UPDATE 2-6-25
Adding title and registration and title transfer for Kevin.
This is a true antique built in 1973 on a 1964 VW Bug chassis.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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
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.
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.
