I really tried to get this done before our 3 weeks of Seattle summer. There might be a few good driving days left.I added some ?Behives? (British Lucas turn signals) to the front:And some old-school chrome VW lights to the back for a little ?bling?:And a 2 inch 'raised transmission'/dropped rear suspension with a 140 HP Corvair Corsa engine to push it around some:Resulting in my current driving machine: I've had this big grin driving around the last few days..... Just a few more 'tweeks' now..... For next year I hope to add a rear deck with locking trunk, top and side curtains.Rob
Nice work Rob! I've always wanted to own a Corvair powered buggy, very rare here in UK, unlike the''Behive turn signals''... I've never heard them called that before, but now you come to mention it I can see why,, very observant.
You've got a fantastic machine! Can you tell a little more about the raised transaxle. What's the advantage? Is it raised at both the front and rear? I know the Corsa air cleaner barely cleared the rear cut out on the Thomas Crown Manx. Did you have to trim the body for it to clear with the raised transaxle/engine?
Nelson,What a great shot of the Thomas Crown buggy! I had not seen that photo before. I Like the rear seat bench cover, those great looking muffler/megaphones, and the clean look of the modified stock Manx rear bumper!There is an old Crown add showing the rear end of a 140 Manx with the duel snorkel air cleaner with about 2 1/5 inches of clearance over it. It looks to me like the Thomas Crown buggy had its engine position modified (lifted).As for my buggy, why I did it, and how:For years I have admired the profile of this buggy:I like the 1960?s period look, the chopped stance, and the way the tires fill the rear wheelwells. I wanted that ?look? for my street ride.Lowering is supposed to make street/autocrossing handling better, drag racers raise the transmission for better ?hook-up?, and it also enables me an unobstructed view out the rear view mirror.One of my guiding principles on this build has been ?Do Not Cut the Numbered Manx body!?, so no IRS for me. Yet I wanted zero to slight negative camber at the wheels, so just adjusting the spring plates wouldn?t achieve my lowered goal. I used a swing-axle transmission with a ?bus nose cone?, (which works with the stock in pan shift rod) to raise the front of the transmission 1 ? inches, and a modified solid rear mount with a 2 inch raise to it. The torsion bars had to be adjusted, (multiple mock-ups, I still want to do 1 more final adjustment now that I have the final car weight figured!). The suspension ?bump-stops? had to be cut down. And I finally added a spring plate stop in to keep the suspension from going too negative when I jack the car. It sounds like a bunch of work, but just took a couple of days.A 2 inch transmission raise is about the max for an early Manx body before you run into clutch cable, fan shroud to body, shock absorber bottoming, and other clearance problems.Here is a shot of my buggy with the 110 Corvair prior to the transmission raise:and an after shot:With 28 inch rear tires the rear deck is now @ 36 inches, and the top of the roll bar is 47 inches.After the transmission raise the stock Corvair air filter does fit without cutting the body, but clearance is tight. Changing the filter requires patience, pulling the air handler off the carbs, a dance to the dust gods, and being held ?just so..?.If I were to do this project again I would make the rear mount a 1 ? inch which would make the engine sit a little more level, and provide a little more maintenance room. And I would go with a Thomas Crown buugy style back bumper. Next time? Now for that rear seat cover. Do you have any more pictures of that? Rob
Bottom is a picture of Pete Condos in the buggy just after he finished building it for McQueen. It had two toneau covers, this one which had headrests and the one they used in the film that had a small tubular luggage rack and which was also used to mount the camera for shots in some scenes. I've spoken to Pete a couple times recently. I don't believe they raised the trans. That being said, your idea to raise the trans in order to maintain neutral camber at the same time you "lower" the trailing arms is brilliant. I'm also a big admirer of Bob Yahn's Manx.
Thanks for the compliment Nelson. The idea of lowering a VW bug via raising the transmission is one of those tricks used for years by racers and ?low-rider? folks. It is made possible by the simple design and parts interchangeability of VW parts, (like the bus nose/shifter cone).The Thomas Crown buggy is a gorgeous piece of Manx history. I wonder if a toneau cover like that would clean up the airflow (wind buffeting coming at the back of my head at speed)? Perhaps a prototype is in order. I sure like the look, and it might make for more secure storage of trip necessities.This is another Corvair powered Manx I have always been curious about:http://www.lightner.net/manxclub/images ... xpikespeak&It is the Ted Trevor Crown buggy written about here:http://www.lightner.net/manxclub/racing.htmlDoes anyone have pictures and/or documentation on it in autocross or Pikes Peak trim, or it?s later sister car, the 180HP turbo setup built for Pikes Peak?
Rob, I don't know if this is of interest or not but I have a lot of stills from the TC movie in my gallery. Here's the link: http://www.manxgallery.org/gallery/album108 Bud
Bud Zeller
Wilmington, NC
Manx Club Member Since 2004 - #2475
Member of the Manx Club's Long Haul League - 2015
2018 NORRA Mexican 1000 - #1356 - Bad News Racing
2022 NORRA Mexican 1000 - #3347 - Bad News Racing & ACME Companies
2023 NORRA Mexican 1000 - #1356 - Bad News Racing
'68 Meyers Manx - M1996F826S
'66 VW Kombi Bus
'73 VW Thing
And some old-school chrome VW lights to the back for a little ?bling?: 
And a 2 inch 'raised transmission'/dropped rear suspension with a 140 HP Corvair Corsa engine to push it around some: 
Resulting in my current driving machine: 
I've had this big grin driving around the last few days..... Just a few more 'tweeks' now..... For next year I hope to add a rear deck with locking trunk, top and side curtains. Rob
I like the 1960?s period look, the chopped stance, and the way the tires fill the rear wheelwells. I wanted that ?look? for my street ride. Lowering is supposed to make street/autocrossing handling better, drag racers raise the transmission for better ?hook-up?, and it also enables me an unobstructed view out the rear view mirror. One of my guiding principles on this build has been ?Do Not Cut the Numbered Manx body!?, so no IRS for me. Yet I wanted zero to slight negative camber at the wheels, so just adjusting the spring plates wouldn?t achieve my lowered goal. I used a swing-axle transmission with a ?bus nose cone?, (which works with the stock in pan shift rod) to raise the front of the transmission 1 ? inches, and a modified solid rear mount with a 2 inch raise to it. The torsion bars had to be adjusted, (multiple mock-ups, I still want to do 1 more final adjustment now that I have the final car weight figured!). The suspension ?bump-stops? had to be cut down. And I finally added a spring plate stop in to keep the suspension from going too negative when I jack the car. It sounds like a bunch of work, but just took a couple of days. A 2 inch transmission raise is about the max for an early Manx body before you run into clutch cable, fan shroud to body, shock absorber bottoming, and other clearance problems. Here is a shot of my buggy with the 110 Corvair prior to the transmission raise: 
and an after shot: 
With 28 inch rear tires the rear deck is now @ 36 inches, and the top of the roll bar is 47 inches. After the transmission raise the stock Corvair air filter does fit without cutting the body, but clearance is tight. Changing the filter requires patience, pulling the air handler off the carbs, a dance to the dust gods, and being held ?just so..?. 
If I were to do this project again I would make the rear mount a 1 ? inch which would make the engine sit a little more level, and provide a little more maintenance room. And I would go with a Thomas Crown buugy style back bumper. Next time? Now for that rear seat cover. Do you have any more pictures of that? Rob 
