep us motivated.

David.
_________________
dbsmith
SoCal
#127 Manxter - 99.5% done....

[joescoolcustoms]

Now that we are in the middle of winter, buggymeisters are huddled up around heaters in their garages working on buggy projects, (most of the buggy community that do not live in the "warm" year round driving States), it is time to finish the adventure of the ECVW '14.

Maybe this will inspire you to jump into the ECVW '15 group with us and have more fun than is maybe legal.

When I last left off, we had made it to California, Oceanside and had dinner with Bruce and Winnie, and a group of buggy enthusiast. Made it to the Hotel beat like a Cannibals Dinner Calling Drum. And as typical, up and back at it early on Thursday morning. For those of us who had not been in this area previously or attended this event, we had a guess of what was about to happen today, but no real idea of how cool of a day it turned out to be.

David's day to drive, which was welcomed by me. We left the hotel and jumped on "The 5" (California speak) and headed to Bruce and Winnie's Meyers Manx World Headquarters.

After a short 20 minute trip on the interstate, we exited off at Valley Center CA and jumped on a very pretty curvy canyon like road that leads down and up small grades. Since I did not know where we were going and how far out we were, I did not have the camera ready, (OK, I was tired) and missed a photo of New Red being taken out to fill up on fuel. I did get off one shot of the orange pearl Manxster that Bruce calls "Pretty" as it was coming out of the road leading to Meyers Manx.

Once up the dirt road to their house, (which is where the MM World HQ is located), we saw stuff happening in prep for Big Bear event.

Parked the buggy beside the trailer loaded and ready to go.

I did not photo Bruce and Winnie's house out of respect for privacy. But, it is very similar to my house. Rancher, I guess about 1800 square feet with a nice patio out front with a area to sit, talk and reflect on the day. Out the back of the house is a pretty view down over the edge of a small canyon the property is perched on. Very modest, nice and warming. Winnie did climb up on a rock and pointed at the general area where her and Ale's office is, Bruce's fab shops, finish shop and storage buildings.

Bruce was working on some prototypes in one building and I did not photo those either out of respect for his work. Hand drawings that show Bruce's thought process in developing the new product and changes with notes and so forth. I got to see in the inner workings of how he does things, and to my surprise, none different than any of us do, he just has a gift for design. Most of the buildings are aircraft hanger style with cloth coverings and vented on the sides. I am guessing they do not get much rain and the temperature must be fairly even, unlike where I am currently huddled in my 8X8 office with a small heater staying warm and not wanting to work in the cold garage. I did snap a few photos of some of the finish shop and some storage areas.

So, the myth that Bruce is rich, is true in achievements, respect, friends, history and being a general cool guy. But not in the sense of money rich and living large. He and Winnie live not much different than Darlene and I, modest with some good workshop space and some cool toys. After we received the tour of their facilities, the call to move out for Big Bear came.

This is where something funny happened. Both Bruce and Winnie were driving to Big Bear, Bruce in New Red and Winnie in the Dodge pulling the goose neck trailer with Old Red and the Give A Way Manxster Kick Out. So, in the middle of the group, they are talking about how they want to go into BB, Bruce wants to go in the "front" and Winnie wants to go in the "back". After a minute of "I want to go this way because it is pretty" and "I want to go that way because it is easier", Winnie said, hell, I'm going in the back, you go however you want. And off we went!

So, out the dirt road, back up the curvy canyon to The 5 we go.

Everyone is going rather quickly, like they all know where we are heading and they move with purpose. David and I are a little antsy making sure we stay up and do not get lost in a area we have never been in before. We soon make it to the interstate and on the entrance ramp we see everyone pulled over in a line waiting on the group so no one gets lost, we pull up and sit about a minute, then Bam! Off like a freaking shot gun at a greased pig catching race! We are towards the rear of the group, about 6 to 7 back and I was only able to keep track of Winnie, who was in the lead in that Dodge pulling the goose neck trailer with two buggy's on board, for about 1 mile, and we were following Bruce at 70 MPH. She put that truck and trailer in the wind!

For the first few minutes, most of us who have not had the please to drive along with Bruce, started shuffeling around and taking pictures on the highway with Bruce. David hung back, and finally we took our turn last.

The Manx Race Buggy rode with us. I hope maybe Nelson or someone else will chime in and give a history of this Manx.

Not everyday does a East Coaster get to dive along with Mr. Manx! Bruce had his grandson Jagger with him.

So as with everyone else, we fell in behind Bruce and down the road we go.

David had the Garmin up and plugged into the resort at Big Bear, so, we knew basically where we were going, unless Bruce was going a different way than what the Garmin showed. So, the Garmin displays the next turn, how far up ahead it is, and right or left turn. Bruce was flying up the interstate 70 to 75 MPH, weaving in and out of traffic, while leading a pack of buggy's that most were not from the area! David would watch and say, he needs to get over, we exit in 2 /10th's mile, is he going or not? Then like a arrow, Bruce goes across 4 lanes and down the exit ramp we go with hopefully everyone following.

Then the canyon. We are right behind Bruce and he starts up this winding canyon road. Beautiful road, pretty scenery, but crap, hang on, here we go!!! The 5000 pound winch on the nose, the double roll cage, the tall truck style tires, the extra luggage, the raised height of the Puzzle Manx did not make for a good handling buggy. David was working the wheel, the gears and the throttle quickly and fully. About a mile up the canyon, Bruce pulls off onto a side area in the dirt, and asks did someone catch up yet? Someone else told him they have been delayed a little and so off we went. In the brief stop, I heard Chris yell out that his Generator quit charging, uh oh! David let Vincent ahead of us so France could take some pictures, and again, Bruce went flying up the canyon road!

I watched France, turned around backwards in the passenger seat so she could take pictures, Vincent driving full force to stay up with Bruce. Just about the time Vincent straightened up to where France could focus and snap a shot, Vincent went into another curve and France had to hang onto the roll bar to stay in the buggy. David and I was laughing and wondering if France was going to get sick being tossed around like that.

Someone from the group must have been in contact with Big Bear Event HQ to let them know our progress, but do to Bruce shoving that bugy up the Canyon, we got there a little bit early. We caught Mike and Lori Anne leading about 20 buggy's out of Big Bear to great us, but we caught them only about 1/2 mile from the resort.

So we roll into Big Bear Lake area and go to Northwoods Resort where the event will be held, check in, carry luggage up to the room and then go looking for Chris to see what needs to be done with the charging problem. Well, in high fashion, Tom had set up a Pop up and Mike brought the hauler packed with everything to rebuild a aircraft carrier, if need be. So many hands were already on the Monocoque helping, we just watched. I think David Barrett was in the group and in no time they had the engine out so as to replace the generator, and someone was leaving to run Chris back into the Valley to a VW parts house who had a Bosch Generator.

So, we went up stairs and got registered, picked up Tee Shirts and so forth. Had to get my photo with a couple of hot ladies!

Then drove the Puzzle Manx around and parked next to Old Red and the Give A Way Kickout. I did this so I could post up on Facebook the picture titled "My two buggy's parked next to Old Red" on the Manx Club page to get a reaction. Boy did it! Got a good laugh from it.

Chris did get the Monocoque fixed and back up and ready for round 2. We wondered around looking at all the buggy's. I was overwhelmed to say the least! I had never seen that many buggy's in one place, and had no idea that eventually about 400 would make the event. Every time I was looking at a just arrived buggy, 5 more would roll in. I spent at least 4 hours looking at buggy's that evening.

Thomas Crown Buggy.

I have soo many pictures that I cannot post them all, but I looked at and photo'ed every buggy that was there.

In the next post, I will share the dirt.
_________________
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

[neohic]

Wow, Joe... I must've read through this entire thread at least a few dozen times now and it never gets old! This is an amazing buggy. Period! Thanks for documenting it the way you have. It's been a constant encyclopedia of knowledge for me.
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

I am glad you get use of it Ben, and hope it helps you get yours rolling.

Wow! It has been exciting since I finished it in June 2014. Crossing the US going Ocean to Ocean twice.

Awarded the Long Haul Award and the Iron Buggy Award. Off roaded it in CA, UT, WV and drove the beach's of Pismo CA and the NC Outer Bank Islands. Drove through 43 states. 133* crossing the Mojave Desert, to 14,258 feet on Mount Evans, through Death Valley Junction, to the Cadillac Ranch, through Hail, driving rain, cross winds so hard the fuel mileage dropped 25%.

Broke 100 MPH for 3 miles. A couple speeding tickets, a few trophies, a busted windshield from a rock truck in North Eastern CO. Three different mufflers in search of the "tone".

It has introduced me to more new friends than I can try to count. I could not even guess the smiles it has produced in cars that have passed, the honks/beeps, waves, shout-outs.

It has so far been one of the best times of my life looking at the world through that flat windshield. 22,000 miles and still rolling hard. After it gets driven across the State of WV for my work on Tuesday, it will get pulled apart for heated seats, re-padding the seats, general cleanup, new front disc brakes, fix a collector leak, custom built roof rack, re-buff the paint and apply some 3M paint protection film on the sides. Adjust the valves, drive it to Cincinnati OH for the VW Porsche Reunion, change oil and then lead 13 other Buggy's on the "Buggy's To The Banx" Manx Club event going to MOTB in October. Should hit 25,000 miles in 16 months, with 5 month's off for winter '14-'15.

Buggy Life.
_________________
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

[neohic]

Question for you, Joe... Have you had to do any updating on your top and canvas? I'd really like to do something similar with a hatch type setup. Any louder driver conditions in warmer or colder conditions as material stretches or contracts?
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

Funny you ask.

Tonight I am doing two small repairs. I have pulled two snaps through the material. I had never sewn before this top, so, some mistakes were made. One is, in some places, I only have one layer of material where the snap is located. I highly recommend having two to three layers.

I also have about 6 to 8 inch section of the seal on the rear hatch that is separating from the pinch welting. Just wear and tear. Lots of luggage have been in/out or the rear.

No real stretching in hot weather. No other problems.

The side "glass" is taking a beating from scratches and general wear. Also, the big SPF sunscreen does not come off if gotten on the glass. I will most likely replace the glass this winter.
_________________
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

[neohic]

Good to know! Could you take some closer pictures on how you finished the edges between the "glass" and the rest of the material?
_________________
-Ben

I like to build stuff...

[joescoolcustoms]

Ben, finally grabbed some pictures of my first sewing job. Not having any idea of how to do it, I made up my rules as I went along. It has served me well, but when I sewed WVbowtieman's top a few weeks ago, I corrected some mistakes and made some improvements in strength and looks.

The rear fixed window section has a single overlap of the material stitched, then the window stitched direct to it.

Here is the inside of the rear fixed window section. Not pretty, but works well. On David's, I totally overlapped the material to give two layers for the snaps, (very much needed as I have pulled 3 snaps through the material and have had to repair the areas), then left enough material to re-overlap backwards over the glass. The glass has a stiff edge and will cut into your paint if it touches it. On David's, you cannot see the black inner area exposed due to being totally overlapped.

For the zippers, having zero training sewing or upholstery making, I did the best I could. The zipper was sewn into the material first from the back side. then the glass was layed over it and sewn to the zipper. Not pretty at all, but has worked well with no problems yet.

So, on David's, my skills have improved and my execution is getting better. For the zippers on his, I went back and cut a trim" piece and stitched it over the exposed zipper to dress it up and add strength.

They are not as pretty as I would like them to look, but they are super strong and get the job done. Mine has survived the side winds of Kansas, the Snow in WV, desert heat in Death Valley and getting sand blaseted at the beach's.

Hope this helps you a little.
_________________
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

[andygere]

Joe,
I"ve used this stuff on the windows of my boat canvas for years, and I'm always amazed at the scratches that I'm able to polish out of the clear vinyl. It works like rubbing compound, and does a remarkable job. Worth a try before you break out the sewing machine.

Impressive job on the enclosure. I've done some basic gear sewing for the boat and other projects over the years, but nothing nearly so difficult as what you took on. Looks great to my eye.

http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/73330904?...0=73330904

[neohic]

[joescoolcustoms]

Thanks Andy! I will get a bottle of that and try it out. My side windows have taking a beating on the trips and do have some scratch's that would be nice to try and buff out somewhat.

Ben, check out the bottom of page 6 and page 7 to see how I did the body rear seal area. David's was done kind of similar, but his does not hinge to open, but opens with a zipper and the flap lays on the roof. To do mine over, I would do it like I did David's. His has a hoop around the rear I bent for him out of rigid electrical conduit and he welded supports to it that pick up the roll cage. His rear hoop just hoovers over the body not touching it and has the male snaps in it. The top just comes down far enough to touch the body and keep air/rain out.
_________________
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

[neohic]

[joescoolcustoms]

On the 2015 ECVW trip across the US, Darlene and I followed Jon and Charlie in his Alameda Buggy with a roof rack and a "Roof Bag". They carried all their luggage in it and had plenty of room inside the buggy. Where as we carried all of our stuff inside the buggy for a 20 day trip. And the longer the trip, the more crap you pick up along the way.

That was in the middle of the summer when you pack mostly light weight clothes. So, the up coming trip to MOTB, Darlene wanted to take her electric blanket so she could stay warm in the house at night, extra winter-ish clothes just in case. I need to transport some items that will be in the silent auction and some other items.

So, time to make a roof rack. The Roof Bags are very cost effective and got mine shipped to me for $ 68.00 and it is weather tight so items will not get wet if the rain does not lift.

I started with some 1/2 inch diameter, 0.060 wall tubing, just like what I use for the rear rack. And since Dar wanted the "Large" roof bag, it had to be big. The roof bag is 34" wide, 42" long and 16" deep. So, the top opening is 34 wide and 46 long. I did lean the sides in a little instead of straight up. Each side tilts inward 1 inch top to bottom.

Since I had already used two tubing clamps to hold the hard top on with, I just added two more up front. These are made for holding counter weights on Tractor Pulling rigs and they have 3/8" X 16 tapped holes that provide plenty of strength. Looking close, you can see the 3M clear paint protectant I installed on the painted tubing before bolting the clamps on.

I cut 3/4 thick edges off of treated 2X4's to make the wooden slats for the floor of the rack. Sanded, stained and satin urethane coated them.

The rack is canted to the front to skim right over top of the hard top. This allows me to run the rack and top at the same time, or just the top, or just the rack.

And painted the same heavy Metalic Grey that my cage and bumpers are painted. You can see in this picture the extra "feet" I welded on the front corners and the middle. These have felt on the bottom and just apply light pressure on the hard top to stabilize it. The feet hit at the curved areas of the top where it is the strongest for support.

And with the big roof bag.

One step closer to being ready for the trip to the OBX in less than 2 weeks.
_________________
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

[neohic]

[timcurtis67]

I looks great, like it belongs on a buggy. Very nice addition.
_________________
67 Desert Fox Spoiler

[andygere]

Joe, is there anything you can't build? Looks great, first class design and construction all the way.

[joescoolcustoms]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Andy, I just figure there is nothing I cannot screw up so bad, some one else cannot fix it for me, so why not try?

One upgrade I have been wanting to do is seat heaters. Extend the buggy season, and start it earlier. Plus, Darlene and I were very cold on the return trip from MOTB '14. Even with the soft enclosure, riding in the 40* F temps gets cold after 9 hours on the road.

So, to start is to pull out the seats. And find all the sunflower seed hulls, dirt from the 2014 ECVW Big Bear off road run. Mud from off roading in WV, red dirt from Moab UT on the ECVW '15 trip, sand from the NC OBX and Pismo.

I pulled the head rests off to make it easier to flop the seats around and not damage them.

I purchased the Sojoy brand of seat heaters in a 2-seat kit. About $ 90.00 shipped off of ebay. The heat pads can be cut with scissors, but the cutting has to be done correctly or the pads will not heat in all areas. The + and - conductors run up the out side edges, so if the edge is cut, the heat stops at the cut. But if the seat has the pleat areas that fasten through the foam and get caught by hog rings, the center of the heat pad can be cut out and the area top/bottom of the hole will still heat as long as the outside +/- conductors are not cut.

Since I have 23,000 + miles on these seats, they have broken down somewhat. I took advantage of them being apart and also aded some additional padding.

Normally, the pads are installed length-wise on the lower section, just like the back section. But, me being me, I have different ideas.

When I sit in a seat, my butt does not go all the way into the rear "crack" section of the top and bottom parting space. Also, I do not sit with my knees pinned together. With the legs spread apart, the legs move off of the heat pad area. So, I installed the lower pads cross-wise to heat my legs no matter if knees are together or apart, and the small area of my butt that does not get the heat does not get cold anyway. (No Fat @$$ jokes needed at this time).

So, a little more puffy and now heated, the seats are done.

Next up is to wire the seat heat controller. I pulled apart the tunnel, removed the shifter and shift rod for more open access and laid out the wiring harness. Note: the way my tube chassis is built affords me to use the empty space in the tunnel to my advantage. But, the wire harness provided has plenty wiring to tuck everything up under the dash and run the wires back to the seats, or up under the rear and run the wires forward.

This system has a power relay that can be turned on/off with a low amp switch, and the relay take the large amp draw. I ran the two power wires right out the back of the tunnel, through a rubber gromet, and looped them up to the switched side of the Master Electrical switch in the lower portion of the package trey. The 5 Amp relay power was routed back up the tunnel along with a separate ground to a simple rocker switch that I can turn on/off and shut the heating system down, allowing it to not be on all the time. (The separate ground is for the light in the switch)

Rocker switch and seat heater control switch on the drivers side of the tunnel.

And turned on.

And the seat heater on high. (Push once to turn on high, push again to turn to medium heat, push again to go to low heat, and again for off)

The rectifier tucked up inside the tunnel and the wiring zip tied in place so it does not flop around and cause issues later.

Everything cleaned up and ready for the seats. (You can see the seat heater controllers lit up and the on/off switch lit up.)

Seats bolted back in and the wiring hooked up.

Clean and install the floor mats and it is ready to roll to more adventures!

_________________
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