TheSamba.com :: View topic - Manx II “2-Face” Ecotec IRS Bus 091

Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:49 pm

This is the story of my Meyers Manx 2, pulled from a garage that had flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Manx was completely underwater for a week and then sat untouched for three years.

As far I can tell it is the real deal, with the Meyers Manx body tag, and all of the proper visual indicators - I plan to have it authenticated but that’s not too important to me so I haven’t yet! The blue metal flake is paint, not original gel.

Pulling it out it’s almost grave:

Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:51 pm

Score :D

Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:06 pm

I could tell immediately that the pan (swing axle, ball joint) was trash, as was the engine and transmission. I ended up giving it away to someone with more time on their hands than me!

luckily I had a spare IRS pan hanging on the wall:

I bought this pan and beam from a guy who “restored” it with new pans and POR-15... well the pans were just glued on with seam sealer and the POR-15 was peeling off. I yanked the pans off, stripped it down, cut the 14.5” out to shorten it, cleaned/stripped/rust-converted it inside and out:

Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:18 pm

I continued burning wire until the pans and all other repairs were done, fully seam welded. I have a million pics of the rust repair, not finished In these but you get the idea (I fixed the holes on the bottom of the Napoleon hat...) then I seam sealed over the usual spots and then primed and painted the pan and rear suspension.

Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:25 pm

Man you are making progress quickly! What are your plans for it?

Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:51 pm

Then I rebuilt the front end from another spare I had (came with the pan). New MOOG ball joints, Delrin bushings, adjusters, the basics

From there it was time to clean up the ghia brakes and spindles, tie rods, steering box, etc

Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:09 pm

Some more front end work, all new brake lines, disc-disc master cylinder, new e brake cables, grommets, etc

Replaced one rear bearing that had some pitting on the races, rest looked perfect. New seals, rotors, etc. vacuum bled the brakes which got me 75% of the way then conventional bled the rest, very solid pedal feel. Added some brake line mounts to the rear trailering arms that the kit doesn’t account for, and rebuilt the pedal assembly. I removed the gas pedal since I will going drive by wire

Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:21 pm

On its wheels for the first time, and I threw the body on to start fitting up the seats, belts, steering, shifter, and fuel system. I will resume posting pics of that stuff tomorrow. What is left is to mount the engine and transaxle up (transaxle will be here 12/30 so on hold waiting on that), measure for axles, mount the radiator, and wire in the lights.

calebmelvin wrote: Man you are making progress quickly! What are your plans for it?

I started working on it at the end of June, I plan on being done in a couple weeks so 6 months of work not too bad. I am putting in a 2.4L Ecotec (no turbo) and a built 091 six rib bus transaxle, nothing too crazy

Tue Dec 29, 2020 10:54 am

Great Job......It's going to be a blast!!!!

Tue Dec 29, 2020 6:43 pm

Took an extra fuel tank I had laying around and started fitting it:

Also fit the hood on to check tank and steering clearance

Started putting a mount together for the fuel pump and filter/regulator combo:

Also ran the -6 an nylon braided line through the original fuel line holes inside the tunnel:

Tue Dec 29, 2020 6:50 pm

Continued with cleaning, welding up the tank, added a modern style auto closing fuel fill cap, stainless return tube near the pickup, added a roll over valve and vent line, and relocated the fuel sender:

Cleaned up the front bumper that was bent and modified it to fit tight to the body:

I stripped the rear bumper/cage I had collecting dust, and hung it on the car. Need the engine and transmission before I can do any more back here:

Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:14 pm

Seats came in, kirkey pro drag with black tweed covers, and some RJS silver belts to keep with the color theme. I built some mounts and welded the stock base sliders to them. I would have bolted them to the floor but my wife is way shorter than me and this is her buggie so it has to be adjustable!

It’s hard to mount belts in a Vw based buggy, but I fabricated some mounts that will be as strong as the car they attach too... I though about bending up a cage but at this point I’m not putting one in, maybe next year.

Added a “harness bar” with correct belt angle

Cleaned up the shifter and put a dragon ball shift knob on

Started mocking up the steering, with the seats so far down and back I had to add some u joints to get the wheel in a good spot:

And here it is with the windshield and hood on, I am supposed to receive the transaxle this week, the engine and wiring is here in a crate ready to go in. Should be a fun few weeks putting in all the shiny bits!

I have already mounted the body with stainless hardware, new pan gaskets, and done lots of little things like new ebrake handle and button, sent the stock light housings out for LED conversion, new mechanical speedo cable, windshield wiper motor rebuild, found a stock 1969 speedo and integrated fuel gauge, etc. that I have left out of this thread mainly because it’s pretty boring! I will post them up when I install them

Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:43 am

Wow! Looking good!

Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:08 am

Fabulous build so far. Unless you're going off in the dunes, you may regret those Kirkey seats. By far the most uncomfortable seat I ever sat in for street use.

Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:05 pm

it's highly possible that your gonna have a great ride when your finished.

Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:43 pm

I had to cut the dash (used a sheet metal “body” saw) to get the steering column low enough.

Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:01 pm

That's an interesting seatbelt install. I'd like to see more pictures of that when you're finished.

Fri Jan 01, 2021 8:54 pm

Yeah the seat belts are kinda strange, I will posts pics when the belts go in. Without a real cage you can bolt to the pan or fiberglass (or both), the shoulder belts go to the bar in the fiberglass, the inside lap belts to the tunnel, the outside lap belt to the body/pan connection, and the submarine belt through the pan with a 4” washer. I imagine I will put a cage in it next year and will revise the belt attachment then. I believe the belt angle and being secure for driving is most important in a buggy like this, because once you are in an accident that is so severe the belts are pulling out the whole car is coming apart and it won’t matter what they are connected to. Of course the mounting points need to be strong but worrying about having the bolts in double shear or a minor prying situation is kind of silly when they are bolted to a bathtub.

Today I fab’d the seat back mounts, tweaked the seat mounts and sliders so they work better and are even, and cut some tabs I will weld to the harness bar.

All of this has to come out again, but it was nice seeing it look like a car again

I received tracking numbers for my transaxle, and pedal assembly yesterday so Monday is going to the day I can really get rolling again.

Sat Jan 02, 2021 9:51 am

Is the seat touching the roll bar in this pic???

If it is you will probably have a rattle that will get annoying...maybe not to you but if your Wife or Significant Other rides with you I can attest to the fact you will be hearing about it.......

A buggy body bends and flexes with the road and bumps so I figure a minimum 1/2 inch clearance.

I speak from experience since I have a rollbar that is too close to the body and I get some noise from it.

My opinion only also but I feel your front bumper is a little too close for comfort......hate to see flex in the pan/body and get contact cracks in that nice paint.

Beautiful build otherwise and it will be a great thrill for you......I like how you are building it your way....that's how a buggy should be built.

Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:26 am

clonebug wrote:

Is the seat touching the roll bar in this pic???

If it is you will probably have a rattle that will get annoying...maybe not to you but if your Wife or Significant Other rides with you I can attest to the fact you will be hearing about it.......

A buggy body bends and flexes with the road and bumps so I figure a minimum 1/2 inch clearance.

I speak from experience since I have a rollbar that is too close to the body and I get some noise from it.

My opinion only also but I feel your front bumper is a little too close for comfort......hate to see flex in the pan/body and get contact cracks in that nice paint.

Beautiful build otherwise and it will be a great thrill for you......I like how you are building it your way....that's how a buggy should be built.

Yes it is just on that side, sharp eye! You are right, it has to be addressed.

I did some searching and it appears the existing Manx style roll bar was installed way too far forward, it should pass though about the same spot as my harness bar and be parallel to the windshield. I think that means is I need to get my tubing bender out... ugh that is a slippery slope that will end with a full cage...

The front bumper is about 7/8” from the hood. I’m not sold on the look, but any further away just looks goofy to me. I have struggled to find a good looking front bumper that is functional, internet searches have not borne fruit. I’m open to ideas!

Thank you, I am having fun with it. A simple “put it in a stock pan with a 1600dp” has spiraled out of control!