UPDATE SEPTEMBER 14 2024

This is a true antique built in 1973 on a 1964 VW Bug chassis. This Manx is now one of the most powerful Manxes on any road after decades of upgrades that include work on the engine to make it more powerful than most of the ATVs out there today.

Update Sep 8 2024 – Here are all the pictures that are being submitted to BringaTrailer this week. There are more below and some of them are duplicates.

I am showing the top of the line RZR to show that this Manx will outperform this $42,999 RZR!

Adding new MANX logos just received from Winnie Meyers, the wife of the late Bruce Meyers. And the certificate of authenticity I have needed is now here.

Here are more pix that BaT requests

The purpose of this web page is to show this Manx in pictures taken over the years since 1978 when we bought it. We have made many changes over the years. 

This collection of pictures is created for Bring A Trailer to result in the sale of this Manx. The reserve price is $22,000 and there are incentives for bids that are higher.

One is – if the Manx sells for over $30,000 then I will include a 2nd pair of paddle tires so you can duplicate the dually shown below. 

If the Manx sells for over $40,000 then I will include stock in my company, Invisco LLC, that will be worth over $1.00 in 2015. I will include 100,000 shares. 

The most Important change I made was in adding horsepower to the engine. The engine was an original 40 horse, the tires were small, the gas tank was under the front hood, there were turn signals on the fenders, and more. 

The picture below was taken in mid 2022 after a body off restoration. The engine has oversize SCAT pistons that raise the displacement to just under 2,100 CC. It has a SCAT crankshaft and a Kennedy flywheel and clutch and pressure plate. It has polished and ported heads from a now closed shop in Tehachapi California. When I bought it in 1978 it had a Zenith NDIX 2 bbl carb on a Deano manifold that fed both sides of the engine. I had it tested on a dyno then and it put out 110 HP.  I later added dual Webers. See them below. The engine is now about 150 HP and will power up any sand dune from a dead stop at the bottom. This sale includes 2 big paddle tires that help add unstoppable traction. There are pictures below of those paddle tires. 

Below is a picture taken in about 1980 at Pismo beach. You can see the sand paddle tire at the rear. Those are so good you can IDLE SLOWLY UP TO THE BASE OF A SAND DUNE AND POWER RIGHT UP IT even with 4 people in the buggy. 

Below is Bruce Meyers and his wife, Winnie in Orange County in 2009. He inspected this buggy and confirmed its authenticity and gave me his official Manx logo for the front.

Below is the Manx logo on the front of the hood.

Below is a closer look at the dual Weber carbs. Before these were added there was just one 2 barrel Zenith NDIX carb on a manifold serving both sides of the engine. The engine horsepower was tested on a dyno with the 2 barrel and was 110 HP. It is noticeably stronger with the Webers. And below that is a closeup of the street tire, a big 33 inch diameter tire 15.5 inches wide!

Below is a hub I had custom welded from aluminum tubing to enable me to bolt dual tires on the rear. Below that picture is the dually on the sand.

Here is another picture of the dually at Pismo This dune buggy is more powerful than any other I have seen.

Below is a 1980 picture of the famous Devil’s Slide at the south end of Pismo Beach in an area called Guadalupe Dunes. In those days it was famous as a challenge to all off road vehicles because it was so steep and high. In 1982 the winter storms washed the sand off the beach and destroyed the approach to this hill. You can see a dune buggy facing the hill and preparing to challenge the slope. For a look at Pismo Beach today go here –https://www.bertsmegamall.com/blog/the-ultimate-off-road-guide-to-pismo-beach-dunes–26786?category=2157

Below are pictures of the Kennedy clutch pressure plate and flywheel that add performance.

I have just discovered data published by the web site BringaTrailer.com. I am posting this as proof that our Manx will sell. First, here is a picture of the distribution of sales by date and price in a map of results. Note that in 2023  3 sold for $16,000 and one for $19,000.15 were at or over $20,000. 8 were $30-40,000,  3 40-50,000 , 4 sold for over $60,000!

Now screen shots of some sold in 2023

Below are more pictures of details – for instance, there is a front end lifting mechanism that cost over $500 installed.

Another picture shows that I removed the tank that was in front and inaccessible – I had a custom tank built that I attached just behind the rear seat. The purpose of this work was to lighten the front to keep the tires from digging into the sand and slowing the buggy down. Another purpose was in preparation for setting the Manx up to do wheelies more easily, As you can see one can look all the way through the space under the front body panel.

Below is a picture of the ported and polished head that improved air and gas flow into the engine to increase horsepower. This is one of the actions taken to be sure the engine horsepower approaches 150 HP.

kBelow is a custom light set I am proud to say I invented. I bought motorcycle lights and attached them to the side of the headlights so I could use them as turn signal lights.

In the work done to restore this Manx I put in new brake lines and axle boots.

A dune buggy would not be complete without a good ooga horn. This one has been carefully restored and painted even though it does not show to an observer.

Below is the custom gas tank under the rear seat. This is a perfect place for it and you can see it could be larger.

kHere is another reason the engine is so powerful – Tri-Mil tuned exhaust pipes – each pipe is exactly the same length as the 3 others and they all terminate in the 4-1 collector that is part of the transition to the muffler OR to a “stinger“.

LBelow is a picture from the Tri-Mil web site showing how all the tubes are bent to fit even though the front tubes have a shorter distance to the merge point and you can see the stinger exhaust pipe that shoots up. That section has a baffle inside that barely reduces the exhaust noise.

Here is another picture showing the amount of work that has gone into restoring this Manx. Over the years and miles in the sand the pan was aged. Cracks grew in the pan at just behind the passenger seat and just to the left of the accelerator pedal area. These were welded and now the pan is stronger than when new.

This is a close shot of one of the two Weber 40 carburetors added in 2001. These feed each head indepently and added about 40 HP to the 110 HP engine.

Below is the record of engine work done in 2020 for $2,453.18 in Lakeside California by Kline Volkswagen. This shows another reason this Manx is one of the best buggies on the road or on the sand.

k

If you need more space in your garage this Manx comes with the complete design specs for a strong shelf and ramps and boat winch that can park it over a sedan in nearly any garage.

Here is the shelf when lifted so my sedan could park under it. That is our daughter Kimberley, showing this was taken about 40 years ago. The Manx was pulled up the ramp by one 12 volt boat winch and the ramps were pulled up by a 2nd winch attached to the rafters above the 4 by 4 you can barely see at the left end of them.

Here is a closer look at the Weber carburetor that added so much power.

The seats are new vinyl covered bucket seats with slots for harnesses.

This picture was taken during restoration showing the new seats and the hood.

After the dual Webers were installed I decided to lift the rear fenders to give them more clearance under the fenders. I had a wedge custom made from a 2 inch by 4 inch aluminum channel that is welded (you can see the weld down the center). This wedge is 1 inch high in front and 4 inches at the rear.

LIST OF ADDED FEATURES posted 7-19-24

ENGINE
SCAT CRANK THAT INCREASES THE TOTAL DISPLACEMENT BY INCREASING THE DISTANCE THE PISTONS TRAVEL UP AND DOWN IN THE CYLINDERS.
OVERSIZE PISTONS AND CYLINDER SLEEVES TO INCREASE DISPLACEMENT..
HIGH PERFORMANCE CAM SHAFT
POLISHED AND PORTED HEADS
TRI MIL TUNED EXHAUST SYSTEM HAS ALL 4 CYLINDERS PUSHING EXHAUST INTO PIPES THAT COME TOGETHER AT MATHEMATICALLY PERFECT DISTANCE TO MAXIMIZE HORSEPOWER.
WEBER 40 CARBURETORS MOUNTED ON EACH HEAD ELIMINATE LOSSES DUE TO AN INTAKE MANIFOLD

RESULT IS AN ENGINE THAT, WHEN TESTED ON A DYNO, PUT OUT 110 HORSEPOWER WITH THE ORIGINAL DUAL PORT ZENITH NDIX CARBURETOR IN THE CENTER OF A DEANO MANIFOLD.

THE HORSEPOWER IS NOW ESTIMATED AT 140-150 WITH THE NEW WEBERS IN PLACE.
THE ENGINE IS NOW 2100 CC DISPLACEMENT.

FRAME
THE FRAME HAS AN ADDED SPACER ALONG THE FULL LENGTH OF BOTH SIDES THAT LIFTS THE BODY 1 INCH AT FRONT AND 4 INCHES IN THE REAR FOR THE PURPOSE OF MOVING THE FENDERS UP TO ELIMINATE INTERFERENCE WITH THE AIR CLEANERS ON THE WEBER CARBS.
THE FRAME HAS A CUSTOM LIFTING MECHANISM IN FRONT TO ADJUST THE SUSPENSION TO RAISE OR LOWER THE FRONT.
THE FRAME HAS MODERN AIR SHOCKS IN THE REAR TO ALLOW THE REAR TO BE SET OVER A RANGE OF HEIGHTS.

GAS TANK
THE ORIGINAL TANK WAS MOUNTED UNDER THE FRONT HOOD. THAT WAS REMOVED TO LIGHTEN THE FRONT END. A CUSTOM TANK WAS FABRICATED TO FIT IN THE SPACE ABOVE THE ENGINE AND BELOW THE REAR SEAT.

WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION
A CUSTOM REAR BUMPER HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO HOLD GALLONS OF WATER THAT WILL OFFSET THE WEIGHT OF THE FRONT END AND ALLOW THE BUGGY TO BE DRIVEN WITH THE FRONT TIRES OFF THE GROUND. ALSO DESIGNED IS A WATER PUMP SYSTEM THAT WILL MOVE WATER FROM A TANK IN THE FRONT TO THE REAR BUMPER WHEN THE WEIGHT NEEDED FOR WHEELIES IS DESIRED.