complete newbie

[rollo90]

i have been gifted this buggy. i know nothing about them what so ever.
but i have fallen in love
can any one tell me more about my buggy. what year. and where should i start .
I am going to restore her.




thanks heaps

sam

[langan]

No idea what it is. That's a good thing. Nice to have something different. Good luck I like it a lot.

[Mike-Presley]

Post more pictures from every angle, inside and out. Someone will probably know. Also dune buggy archives has a lot of pictures of different types of buggies. Keep asking questions. You'll get plenty of answers. Welcome to the madness.

[lastmanx]

in buggy talk I list 3 must read books for newbies check it out. buggys are made out of vw beetles, understanding how an air cooled Volkswagen works is key. the books I recommended will help you find important vehicle and component serial numbers to identify what year the part is. Most buggys are made up of different year parts,due to what was available to the builder. it was not allways a complete doner car,also as many years go by things wear out and get replaced. not all vw parts fit all vw's. before you buy any thing start reading, and learning. You can do it if you really want to. 20 years ago I was just like you a complete newbie. I had little money or knowledge. today I build complete buggys from scratch. go nuts looking over the manx site and check out the history section. if you can join a local vw car club in your area. also the internet is full of all kinds of vw info. you have come to the right place the manxclub. read the recommended books and ask specific questions, there are plenty of people here willing to help. the question of what year your buggy is, actually is not easy to answer as the body ,frame, engine, transaxle, front end, could all be different. as to the body I don't recognize it but I am more of an expert on bodys made in my state of Massachusetts. there are over 300 different buggy bodies. don't get discouraged, keep smiling and buggy on!

[lastmanx]

I took another look at your buggy. the raised rib around the top edge was a feature most English buggys had to better control rain runoff. you have a top which suggests a rain environment. it looks like you may have a longer than 80 inch wheelbase, meaning un shortened, they were easier to build and meant more as street buggys built after the offroad craze about 1973 and later. if you join the manxclub, as a member you will have greater access to the web site. keep searching.

[Mike-Presley]

I took another look also. Interestingly it has a complete VW dash including glove box.

[rollo90]

Thanks for the advice so far and I will do all suggested. Here are some more pics.

Cheers sam

[manxdavid]

You don't say what country you're from but I'm guessing Australia or NZ?

I'm pretty sure your buggy is or is a copy or version of an Apal Beach Buggy. This kit originated in Belgium but licensed versions were made in the UK and other countries.

Do a Google search for Apal L (as in Long) Buggy and compare pictures.

http://www.autopassione.net/scheda.php? ... rd=AUTO_KM