OOOoooo Yeah thats the stuff

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The company I work at used to make the fiberglass bodies for thoes vw based cars. They still have some that are laying around. I've always wanted to build one. The molds are still there too. I'm trying to scrounge up enough scrap carbon fiber to make it happen.
 
The first one... Pretty hot... My boss will probably like that... He has a Manx...

The 2nd one... ehhh... too much like a 914...
 
The first one... Pretty hot... My boss will probably like that... He has a Manx...

The 2nd one... ehhh... too much like a 914...

Wait.. is his white with a really nice flame job ?

Tom, I think his name is ?
 
The first one is alright, short of the wing, the wheels, and the tires. Don't know how fast it would be with the 1.6L in it, but I bet it still would be fun. The second one looks like a dog to drive and I'd be afraid it would fall apart.
 
Dune Buggies aren't about performance. You can NEVER make them perform. They have swing arm suspensions, really horrible link locations, and horrible body roll. They are also like 80/20 rear weight biased. But some are marketted as "autocrossers". Back in the 70s, it was a really cheap way to get onto the track. And in the 70s your daily street cars were complete shit for cone-avoiding.

What he's done here is nothing short of amazing. The chassis (Which is shit) is dropped and channelled to get the weight lower on the .. frankly.. ancient suspension design.

Regardless of horsepower in the engines for dune buggies, the thing only weighs 1200 lbs (or less), so you can do anything you want with only 50 or so horses. The key is a lightweight motor, which the air cooled boxers do. Everyone that puts a honda motor in their dune buggy winds up welding lead to the front end to keep it down.

The Lola-esque thing was an ICON just 20 years ago. Fuck Bandit Trans-Ams, Knight Rider trans ams, Viper.. Vipers - there is only one Coyote. And that Coyote prolly handles like a DREAM. It's not VW based, it's a complete scratch build with double un-equal length wishbones. That thing is gotta be like a railcar.
 
The company I work at used to make the fiberglass bodies for thoes vw based cars. They still have some that are laying around. I've always wanted to build one. The molds are still there too. I'm trying to scrounge up enough scrap carbon fiber to make it happen.


I NEED to know this company. I have a few mold ideas and lessons learned. Hit me up, either in this thread or IM.
 
Dune Buggies aren't about performance. You can NEVER make them perform. They have swing arm suspensions, really horrible link locations, and horrible body roll. They are also like 80/20 rear weight biased. But some are marketted as "autocrossers". Back in the 70s, it was a really cheap way to get onto the track. And in the 70s your daily street cars were complete shit for cone-avoiding.
What he's done here is nothing short of amazing. The chassis (Which is shit) is dropped and channeled to get the weight lower on the .. frankly.. ancient suspension design.

Regardless of horsepower in the engines for dune buggies, the thing only weighs 1200 lbs (or less), so you can do anything you want with only 50 or so horses.
Aha AHAHA HAHAHAHAHA..... never make them perform.... giggles.

The entire car was designed in the late 30s.... the THIRTIES!!! the only major update happened in the 70s...... nothing major just went to struts and changed rear windows and some lights...... still the same car from the 30s.

You can make the entire car with you in it weigh less than a thousand pounds you can make the motors produce 300hp without boost.... its always a car I wanted to mess with.
 
Aha AHAHA HAHAHAHAHA..... never make them perform.... giggles.

Well, you can make a Beetle do amazing things, I don't prefer them over designs (I had a 71 Superbeetle, and I thought it's cornering was dismal) But guys like Glenn Ring out of Long Island have done AMAZING things with them (Gring I think)

I am building a dune buggy, it's been a life long dream of mine. So I DO like the idea, but compare that kind of kit to the Coyote kit, and I'm pretty sure the coyote is going to be a better performer, if not (at ALL) cheaper. Dune buggies are rewarding to own and easy to maintain

99sidude:

As far as what I need to know about the company - their name, if they still have bits hanging around, and if they / you / anyone is interested in building one. Also, if that company does any fiberglass work still.

Wait... did you and I talk about this on IM like last year ?
 
Yeah I think we did talk about this a little. The company is called RL Industries and its in Cincinatti. They started out building bodies for vdub based buggies. They are still in the composites industry, but now make very specialized and large scale products such as pressurized vessels, power plant parts, and humvee components.

They have 3 or 4 molds laying around, as well as some finished bodies. The bodies look horrible due to sitting out in the sun for 2 decades. My boss and his brother each have one in very nice shape, and have built up boxer motors pushing 150 hp. It has no problem getting the front wheels in the air.

I don't think they have any interest in getting back into the business. They are plenty busy making alot more money doing what they do now. I am a co-op/intern there now, and when I graduate at the end of the year there is a very good chance I'll be getting a full time job. If that happens I am definately going to try and build one with what they have. It seems like you have alot of knowlege on this. At that point maybe I'll get into making the bodies as a side project.
 
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