1991 VOLKSWAGEN BEACH BUGGY for sale $35,000

There is full service records since the build and receipts. Full ADR compliance, Accident Free, runs perfect.

I built this vehicle from the ground up using a steel ladder frame chassis designed at RMIT (University). The RHS (tubing) is stitch welded to a VW Type 1 floor-pan with a polyester body, canvas roof and side curtains. A 1967 VW 1500 Beetle (Type 1 that was first registered in Victoria in 1969) was purchased as the donor car for the engine case, crank & rods, the gearbox, floor-pan and suspension.

The vehicle weighs in at 680kgs with a structural integrity (beam & torsional testing) just below a 5-Series 6-cylinder BMW sedan (according to the firm TIC which tested my car immediately after doing a new BMW that required ADR compliance before being released in the Australian market). This VW Bug has a structural result exceeding the original 1967 VW Beetle and much less weight. Hence, there is no flex in the body/chassis when pressed.

Engine is a 1600cc VW flat 4 fed by a single 30mm Solex carbie. Heat exchangers are connected to a stainless steel extractor and muffler. The engine runs two oil coolers, a standard VW exchanger inside the fan housing (new when car built) and an external unit on the air intake to the housing. An oil filter is position on the rear engine-cage alloy bar assembly.

Gearbox is standard 1967 VW Type 1 (4-speed syncro on all gears) with swing-arm rear suspension and Bilstein gas shock-absorbers front & rear. The 4-speed floor-shift gearbox was completely rebuilt using the existing gear cluster but replacing the reverse gear. All syncro-mesh rings, bearings and seals were new.

Drum brakes on the rear with ATE discs at the front. Torsion bar suspension front & rear.

A steel roll-bar is anchored to the chassis and alloy rear engine-cage and nudge-bar. The roll-bar is fully padded. The front alloy bull-bar is fixed to the steel chassis with hi-tensile bolts.

All fasteners are either hi-tensile steel which has been zinc plated or stainless steel on non-structural fittings.

Electrics are Bosch and Hella fittings including the alternator, starter motor, lights etc. The headlights are Koito (Japan). The distributor is a Bosch 009.

The engine, gearbox, clutch, suspension and brake systems were built using German parts.

A new steering box was used in the build.

A fully functioning heater system is incorporated into the design using hot-air heat-transfer from the air-cooled engine.

Seats are Subaru with velour and vinyl fabric. Seats are in perfect condition with no rips, tears or marks. Seat-covers have been used over the life of the vehicle.

The canvas top and side-curtains are CANVAS, not vinyl. The floor mats are ribbed black rubber. The carpet is marine-grade polypropylene. Both mats and carpet are tape-edged professionally and 6mm acoustic rubber used on the floor-pan and under the mats/carpet. All floor-coverings are held in place with velcro. Hence they can be pulled up for cleaning.

An additional set of marine-grade mats are supplied with the vehicle. These mats can be interchanged with the ribbed rubber or fitted over or under the rubber. These additional carpet mats have never been used in the vehicle.

The floor-pan, chassis and suspension is finished in durable polyurethane black to resist corrosion.

The body is polyester (fibre-glass resin) panels fastened using stainless steel fittings. There is no paint on the body panels. The colour is gel-coat pigment that is added to the resin during fabrication. The same material is used extensively in the marine industry for boats.

The vehicle is registered in Victoria (July Rego) and is currently in Brisbane. I can supply a Queensland Roadworthy Certificate but an interstate buyer would need to arrange for such testing in their appropriate state.

The ADR compliance was managed by Rowan Carter of Cartech Pty Ltd in Melbourne (see https://www.cartech.com.au).

Structural testing was performed by Transport Industry Consultants (TIC) Pty Ltd/Werner Ihle in Melbourne (now based in NSW). This testing was performed for compliance to Queensland Transport requirements.

The chassis was fabricated in Melbourne by a professional welder with many years experience in the auto industry.

The body was fabricated by Fibre Fab in Geelong/Melbourne (https://www.fibrefab.com.au). I believe it was one of the last moulds produced from the die and the panels fabricated to my specifications using additional resin and glass fibre to ensure over-engineering to achieve ADR compliance.

The body compliance testing was conducted by RMIT (University) Melbourne.

The engine, gearbox and suspension was produced by Bondi Engineering of Springvale/Melbourne . Bondi were well known for manufacturing high performance VW flat-4 air-cooled engines and in particular turbo-charged engines for the Japanese market. Many new parts were used on the engine rebuild (barrels, pistons, rings, bearings, valves and operating gear etc).

The motor trimming (canvas top, side-curtains, padded roll-bar, carpets, ribbed rubber mats and acoustic rubber) was produced by Blackmans Leather in Melbourne (see http://blackmansleather.com.au).

The vehicle was originally built as a road-going sports-car for a holiday property I had on a North Queensland island. It was used as daily transport for 3 years on the island until being driven to Brisbane and garaged as a Sunday car when I felt the urge to enjoy some open-air motoring. It has performed well on several long trips to Melbourne, Sydney and north Queensland. The vehicle has never been used on beaches or unmade roads hence the lower profile suspension set-up. It runs 15 x 6 inch wheels front & rear. It would require little modification to lift the ride height and modify the suspension for off-road work. The vehicle has always been garaged.

Due to the low suspension set-up, the design allowed about 50% of the weight to be at the centre wheel hubs. Subsequently the vehicle has a very low centre of gravity enabling it to corner spectacularly. The vehicle handles like a Go-kart on steroids. It was designed and built with reliability in mind not speed.

In 2021 the brakes were overhauled (new wheel cylinders to rear, calipers checked) and the starter replaced when it failed due to a dirty solenoid valve (I have the removed starter motor that only needs the solenoid to be cleaned).

The vehicle will be supplied with a set of spare parts valued at around $3K (mostly ignition, plugs, filters, fan belts etc) but also another set of Bilstein shock absorbers (new, never used) and a full set of VDO Cockpit instruments which I had planned to instal but never got around to it. There is also full service documentation, testing results and documentation, workshop manuals and the original 1967 Beetle Owners Handbook and Service Book.

Victorian registration expires July 2023.

Additional photos are available upon request.

For additional information or questions please contact me.