TheSamba.com :: View topic - Building either a Boonie Bug or a Phoenix

Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:40 am

Boonie Bug

Phoenix

They are made from a bus chassis and I have already found a great donor vehicle, '73 bay.

I was wondering if shortening the wheel base significantly reduces the ride quality, i.e. bump steer, etc. The designer of the Boonie Bug says that it allows for better off roading capabilities, which would be nice, though I live in the city and will be driving primarily on concrete and often make the Seattle-Portland shuffle.

TYIA

Sun Jan 22, 2006 6:25 am

i'm selling my baja and going BOONIE BUG!

seriously, if you're on the highway, the boonie might be twitchy driving w/ that short wheelbase.

build the phoenix (dig the trans am sticker) and just cruise around picking up chicks with that babe magnet.

Sun Jan 22, 2006 6:58 am

They still make those? :shock: From the styling, those look like pics from the 70's, or early 80's, and they offer a Corvair engine, that too, hot back then.
The Bonnie Bug looks like fun, might need some love to work in the whoops though :wink:

Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:21 am

one note: fiberglass cars can be a real pain in an acident, its not that they aren't strong its that the fiberglass can cause a lot of issues if you get some in you, but the Phoenix definitly has that Buck Rodgers kinda sex apealthough I think it needs much bigger tires

Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:49 am

Looks like they'd be at home on the moon.

Sun Jan 22, 2006 3:35 pm

Wish they had a picture of the rear door open.

Sun Jan 22, 2006 8:12 pm

even though they look kind of cool and im all about the bay bus (I'm putting a 66 body on a 72 bay bus floor myself!) the flat fiberglass panels are not going to keep there shape very well. mostly under wind pressure and age.

round things out a little or add some type of ribbing, there are reasons why car manufacturers already do this.

these are not kits so comming up with a good design and modifying would not be to hard.
but finding windows to fit a round shape will be dificult.

thats my .02

good luck

------------------------------------
69 baja daily thrasher
------------------------------------

Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:36 pm

JMHO,

I think the Boonie Bug is very cool looking. That would be a fun project. The Phoenix, on the other hand... whew, how to describe? No disrespect, but it looks like the offspring of:

+

Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:51 pm

Is that you, Dom?

Sun May 21, 2006 1:21 am

I picked up a Boonie Bug a few weeks ago. The original plans were published in the march 1974 issue of Popular Mechanics. The design is on a shortened split bus platform (about 18"), and is structurally reinforced by heavy duty square tubing. I'll have some pics uploaded in a few days....

Sun May 21, 2006 5:12 pm

The Boonie Bug is too cool !! That would make a
sweet in town cruiser up in Big Bear.

But this other one...Is it the DeLorean's
granddaddy ?

Mon May 22, 2006 5:56 pm

Both the Boonie Bug & the Klingon shuttle... er, ummm - Phoenix :shock: , were built from flat sheets of urethane foam that is glued together & carved into shape, then fiberglassed inside the shell & outside as well - lotsa sanding!

Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:05 am

Well, as to the post commenting about the flat panels not staying straight. A friend and I built my Boonie Bug in 1975, and due to the 1" thick foam panels with the internal steel frame it's stayed straight these past 32 years. Also I should add that mine if anything should tend to warp more as we didn't shorten the wheelbase as the original plans called for.

Now my youngest son and I are now building a version of this body an attaching it to a FWD VW van.

Mon Jul 02, 2007 5:17 am

MadDog69 wrote: even though they look kind of cool and im all about the bay bus (I'm putting a 66 body on a 72 bay bus floor myself!) the flat fiberglass panels are not going to keep there shape very well. mostly under wind pressure and age.

------------------------------------ :roll:

The damage that is on mine is blunt force trauma and the only delamination on the whole body is about a 4 inch bubble. It really is a pretty strong construction method.

BTW, I got the plans so I can rebuild mine from Riley www.rqriley.com/b-bug.html. They are worth buying even if you do not plan on building it. They would make great wall hangers. I even laminated them.

Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:58 pm

just when i think i have seen everything,

the samba throws up another couple of fantastically wacky VW's :D

Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:06 am

Reviving a thread for a BB available in Indiana: https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/cto/6043887730.html

Sun Sep 15, 2024 2:45 pm

MadDog69 wrote: even though they look kind of cool and i'm all about the bay bus (I'm putting a 66 body on a 72 bay bus floor myself!) the flat fiberglass panels are not going to keep there shape very well. mostly under wind pressure and age.
round things out a little or add some type of ribbing, there are reasons why car manufacturers already do this.
these are not kits so coming up with a good design and modifying would not be to hard. but finding windows to fit a round shape will be difficult. thats my .02
good luck
------------------------------------
69 baja daily thrasher
------------------------------------

The flat fiberglassed panels do not bow or bend with time provided the fiberglass layers are at least an 1/8 inch thick. I have seen pickup truck caps made this way and 40 years of continuous weather exposure hasn't caused any changes in the shape of the cap.
If I were building this I don't think I would shorten it. I would increase the ground clearance and increase the track. I would adapt McPherson struts to the front and rear with air bag springs..

Sun Sep 15, 2024 2:48 pm

Plans are no longer available from Riley but you can find the plans and instructions on Scribd dot com for free as a pdf download, Can find some other Riley plan sets there too.

Sun Sep 15, 2024 4:05 pm

DesignBuild wrote: Plans are no longer available from Riley but you can find the plans and instructions on Scribd dot com for free as a pdf download, Can find some other Riley plan sets there too.
Do you have a direct link to the Boonie Bug plans?
I searched and didn't see any plans for such a car.

There is a ton of Arabic documents in the Scribd site.

Mon Sep 16, 2024 12:17 pm

When you search on Scribd try Quincy-Linn or Quincy-Lynn or R.Q. Riley. The Bonnie Bug plans and instructions are altogether in one document. You can also find the Tri-Magnum and other plans there. I forget the name of the person that posted them but if you find one use the posters name as a search term and all of the plans there will pop up.
Many of the early plans were done by Quincy-Linn Enterprises. You might also try Popular Mechanics as a search term.
It is there some where. Just for the heck of it I tried to upload Bonnie Bug plans to Scribd and it came back with a notification that it already exists on Scribd. Si I guess you need to pay for a subscription and search. You can't download it without the subscription. You are going to have a problem buying even a rusted out bus to start with; they don't sell for a $100 bucks anymore.

I have contacted Scribd because their search engine is not working properly. Will have to see what happens.