Jeff, aka "jspbtown" picked up his Manx in NY state. The
seller said all it needed was some brakes and engine work and it would
be a runner. I had built two prior buggies but never a Manx, so I made
the decision to buy it sight unseen. I always wanted to say I built a
Manx so this was my driving influence.
Here is what it looked like when he first saw it:
Jeff continues; It appeared complete, but certainly not
even close to a runner. It had the Manx roll bar, the hard top, some
really nice old school rims, and all the indicators of a true Manx. I
loaded it up on the trailer and brought it back to Massachusetts where
it sat patiently in my garage for 2.5 years while life's interruptions
prevented its restoration.
I then brought the body and chassis together. I used
almost all stainless steel hardware through-out the build. Seats
from Factory Five Cobra were used along with 4 point cam-lock
harnesses. A 12.5" steering wheel and billet adapter attach to the
Flaming River column. The motor is a stock 1600 with the normal
upgrades (Kadrons, 009, electronic module, oil cooler, chrome
accessories, etc).
Overall its been a fun build. I have a couple of details to
finish like an upholstered rear seat to be installed. I still
haven't driven it due to the snow up hear in the Northeast, but I
have sat in it and I fit very well (6'2" tall). I don't even look
above the windshield!
Some things I would have done differently:
1. The steering set up is VERY nice...but VERY expensive. By the
time you get the column, the joints, the adapters, etc, you are into
it for $400+. I have 3 columns from a 1967 that would have worked
just as well. It does look GREAT though. Money no object? Go this
way.
Some things that worked out great:
1. The diamond plate floors. They cost less that $200 for all the
aluminum and steel (via the internet) and allow for a lot more
strength and room.
2. the Cobra seats. Nice and narrow with good support. They offer
alot of adjustment.
3. The Kirker paint. great price and a great product. I recommend
them for any novice painter.
After getting some things in order, I dove head first
into the project in June 2007. The first step was to separate the body
from the chassis. As you can see the floors had seen better days, the
body was rough, and the mechanicals were gone: I use a simple ceiling
mounted electric hoist from harbor Freight that handled the body, the
motor, and the tranny without any effort.
I began by rebuilding the chassis. Off came the pans, and
anything else that could be removed. The tunnel, frame head, and rear
horns were all very solid. I replaced the perimeter framing with 1x2"
steel stock. I also used 5/32" polished diamond plate for the floors.
They make a nice flat surface for the seats to mount to. All brake
components were replaced or rebuilt. A new fuel line was run as well.
Adjusters were added to the front beam and the transmission was
detailed. Tie rods, link pins, shocks, everything was redone. Anything
that could be removed was, and then cleaned, sandblasted and painted.
The center tunnel was smoothed with Rage Gold and
painted. A new shift rod bushing was also installed.
I repaired the original dash because I had plenty of
materials and thought I would give it a try.
I then turned my attention to the body. All the holes
were fiber glassed and smoothed. I was pretty lucky, there were no big
cracks or chunks missing, other then in the rear license plate area.
Every hole was countersunk, filled with glass, then Rage. Big holes
were tapered, filled with glass, and then smoothed with Rage. After
sanding, I primed with several coats of Evercoat G2 primer. This is
great stuff. Sprays easily and sands really smooth. The original color
was an orange metallic so I stuck with that theme and painted the body
with Kirker Orange Metallic base and then clear.
Next came some wiring, installation of motorcycle
headlights, and the dash. I used motorcycle headlights because I wanted
a little smaller of a look. The dash was painted with wrinkle paint to
mimic the original ABS look.? I used Dolphin gauges because I like the
price and the looks. Gauges are tach, speedo, oil pressure, volts, and
fuel.
Relays were used for the headlights, wipers, horn, and flashers. I
also use terminal blocks to bring all my grounds to one place (easy to
diagnose the common ground issues on fiberglass buggies) and to
distribute other power signals. I also installed a Flaming River
stainless tilt column. It fit really well. I adapted it to the stock VW
box with some Borgeson U-joints.
Click on a picture for a larger view:
Beautiful Job Jeff, thanks for sharing it with us!
