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Sat Oct 07, 2023 11:30 am

I bought a pre tag Manx I on a 1960 S/A pan that had been badly damaged in the left rear and badly repaired when the PO's great grandfather had it. Really badly. It took a bad poke in the rear, a tree might have fallen on it, who knows? It also got punched in the nose, so the badge pad was removed in the repair. Sigh...

Since extensive repair was needed to the rear anyway, I decided I would put it on an IRS pan.

Yes I have pictures, LOTS of pictures. I took very few when I rebuilt my used Manx II in the 80's and only have one left.

Anyway, since I'm going to have to rework the whole rear I'm going flat tub and was hoping someone had either a build in process or a built one who would take some rear tub measurements for me. I mostly need distance from top of body to the flat part of the tub, and distance from the pan in the center and sides to the flat of the tub.

In return, I offer any glass parts I have either for free or a WAY discounted price. I bought two bodies, one complete and one with 12" cut from the middle and not glued back together. I plan to use some of these to repair what I have but what's left over is fair game.

Can anyone help? Pan is about done save the battery box and for that I need to know where the flat of that tub will be. Yes I know I can make it anywhere I want, but I want it to look at least a little symmetrical.

That built up bondo is 2" thick, how much longer did it take to build it up
instead of fixing the 'glass properly?

That whole area took a hit inside and out. Even the lower flange is broken and was laminated over the gel coat and didn't hold, of course.

These are what I have and plan to use the blue body for the inner fender repair, it's the right shape and looks easier than forming a plug. I'm going to try to keep the intact body complete, but I'm open to cutting some off if another builder needs it badly enough.

Tue Oct 10, 2023 12:18 pm

Murphy's Law wrote:
Anyway, since I'm going to have to rework the whole rear I'm going flat tub and was hoping someone had either a build in process or a built one who would take some rear tub measurements for me. I mostly need distance from top of body to the flat part of the tub, and distance from the pan in the center and sides to the flat of the tub.

I have several Original Meyers Manx bodies, Manx I and Manx II. But I do not understand what dimensions you are describing.

What is "Flat part of the tub"?

And where is "distance from the pan in the center and sides to the flat of the tub"?

Do you want the measurements taken from a Manx I, or a Manx II?

Maybe lay a board across the body and use tape for the distance you want, and post photos of it.

Wed Oct 11, 2023 11:04 am

Thanks Joe, I got my little brother up here today and we cut and chopped out the bad stuff, and the section for the battery box. It looks ugly right now but I have figured out where to put the rear "shelf". I guess I wasn't clear enough but I'm going to have to cut out the battery box and spare tire well to clear the swing arms and was wondering if the Manx II was the same dimensions in that area, just flat.
It appears, from what I've measured with the battery under the shelf, that it needs to be about 2" higher than the original swing arm body. I don't know if that explains it any better.
Top of rear part of the body down to the shelf (covers the rear; transmission, battery, etc.) and the height of the front part of that rear (goes over the torsion tubes) at the outsides and the center.
Sorry for the confusion but I got it now. Just getting someone here to drive those measurements was difficult as I live in the Boonies just before the Sticks. No one likes to come out this far and I have the pan on a stand I can roll over so lifting the body alone isn't something I can do until I have it back on the shop floor.

BTW, I've been watching your builds on here. I was a vw mechanic in another life and worked out of ALL the dune buggy shops here in upstate NY in the 70's and 80's and there were more than you'd think. From buggies, sand rails, and bajas I built them. Those days are long gone, I'm almost 70 now and haven't been a full time wrench in 25 years. I have respect for what I've seen you build and I'm glad someone's keeping up traditional buggys.

Wed Oct 11, 2023 2:12 pm

Thank you for the compliment. I am currently working on my # 22 and # 23 buggy build.

So, on my # 8 build, I installed a Manx I onto a IRS. Both the battery trey and the Spare Tire well were hacked and I rebuilt them. But, I rebuilt the spare tire well back to original, and on the battery trey, I raised it 1 inch. The reason is that the tire well is 1 inch higher off of the IRS than the Battery Trey, so I made them equal.

Now that alone did not clearance the IRS suspension, I had to lift the body another 2 inches to get the clearance needed so they would not hit at full compression.

Back to what you are doing, if you flatly fill in the top of the tire well and the battery trey to form a flat Package trey, it will be super close to a Manx II in shape with just minor differences not worth trying to explain or change.

70 is just an Achievement Number, not a stopping point. Flame on, get-r-done, and post us some photos!

Sat Feb 17, 2024 8:24 am

Hey all,
The build is coming along well, though slow. I have much done on the body but still am looking for that dimension as it is not in my shop at the moment, but at my brother's. The time has come to make the package tray. Moving it from there to here and back again isn't much of an option for us so I was looking to see if anyone has a body they could measure.
Here is what I have:

Joe asked for clarification on what and where, so I found one of his pics to show the detail I'm looking for. This is what I need, and I know it's not going to be an exact measurement for me, but to see if I'm in the ball park will be a big help!

I don't want to waste time filling in the bottom of the tray just to cut it out again. Thanks all.