Dune buggies were all the rage in the 1960s and 1970s, at least along the beaches in California and Florida. Most were fiberglass bodies affixed to a Volkswagen chassis and using Beetle power. Perhaps the best known was the Meyers Manx which was a kit car built between 1964 and 1971. We don’t know the source of the body for this 1972 dune buggy, but it does have a 1600cc VW engine and needs a restoration.
Bruce Meyers was the brainchild of the Manx and other builders would soon follow. As was typical of the era, these fiberglass kits could be applied to virtually any Beetle chassis, though most were shortened and provided for a hoppy ride. Some were street legal while others were not. We don’t know the background of this buggy other than a 1972 VW served as its original donor.
It appears as though a redo was once started here but stalled. It may be mostly complete, though there is no roll bar in place which would have been logical on many of these dune hoppers. We’re told the air-cooled motor is dual-port and has a dual carburetor set-up, though the engine does not run. The undercarriage is said to be solid, and no obvious issues seem to be present with the fiberglass. At least three owners have laid claim to this buggy over the years.
If you’ve wanted to get your hands on one of these, this one may have already been snagged as the sale is said to be “pending” here on Facebook Marketplace. Located in West Columbia, Tennessee, this recreational project was listed for $2,500 and these things are fairly easy to work on. As the seller puts it, this is “an adult-size street legal go-cart”!
Is this located in Texas, or Tennessee?
I always wanted one of these but never got one, and I used to be a VW Bug aficionado. Now they are vintage (of course). The last ones may have been built in the early 80s. Anyway, this would be easy to restore as there isn’t much to restore anyway, and you’ll end up with a fun toy!
The advantage of the design of the Manx was that is was simple, and easy to produce inexpensively. The disadvantage is that it was simple and easy to produce inexpensively. Shortly after the first one hit the streets enterprising fiberglass shops all over the country had “splashed” an original and made their own molds and were producing much less expensive copies. IIRC Myers didn’t make much if anything on the Manx because the market was glutted with cheap copies. Unless it’s a real Manx, (highly unlikely) it’s simply not worth much. Real collectors want the real thing and there actually weren’t many of those around. If you want to go out on the dunes with it then add a roll bar and have a good time. At that price it’s probably appropriate for a knock off but even if you perfectly restored it, it’s not going to be worth a lot.
The ones I remember had the garish metal flake paint, very hip at the time. Usually they were blue, green or red.
certainly not a Manx, Meyers Manx buggys never had any ridges or furrows or raised areas on their hoods except for the small part on the very front in the shape of the Manx badge that was there on most of them
Run of the mill 60-70’s knock off
Not a Manx
I grew up on the central California coast. I am old enough to remember our next door neighbor taking the body off of some 50s vintage car, welding the bench seat to the frame and heading off for Pismo Beach. No roll bar, no seat belts- just the driver and 2 or 3 screaming kids, flying over sand dunes, holding on for dear life. Good times. Thankfully, we all survived. Ignorance is bliss…
Anyone watching Goodwood over the weekend saw the Meyers Manx parade, there they must have had 25 of them on track, rh and lh drive, various modifications, looked like damn fine fun. YouTube has all 3 days, you’ll have no trouble finding them on day two or three. And an ev version is available for pre-order, if that floats your boat.
got 1 for sale. No ID anywhere on it. Like most things to hi top in our culture ‘the right one’ hasa good price. The owner just brought a ’72 vert up from Fla to join it. He thought a good bug buy. Nope, rusted floors. Now both 4 sale (1 actual bug, other a glass kit like this). Just put aol behind my name here…
I DID like one. A late model myers – it had the hrd top. Goof-ish outside dimensions seemed more subdued & therefore it looked better (to me. I appreciate the 50’s/’60s Italian lines, esp FB & bread-loaf aero-tails).
Definitely not a Manx . . I had a cheap chopper gun blue metalflake knockoff . . The Manx was a quality body . . Shorten the VW floor pan 14 1/2 inches was the most common . . I used the Hadley Engineering Transvair kit to use a Corvair drivetrain ..