The Tragic Perfection of the Myers Manx Dune Buggy

A full review and test drive of an original Meyers Manx dune buggy.
Review by Bill of Curious Cars
Vehicle provided by (and for sale at ) Autohaus of Naples
[phone] / AutohausNaples.com
Articles mentioned in video:
Car and Driver review from 1967:
www.caranddriv...

[@dagrindzguy4250]

My grampa worked with Meyers doing the interiors on these, he was an upholstrer in Huntington Beach. He also did the seats in Dan Gurney's Eagle race cars and even the Goodyear blimps. I got the hotrod bug very early on. As a 6 year old I didn't realize how special it was that we got to ride in the blimp. Miss you Grampa Ted.

[@williammarik6159]

One can never go wrong with the old school Cragers !

[@SomeOne_86]

They're called Cragar, not Crager.

[@ColinBarrett001]

Another great story Bill. I learn so much from you and your thorough research into each of the cars you review. And delivered with such great humour too. Just brilliant!

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Missed you Bill, hope you've been keeping well and cooler lately.

[@curiouscars9282]

Thanks, Paulie - been keeping on keeping on. Only cool indoors.

[@nocturnalferalguitarist]

Same sentiments here. I have been rewatching previous videos as I really enjoy Bill's videos so much.

[@BeauQuillen]

@@curiouscars9282 JEFFREY EPSTEIN LOVES YOU

[@BeauQuillen]

I LOVE JEFFREY EPSTEIN

[@12yearssober]

​@@curiouscars9282 It has been ungodly hot lately here.

[@roanelytle4579]

"Maybe a little butter and a side dish...". Classic Bill. Great video, too, Thanks.

[@royperry2859]

Bill another great video! My neighbor had one of these. It was fun to ride in. He and his wife didnt have kids so we were adopted by them RIP jim and didi burton!

[@johncornell3665]

Always loved VW dune buggies. Too bad Bruce Meyers didnt make more money on his invention. Been waiting for this vehicle. Thanks Bill

[@randolfo1265]

What a nice example. Everyone who kit built one of these had this in mind, the reality was different

[@jamesmurmurzancone4532]

Bill watched the Robin Williams film Cadillac Man, Instantly reminded me of you and your life great movie.

[@savedin87ify]

Growing up in Missouri we had a neighbor who would build them keep them a while. Then sell them. This was in the 70's always wanted one but was just a kid. Couldn't drive until 1981.

[@ResetDoitAgain]

Welcome back, Bill. We missed you so much!

[@curiouscars9282]

Thanks, Cameron. I hate going that long without uploading, but it's hard to find stuff I like these days.

[@doug6191]

​@@curiouscars9282Can you find anything from Japan's bubble era where money was no object? Like Nissan's S Cargo or Toyota's Sera? Would love to see some of that stuff.

[@ShaneGammell-gz6hw]

Good to have you back bill from ireland

[@grumpy9478]

@@curiouscars9282 "it's hard to find stuff I like these days." join the club!

[@jasontomica8938]

​@@curiouscars9282I hope the other company suffered karma because. That's not right what they did to this owner. They copied his cars and took money. Why he suffered? That is not cool at all. And in the judge should be thrown in jail for what he did.

[@brucecarlile7532]

I made a power point presentation and sent it to Winnie Meyers for her review. It came back marked in "RED", in light of some socail media errors. Long story short, the State of Californina in the 1971 time frame advised Bruce Meyers you made a "manufactured car" & owe the State 2 years of back TAXES. It sank the company and Bruce. Later he came back stroner than ever.

[@TheJellyCorona]

I absolutely love the Meyers Manx, they’re a treat to see every time!

[@jamesparker6017]

Coral Gables 🌴🇺🇸 Hehe. We Summer up in Vermilion Ohio on Lake Erie. Anyway neighbor has an original stuffed in garage. Horrible metalflake green. Pedals so close together can't wear flip flops. We still use our 18ft Hobie Cat. Great boat. Enjoy your history of him , Bill. 👌 🏄

[@curiouscars9282]

I love green! I didn't know much depth about Meyers until studying for this video, and was genuinely impressed at the life he had. 6 wives was a bit ambitious, though.

[@autochatter]

I've been waiting for the day you would do a buggy...And that's a beautiful Manx! Even has the side pods and Crager wheels.

[@severinhendrikx7893]

Billl, man ive got to hand it to you mate, the amount of time and knowledge you stick into these videos….. combined with your personality. I always hate people that whine all the time…. You are a remarkable guy and somehow i like what you are doing. If you Keep making these videos, ill keep watching them

[@gtjgtj8334]

Thanks again Bill !!! Keep up the great videos!

[@saraflores9601]

I loved these since being a little kid.

[@ljfire100]

a good ol' history lesson with a side of cars, love it Bill

[@curbozerboomer1773]

Not enough info on this particular engine,,I mean, was it a 1600cc, was it stock or tweaked? I knew one dude many years ago, that ran a super-built VW engine (like 2100cc), that he claimed made 140hp...His Manx nearly flew when he hit the accelerator!

[@riverbluevert7814]

When I saw the Myers Manx title of this video, I expected you to deliver one of your best. And I wasn't disappointed. Great video Bill.

[@rickden8362]

Except for description of the color, why do people insist on calling crappy orange colors as red.

[@MrMikepresley]

Yes happy to be here!

[@single-handed3673]

I love Myers Manx I'll bet they are a blast to drive . thanks for sharing !

[@17MGTP]

I just bought a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited for 3800 it has 100k miles on it, and it's in mint condition. It has a 5.2 L V8 and full-time AWD/ with 4 low, I'm putting 1095.00 into it to replace stuff that wears. But so with labor, I have a nice Jeep for under 6k :)

[@roxiebeagle]

Bill- this is a vehicle I have always wanted.

[@nocturnalferalguitarist]

Thank You for another fun and educational journey. Even in northern Illinois , I remember seeing these and super beetles somewhat often in the 70s and 80's. Your video camera captures some good audio 👍. It seemed like that bee was right here thru the earbuds

[@snartzzb983]

Welcome back. Hope you had a great time.

[@solidwallsofsound950]

Bill is back! Greets from Germany

[@richardelson3261]

Bill what a joy. From Nazi era Germany to California dunes. Some fabulous history there in its conception and copying.

[@milomanx6531]

Great Manx build. The best thing about them is that they can be built to the owners liking and taste and still be outstanding!

[@douglasthompson9482]

Just love this dune buggy….Bill keep sharing your love, you are the best. Talking how I think.

[@PETERLINNAH]

Fun car. A friend of mine had one and I drove it now and then. Just a joy.

[@curbozerboomer1773]

There are photos of Jimi Hendrix driving one of these (complete with blond!) while on vacation in Hawaii, 1968;; later on that day, he wrecked it. Methinks he might have been high! lol.

[@narrowhwy114]

OMG YES!!! PLEASE DO a highway etiquette video, or lack thereof! 🤣

[@OathTaker3]

WoW! That's so close to being a WonderBug replica! From Saturday morning TV in the late 70's.

[@rashton5730]

Sittin’ in a junkyard, waitin’ to be ground up is a pile of cars. Lookin’ for an old car. Found a funny Schlepcar. Let’s make him ours. Found a magic horn. A new car was born. The toughest of the toughest, super cars. 😄 Lol!

[@johnmills2134]

That thing is the blast! My only consternation, ....no backseat for the Rush fans. Bill, you " really got me " with your latest effort, had me cracking up, thank you!!!!!

[@TheJeffcurran]

My father had one in 1969. It had a fiberglass rood that looked like the roof on the Monkee Mobile. The Cragars look cool.

[@goodredman]

Very cool and that one’s in beautiful condition. When I was a kid in Sarasota, I would see One from time to time look just like this one. Maybe it was.

[@curiouscars9282]

Could be - not sure where AH found this one.

[@petermacklin7870]

The weather report as a "Tepid fog of sh!t"?!? OMG! Bill just gave the best reason I don't want to move to Florida. You're welcome!

[@BoneyBobsTreasure]

Always great Bill, thank you. I have been having a busy couple of years with a Bone Marrow transplant for bone cancer and your videos have cheered me up all the time, it is impossible to second guess what you will reduce next and it is always great!

[@mattgee5609]

Bill diving for lobsters?! I would pay a fair amount to watch a video of that

[@oonwing]

Man, how did i miss this!!! My cousin has one!!!!

[@lornperkins4270]

Lol good ol dalton...you love him bill and you know it😆

[@walterwright8454]

Glad to see you back, Bill!!!

[@jonleyton7905]

Welcone back, missed the Carmudgeon! I'm Living around where you were visiting, it's 6:44 is the bomb. Visited Cape Coral last month, your weather descriptions are spot on, what was I thinking?

[@a.s.4914]

Hey Bill good to hear ya. Nice buggy. Watch out for those attack Bambi's. 😁

[@garyjones2582]

Nice video Bill... I lived in Florida 40 years and you're right, it is bad.. But I'll tell you of a place that is worse... It's where the American day begins, GUAM... I remember taking 4 showers in one day.. We lived in a metal bldg with no insulation and no A/C... Gorgeous manx..thx for bringing us along...

[@WhittyPics]

Dale Earnhardt died doing what he loved and I bet he never knew what hit him. He was looking out his windshield running 3rd place in the Daytona 500 and he saw his son and his DEI teammate running 1st and 2nd. If he suffered from his injuries, it didn't last very long. It was a sad day for the sport and I wonder how things would have played out if he had lived? I bet he would have had a boot up Junior's ass to win a championship of his own.

[@dagrindzguy4250]

The whole scenario of that race was mind bogglingly dramatic. Remember it like it was yesterday. I still get chicken skin thinking about it. Dale being the ultimate teammate and making the ultimate sacrifice.

[@mikemoxley9477]

We were worried about you. Another SUPER tour and stories.

[@dondemar5334]

Glad you're back. Was wondering if you gave it up. Well, I'm going to get to this post and find out how the weather is and learn a bit about dune buggies. Thanks!

[@jaesindnb6197]

God it’s been a minute Bill! Glad you are back on my feed!

[@michaelwhite2823]

Gotta be honest. Good for Auto Haus at Nipples but I don't care about this Monkees mobile. I am here to listen to Bill's view on life, weather and wildlife.

[@martinhodge394]

It is great to see another video from you. I always enjoy them.

[@12yearssober]

Im glad to see you're still alive with all this heat Bill!!

[@hopkin2006]

That's a nice buggy, Bill. It looks like it's great fun to drive!

[@sporkfindus4777]

It's a comfortably cool, fresh summer here in the UK with intermittent rain most days, more than usual even for us. Our thoughts are with the Mediterranean countries who have had record temperatures, forest fires etc - not good.

[@Gr8thxAlot]

"Died doing what he loved." Oh, that is funny and so true. Getting stuck in a shipwreck must suck.

[@jasonlaverdiere974]

As always, fantastic review... Glad you enjoyed your vacation Bill!

[@Rmzkm007]

I don’t really like buggies but I am watching to hear your stories, Bill, we missed you!

[@Ralph-mi4wt]

NASTY TEPID FOG OF SHIT! 😂😂 I so love to hear you complain about the weather! You come up with new ways to describe it every time. I friggin love it!

[@aquateen77723]

Hi Bill. Hope you had a nice vacation away from the Floridian swampy heat and misery. Its been in the 90s all week around Philadelphia. Great to have ya back Man.

[@jeffsanders7691]

I love the history lesson about Mr myers. My first car I got in the early 2000s was a 67 beetle with a Baja kit on it. I saw plenty of the minx style Vw’s at car shows and Volkswagen swap meets but never learned anything about the history of them. I’m usually not that interested in half the cars that you do videos on but I watch them anyway just for the history of how those cars came to be.

[@Rene67]

Thank you again, Mr. Bill! Think you really lighten up daily life for many of us.

[@ganderson158]

Love ya Bill. Missed you. Respectifully said.

[@kykeith4591]

✂️✂️ 😂😂 we've missed ya Mr Bill!! take care

[@stephendavenport7527]

I remember I was about 10 yrs old the war going on both brothers where gone one went to Germany the other went to Nam so anyway my neighbor behind my house was building these Dune buggies that were Mayer minx kits I would help him out it was fun that's all tks

[@milomanx6531]

Milo Manx here. A Meyers Manx dune buggy is the most fun you'd ever have with your clothes on!

[@christopherkraft1327]

Hey Bill, I'm glad that you enjoyed your vacation & that you weren't eaten by an animal. Now it's back to the tepid for ot shit!!! Hang in there, make sure you get plenty of coronavirus whiskey, it definitely helps!!! Thanks for sharing this very cool Buggy!!! 👍👍🥃

[@curiouscars9282]

Very welcome, Sir! Happy to be back at it, but am sure I'll drown or be eaten by a shark next week. Honestly, it's fine.

[@christopherkraft1327]

@@curiouscars9282 We live in hope Bill that you don't drown or are eaten by a shark!!! I'd bet that people would pay good money for a video of you getting in & out of the Meyer's Manx!!! In any case, enjoy your upcoming vacation!!! 👍👍🥃

[@JacksonTownsend-nh8gg]

This video was a lot of fun, more than I was expecting. Learned alot too as in all Bill's reviews.

[@DerrickOil]

Brings back some memories.

[@guitarnutbolinuli5788]

I think a Turista or Resorter may have appeared on the TV show Fantasy Island; definitely very similar.

[@edwartvonfectonia4362]

Hello Bill! Welcome back!

[@Roc696]

Can't wait for the "highway etiquette" vid!

[@user-ue2ys1gx6e]

You have a lot of nice watches Bill 😉. Always tickled when you put out a new video. Glad you mentioned Scooby and Thomas Crown because I thought of them instantly

[@christopherconard2831]

When Volkswagen announced the New Beetle would come out with a special version called the Dune I really hoped they make an updated version of this.

[@samiam5557]

Good Morning Bill!

[@rickstevens1479]

I was in high school when a lucky guy drove one , it did stand out and was memorable... when VWs start making a slight popping sound you need to re torque the head bolts ... The Manx needs it ..😎

[@thethomasj1795]

This was a fun one! Thanks Bill!

[@foxfreeman1672]

Only 150k subscribers? WTF! Good sh!t, Bill. Keep it up.

[@vinnybruce2874]

It's a fun looking groovy type of vehicles even through something crazy that I just bought dirt cheap bike under $500 its a 50cc Fuji 26 inch mountain bike even before when I bought it from a long time friend mechanic in know for years. When I took off after it accelerated one of his nitwit over filled the back tire then had a flat buy tomorrow morning I will pick it up after the new tire on there my best friend we have to go back and forth to Walmart just get the tire size and the inner tube. And tomorrow this weekend I will try again to bring the damn thing home wish I could have bought a e scooter online on ebay that would save me trouble hopefully Sunday I wanted to bring it to the car show if not next week depends on whether.. Also great reviews on Myerys buggy too bad it doesn't have the European stripes colors...👍 but not that Austin Powers...

[@asselinbernard5610]

Wow, what a Nice Dune you have !!

[@atunis5804]

welome back!

[@mattattack5205]

Great ride Bill. Enjoy the Keys. Any update on the pinto wagon?

[@motorradmike]

Wonderful story of an American car guy. I’ve never seen a Manx with a full bumper set.

[@johnnymula2305]

I had just sold one recently. Mine was a Sears Rascal. From all the research ive done. Its the one closest to the original Myers Manx. Worth just as much.

[@WeeCarBoot]

Another pop-culture dune-buggy staple was "Wonderbug," a 1976-or-so kids' show by perennial producers Sid and Marty Krofft (H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, _et al_ ). The show's premise was very much like "Speed Buggy," mentioned by Bill, except it was live-action rather than cartoon. The car was a mish-mashed rust-bucket of spare parts named Schlepmobile that transformed into a gleaming red Manx to help three teens fight crime (actually, I believe it was a Manx-clone called a Dune Runner). Unspeakably awful TV program, but little kids like me (roughy Bill's age) ate it up!

[@ronmccullock1407]

Good morning for Ron in a cool damp Manchester

[@pt008]

"He died doing what he loved: Trying to stay alive."

[@jerseymurphy3612]

great video keep it up what about a lobster video you are great we want more from you I would watch you read the phone book and still find it funny your take on "normal' content is outstanding do a daily vlog we all love what you do, you are so good at it. any videos car related or not would be GOLD

[@stoneylonesome4062]

The Myers Manx was America’s analogue to the Citroën Mehari. A shame it never got 4WD like the Mehari did.

[@nunyabidniz2868]

My stepdad had one; he truly enjoyed bopping around town in that car. Sadly, he died in it [no fault of the car; coroner said he had a massive heart attack at the wheel...]

[@jrtaylor2288]

Bill, I hope you checked your cabin in N.C. for hidden cameras

[@aussie8114]

Awesome ❤

[@ejacosta174]

You meant to say Donald Duck, not Daffy Duck. I was raised in So Cal, always wanted a dune buggy.

[@curbozerboomer1773]

I noticed that.

[@rancon265]

The main defence for Florida Crawfish is their speed.

[@Bullseye120]

Bill, dont let the Lobster bite you in the nodes.

[@ThomasJones-ij6hv]

Did I actually hear Bill giggle when he was driving? There's a first for everything.😂

[@Mr.EricMBlack]

The Cragar SS's make the look.

[@brianbonilla4830]

No Dalton is Paradise!

[@JollyGreen79]

You gotta get back on that Soviet whiskey. You seem to handle it better lol!

[@billm23456]

Another terrific sermon from the First Church of the Painful Truth!

[@curbozerboomer1773]

Talk about painful!..Bruce Meyers was married six times!?

[@mikefleissner4415]

Bill that is so killer from my babyhood