Building a buggy - costs then vs now

[Mike1991]

When replacing worn out or old parts on my Manx I cringe at how much they cost compared to past purchases. Below is a chart of what it cost to originally build this car in the 1960's.

Prices from B.F.Meyers & Company Catalog 1966 or so Fountain Valley, CA.

Part # Description Price

103 Kit B body 499.95
166 Convertible soft top 136.99
129 Front seats 44.95
131 Rear seat pad 28.00
132 Carpet kit 29.95
160 Steering Wheel Leather 34.95
147 Select-a-brake hand lever 22.95
142 Front bumper 29.95
136 Delswift mirror 4.95
141 Rear bumper 19.95
134 Manx shift knob 3.95
151 Skid plate 19.12
154 Roll bar chrome 44.50
122 Monza filler neck 14.95
321 Rear trans strap 29.50
200 Front rims 14x6 2ea at $22.95 45.90
201 Rear rims 15x8 2ea at 25.95 51.90
189 Tires front 2ea at 29.99 59.98
191 Tires rear 2ea at 31.49 62.98
195 select-a-drop front beam 22.50
156 Sidewinder exhaust 42.49
Windshield wipers, gas tank,
steering column, Chassis/motor
/transmission 400.00

Total 1650.36

VERSE buy a new beetle

MSRP New 1963 Beetle 1595.00
MSRP New 1968 Beetle 1695.00



Surprised??????? Yes, it was expensive to build a buggy back in the day. Time makes it seem less expensive than is really was. Yet it still hurts to pay $20 for an OEM tie rod end when the last one cost $3.95

[kustoms]

We are lucky to still get parts today no matter what the cost.
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[slalombuggy]

It's all relative and really there's no comparison between prices in 1966 and now. I'n 1966 my Dad bought a new Rambler wagon for $2200 and made about $3500 a year as a police officer, a loaf of bread was $.10 If you consider the average wage back then was around $4000, a year a buggy was a bloody expensive car to build back then also.

brad

[Dale M.]

Not sure why the cringe.... In the day your list was written a good starting wage was $1.75 a hour.... Today its $17.50.... I'm sure income today is better in relationship to todays cost then it was in the 60's...

Dale
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"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

[jsturtlebuggy]

So Mike how long have you had a dune buggy?

When my Dad built the first dune buggy for the family in 1970 gas was around 35cents or close to it.
Money spent has always been relative to how much fun you are having.
_________________
Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Motorsports
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960

[Wolfgangdieter]

Minimum was was $1.25 from 1963-1966. $7.25 now.
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[Hank22]

I couldn't afford to build one in the 60's, I can now (kinda)

[stevecc]

Aside from the first item, $500 body kit and the last item, ~$500 (back in the day) running donor bug, everything in between was optional to build a basic buggy.

[sbussard]

[monomanx]

Mike,

Redo the list with prices that you find now for the same identical parts (del swift mirrors, wide rims, etc.

Incidentally, I would like to find some delswift mirrors for a "car" I am working on.

Chris

[karu]

Here is a better comparison. What it is worth in 2012 dollars (adjusted for inflation) from an online calculator.

Fiberglass body.
$500 of 1966 dollars would be worth: $3,546.10 in 2012

Cheaper today!!!! (Well! if you buy non-manx)


Total
$1,650 of 1966 dollars would be worth: $11,702.13 in 2012

Still cheaper today!!!!

Looks like we live in better (cheaper) times

[drs1023]

Good conversation. I bought another guy's project in the '70's after he lost interest. The pan had been shortened and the new body installed on the frame. Everything except the engine and wheels/tries was included in the purchase for $350 - that included the tow bar to get it home.

After putting it all together, putting on 10" Cragar SS wheels and Firestone white letters ($200), getting a custom made convertible (around $150 @ a place in Lodi, NJ) and installing a cammed up 1641 with a PIS carb system (a few hundred), and a couple of odds and ends I made money when I sold it to a fellow soldier for $1500. He towed it from Staten Island to San Luis Obispo, CA in the later 70's.

I think all those prices could be multiplied by 10 now (maybe not the selling price), but so can my salary, so it's all relative.

[EMPIImp69]

The thing is, bug parts and VW aircooled parts in general were more plentiful back then which made them cheaper and not really considered rare yet. There were also no online sites and forum sites like the samba with some members selling stuff for an arm and a nut.
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1966 Vert Bug

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[SBD]

Just for some comparison.....

In 1972 I was in High School & working for $1 an hour. Later I quit that job to take another that paid $1.25 an hour. While at that job I got a .10 an hour raise. I quit that job in 1974. Those were all jobs washing dishes. Later hired on as a sales clerk for $1.50 an hour. In the summer of 1975 I started working in a factory for $2.75 an hour & thought I was IN THE MONEY!

If I remember right, our local VW dealer used to advertise Beetles around 1972 or so for something like $99 down and $64 a month for 36 months. Compare that to the car payments people have to make these days.