anyone have a dune buggy/sandrail?

[Orion Man 10+ year member]

There is a private contracter that lives in Lehi, Ut. He has 2 sand rails sitting behind his shop with weeds growing in them. I asked him about parting with them and he told me when he dies to talk to his lawyer. Pretty funny remark, but people don't let go of those things. Sad to see them go to such waste.

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

say i bought something like this

http://www.vw-store.com/Images/Classic%20290%20-%20front%203qtr.jpg

if i got a doner vw beatle (i think its a 1979) does the motor and all that just bolt up? would it be worth it to do that, or should i just find one thats already made...

thats sorta the style frame im looking for, i dont want a 4 seater, i want that "classic" look

heres the other ones they sell

http://www.vw-store.com/Buggy%20Frames-%20Chassis.htm

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

say i bought something like this
http://www.vw-store.com/Images/Classic%20290%20-%20front%203qtr.jpg

if i got a doner vw beatle (i think its a 1979) does the motor and all that just bolt up? would it be worth it to do that, or should i just find one thats already made...

thats sorta the style frame im looking for, i dont want a 4 seater, i want that "classic" look

heres the other ones they sell

http://www.vw-store.com/Buggy%20Frames-%20Chassis.htm

from what i understand yes, everthing pretty much just bolts up.

if you're serious about buying one or buying one, there's a TON of really good learing material about air-cooled vw's. and i've seen two or three about building rails and dune buggies. so if you're going the building route, pick one up and read it first, so you know what you're getting into, and if you decide it's too much and go the buying route, then at least you have a better idea of what to look for.

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

if its too hard to find one for a good price already running, ill end up possibly getting one, and my friend has a 79 beetle i can get for cheap. i wouldnt mind building one but i really dont have room, i already dont have room to keep the explorer at my house, dads gettin mad at me for that lmao

but i mean yea if i can find one locally for a good price and it runs and all, ill buy that so its ready to go, then ill do little things to it myself, upgrades etc, possibly even paint or powdercoat it, who knows

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

if its too hard to find one for a good price already running, ill end up possibly getting one, and my friend has a 79 beetle i can get for cheap. i wouldnt mind building one but i really dont have room, i already dont have room to keep the explorer at my house, dads gettin mad at me for that lmao
but i mean yea if i can find one locally for a good price and it runs and all, ill buy that so its ready to go, then ill do little things to it myself, upgrades etc, possibly even paint or powdercoat it, who knows

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

there's some stuff to read/learn

 

[Anthony Collova 10+ year member]

say i bought something like this
http://www.vw-store.com/Images/Classic%20290%20-%20front%203qtr.jpg

if i got a doner vw beatle (i think its a 1979) does the motor and all that just bolt up? would it be worth it to do that, or should i just find one thats already made...

thats sorta the style frame im looking for, i dont want a 4 seater, i want that "classic" look

heres the other ones they sell

http://www.vw-store.com/Buggy%20Frames-%20Chassis.htm

Those buggies are very popular.. Been around since the 70's I think..

Building your own buggy is cool but if you never have done it, expect it to take 6 months to a year to finish.

you will end up spending 7-$10k on the thing and by the time you are done, and know what you are doing, you will have wish you did it differently.

There is a lot to know, and learn..

I would buy a used one first. $3-4 k will get you an old sloppy rail, but it will work and you will learn how to drive one properly. More importantly you will learn what you like and do not like about your current raila dn can put that knowlege in to your next custom built..

ANT

 

[Anthony Collova 10+ year member]

Also remeber that ACVW engines are most popular for these types of rails because you are pretty much building a vb bug with no shell. Just rails..

ACVW engines are great and powerful but they are also picky *****es that need to be constantly tuned.

Check out craigs list or your local junk yards. You can easily get a doner engine out of a wrecked car..

Then, get a 3 rib vw transaxle (.091) with an adaptor plate for that engine..

You wont need an engine much bigger than 2 liters.. 2.5 tops for a starter rail.

Some of the more advance guys are running sti engine. 2.5 liter in the 500-600 hp range sometimes... you would kill yourself in somthing like this if you had not experience driving one.

There are a ton of good sites out there with tons of info..

Not a cheap hobby by any means..

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

i gotta get a pic of my uncles he got it for like 1500 from some guy and its runs great and its exactly what im looking for just to drive and little by little fix up and make it how i want. i dont know what chassis it is but i think its one of the "classic" ones, its a 2 seater. (he got a deal on it from this guy thats why it was so cheap haha)

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=9
there's some stuff to read/learn

thanks

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

he's asking $4500 for this

not sure which VW engine it is (1600CC i think)

said it needs a bushing for one of the shocks, and the reverse pops out of gear sometimes if u gun it in reverse, which why would i do that anyways, lol

 

[GreenBook 10+ year member]

if its too hard to find one for a good price already running, ill end up possibly getting one, and my friend has a 79 beetle i can get for cheap. i wouldnt mind building one but i really dont have room, i already dont have room to keep the explorer at my house, dads gettin mad at me for that lmao

It doesn't sound like your gonna end up going this route, but be aware that 75-79 model year vw beetles came with bosch fuel injection, and a really bad fi setup at that. There's all sorts of stuff that go wrong with it. Best to avoid fuel injection and stick to a carb motor.

 

[PepsiFiend69 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/drool.gif.b5e863e893038027711d4402f340dad0.gif

sand rail

or

rail her in the sand

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

It doesn't sound like your gonna end up going this route, but be aware that 75-79 model year vw beetles came with bosch fuel injection, and a really bad fi setup at that. There's all sorts of stuff that go wrong with it. Best to avoid fuel injection and stick to a carb motor.

actually the FI were ridiculously economical as long as they were running right. but once once thing goes wrong, it's just worth it to ditch it and switch to carb(s)

mine stayed FI for almost three years after I bought mine, and didn't have a single problem with it, and got amazing mileage even when driving "fast". But once it started to go, it started to go.

plus if his friend has a 79, chances are it's already been switched over to carbs, unless he's trying to keep it 100% original, in which case he wouldn't be letting it go for so cheap...

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

he's asking $4500 for this
not sure which VW engine it is (1600CC i think)

said it needs a bushing for one of the shocks, and the reverse pops out of gear sometimes if u gun it in reverse, which why would i do that anyways, lol

well i would just plan on getting a new *****, which isn't expensive for acvw's anyway..

i think i paid like 350 for mine...

 

[orangecounty1 10+ year member]

i went and looked at another one today, i didnt like it though. the chassis looked weird. it was nice, but just not the style i want. it was too high and short. i want a longer chassis with a lower overall height, similar to that blue one i posted.

yne721, are you talking about a ****** for ur vw, or u have/had a rail?

if rail, PM me, i have a few questions as far as building a rail goes. i might go that route. ill buy the chassis i want, then get a vw engine/****** thatll bolt up pretty easy, and go from there, little by little, becuase i really dont have 4-5 to drop at once on a rail thats already built.