are nostalgia dune buggies topics welcome here?

[bullitt]

are they?

[Trond Dahl]

I won't delete them ;-)

[Russell]

Considering Jim Deuchers Buggy made nearly all the Bug Ins and won many awards i would say your safe........ maybe.

[Lee.C]

And don't forget about me guys  I always up for some buggy chat 

[62 Ragtop]

This is somewhat scary, I was actually thinking the same last night... talk about Dejá-vu... Why?

Well, last evening the showed the original 'Thomas Crown affair" on Swedish Television (yes, they have a tendency to dig up old movies from the archives), featuring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway (?)... and of course a very cool looking Dune Buggie ripping the beaches!

Burning the midnight-oil working I had the TV on in the background, and just had to stop abusing my laptop when Steve floored it shooting across the dunes. I't looked kinda cool!

Anyone has any "trivia" on that particular Buggie? 

BR

[63 ripper]

Don't normally "do" buggies,but this one is very special..and local to me. watch out for a mag feature soon

[bullitt]

shiiiiit!!!!!!!! it is a fabulous imp!!!!!!!!!! where did he find tht vintage airplane tyres??
tell me plzzz!!!!! im searchin them on earth and on seas!!!!!!

[bullitt]

what is a TRIVIA?

[bullitt]

monki ur dune bug is very cool too. i love that kc yellow smile cover an KC too. they are a piece of bajahistory.

the corvair buggy of "thomas crown affair" is wonderful....but for me it would have been better with a porsche engine, as steve mc queen thought it originally.

corvair is too heavy

[62 Ragtop]

Bullitt - that's what I meant about "trivia"... What kinda a motor was it running, is the car still around somewhere, who was involved building the buggie etc

Thanks Bullitt

BR

[bullitt]

 the screenplay of "thomas crown affaire" (norman jewison, 1968 starring steve mcqueeen and faye dunaway)  originally consider  not the fast manx but a slow jeep movin' on the sand of cape cod in massachussets.
it was steve mc queen himself that moved things to this highly customized 5000 dollars manx firstly designed by the same actor.
steve was a great fan of dune buggies and cars and motorbikes in general.
steve contacted pete condos of con-ferr manufacturing of burbank, california to build the car for the film.
con ferr was at that time preparator and dealer of meyers manx.
steve thought the car as porsche 4 cilynders 90 cv powered.
by his part pete suggested that they could have big more hps using a cheaper chevy corvair flat six engine....so this was the way to go. steve agreed.
when porsche came to know that chevy engine would be used offered all the parts in need for free...but it was too late...car was already on the set with on its corvair 140 hp engine.
a custom boat-designed front hood with a curved lexan screen was realized by con ferr and front lights were molded inside, covered with lexan screens as sports car of the period.
sides of the body were  extended to cover the black -non finished fiberglass always seen as tradition in dune buggies.
car was painted in red with a yellow pin striping with big amount of chrome parts.
wheel were formula indy american racing mags.  with firestone racing yellow stripes tyres.
tyres were regrooved trasversally cause the cars simply didn't move on the sand.
steve himself drove the car in its evolution on the dunes at 80 mph.
more than a trasmission was broken.
at the end of the movie the car went on mcqueen collection...but after a while was sold in hawaii.
before solding the car they stripped the engine and converted the hood and screen to traditional manx one.
legend tells car still exhist but the owner wants to stay anonimous....
is the hunt opened in hawaii?

[bullitt]

airplane tyres airpalne tyres airplane tyres......help  me ripper plz!

[SOB/RFH]

PURPLE POTATO CHIP......that has to be the coolest of them all!!! Corvair power. long wheel base and even touna cover!!!!

[bullitt]

oh, sxxxxiiiiit!!!!!! i got it now!!!!! airplane tyres they r not!!!! they are agricultural trailer tires!!!!!!!! wwooooooooo
i 've found them!!!!!

[bullitt]

thomas crown dune bug is not my best....
nice car obviously... but my buggy idea is so different.
manx design is near to perfection, u cnt change it!!!!!!
to extend side down is a mistake, as if u mount those round sides.
body is over the raw fiberglass.....body is thin....if u change extending body down....u will have a fat side that will not contrast to big wheels.
again corvair engine is powerful, ok, but heavy too. in thomas crown sequence u can see that poor back train bumping all the weight!!!!!
heavy even in its image......too much iron there .....not balanced in look as if it had porsche or vw flat 4....
then u cant change ( still in my opinion) external front lights feature....... like making square roof on a beetle...its a nononono!!!!

[Lee.C]

I was just about to tell you that they were "FARM" tires - I am friends with the owner of that Imp and aparently they cost him a fortune!! He also brought his Empi fan belt cover from me 

I have also spoken to lots of people about the Mcqueen Manx and believe it or not there is more than one out there aparently once they had made the mould from a modified Manx they moulded approx 30 more bodies - I have seen pictures of 4 other bodies, I have even tried buying them but without success 

I might watch "Thomas Crown Affair" tonight - god I love that movie 

[bullitt]

monki u are very right: i saw one of the car (blue) equipped of tht kinda body 4 sale on an old copy of hot vws from the nineties.

one question for ur friend tht own that fabuolous empi imp : i saw on firestone agri tyres site and tht kind of tyres are guaranteed only for 30 mph: does him use only as show tires or limit is overcomeble in your opinion?

i did my deserter with whitewall conventional tires and red steel wheels.

this is not an hotrod choice but wants to remember ( old pictures in pizmo beach and glamis dune of the sixties are witnesses) commixture beetween hotrod and dune buggies in first year of appearence.

the same yellow manx tht went first on the cover of "hot rod magazine" had red wheels.

i put a no logo 356 "nippleshaped" chrome hubcaps....like empi sold in years of sportster.

[Turtle001]

anybody a picture of that mc queen manx?

[Lee.C]

First here's a pic of the Mcqueen manx  it was love at first sight for me  I do understand what bullit was saying about the body mods etc  but for me its more about the buggy as a "whole" everything about it just screams COOOOOOOOL 

as for those tires - to be honest when I last spoke to him he had only just finished it and had not even driven it (at the time of that pic)
but I think those tires would be OK on sand because that rating is ment for tarmac

[Zach Gomulka]

I saw this one at the Vegas Bug In last month

[ESH]

..it was love at first sight for me  ... I do understand what bullit was saying about the body mods etc  but for me its more about the buggy as a "whole" everything about it just screams COOOOOOOOL...

It was the same for McQueen apparently. At one pointed they had waited an entire day for a silhouette shot at dusk but when the time came they missed the opportunity as he was off down the beach pulling wheelies. There's a good book by Michael Keyser on McQueen an the film Le Mans, (A French Kiss With Death) that gives a good insight to what McQueen was really like. Doesn't say so much about the Buggy as it concentrates more on the later Solar Productions stuff but it does get a mention. It's definitely cool.

[bullitt]

here in italy there is not so much space to go on the sand with cars......theorically there is no space at all!!!!!!!!
all the sand is protected....national park or private beach......
if u go with ur car they simply jail u.....
last big sand spaces are on the bed of po river.....50km from milano.......police hadn't said nothin yet....but it is protetcted too..
what is situation in your countries?

[Thomas 356]

First here's a pic of the Mcqueen manx  it was love at first sight for me  I do understand what bullit was saying about the body mods etc  but for me its more about the buggy as a "whole" everything about it just screams COOOOOOOOL 

as for those tires - to be honest when I last spoke to him he had only just finished it and had not even driven it (at the time of that pic)
but I think those tires would be OK on sand because that rating is ment for tarmac

no 3 pic is super cool

[Rick Meredith]

here in italy there is not so much space to go on the sand with cars......theorically there is no space at all!!!!!!!!
all the sand is protected....national park or private beach......
if u go with ur car they simply jail u.....
last big sand spaces are on the bed of po river.....50km from milano.......police hadn't said nothin yet....but it is protetcted too..
what is situation in your countries?

In southern Cal, most of it is protected but there are areas that are still open such as Glamis and Pismo Beach.

[bullitt]

rick.....i dream only a weekend in glamis!!!!!!
the beach on the po river is a poor thing!!!!  2 miles long x half mile.  only two steps of 3 meters as dune.......

next year i will risk to get arrested....fuck the world!!!!! i will go on public beach at the sea !!!!!!!
slalom beetween slidechairs of beach stabiliments!!!!!

if they catch me i will get away......they have alfas......buggy is faster on the sand!!!!!!

[Lee.C]

..it was love at first sight for me  ... I do understand what bullit was saying about the body mods etc  but for me its more about the buggy as a "whole" everything about it just screams COOOOOOOOL...

It was the same for McQueen apparently. At one pointed they had waited an entire day for a silhouette shot at dusk but when the time came they missed the opportunity as he was off down the beach pulling wheelies. There's a good book by Michael Keyser on McQueen an the film Le Mans, (A French Kiss With Death) that gives a good insight to what McQueen was really like. Doesn't say so much about the Buggy as it concentrates more on the later Solar Productions stuff but it does get a mention. It's definitely cool.

Looks like me and steve have something in common then  And your right that pic of him jumping is AMAZING its my favourite bit of the movie 

As for sand its pretty much the same here in the UK but I did have a few runs on a "public" beach when I was down in Newquey earlier this year,  think I shocked a few people -  I even got shouted at by the Coastguard 

Here's one more of that AWSOME BUGGY  you gotta love the fact he's got a cigarette hangin out of his mouth 

[speedwell]

PURPLE POTATO CHIP......that has to be the coolest of them all!!! Corvair power. long wheel base and even touna cover!!!!

i agree very cool buggy

[Martin Greaves]

Oh yes i have got to do one for my next project how mad is this.

[Trond Dahl]

here in italy there is not so much space to go on the sand with cars......theorically there is no space at all!!!!!!!!
all the sand is protected....national park or private beach......
if u go with ur car they simply jail u.....
last big sand spaces are on the bed of po river.....50km from milano.......police hadn't said nothin yet....but it is protetcted too..
what is situation in your countries?

In southern Cal, most of it is protected but there are areas that are still open such as Glamis and Pismo Beach.

Ever been to hollister hills? I'm sure there are some tracks there that would be fun to drive! I have been on the hills with a motorbike a few times, great place... a few mountains filled with trails/tracks...

[Rick Meredith]

No I haven't.

I do some 4 wheeling with my daily driver... Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's my "Mid Life Crisis" car... I've always driven lowered cars. This is a raised SUV.