View Full Version : Beach buggy rebuild
Yeah, I know there's a thread on this here: http://www.performanceforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67196996
But it's a new forum section, and it's been a while, and I finally got off my arse and made the rebuild pics into a much easier to look at album type thingy.
Clifford Notes says:
I used to have a baja bug, but it was only just ok on the beach. So I sold it, kept the big wheels and bought this Super Sport buggy off ebay. It was fairly cheap for what it was, so I already knew it was going to be a basket case. I couldn't fit the baja wheels on it as they rubbed on the body work. Then the swing axle gearbox crapped itself, and I couldn't find a replacement.
To convert the swing axle to the later semi-trailing arm suspension required the body to be removed, and it then went from there.
I put a body lift kit on it, and can now run the big wheels again.
I tried some drag slicks on it (thanks 7heaven) but while flotation was awesome, it couldn't get traction on the sand to actually self-propel! The big radials work well tho, so on they stay.
Click me! Click me! (http://loud-noises.com/Carstuff/SuperSportBeachBuggy/)
Saw this in the flesh today. Uber cool!!! Me, I would have STi'd it ages ago :)
If I worked closer to where I live I'd get/build one in a heart beat!
ScortFreak
14-04-07, 12:02 AM
Nice.
Lobster
14-04-07, 12:29 AM
how much did you buy it for?
how much do one of these things normally go for?
Oh yeah, what are the legalities of driving on sand and stuff? Special areas? Special license?
depending on type and condition (Manx buggies are the original and the most sought after, but they are all collectable these days) for an imacculate running registered one between $8k and $15k depending on motor and gearbox combos etc.
A basket case can be had for $2k upwards. I paid $4k for mine and it was a basket job. Less than a year later I had to do this full rebuild on it and spent that much again.
The short wheelbase ones cannot be registered if they fall out of rego, and even bringing them interstate is a nightmare and no guarantee they will register it in your state (NSW is the worst). However they can be engineered if you jump through all the hoops, as long as it is currently regoed. Don't buy an unregoed short wheelbase buggy unless it's for parts or a farm.
The long wheelbase ones have no such problems, they are just considered a rebodied chassis. You can still buy new kits for the LWB buggies from a mob in QLD. Will cost about $15k by the time you have finished building it though, same as any kit car.
There are plenty of beaches you can legally drive on, and plenty more you cannot. If it says 4x4 access only, then happy days. Most beaches are controlled by the national parks and wildlife service, and require you to buy a permit, which is usually $5 a day or $25 a year.
aaron_hogan
19-04-07, 04:37 PM
noting the values you quoted, next time i visit a certain wrecking yard i may well come home with the buggy i spotted in a quiet corner!
step 2: ???
/you know how this ends
it got a new roll bar today.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x289/SpamDragon/cage1.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x289/SpamDragon/cage2.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x289/SpamDragon/cage3.jpg
Unreal Jim- did you make it?
no. I don't have a pipe bender so I coughed up and had a local mob make it. I had to fit and paint it tho.
How good/bad does it handle?
it's incredibly sure-footed and controllable, until such time as you back off. Once you do, it's handling characteristics are sort of like a Soyuz rocket failure.
out_in_front
16-09-07, 08:56 PM
Slighlty different version on ebay at the moment for all those interested
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Volkswagen-Beach-Buggy-Astrum-Roadster-Manx-Meyers-Copy_W0QQitemZ270164328446QQihZ017QQcategoryZ9873Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
hell no. need to finish the bar work before it gets a power-up.
Passion-Fingers
22-09-07, 08:36 PM
I reckon an EFI 2.5 ltr from a subbie would be even better for this type of car.
Euroboost
30-09-07, 07:31 PM
Probably a hell of alot safer. After watching a guy in America stick a 2.5 STI in his Tristar, late double cab ute, and NEEDING Porsche bigreds, that much power in something that weighs under 1000kg would be lethal!
legally limited to 2.0L turbo or 2.5L n/a.
stupid_cunt
01-10-07, 04:56 PM
legally limited to 2.0L turbo or 2.5L n/a.
wrx motor with legacy WTA cooler then? Those NA subi 2.5L are fucking gutless.
the other problem is I hate subi motors. I think they are crap for the size, weight and capacity they have (in stockish form at least).
Going to use the watercooled VW flat four, mainly because I have everything I need to do the job.
Euroboost
01-10-07, 08:34 PM
As much as I love my dak daks, that is a bad move. The Suby engine is cheaper, easier to get parts for, more powerful and more reliable then the WBX VW engine. The WBX is well known for water leaks and lack of grunt. Why do you think engine transplants are so popular with late rear engine Transpoter owners?
Suzuki_truck
01-10-07, 08:44 PM
Rover V8 OOOhhhh YYeaaahhh
As much as I love my dak daks, that is a bad move. The Suby engine is cheaper, easier to get parts for, more powerful and more reliable then the WBX VW engine. The WBX is well known for water leaks and lack of grunt. Why do you think engine transplants are so popular with late rear engine Transpoter owners?
because they dont know how to build them properly. There's a number of tricks with the tranasporter engine, a major one being the use of the wrong type of coolant destroys them pretty quick.
But as I said, I have everything I need, so there's no way a $2k front cut and $800 of adaptors is cheaper than dusting off all the brand new stuff I have under my bench.
Also, the buggy needs torque, not power. And the 2.1...whoops I meant 1.9 caravelle donk does this well, and is a shitload lighter than the subi.
All I know about the watercooled ones can be abbreviated to :Head studs fuck out stay away Jesus.
yep. wrong coolant, massive galvanic corrosion, fucked everything starting with the headstuds.
Another option is to convert the watercooled block to air cooled, which works very well and costs bugger all other than time.
I'm thinking of selling this. I haven't had the time to finish the barwork under the back, rebuild the motor and fix the speedo, and don't have the money to get the canopy remade.
It's registered until May next year though, and as long as you don't (EVER) let it run out of rego it's legal.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x289/SpamDragon/cage1.jpg
Expressions of interest? If there's no sensible offers I'll finish it off and put it back up for sale for about the $8-$10k mark come summer.
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