Old School Dune Buggy: 1967 Volkswagen Sand Rail
Back before you could buy a Polaris RZR or any other big side-by-side ATVs, if you wanted to go offroad at a moderate rate of speed but feel like you were doing mach 1, then you had to build your own thing. You could start with some giant off road machine like a Bronco, but it is easier to add weight than to remove it, so the smart move was to start with a VW Beetle and then add off-road stuff. Today you could buy a newish ATV and join the other people at Glamis who drove there in comfortable/expensive SUVs, or you could get this next car, drive it to the dunes, go dune bombing, and drive it home. Find this 1967 Volkswagen Rail Buggy offered for $12000 in Fontana, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
1967 vw rail buggy
condition: excellent
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 25
size: compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: coupe
67 Buggy in excellent condition. 2.3 liter engine
New paint.
Sounds awesome!!
Must see to appreciate.
See a better way to drive around in something cool? tips@dailyturismo.com
No front brakes?
I always thought it was funny that Jim Hall had Texas license plates on his can am chaparrals, but this is proof that California pretty much a free for all.
26311. (a) Every motor vehicle shall be equipped with service
brakes on all wheels, except as follows:
(1) Trucks and truck tractors manufactured before January 1, 1982,
having three or more axles need not have brakes on the front wheels,
except when such vehicles are equipped with at least two steerable
axles, the wheels of one such axle need not be equipped with brakes.
(2) Any vehicle being towed in a driveaway-towaway operation.
(3) Any vehicle manufactured prior to 1930.
(4) Any two-axle truck tractor manufactured prior to 1964.
(5) Any sidecar attached to a motorcycle.
(6) Any motorcycle manufactured prior to 1966. Such motorcycle
shall be equipped with brakes on at least one wheel.
(b) Any bus, truck, or truck tractor may be equipped with a manual
or automatic means for reducing the braking effort on the front
wheels. The manual means shall be used only when operating under
adverse road conditions, such as wet, snowy, or icy roads.
(c) Vehicles and combinations of vehicles exempted in subdivisions
(a) and (b) from the requirements of brakes on all wheels shall
comply with the stopping distance requirements of Section 26454.
So the brakes aren’t road legal, and those headlights are definitely behind the front axle which is not allowed. Unless you can claim they are not head lights, or that they are merely stored back there but will be moved to a legal location in the event of darkness.
Also, anyone understand wtf is going on with those big ass shocks and coil overs in the front? They seem to have only the most tenuous attachment to the swing-arm, like either they are just for show, or the piece coming out of the swing-arm is made of unobtainium and is so gratuitously strong and light that engineering is unnecessary.
Everytime I see one of these….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM1xsTCk_g4
PUSA was so wonderfully weird, like this “car”.