Buying a Buggy...Input appreciated

[Bikerndiver]

Hello all! I just joined this forum today because my wife and I are planning to buy a Dune Buggy this weekend. We haven't seen it yet, but in speaking with the seller, we feel pretty comfortable that it was well built and kept in good condition. However, once we get to see it/drive it, I'd like to have some specific things i should be on the lookout for.
I've rebuilt and restored a half dozen motorcycles, built a boat and done more repair work on cars than I'd like to remember.... But I haven't been near an air-cooled VW since 1977!
This is a description of the mechanics of the buggy that we are planning to buy: It has a 1966 frame, a 1970 motor, newly rebuilt (as close to stock as possible) by a firm that has been in the air cooled VW business for 40 years. Less than 200 miles on the motor. The tranny was similarily rebuilt with about 5,000 miles on it.
Dual port heads with dual Keihin carbs, 4 wheel disk brakes with tuned headers and dual exhaust.
Seller didn't know who the body manufacturer was. I don't know if it has electronic ignition or stock, hope it'd electronic....

If anyone can give me any tips to look for shortcuts in the build or where I could look for flaws, I would appreciate it.
Thanks!

[oprn]

What to look for depends entirely on what the intended use is. It's also a very personal thing, what is right and good for one person is completely wrong for the next. One guy will want a dual purpose car, the next will never drive his on the street, the third guy only drives on sand and so forth. These cars are hand built and each and every one is built different so there is really no blue print correct Buggy.

There are some things I suppose that have proven to work better than others in a general sense though. It would be best to tell us how you expect to use it, post pictures and then we could give you some pointers as to suitability.

A couple things do come to mind from your description though:

-"by a firm that has been in the business for 40 years"... lets hope it wasn't GEX!

-"as close as possible to stock" - some of the close parts (Chinese) can be problematic.(distributors, carbs, air cleaners, that sort of thing)

-"true tuned dual exhaust" does not exist unless it is hand made to order.

-there is absolutely nothing wrong with points and condenser ignition on a stock to mild engine. Very few people drive them enough to wear out a set of points.

-Keihin carbs are rarely used on VWs. Not to say they won't work but you may be on your own troubleshooting them if they don't.

Chances are that no matter what it is there will be things you will want to change to suit your purpose. That will be up to you to balance the asking price against the cost of changes and get it to fit your budget.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Bikerndiver]

Thanks for the reply!
We are going to use it strictly as an on road, sunny day, errand runner. As for my comment about the engine being as close to stock as possible, I meant that there were no high performance internals, cam etc. The build was not done by the company you mentioned.
The seller used the term tuned headers. I'm assuming that he meant "made for the car", not adapted from some other application.
As for the carbs, can I fairly easily change them to dual Webers????

In general, I guess I was looking for some pointers in evaluating the overall build for quality & safety.... Should I look for bad welds in certain places??? Should I be looking for reinforcement braces in certain places.... Body mounts that would horrify you????? Perhaps components (like the carbs) that could be problematic in the future....

Again, any pointers would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Dale M.]

Typically the only concerning weld would be where it's chassis was shortened if it is a short wheel base buggy, and the "welds" are generally just behind the e-brake handle on the tunnel and going out at a angle to the rear corners of the pan..... Other thing to look at is if there are any rust outs in the pan, typically of open body cars if they get a bit of rain and if it allowed to just sit in car the floors tend to rust... So get down on your back, and look under the buggy for any "soft" (rusty looking ) spots, they need to be poked and prodded to see if rust is just surface or all the way through.... Yes you can get replacement pans or just do repairs by patching, but to fully restore pans its usually a body off operation....

IF it runs decent and drives without any weird shakes and shimmies its going to be up to you if whatever the driving results are acceptable... If you want it bad enough you really should know the almost anything that is not a real show stopper can be repaired...

IF you have restored bikes, then the buggy is no different except it has 4 wheels rather than 2....

The red car was a complete body off restoration and the blue car was a complete parts build, the only know (named) facts were body is a Joe Pody, Sandrover and chassis was a 69 IRS the blue car was built strictly for autocross racing before it was sold...

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“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns"
"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

[oprn]

Being as you posted in the "off road" section, somehow I was picturing a sand rail type Buggy but it could be either. Both the Manx style and the tubing chassis Buggies are used on and off road.

If it is a sand rail style they often came as a partially factory welded kit. There was two parts to it, the upper roll cage and the lower "pan" and it was up to the buyer to weld in the uprights and diagonals that joined the two. My sand rail was like that and yes some of the owner done welds on those uprights were pretty sketchy and had to be re-done.

Wiring on Buggies in my experience is always an area that needs improving but if you are the sort that has previous car/bike experience I am sure you are familiar with that.
_________________
Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Bikerndiver]

Thank you all very much for the replies. It is a classic dune buggy style and not a sand rail. From speaking with the owner over the phone, it seems it has never seen sand. It was just an on road fun car.

I will plan on crawling under it and checking for the welds where the frame was shortened, if it was shortened... The seller has owned it for a decade or so and claims he has put many hours and $$$ into getting it in the condition it is in today.

A test drive, on both highway and local roads will give me a good feel for the steering, transmission and brakes. I'll be looking for any oil leaks before and after my drive.

If we purchase this buggy, I hope those Keihin carbs won't give us any problems. Would new Webers fit in place of those? I would assume I would just need new gaskets and linkage if that is so....

I appreciate you all responding and hopefully by this time next week, we'll be new buggy owners. If so, I'll let you all know and post some pictures.

[Dale M.]

[oprn]

Yes dual carbs on a glass Buggy is a tight fit. I have to unbolt the carbs from the manifold on mine to do ANYTHING to them including service the air cleaners. As for the Keihins, they might be well sorted out and work just fine. You will know when you test drive it if there are stumbles, farts and flat spots... although a good rich mixture will cover many sins... and that won't be readily evident without a fuel mileage run. Stick your finger in the exhaust and if it comes out with more than a little touch of black then it is running too rich. I assume they are side draught carbs and just might be the ticket for ease of access.

As for the Kadrons, yes and no. I have run both them and Weber IDFs on my street Buggy. Kadrons can run well but have the same clearance to the body issues, the linkage is poor and these days cost just as much new as Webers. If you can find a good used set then maybe but on the other hand I found a good used set of Webers and I would not go back.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Bikerndiver]

Thanks to everyone! Now I know where this buggy post belongs.... Anyone know if a moderator can just move it to the fiberglass buggy forum??? If not, I'll start posting there if I buy the buggy.

Thanks again to all!