DUNE BUGGIES
My Dune Buggy story.
For years I had a idea sitting in the back of my mind. One that never really went away, but for some reason never really took "center stage". This idea has been rattling around inside my head for about 25 years now. Ok, in saying that I realize that I'm getting old, but back to the point. For the last quarter of a century I've wanted a Dune Buggy. My sister had this yellow toy dune buggy for her Barbie dolls, and needless to say I swiped it every chance I could. My favorite AFX slot car was a cool little red dune buggy and like most kids of that time period I had tons of dune buggy toys and models. Add in the cartoons of my youth, "Speed Buggy" and some other show that haunts my mind where a junker buggy would turn into a "super buggy" in times of trouble. I think that one was called "Wonder Buggy", but I digress. The dune buggy stimulus has stayed in my mind for decades. I've stopped and looked at a number of beat up old buggies when I pass them on the side of the road, but here in the eastern US you only see one about every 3 years or so, and they are usually beat to crap, so nothing ever came of it, but that pesky dune buggy never left my mind. It just sat in the back of my brain, like a high school student that doesn't have the answers to the questions, head down, not really causing any trouble, just trying to exist, but not get called on.
In the fall of 2002 I was reading the most recent copy of AutoWeek here at my shop, and when I turned the to one of the pages in that issue, the idea that always was present but never in the front row, stood up, and kicked me right in the nuts. On that page I saw this picture:
I recognized the red buggy in the background as one of Bruce Meyer's creations, known as the Manx. A fiberglass buggy, actually "the" fiberglass buggy, that he built in the 1960's and the buggy that started it all. All the copies, all the clones all started from this one man's creation. The article identified the modern looking buggy in the picture as the Manxter 2+2. At this point my brain started to race, but I immediately pull back on the reins... AutoWeek has pulled this trick before. The... "See the cool car"... "Well, too bad you can't have it. Its a prototype you'll never see anywhere but in this photo" ploy. So I hold back and start reading. The good news, the article includes everything from some history of Bruce Meyer and his Manx buggies, to information about this prototype buggy. You can read the article here: Go here.
About half way through the article you begin to realize that this thing is actually going to be produced as a kit, for anyone to buy. At this point the mind kicks back into overdrive. How do you get one? and ten thousand other questions race around in my head, but the article doesn't offer these answers. It just dangles the ultra cool photos that tease all your senses (well, they tease a car guy's senses). A day or so later a web search on "Manxter" plops me on the Meyers Manx web site, with images like these staring at me...
That was pretty much it... done deal, where do I sign?
A few years ago I had stumbled across a Manx Club web site, but as cool as it was, it didn't really offer much help for those in search of buggies. You still had to go out, find a buggy and then restore it, or find one for sale that was built up, and outside of Southern California, finding a buggy is a tall order especially considering what you are trying to find is a fiberglass shell that survived its intended use and still had some VW metal underneath it. Oh yeah, and don't forget all this would have been built in the late 60s or early 70s. Can you say "fat chance".
This new Manxter 2+2 now offered a wide realm of possibilities. A new dune buggy kit, that looked better than any buggy I had ever seen was now available in a choice of colors, with a bunch of modern touches that really make the package look great. The kicker is that it was designed by fiberglass dune buggy guru himself, Bruce Meyers.
This image shows Bruce and Winnie Meyers unveiling the Manxter 2+2 to a crowd of applauding fans!
So right there and then I wrote the check and started the process for a Manxter 2+2 of my own. A vehicle to fulfill a childhood dream that has never left me.
As it turns out I wasn't the only one watching those buggy cartoons and playing with plastic dune buggies when I was a kid. As word spread that I was building a dune buggy for myself, others approached me and wanted one as well. I've been running a custom vehicle building facility since 1992, so it was a natural progression to add Buggies to our line up and help others get their dreams made into reality.
A trip to California in the winter of 2003 to meet with Bruce Meyers himself secured our plans for ECR built Manxters. The image above shows myself and Bruce Meyers with the prototype Manxter at his home/office in California. Bruce's new design looked great, so we were hooked. The Manxters we have built since that trip to CA can be seen all over this web page.
Here is a picture of my personal Manxter:
The Manxter is a great buggy and I just love them. I call it "Buggy Madness", and if you have it, the only cure is a buggy of your very own.
It looks like the next generation of buggy fans has "Buggy Madness" as well, if the smile on my son's face is any indication.
.. and years later he still loves riding in the Manxter, as do I!!
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at any time.
Mike Smith
BACK TO THE BUILD UPS SECTION
East Coast Rover Co.
Contact Information