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Another buggy being saved
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Ken
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Location: Spokane, WA.
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:00 pm    Post subject: Another buggy being saved Reply with quote

Been a member for a while, but years ago, kinda got out of the VW game. Built some tradition HotRods, a DragBoat and other things. Last year our family was hit with a curve ball, when our 9-y/o little girl as diagnosed with an extremely rare form of Cancer. While in the hospital, we did a lot of talking and decided that when she started feeling and doing better, we had lots of things to build together. When she was diagnosed, I shut my garage door, and couldn't bring myself to go out there, as she was always out there with me. Fade to today, this past January she was declared in remission, and while his does NOT mean she's cured, it means that she is getting better and starting to be back to normal. So Hopefully we will be in the shop building together again soon. We are building HER a '30 Model A sedan, and the other night I asked her "what are we going to build next?" I was expecting her to say finish the DragBoat, of finish the '32 Ford, but no... She said "your always talking about building a DuneBuggy, those are cool, let's build one of them!!"
Well, word got out, and someone knew of one sitting for MANY years 30+ in a field. Looked at it, hemmed and hawwwed about it, and finally picked it up last night. Has a LinkPin front end.
Don't know the brand, but have searched Google, dunebuggy archives and here, and "believe" it was made by "Bugs Ltd." from Daly City, Ca. (SanFrancisco area)????? It has an odd nose, and 2 battery wells. The yellow and orange finished ones are what I found on the net, and look like mine. Also got that black MANX style nose to replace the odd one that came with mine if I want.
I'll post pics as we work on it, and as time allows between work, Hospital visit, and her strength.
If anyone has any info on this body, feel free to chime in on it.

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Last edited by Ken on Sun Aug 13, 2017 4:32 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Singerdude
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a father, all my thoughts go to you and your daughter. Kids have unsuspected strenght and courage when facing adversity, it is extremely humbling and inspiring to witness that as an adult.

I also have a daughter, 6 years old, who's always with me in the garage and loves to learn all the names and uses of the tools. She's in love with the buggy. And needless to say, It's the talk of the school yard every time I drive it to pick her up. Just seeing the look on the kids faces through the chain-link fence is worth every dollar I've ever put in it. Awesome little cars those buggies, I call them "smile generators".

Being kinda new to the whole buggy thing and not being a fabricator myself, I unfortunately can't offer you much in the way of infos. But I can tell you your post is the most moving and noble I've read here: building a buggy as a way to transcend this ordeal and give your daughter something to hold on and look forward to. I wish you all the best and hope your daughter emerges healthy and victorious and gets to enjoy this buggy for years to come.


Jonathan
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Dale M.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome back.... All the strength and hope and love to your daughter to get well....

Numbers for you pan seems to indicate chassis originally manufactured between September and October 1960...

As for front hoods of buggies in general, never cared for ones with fake non functioning grilles and scoops and what knots... It would look a lot cleaner with tradition "Manx" style hood in my opinion, but the choice is yours and your daughters... By the way the gas cap is in the wrong place, it need to be over gas tank not on floor pan...

Dale
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BL3Manx
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I admire you tracked down the probable original maker. I'd stick with the original nose, its kind of cute and adds to the unique flavor.

You should get the chassis all taken care of first, I see there is some damage beside the parking brake handle mount that needs welding. Buggy chassis frequently get cracks which begin in that area.
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streetbuggy8804
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Strength be to you brother. Me and my little man are currently fighting leukemia. He loved the first buggy I built but it wasn't really safe to put him in there. I am currently in the process of buying a manxter dual sport in hopes that when he is in maintenance we can work on it together. Kids are little warriors and fight cancer better than we would ever be able to. Stay sting and enjoy every minute with your little girl.
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have the pan on Jack stands and upside down to weld up all the years of holes put into it.

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Last edited by Ken on Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:22 am; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The original gel Coat is Orange Flake.
Orange is the color for Childhood Leukemia. Ironically the plan was to spray it Orange Flake no matter what color it originally was.

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Last edited by Ken on Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:25 am; edited 3 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Weld, weld, weld.
The pan was Arc welded back together where it was shortened and had a lot of porosity and general dirty welds, so I'm dressing them up, and will re weld any spots that need it.
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Last edited by Ken on Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:28 am; edited 3 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Last edited by Ken on Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:29 am; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

streetbuggy8804 wrote:
Strength be to you brother. Me and my little man are currently fighting leukemia. He loved the first buggy I built but it wasn't really safe to put him in there. I am currently in the process of buying a manxter dual sport in hopes that when he is in maintenance we can work on it together. Kids are little warriors and fight cancer better than we would ever be able to. Stay sting and enjoy every minute with your little girl.


THANKS, and same to you. It sucks having to see these innocent little kids suffer thru this. Good luck to you guys, I hope everything goes well. Bella went into Remmission in January, and is currently on her maintenance. She will get to ring the "Cancer Free" bell at the hospital if all goes well on August 16, 2016. I hope we can say that for your boy soon too. My wife handles all the hospital and taking care of her type stuff, and actually had to leave her job to handle/juggle it all. I just work, and keep the cars and house maintained for safety. Ken
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BL3Manx
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If water got down into the bottom end of the engine and sat there, its really probably not worth bothering with, except maybe the heads and fan shroud, etc..

You should tackle the chassis, suspension, steering, pedals, chassis tubes, cables, shifter parts, seat mounts, gas tank and lines, transaxle and brakes first and leave the body and engine til last. Another engine might just appear in the meantime.

There are a bunch of worthwhile upgrades using original parts(not just buying new stuff), more powerful drum brakes, caster shims, raised front end, adjustable shift rod, improved pedals, etc.

With your welding skills you could even move the shifter back, which works with the buggy's seating position a lot better. If you open the tunnel do do the job, its also a real good time to fix/re-secure the control guide tubes. This thread shows it being done.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=520044


Last edited by BL3Manx on Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:50 am; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BL3Manx, thanks for the info. Yeah I'm sure the motor is gone. I got 2 extra core motors with it, one with single port heads and one short block. Haven't even looked at them yet.
I know I have lots of pan repairs, and I'll check out that link, I will probably do exactly what you suggested, thanks.
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BL3Manx
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It looks like a prior owner may have run the fuel lines on the bottom of the chassis? If so, not good, opening the tunnel will make it easy to correct.

I'm a fan of the original drum brakes and wide 5 wheel bolt pattern, when they've been upgraded. First for safety I'd install a dual circuit master with a Volvo reservoir. Also replace all the flexible rubber hoses.

On a buggy with a light glass body, shorter wheelbase and big rear tires the stock front brakes are actually too powerful and the rears too weak. The stock fronts just lock up and skid uselessly when used hard. You should get late model (IRS) 17mm rear wheel cylinders and install them in place of 22mm front wheel cylinders. Both are designed for 40mm wide shoes. This will reduce front braking force by about 40% and eliminate front skidding which will actually improve stopping.

The rear can be upgraded from 30mm wide shoes to late (IRS) brake plates with 40mm brake shoes. You also re-use your 22mm front wheel cylinders by installing them in back. This thread shows how Joescoolcustoms did it with stock brake drums. Together, the larger wheel cylinders and wider shoes upgrades the rear braking by about 50%, which with the large tires and rear weight bias, matches what a buggy can effectively use.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=583304


Last edited by BL3Manx on Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:35 am; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No fuel,line is present. The tank was sitting in the passenger compartment, and no lines underneath that I see??
I will be using big and littles, with wide and narrow tires, so that brake info is perfect. I need to drop the front end down about 6 inches. It sits about 3" higher in front than the rear. And sitting the body on it does NOT drop it much more than 1/2". Seats and gas may drop it an inch?
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BL3Manx
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess I was looking at the MIG welder lines

In your neighborhood you should have off-road tires, maybe 29 or even 31" dia. in back. That will raise the rear. If you go any bigger than that you ought to have a rear end ratio lower than the 4.375 I think you have.


Last edited by BL3Manx on Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:26 am; edited 2 times in total
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EVfun
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BL3Manx wrote:
On a buggy with a light glass body, shorter wheelbase and big rear tires the stock front brakes are actually too powerful and the rears too weak. The stock fronts just lock up and skid uselessly when used hard. You should get late model (IRS) 17mm rear wheel cylinders and install them in place of 22mm front wheel cylinders. Both are designed for 40mm wide shoes. This will reduce front braking force by about 40%, shifting braking to the rear.

You should find a set of 1965 front backing plates if you are going to do that. 1958 to 1964 brakes had only a single shoe rest for each shoe, just outboard of the shoe hold down springs on the backing plate, and relied on the wheel cylinders and the adjusters to locate the ends of the shoes. 1965 and newer brakes had 3 shoe resting spots on the backing plate for each shoe and used wide slotted wheel cylinders and adjusters that didn't provide a locating function.
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm going with a stance like Eryk's Boulevard Buggy, or Jeems Fishbone. Big n little tires /rims, with a rake.

On another note, here is the damage I've come across, under the undercoating. Is there a "patch piece" available, or do I need to make this head plate . I can make it, but the thickness will play hell with my hand powered Beadroller. It would be a lot easier to buy a pre-made patch and just cut out and weld it in.

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Last edited by Ken on Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:35 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Ken
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Never mind, found the Head plate panel.
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streetbuggy8804
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to replace that piece as well. I've done some research on thee are no videos or anything. Keep us
posted on how easy it is to remove and replace.
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