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1964(?) Steel body buggy
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Faulty_Ground
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:06 am    Post subject: 1964(?) Steel body buggy Reply with quote

I promised the nice people in the member introduction thread a link to some pictures. Besides, I will probably need a project page of some sort as time progresses. And its always nice to have some photos to link to when I ask a tech question...

Anyhow, before we get all frisky with the pictures, let me tell you the story... People say I'm good at that.

My sister was renting a country home from her best friend a few years back. The first time I went out to visit, I peered out the window in the office, squinting as hard as I could to see the opposite corner of the 5 acre lot...

"Whats that?"

"What?"

"That green contraption out there past the deer feeder"

"Good lord, how did I know you would gravitate to that thing? It's Casey's (her friends husband). Some sort of dune buggy thing"

So I hoofed it over there to check it out. What a mess! The wheels were sunken about 2 inches into the dirt. The towbar (more on that later) was still attached, and buried about 8 inches. What paint was left on it was beyond shot... All 4 tires were flat and crumbling, the seats were gone, as was the engine... the main seal on the transmission input shaft was missing. So too the fuel tank. The shifter wasn't connected to anything, all three pedals were jammed, and only using a prybar, was I able to hoist the dual turning brake levers far enough to be sure they weren't working either. But it was unique, and the body was welded together with some THICK steel. I might not even call is sheet metal, I would refer to this as steel plate. This was in 2006... The tags has expired in '94.

Naturally, I had to have it. I asked my sister for Casey's number, called him, and asked what he wanted for "whats left of that old dune buggy". He told me him, his brother, and grandfather built it together, and he has intended on restoring it someday, but he would part with it for $750. I restrained myself from laughing and told him I wasn't that interested. (I really was, but didn't have $750 to offer him) As it turns out, this was a good move. The next morning around 7:30, my phone wakes me up. It's his wife. She said "Casey did some thinking last night, and he'll take $100 for that piece of s Embarassed t" DONE.

Since then, I hauled it from her place in central Texas, 1100 miles back to my home in New Mexico. Put on a set of mis-matched used tires that will hold air for a day or two, to allow me to roll it around as needed to keep it out of the way. Then, hauled it 1100 miles back when I moved to central Texas in 2007.

Just this week (Thanks TheSamba!) I found the one surviving VIN plate on the floor pan behind the shifter, and after re-reading it a couple times to correct some numbers I mis-read through the rust, decided the original chassis was a 1964 model. (I think it was blue)

So without further delay... The (probably) 1964 buggy/roadster/scrapheap project!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


See that towbar there? I told you there would be more about that. That's a straight piece of rigid tube, that goes into a trailer receiver that's welded under the front bumper. You're supposed to jack up the front end until it will sit on the trailer ball on the tow vehicle, line them up perfectly, then lower it into the hitch.

Pros: Able to steer in reverse like a normal trailer
Cons: Have to carry a farm jack requires precise alignment of hitching

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lovethatconvertible
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like a Cool project. Is the body removable or did the weld it onto the pan? I really would like to know how much that puppy weighs. Looks like a tank. Keep us updated and keep the pic's coming.
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NoBudgetVWGarage
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That thing is pretty cool. I've seen one of those as a kid, basically in the same condition you found yours in. The metal on that is pretty thick. NOTHING like a normal body. Pretty cool project. Keep us posted on how it turns out.
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chickengeorge
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You know what I would do? I'd lower it. No, I'd slam it. Then I'd put some cool wheels on it. Maybe something with a Porsche pattern. Oh, I know! some earlies! Yeah, slam it on earlies.

It's actually a pretty cool little rig. Does it look like it had seats or do you just sit on the package tray?
It's built like a tank. I'd roll it.
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dreadpiraterobert
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 12:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool project. What's with that tubing around the shifter?
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NoBudgetVWGarage
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 4:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shifters gotta have roll bars too. LOL. Just kiddin. It is interesting though. I bet that thing has stories to tell.

Slammed with early Porsche rims would look sweet.
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65'1300Deluxe
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That looks just like an Empi Sportster! (U.S Patent 3,309,795). There's one in the Aug. 1996 edition of Hot VW's. They're supposed to be rare.

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LeviMan2001
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

65'1300Deluxe wrote:
That looks just like an Empi Sportster! (U.S Patent 3,309,795). There's one in the Aug. 1996 edition of Hot VW's. They're supposed to be rare.

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I can see why it's rare Shocked
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Russ Wolfe
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is what some people say about bugs.
Wink
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vws-microcars4jim
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like it.

The heavy look of it reminds me of my own crazy homebuilt steel buggy.
Good luck with the project!
Jim
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Scott H
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vws-microcars4jim wrote:
I like it.

The heavy look of it reminds me of my own crazy homebuilt steel buggy.
Good luck with the project!
Jim
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Not to hijack Faulty Ground's thread but do you have a pic of the rear/engine area of this? That looks like it'd go damn near anywhere.
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vws-microcars4jim
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 7:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Scott H wrote:
Not to hijack Faulty Ground's thread but do you have a pic of the rear/engine area of this? That looks like it'd go damn near anywhere.


Here's a shot of it "at work", pulling something around the yard.
I'd like to off-road it, but am hesitant to with no roll-over protection (something Faulty Ground may want to consider with his new buggy).

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LeviMan2001
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vws-microcars4jim wrote:
Scott H wrote:
Not to hijack Faulty Ground's thread but do you have a pic of the rear/engine area of this? That looks like it'd go damn near anywhere.


Here's a shot of it "at work", pulling something around the yard.
I'd like to off-road it, but am hesitant to with no roll-over protection (something Faulty Ground may want to consider with his new buggy).

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Does that thing have super beetle front suspension? Confused
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Faulty_Ground
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 1:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lovethatconvertable wrote:
Is the body removable or did the weld it onto the pan?

No idea, need to clean it out, and jack it up. Everything else he did was welded, so I'm afraid that might be the case... Its got a couple weak spots in the pan, so here's to hoping for some nice simple bolts...

chickengeorge wrote:
Does it look like it had seats or do you just sit on the package tray?

I've been wondering myself. Its got two seatbelts in it, so I'm assuming it had some sort of seating mechanism, but I couldn't guarantee it wasn't two pieces of plywood wrapped in a mexican blanket posing as a bench seat...

dreadpiraterobert wrote:
What's with that tubing around the shifter?

Turning brake levers! One left, one right, each connected directly to the parking brake cable for that sides rear drum. On the flip side, no parking brake...

65'1300Deluxe wrote:
That looks just like an Empi Sportster!

See, I was thinking it looked more like...
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vws-microcars4jim wrote:
The heavy look of it reminds me of my own crazy homebuilt steel buggy.
Good luck with the project!

I dig, and thanks!

Quote:
no roll-over protection (something Faulty Ground may want to consider with his new buggy).

I said it back in high-school, and I'll say it again.... WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKING ROLLOVER PROTECTION! (Exhibit A: Me in my first car)

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Tschuette
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bet it was a wheel stander, that is how you turn one, with left and right rear brakes.
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