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Going Buggy

Alan MerklinAlan MerklinDrclock - Elkins, West Virginia Supporting Member
14 months in speedster rehab have been somewhat successful, ridding me of the speedster build addiction.
I've always wanted to do a dune buggy with a unique, different twist. I bought this last month (a Samba deal at way less than the asking price) complete with it's own open trailer and extras.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=798707
This is going to be more to tackle than represented by the ah*le seller, all hardware on the chassis rehab looks like it came from the lower junk draw.
The splatter welds on pan shortening are poor, stripped the chassis bare of all components took the chassis to my friend Randy's machine shop where there is a solid table. Off to Acme VW in Harrisburg PA to get new pans. I cut out the old pans, tacked in the new ones then took it over to the machine shop where Randy will do a decent weld job.
Jack at "Bug Stuff" in PA sent shocks, drums, bearings and all E' Brake components, cables, steering damper, tie rod boots and other chassis misc items
Removed the floor pans from the hellish welds, so poor that after cutting out the bigger sections, an air chisel under an edge and just moved it along.
This taxed my trusty old but cheap B & D grinder, it started to labor and got too hot to hold, " Warning Will Robinson" it gave up it's long dedicated life, shooting flames and huge amounts of smoke filled the shop, in just seconds it seized I tossed it out onto the driveway bellowing smoke and replaced it with a Porter Cable . Today, cross measured the chassis and it's a twisted sister, I'll cut the chassis at the tunnel welds and re-weld it straight.
Stopped at my local paint guy, he'll shoot and buff on the cheap for cash and beer....more to follow and will post some pics . ~Alan
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Alan MerklinAlan MerklinDrclock - Elkins, West Virginia Supporting Member
14 months in speedster rehab have been somewhat successful, ridding me of the speedster build addiction.
I've always wanted to do a dune buggy with a unique, different twist. I bought this last month (a Samba deal at way less than the asking price) complete with it's own open trailer and extras.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=798707
This is going to be more to tackle than represented by the ah*le seller, all hardware on the chassis rehab looks like it came from the lower junk draw.
The splatter welds on pan shortening are poor, stripped the chassis bare of all components took the chassis to my friend Randy's machine shop where there is a solid table. Off to Acme VW in Harrisburg PA to get new pans. I cut out the old pans, tacked in the new ones then took it over to the machine shop where Randy will do a decent weld job.
Jack at "Bug Stuff" in PA sent shocks, drums, bearings and all E' Brake components, cables, steering damper, tie rod boots and other chassis misc items
Removed the floor pans from the hellish welds, so poor that after cutting out the bigger sections, an air chisel under an edge and just moved it along.
This taxed my trusty old but cheap B & D grinder, it started to labor and got too hot to hold, " Warning Will Robinson" it gave up it's long dedicated life, shooting flames and huge amounts of smoke filled the shop, in just seconds it seized I tossed it out onto the driveway bellowing smoke and replaced it with a Porter Cable . Today, cross measured the chassis and it's a twisted sister, I'll cut the chassis at the tunnel welds and re-weld it straight.
Stopped at my local paint guy, he'll shoot and buff on the cheap for cash and beer....more to follow and will post some pics . ~Alan
Alan MerklinAlan MerklinDrclock - Elkins, West Virginia Supporting Member
It's been six months since I acquired the buggy project, as of tonight it has been for the most part finished,runs well and drives like a bat out of hell~ It came out as I envisioned it would and looks like no other street buggy.
Tomorrow, I'll finish the last of the few punch list items and post the build story and pics. "Glad you asked", Yes, it's for sale :) ~Alan
FM Former Member
Wolfgang - that is an interesting buggy body. I know it's quite old, but what I don't see is any obvious air intakes in or around that bulbous tail end. How does that work?

I've seen a few other VW replicas from the 70s and 80s that simply used real big panel gaps for the engine air intakes. The Frazer-Nash replica owner at Knotts last year said that particular "engineering feature" on his car worked just fine!
El FrazooEl Frazoo Supporting Member
We don't call him Merklin the Magician for nothing.

Nice going Alan. I'd love to drive it a bit just to see. I have had a thing for dune buggies for a very long time, but never had one. Bought a shortened pan off a guy one time (his failed project) with intention of taking the running parts off my old 356 A rust-bucket, and making it go that way. While the A was a total wreck wrt body rust, the engine was a very solid blue-printed 1600 normal and tjhe trans worked fine. Needless to say, a lot of other things (kids, wife, house, job, bank account) got in the way. Still have the pan some 40 years later, but none of the other P-car stuff. [Come to think of it, I don't have the wife either, kids all moved away, sold the house, and what bank account?] Now it's my failed project. Just exactly what does "wicked fast" mean for this little beastie?

Boston Bob: pls tell more about your little banana there. Pretty cool custum job, looks like. Corvair running gear sounds like too much HP and too little car, but hey, can you really have too much HP?
bim55_01747bim55_01747
Kelly, as stated elsewhere, you can never have too much power. This car has a 140hp Vair that I can only describe the Vair as extremely smooth and strong lumbering along, but not too much power at all. Actually, my 2180cc Speedster is stronger, even with longer 3:44's in it.

The car is not a custom, it's a Deserter GS by Autodynamics back in 69-72 as an autocross competitive car. Autodynamics was a Formula Vee supplier and they took the mid engine chassis and stretched it to fit a dune buggy body and the Corvair engine, still pretty cool today.

I have plenty of information at www.deserterownersgroup.org or from my site, www.bimelliott.com

Thanks for commenting.

Boston Bob E.
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