Buggy build....I have many questions

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
This section of the Samba forum is totally new to me, as I usually hang out in the Karmann Ghia section. The idea of building a buggy is interesting and historical at the same time.
I have spent a few hours reading buggy build threads, and the sticky section, but many questions remain.

1. At this point I would not rather deal with finding a donor pan to shorten. Based upon my search it seems that Berrien makes the nostalgia chassis that will fit any fiberglass body. Is Berrien the only company that makes a complete chassis? What is the quality of their chassis?

2. Does the Berrien chassis come with a VIN number? Does a new fiberglass body (either Meyers Manx or a Berrien Nostalgia body) come with a VIN? If not, what is the VIN of the vehicle? Do I need to buy data plates and a title from a vintage Beetle to make this work? I am in New Jersey, so any NJ law insight would be helpful.

3. I am a purest at heart so I am very interested in the Meyers Manx Kick-Out Traditional buggy body. Is that a good quality kit? It is basically complete from the factory? Are there any other good quality classic looking bodies available?

4. What about the Berrien Nostalgia body? Is that good quality?

5. The price difference between the Meyers Manx body kit and the Berrien kit is significant. What accounts for the big price gap? Which body is better built?

6. I simply want a classic looking buggy with nothing fancy, except carpet, and some type of top. Are both available?

7. Given that I want a simple buggy with a stock 1600 DP motor, where MIGHT I be in terms of total cash outlay?

8. Besides the body, pan, engine/trans, seats and wires, what else do I need to have a driving buggy?

I am sure I will come up with more questions, but that is all I can think of now. Any and all help would be appreciated!

Thank you,
Zack
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1972 Coupe

[tgodber]

Here is a link about two frames available. Do a search on the classified- (kit cars) and you will find a number of new dune buggy body sellers.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=450543
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My wife said I never listen to her.
Or something like that!

[andk5591]

On your chassis - not familiar with Berriens (Acme). I do know that the VW store in St Johns PA (not real far from Jersey) makes a really nice chassis. I dont won one, but have been to the shop may times and seem them under construction. A cool thing they do is have the frame head set up for link pin or ball joint beams. Have no idea how you register it. Call them and see.

The Berrien Nostalgia bodies that I have seen have been really nice. However, I have not seen any since Acme bought Berrien and moved production to PA. Personally not a huge Acme fan, but that was because of shoddy engine work. Don't know anything about the new buggy bodies.

TJ Kustom http://www.tjkustoms.com/ has tops and carpet. I am going to be talking to him in a couple months about a top and interior for our clone that I hope to redo this winter. Have only ever talked to one person who was not a huge fan of his.

As far as cost goes - unless you are into the build itself, just buying a complete buggy will save you a ton of cash. Lets see - you'll probably have $4 or $5K in new body and chassis. Suspension and tranny will be another grand. Turn key engine about $2-3K. Tires and wheels $1K plus. So - you just spent close to $8-10K and dont have an interior, lights, top, windshield, etc.
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D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[vincent9993]

Hi Zack, welcome to our addiction. Perhaps I can contribute as we now own both a Berrien Nostalgia and a Meyers Manx Kick-Out-S.S. I know you are looking for the traditional version of the Kick-Out but it's essentially the same buggy with a different hood/windshield.

Bear in mind that our Nostalgia was purchased while Berrien still owned the business. More on this later as I try to answer your questions.

[scooby223]

The berrien frames come with a bill of sale which your state turns into a title. I have already told the wife my next build will be a berrien chassis and new body.

If you found a newer beetle with ball joint front end and an IRS rear end that was pretty complete that would give you the front end, tranny, a lot of small parts, and a torsion for a core. Then you could sell off what is left of the beetle if anything is worth selling.

As far as the body goes I wold say some of the cost is for the Manx name and as mentioned shipping across the country. You could also consider an original manx that (surfnc = Vince) has redone they look awesome I have considered a manx 2 body as my next build, I figure this one is my first build and the guinea pig for future builds.

Good luck
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516085

1969 Dune Runner Mini Mercedes
1985 Ford F250 460 1 owner 64000 mi

[Zack1978]

Thank you very much everyone!
Has anyone noticed a decline in quality since the Acme company took over Berrien?
Any idea what shipping would be on a Barrett chassis would be to NJ?
I certainly would be easier if I could just drive to PA and pick up a Berrien/Acme chassis.
Also with respect to the body, once again any idea on shipping to NJ?
How much does the bare body weigh?

Thanks,
Zack
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1972 Coupe

[SiggyManx#33]

[sbussard]

[SiggyManx#33]

[Mike_CNYBuggy]

[Q-Dog]

A new Berrien chassis will come with a serial number for identification, but this is NOT a VIN. Registering the car for street use is still subject to the rules of your state.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1235522
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[tgodber]

Both my fiberglass bodies are no-name Manx look-a-likes. I have a ton of fun with them and do not care they don't have a pedigree.
I would not spend $1500 on shipping for a new body. That is just my opinion tho.
_________________
My wife said I never listen to her.
Or something like that!

[monomanx]

It is more often than not cheaper to purchase a completed car than it is to piecemeal one together.
With that said, I am all for restoring and rebuilding stuff. It is all part of the fun.

It is far easier to eat an elephant one piece at a time...but the overall task can be a daunting one. Read most of the for sale postings on the samba...ran out of time, ran out of money, wife wants it gone...etc. Sometimes the larger pill is more painful to swallow but you get the satisfaction of enjoying something (and getting the wife excited about it and not making you sell!).

Regardless, here is a nice looking Manx in NC for sale. Do not tell Frizzardking...he will snatch it up! I cannot vouch for the car and know nothing about it.



http://asheville.craigslist.org/cto/4044130460.html

[monomanx]

Duplicate post.

[hcallaway]

How big is your budget? From scratch with almost everything new, with at least average to above average skills, 5 years of labor on and off. A few extra $1000 to solve issues I decided to pass to someone more skilled. Garage space to spare. I am in well over 15k. On the other hand some of the guys on here look like Hellen Keller or JChrist with a few loaves of bread and a few fish, they seem to build a great DB for $1000! Pick your poison. Good luck it is a great journey.
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Share site with additional pictures.
http://berriennostalgiadunebuggy.shutterfly.com/
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j289/hcallaway/berrien%20dune%20buggy/

[Lo Cash John]

A simple question for you. What's more important to you? The build or driving the finished product? If the finished product is the real goal, go buy a finished or almost finished buggy. If the act of building is your real passion or artistic expression then build yours from scratch.
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www.LoCashRacing.org
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

If you actually drive your VW, you need www.AirMapp.com

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[don't_bug_me]

I can sum up most of your questions without actually having ever built a buggy, it applies to all projects buggies, baja's or motorcycles, or a space shuttle for that matter, most of your questions seem to end on how much or how to get. Start with someone else unfinished project, look at many. A lot of people start a build with good intentions and end up either over their skill level, lost interest, or need money for more important things in life and wasn't ready to commit to their new toy. This can cure most of your questions all at once, while looking at other partially completed buggies, you can look at the difference in quality, have a head start in parts to purchase, many will also have the title/vin issue resolved, and...here's a biggie, most know they aren't going to get out of it what they've already put into it, so you save a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
This is exactly how I intend to approach a buggy build, I'll let the more experienced start from scratch, I'll arm myself with as much knowledge as I can read from past experiences here on the Samba, maybe even find a buggy owner close by willing to check a few out with me. I'll be doing the same thing next year after my baja is complete.

[Chevynut]

As you are i am fairly new to the vw/aircooled/buggy thing.....doing the chevy thing all my life, however a close friend of mine turned me on to his buggy early this year and i was instantly hooked.... we went out the following weekend and found me an old tuff tub shell sitting on a 70 beetle auto stick chassis. at this point i would agree with "don't bug me" make sure you know which direction you want to go and be ready to undertake it. like most things i do in life i jumped in head first and decided to rebuild it from the ground up and just about all of the questions i have had during the process have been answsered right here on the samba(full of great info) but it was deff more than i expected. however i have not regreted one min. of it..... and should be rolling in 2 weeks.... but just plug your question into google and a samba answer will just about always pop up. thx to all who post it has been a big help

[Big_kid]

[Zack1978]

I spent a bit of time looking at the Meyers Manx Traditional vs the Berrien Nostalgia. There is a price difference....$4,700 (MM) vs $1,637.95 (BN), but in looking at both they are not apples to apples.
The Meyers Manx kit is much more complete, with more assembled and more parts. So perhaps in the long run buying the Meyers kit makes more sense? It might be more expensive with the Berrien kit once you buy all the parts that the Meyers comes with from the factory.
Am I correct that the Berrien kit is less complete?


Thank you,
Zack
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1972 Coupe