I got to have a nice conversation with Jim Maness this afternoon. He said that VMC actually predated CUMA, they changed the name because VW had threatened to sue!
The body that I have is hand laid, probably dates to about 1970 or so (because it is a VWC Fiera vs. a CUMA Fiera) and was a near exact replica of a Manx. I can use pretty much any Manx parts I want, the only difference is the hood.
His former partner (Mike) was the numbers guy, and he has passed on, so he had no production numbers for me, but he said that they built them into the mid '70s. He still runs a shop doing VW work, he isn't on the internet at all, and said he does a lot sand rails and hunting buggy type stuff. He kept all his machine tools, so he does head work and the like too (as well as race motors).
All in all a very cool conversation, I didn't think to ask about other TX manufacturers, and couldn't bear to keep myself on the phone with him longer. He didn't seem like he was in a huge rush to get me off the phone, but I didn't want to keep him away from paying work!
In other project related news, I got a bunch of tune-up parts for the '74 from Steve-o in Cedar Park, and put a battery on the charger to top it off (is an Optima Yellow Top overkill for a Dune Buggy?
), so I hope to let the starter turn it over this weekend (and maybe even hear her run) after I check on fluids.