I went on ONE ride in my friend Gary's dune buggy, (the green one), in August of 95' near Sonora Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and was instantly hooked. As soon as I got home from vacation I started looking for a buggy. Before I found anything, Gary told me his mother in law had a dune buggy that had been sitting in her garage for five years that she may be interested in selling. I told him to ask and...that's all it took.
Ever since that fateful day I started doing misc work on the buggy (weather permitting). I bought all kinds of tools, including a welder and a tubing bender over the next couple of years and made repairs and changes. What I found though was that the Bounty Hunter isn't really meant to be driven off-road. You sit way back and low, with the windshield at a large angle back which makes seeing obstacles a little difficult. So, I bought a Manx copy that was in pretty bad shape as a project car. Anything that was once metal was now rust. The old "Let's go to Pismo Beach and never rinse it off" routine. All I wanted was the body anyway. I wanted to build a buggy that was meant to be driven off-road from scratch. What the hell was I thinking?
That was about three years ago. I have since shortened a pan, done a WHOLE bunch of fiberglass repair, made a full roll bar with integral dash, folding windshield, widened the front beam 4.5", reinforced all the suspension components, and misc. other little things like increase the wheel travel front and rear. I also built an 1835 with dual Kadrons. I still need to do a WHOLE bunch more fiberglass repair. What the hell was I thinking?
My new buggy has been operational now for almost two years.
I've been to the mountains, the desert, and most recently Pismo Beach.
For never having built a car COMPLETELY from scratch, by myself before,
it's turned out great. I've had bugs and tweaks to make, but I've almost
gotten it to the way I want it. I pretty much have totally surprised myself.
I've got a lot of pictures I'm planning to put up, so keep checking
back.
My buggy guard dogs
Pictures of my Bounty Hunter
Pictures of my new project buggy
Pictures of misc dune buggies
Links to related sites.
E-mail me with ANY comments or suggestions at dgerpheide@aol.com