ABS dash for for Manx..

[legotech7]

I looked through a ton of post's here looking for where I could purchase a abs plastic dash for my buggy to no avail. tons of dead links with nothing. Does anyone know where I could buy one or steer me to a number or web site. The dash I have is aproxx. 42 inches , end to end. The one on there now is pretty much shot. I need to replace it. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.. This is what it looks like......

[jsturtlebuggy]

Good luck finding one, put a want to buy ad up and see.
Meyers Manx sells replacement fiberglass dashes for buggies.
The ABS experience for Meyers Manx was an expensive lesson back in day. They had to replace many ABS Tow'd bodies.
_________________
Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Motorsports
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960

[BL3Manx]

The fiberglass dash Meyers Manx Inc sells is visually identical to the ABS and stronger and much more durable. When you bond the fiberglass dash to the rear edge of the hood, the entire structure becomes more solid. This thread by Vince Simansky shows in detail how its done

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=588675

ABS was a thermoplastic and soon becomes brittle. It also dissolves when in contact with brake fluid. You can see your self ABS' unsuitability by the sad condition of your ABS dash vs. the good as new condition of your fiberglass body. As Joe mentioned the investment in thermo-forming equipment and the hundreds of warranty replacements of broken ABS Tow'd bodies, unquestionably contributed to the bankruptcy of B. F. Meyers & Co.

Plus, Bruce Meyers would probably be happy to autograph a new fiberglass dash for you if you ask.

[legotech7]

I guess I don't have much of a choice.The tutorial of the hood and dash is great, thanks. I just don't know much about the fiberglass or what exactly I need to do this. So what materials exactly do I need for this little project and any other tips anyone can give me, would be greatly appreciated.
Thank again... To be continued...

[BL3Manx]

[Mr. Rabbit]

Hi, I've been thru this as well. My Manx had a original and dash with speaker holes on the passenger side and it was hashed too. I bought the F/G one and glad I did. You don't have to bond it to the hood if don't want to. I didn't and it works great. I took the time over a winter to salvage the ABS dash by watching YouTube videos on how to "weld" ABS basically you use black ABS shavings and MEK (nasty stuff) make a spreadable slurry and start filling holes, for cracks you need a soldering iron and copper wire strands and it's VERY tedious. If you really want an ABS dash contact me and I'll get pics and we can discuss. (Go with Fiberglass)

[jspbtown]

So I guess this might not be so popular.....but all I did was scuff the back of the dash REALLY good (like 40 grit), clean it with acetone, taped wax paper over the holes from the front of the dash, and then just laid up a bunch of fiberglass matt with resin I got from Home Depot.

Once cured, I pulled the wax paper off, scuffed the new glass REALLY good (40 grit again) from the outside and used some Rage Gold filler to make everything smooth.

Some time with a DA, some adhesion promoter in a can, and then wrinkle paint (I used a hair dryer to get the wrinkling effect even) and it came out great.

[legotech7]

jspbtown, any pics. I was thinking of making a abs slurry covering the holes from the front as well and applying the slurry from the back. Then doing something like you dud to the front and hope for the best.

[jspbtown]

I have no idea if that will work. I just have a ton of fiberglass matt so I use that for just about everything.

On page 4 of my build thread it shows the dash:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=239643&highlight=jspbtown

[legotech7]

The dash looks pretty good. I have some cracks on the upper corners of each side of my dash, So I might fuse those with the abs slurry from the inside and try to use the FB to finish on the out side. But yours looks good, I might paint a bit different, not so much of the crinkle paint, but something to hide the imperfections.....

[legotech7]

Well it took me awhile but I finally managed to finish mt abs dash. Not perfect but better than before. Still going to get the fiberglass dash, but for the mean time this will do. Compared to the old dash. See the previous pics. Would like to drive it before it gets too cold.

[Manx102]

Looks pretty darn good legotech7.
_________________
"The simplest of outdoor adventures - the most treasured memories." - Bruce Meyers
54 years of "outdoor adventures" and "treasured memories" with our Manx in my gallery.

[legotech7]

Thanks Manx102, and I fun doing it, learned something new....

[Manx102]

I will have to learn from your post how to fix these cracks on our 1966 abs Manx dash. Thank you for posting Legotech7.

_________________
"The simplest of outdoor adventures - the most treasured memories." - Bruce Meyers
54 years of "outdoor adventures" and "treasured memories" with our Manx in my gallery.