Hola 914 Familia!

Background: My family and I (wife and 3 teenaged daughters) like to drive down from Tucson to Rocky Point Mexico (aka Puerto Penasco) about 5-6 times a year for long weeends or vacation. For those of you that don't live in Arizona (or perhaps New Mexico), Puerto Penasco is small drinking town with a fishing problem (or vice versa) located at the top of the Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California). It is know as Arizona's beach, since peeps from Phoenix and Tucson can drive there in about 4 hours.

Anyhoo.. the place has some beach/sand offroading, and many of the roads are hard-packed sand, so the vehicles of choice down there are Jeeps, Rhinos, Rangers, RZRs, ATVs and the like.

...

For some unknown (stupid) reason, I'm obsessing about getting a Meyers Manx VW Buggy (or replica) to take down there to cruise around. I've actually gotten the green yellow light from my wife on this.

Does anyone have any experience with these? Any perferred setups, motors, etc? I'm not very knowlegable about VW motors etc so any advice is welcome. It seems that most are built off of shortened 60's pans, with either swing-axel or IRS (reccommended) and usually 1600 motors, some are bigger. Much like 914's, there are some really good examples out there, and also some real junk. If anyone has any experience with these and can clue me in as to what to look for, I would appreciate it!

Thx!

How are five of you going to fit in the Manx? Will you be driviing it down there or keeping it there? This one doesn't even have a rear seat!

I would start here. http://www.manxclub.com

Hey Elliyot! Well, it would usually be 4 of us now that 1 is in college or 1 in sports at anyone time, etc. Most have rear seats with the tank under the hood.... Just looking for some personal experiences with these things....

They're a blast. The body weighs almost nothing, so all weight above the pan is the driver and passengers, low center of gravity. I put big round utility tires on the back and could go almost anywhere, dunes, crawl rocks, and do donuts on the side of a 30 degree slope. What's cool is that later I lowered it, put Goodyear Bluestreaks on it and autocrossed pretty successfully, once third fastest time of the day behind only a SuperVee and Lotus Seven. That was back in the Sixties when they were a new thing. They aren't the nicest thing on a freeway, though. Possible, but not fun for very long.

Genuine Manx bodies are rare and expensive. They're really thick fiberglass, the replicas are all lots thinner. You can tell quality, just look. Nothing should be floppy, flexible or cracked, and I'd prefer the original gelcoat over paint. Except for metalflake. Personal taste, but my personal opinion is that was a Sixties thing that should have stayed in the Sixties. And you can tell how the rest of the car's been done too, just look for the same things you'd see on any car. Look especially at where the pan was shortened, the equality of the weld, inside and outside the car, reinforcement, if there's any rust there, which is common from being around beaches and seawater. If you're going into Mexico I'd stay away from hot-rodded engines, which in VW's can be problematic. Keep it near stock and there are plenty of mechanics and parts down there so you can get it fixed. Gearboxes and the front suspension are other problem areas because they get pounded with heavy use, but fortunately nothing on a VW is that hard or expensive to fix. IRS will give you better ride, swing axles more suspension travel and ground clearance.

Bruce Meyers was a genius and they're great cars. You'll have lots of fun and your kids even more.

They are fun, but 4 hours in one is punishing.

I've always wanted a Manx - maybe someday

Bruce Meyers has updated the original concept and they are now producing the Manxster. It uses the full length chassis and has seating for four. Probably rides a whole lot better on the highway.

It would probably be worth checking out before putting money down. If I lived in a state with nice sunny weather, I'd certainly have one.

I've seen those at Carlisle. Really nice. They are setup for VW or Subaru power now.

I would imagine a 1911 or 2056 in that thing would be a LOT of fun!

Since this is OT: Lived in Az. in the late 70's, early 80's and used to travel down to Rocky Point with my '79 Grand Cherokee (The Beast) where my family and I would camp on Sandy Beach for long week ends and maybe see ten other camp sites. Back then Sandy Beach would stretch from the point to the fishing village of Puerto Penasco where we would by 5lbs of jumbo prawns for $5 !!! I have heard that Sandy beach is now lined with hotels and condo's. True?

I agree, I would probably flat tow the thing down there.

Al,
You are mostly correct. From the harbor out along Sandy Beach, it is mostly filled with a couple of hotels, a couple of camping grounds, and a number of resort/condos which are actually really nice. There are still some open areas where you can pull up a camper or throw out a tent so it has a little of both worlds. The fish/shrimp are still huge and cheap!

WORD

George, yes the Manxter is a sharp kit. Kind of a cross over between a car and a buggy. They are also producing a 'new' version of the original.
I'm thinking used though. Find something that might need a little work, but not a ton, give me something else to putz around on (like the 914 doesn't take enough time )

Thanks for the great post! Yeah, even with the small motors, it seems that they really get up and go. I was thinking more of a street version with a little give for dirt roads and light beach cruising, no serious off-roading in my plans. I'm also not a fan of the big metal-flake. I'm not into the bass-boat look on my cars.

Sounds like you have some VW experience. Any insights on motors/setup?

.....I like those myself....go get 1!!!
(big fun!!!)