Disaster! Buggy wrecked last night.

[bruces]

if you lived anywhere near me,I would nip a rear clip off of one of the old super beatle's I have and give it to you for free .I am sure something closer will pop up for you though .

[lazybonz]

Sorry to see another buggy. The work and time that we put into the cars is never returned. I feel for you.
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also known as GreenManx on the other sites.
Lime Green Meyer's MANX
Avatar artwork done by Sandcat John..

http://s475.photobucket.com/albums/rr118/LongIslandManx/

[TC/TeamEvil]

"I would do it again, as I hope someone would stop and help me if I ever needed it."

Of course I would . . . if you were in your buggy. I hate to admit it, but after reading Hottarod's post and recalling all of the near misses that I've had with people in trucks and SUVs, I honestly doubt that I would have stopped. Even if I did, I probably would have thought, "F#cK him . . . " and driven on again.

I know . . . but it's true.

T

[retterath]

I figure as an arrogant, self centered American, I have the right not to get involved.
I would have stopped too though. Unless dude was in a BMW.

[Shiftie]

I'd have stopped and I will stop every time, even for Honda CRV drivers (the most dangerous on the planet... Generally wildly oblivious)

[didget69]

I'd look into getting a Berrien chassis - get the insurance company of the other party to cough up the Benjamins for a replacement pan... I wouldn't assume that just replacing the rear torsion clip would give you a straight chassis.

http://www.berrienbuggy.com/id63.htm

bnc
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[67 Shane]

I hardly lurk in the buggy threads but I saw yours in the search. Sorry about your ride man. Its a good thing you did though. I would have stopped too. Just reinterates why police tell you not to stand near your ride or in it when on the side of the road. Always get away just because off assholes like this. So what is insurance going to do for you? Thats my main question. I was rear ended in my Euro 67 Beetle a few months back. Dont let insurance low ball you. They will try. Get an estimate from a Aircooled VW shop on what its going to cost to fix, parts and labor and dont take a penny less. If I can help you in any way let me know. Sorry again.
Shane
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-OstKüste-

67 Euro Type 1.
67 SO-42 Westfalia

[Q-Dog]

Everyone, thanks for the replies, ideas and good thoughts. My late night ride before the accident was just supposed to be a quick spin around the block before I parked the buggy and left for vacation. I figured I might not get a chance to drive it again for about 3 weeks and just wanted to sneak in one last ride. Sometimes stuff just happens.

I had several things I wanted to do to the buggy over the winter. Now I guess I'll have to get a head start on that to do list.

I'm now on my vacation and I'll have plenty of time to think about ways to repair the buggy. During breakfast this morning I got to talking with one of the locals who told me he knew of a buggy that had been sitting for years in a field. I took some notes and made a quick detour. Found the car, and it is rough. But I've seen worse projects brought back to life. I had no time to deal with it today, but i took some pictures and notes and I'll try to contact the owner next week to find out the whole story. I'm not really interested in it, but one can never have too many spare parts, right?
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Mr. Unpopular]

Look at it from this perspective, everyone else that drove by would've had the windows rolled up, A/C on full blast, and listening to the radio. Just think how thankful that guy is that you WERE in your buggy.

Everything happens for a reason, even though it may not be a good reason for you.
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"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[bdkw1]

Metal parts and cars are replaceable, your not. Time for some upgrades and giving thanks that your still here to do them.........

[DBDNY]

Where are you on vacation?
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Multiyear frankenbug Rascal
'70 bug

[Q-Dog]

[superman73]

i have plenty of rear clips, and im in central mississippi. i grafted a 74 super rear clip into my safari and it worked out great.
_________________
Chuck

Jesus Saves

70 deluxe bus
74 ghia 1776 dual carb
67 manx clone


various other parts cars.


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228364&highlight=superman73sb+bellsouth

[MURZI]

My buddy has a picked over super you can have for 100 bucks. He is in Covington La. Let me know, as next week he plans to cash it in for scrap$$...
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62 vert
2276
Tim’s welded heads
45 Dells
A1 sidewinder
Fk44 cam

[916pat]

sounds odd but consider yourself lucky. After seeing a accident happen, a innocent driver in my area was hit and killed by a drunk driver (at 5 a.m.) as he tried to help the drivers of the original accident. very sorry about your buggy though.

[Q-Dog]

Murzi. Sent you a PM. Does that super have a title?
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Q-Dog]

Looking at options for getting the buggy back on the road. I'm on vacation, but I have had lots of time to think and I have a couple of ideas. I don't yet know how bad the torsion is on my car but I am thinking worst case I may have to scrap the pan.

How much of my pan do i need to keep to keep my title? I realize rules vary from state to state, but has anyone done this? If my chassis isn't bent and I attempt to just replace the torsion, what should I look out for? Any strength issues with this sort of repair?

Another thought. Has anyone grafted their VIN onto something like a berrien chassis? I guess legally I can't do it, but has anyone tried this?

I've done some searching, but so far I don't have a clear idea of my options.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Russ Wolfe]

[didget69]

Call Berrien - IIRC, they request a donor rear torsion clip be exchanged as a core to them in order to build a square-tube chassis - they might be able to utilize the usable VIN section & bits from your chassis in order to create a chassis for your car... best to call them & see if they will supply the torsion, or if you can send yours in -

Info from Berrien's website:

Square Tube Chassis -- The torsion core charge is $500.00.
At this time we don't have the option of using a custom torsion in the Square Tube Chassis because there are no shock towers and no upper structure to attach shock mounts to so, we have to use a stock torsion.

Core charges are refundable, if we receive an acceptable core within 6 months with a copy of the receipt.

Torsions not used & not acceptable for exchange are the Type 2 (Bus or Vanagon) & Type 3 (Fastback, Notchback or Squareback).

NOTICE - All exchange torsions must meet the following criteria:

Stock Torsions must be assembled. For stock torsions we always use torsions that are assembled with the torsion bars, grommets, spring plates and torsion end caps. That is the way the torsions must be for exchange or for us to purchase. We cannot take torsions that are not assembled, bent or obviously too rusted.

Same type as ordered on the chassis - Swing axle for Swing axle; IRS for IRS; early for early; late for late

Both Swing axle & IRS torsions have early/late versions.

Early swing axles torsions ('59 & earlier ), do not have a bump stop on the shocktower
Late swing axle torsions ('60 to '6 do have a bump stop on the shocktower

Early IRS torsions ('69 to '72) bolt up to transmissions with a 2-bolt nosecone
Late IRS torsions ('73-79) bolt up to transmissions with a 3-bolt nosecone


http://www.berrienbuggy.com/id63.htm

http://www.berrienbuggy.com/id53.htm


I'll agree with Russ to an extent - how far do you want to 'push' the VIN legality question? If you want to get really technical, modifying the VW chassis by shortening it & doing any engine swap is technically illegal in NC, and in many other states. And I do not condone building illegal chassis -

Swapping/grafting the VIN number section of a titled torsion assembly onto a custom chassis (Berrien, et al) tube chassis would be no different than taking the torsion section of the donor chassis with VIN # & grafting it to a tube frame rail buggy chassis...

bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[TC/TeamEvil]

"Moving the VIN number from one pan to another, is strictly illegal."

I've ALWAYS heard that and been careful not to take that easy road out with various projects over the years. On the V8 Beetle, we had no choice but to cut the VIN off of the old pan and welded it onto the new firewall. When the Inspectors checked the car over, one of them just said, "Hmmm, you put the body on a nice new frame, huh? Still got the old VIN and title?" and that was about all that was said about it. When I sold the car to a fellow in Connecticut, the State inspectors said pretty much the same thing.

It might be that the VW was a 1965 and an obvious ratrod:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/Panel%20Truck/ea9a999e.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/Panel%20Truck/200bc9ef.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/Panel%20Truck/ae3c2bef.jpg

Or maybe we were both having really good days, but it seems that it kinda doesn't matter with older cars. How many 32 Fords are running their original frames, how many Pro-Street rides? And all cars have a VIN on the chassis as well as the body, the Beetle just has it in a place that we're all aware of. For a Vette guy, they're probably just as aware of the location of the chassis numbers on their cars.

Anyway, placing the VIN plate on a new chassis doesn't seem to matter much around here. Judging by the number of chassis' for sale in the hotrod mags, it doesn't seem to matter much elsewhere as well. Maybe it's more of a thing for VIN swapping on newer desirable models to evade a grand theft auto rap . . . . donno.

Luck,

T