Building a Beach Buggy - Part 1 (Chassis Work)

Part 1 in a series of building a Meyers Manx style beach buggy on a shortened 1968 VW Beetle chassis in my home garage.
This episode focuses on the disassembly, rust removal/repair and the planning stages of shortening the VW chassis.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction waffle
03:55 A brief history of the beach buggy
08:30 Strip down
11:16 floor pan removal
18:05 Framehead removal
26:20 More rot removal
28:20 Framehead fitment
33:19 Rear outrigger removal
34:48 Chassis spine dissection
40:12 Planning for shortening
42:32 Outro
Instagram: Neil_of_Steel
Intro/outro music by Byzanthian Neckbeard

[@EnsVibes]

First ever video of showing every step, thanks mate

[@campcreekhill8933]

G'day from Australia mate, just found your series, looking at building a buggy myself, this will be the first buggy build series I watch. Looking forward to it

[@nicksmarinesupplies]

Well done mate you are the man to show how this is done ,everything you do is perfection ,i cant wait to Blast it.

[@JustinPaul1st]

Reckon those wise words were profound...enjoying this build...Here in Sunny South Africa we have plenty variants of the dune buggy,the Baja Bug and so many more and they still be running...and are always looked out for here as well...

[@Mopar46]

This is right up my alley, as far as relaxing You Tube videos are concerned. Nice explanation of the various procedures you are undertaking, too. Subscribed, and continuing watching. Cheers from OZ, mate.

[@ruebencover5795]

Great video I am enjoying it immensely 👍

[@bcbee3779]

Neil thanks for the video, It’s getting me more motivated to start my floor pan project.

[@martinpayne3441]

I’m well up for this ! I’ve been wanting to build a buggy for years but I’ve always been put off because of the sva test . Good luck 👍

[@ruebencover5795]

Go for it and make it happen. I always wanted a WW2 jeep 3 years ago I went out and brought a rust bucket of a Jeep 3 years later I now have fab Jeep. Its great fun doing it, I had never done anything like it before

[@jackmehoff2961]

I Love old bugs & buggies, I subscribed. I`m looking forward to more of this build.

[@anthonybulmer1198]

Hi Neil, love the vid. For a first time effort it’s a winner in my opinion. Your approach is great and it’s good to watch someone who knows what they are doing. Keep it up and looking forward to the next one.

[@pescelino6627]

Very thorough work buddy! Looking forward to following this entire build series. Thank you for making videos and I can't wait to see how this turns out. Obviously it's going to be awesome when you are done!

[@TheGraytOutdoors]

I was extremely fortunate to have met Bruce Meyers in Nags Head North Carolina a few years before he passed. He LOVED to talk about the car as he proved by talking with me (an eastern nobody😂) for almost 45 minutes about his little fiberglass buggy. I’ve always wanted to build a buggy, so watching you will most likely be the closest I’ll ever get.. Thanks for this! Willie, in Virginia..

[@Neil_of_Steel]

He seemed like a hell of man! It's a shame that I'll never get to meet him, but but his legacy is definitely here to stay.

[@luanajoubert9884]

Great to see you doing such a great job with the chassis. Nice memories kicking in of me building my own buggy while still in high school (1970 - 1972 South Africa)) My dad was a VW mechanic who helped with the mechanics. I used a 1961 beatle that rolled over as a base. We build a 1600cc twin carb motor and used wiper motor rods to link them up. I cut 15 inches out of the chassis behind the handbrake mounting. I widened the rims myself by running the engine in 1 st gear with one rim of the ground. The other wheel stayed on the ground making use of the diff action. A hacksaw held against the inner side of the rim cut it in two. A metal plate was then cut to the required length and as wide as required and welded in between the rim halves. Worked perfectly. We got n Meyers Manx replica body kit to finish off the project. It took me 3 years as a high school chap with limited finances but the end product was great. This became my 1 st car for several years. Looking forward to the rest of project.

[@therealolliesmith]

Love your attention to detail and how much knowledge you’ve clearly built up over so many years of having fun with this stuff mate. Also love the methods you’ve developed from all that experience, lots of little things that make a huge difference. Decent 👌🏼

[@duaneulman9915]

Thank you

[@samphillips3180]

I can’t believe you haven’t done this sooner! You’re awesome bro

[@jonnysesar2167]

Don't forget the shift rod bushing

[@reecefay1882]

Phoken Neil "get that cat of the way" steel!!! Mad effort mate keep em coming

[@Tim03xb9]

Great project, and video. My Meyers Manx has been completed for 5 years and has been a blast!! Took me 2 years to complete and was a labor of love. It was more of a complete Restoration than a build because I had the buggy since 1987. The body was a knock off Manx, so I replaced it with a new MeyersManx Kick Out. A piece of advice for your build. Often overlooked is suspension. Be sure to adjust the rear torsion bars for the reduced weight of the body. Makes a huge improvement of ride and handling. Good luck, and enjoy your buggy!!! From the looks of your past work, it will be awsome.

[@TheZander1231]

Brilliant video mate, you looked natural and the editing was spot on. But 45minute without swearing, that’s gotta be a record 😁👏🏻

[@flatoutcustoms7728]

Love your build. Quality work can not wait to see it fully built. We also manufacture shorten control cables for buggies and more parts coming this year.

[@1972GT160]

There's a guy in Finland who makes replacement panels at the original steel gauge , first class replacement panels

[@vw_beachbuggybrookster]

Great Video

[@IntruderFilmStudio]

Great job Neil. Knowing the quality of your work I'm really interested to see how this project progresses. Nice video editing too. Dennis

[@timgaudion2923]

This is excellent Neil looking forward to seeing the next video

[@tommcgahy2965]

Brilliant! I learnt to drive in a beach buggy in Guernsey 20 odd years ago, was called a renegade beach buggy I believe

[@user-we5cp5zl8z]

Awesome content Neil can't wait to see the buggy come together.

[@TimDavey]

Yesssssss buzzing! Your instagram stories aren’t enough 👌🏻

[@justjoshin209]

Great video! Looking forward to watching the build! Cheers from America!

[@speedyr33]

About bloody time mate! Awesome stuff, looking forward for all thats to come !

[@jamielepage2356]

Top job Neil! Looking forward to the next video 🤘🏻

[@nickwhitney1534]

Subscribed. Number 900. 👍

[@user-dq7pc7wn7z]

Awesome job mate, I love it. Keep it up please, gonna share with mates 👍

[@NanniD]

This is KZbin gold!! Welldone!

[@davidgrason161]

WOW! What an absolutely EXCELLENT video. I've been dealing with old VWs for 50 years and I'm still learning and you're still teaching. Good Job! BTW, why didn't you just make a left hand drive chassis? You would have a beach buggy that wasn't a cookie cutter version of all the other UK buggies and you could bring it over here and drive it everywhere in North America. LOL Keep up the great work.

[@gaillaffer7579]

Great video. Very informative. Thank you.

[@Phil-justphil]

awesome job so far neil

[@diveguernsey6521]

Great job Neil!

[@vza423]

Your 810th subscriber. Thank you.

[@user-lk1wk7yn8k]

This is so good. Thanks dude.

[@user-cw3vn1lu5s]

My 13-year-old son has started a buggy project. He has bought the project himself, and the plan is for it to be a father-son project. We have some time to work on the project, after which he can only get a driver's license at the age of 17. But the thoughts are that he should try to finance the project himself. I myself have messed with the old vw for many years, but never buggy. So it will be great that we can follow your project at the same time as we work on my son's project.

[@Neil_of_Steel]

That sounds awesome! I can't think of anything better for a father & son project. Good on him for wanting to fund it himself, that's rare these days.

[@VanCult_GetInAndGetItOn]

Just so ya know, Meyers Manx is still in business and selling Remastered Manx bodies that you can order today.

[@groupbhero]

Love it, you is a bloney natural eh.😁

[@edwardsnowden1380]

I’m in…

[@pinchemain00]

We get rolls of card for templating at work (CFS) if you ever need bigger than those sheets