I was really interested in finding an original Manx to restore. I found one in Tennessee. It was a long way from home. But after a tiring, non-stop 22 hour drive, I was home with the new Manx. It was in sad shape. A perfect candidate for a total rebuild. I had already decided to use a custom Hawkeye chassis in the rebuild. So when I got the body off the old chassis, it was off to Neil Decker's so he could build the chassis. When Neil was finished, we carried the body down the road to Johnny Bridges house for the much needed fiberglass work. This thing was full of holes, including a rotted out battery box. While Johnny tackled the chore of patching holes, I took the chassis home and started to work. I went all out on this one. Powder coated chassis, aluminum floor pan, custom shifter console, four wheel disc brakes with emergency-brake, CNC hydraulic pedal assembly and Morse cable throttle linkage. When Johnnie had finished with patching the many holes in the body, and with a new hood from the Manx Club in California (the original hood was beyond repair) It was off to paint. We had it painted Aggie Maroon. Having it painted was the easy part. Getting it home from the painter was the scary part. Finally, putting it all together! It was really pretty easy. I tried to make all my mistakes on the first buggy. Believe me when I say that I didn’t know anything about VW’s when I started this hobby four years ago. With the help and encouragement from a lot of guys on this site, I now have completed two buggies and with any luck at all I might have number three ready sometime next year. My advice to all is to take your time and build it the way you want it. Do not get in a hurry or try to rush it. I built this buggy in about 11 months. If I can do it, anyone can.
Good Luck, David Head
