el lobo dune buggy on a 1965 vw pan
This vehicle was purchased as a running buggy in nw Arkansas in about 2001. It did run & I did drive it. I believe it is an el lobo body on a 1965 vw pan. It has a late model swingaxle and a link pin front end that needed rebuilt. The heater channels are solid, but the pans are rusty on both sides. None of the lights or blinkers or guages worked. It had 4 bolt hubs & chrome wheels on the back and wide 5 hubs w/ adapters & chev. wheels on the front. All the tires were questionable at best. The t-handle shifter worked well, except it was almost impossible to get into reverse. It has a 1600 dp motor w/ 12v gen. It uses a 009 dist. 34 pict. carb, & dual cannon exhaust, but the motor had been painted all silver w/ a spray can & looked bad.
Getting it road worthy
I tried fixing the wiring, but it had been hacked on so many times, that I just put in a new harness all together. The old front end was replaced w/ a ball joint setup, since it was going to see mainly highway use. New shocks were added up front, & the brakes were brought up to speed w/ new wheel cylinders & lines. The motor was then pulled out and new seals were put in along w/ a new clutch. Everything was torqued & adjusted. The engine tin was all cleaned & painted. An old semi tarp was made into a bikini top & it was back on the road.
Current upgrades
I have added new axle seals & boots. The old tarnished headlight buckets have been replaced w/ new chrome ones. The tail lights have been replaced with new sealed units. It now also sports a set of 15x8 alum. american racing wheels. A tach was added and the quages are all working now. The stock carb has been upgraded to a pair of kadrons. I have more pics that will be updated soon.
The future
The kingpin front end is being rebuilt w/ coilovers, for a little more off road use. The pans are up after that and then I'll tackle a new paint job. Probably go with the same blue metal flake,only maybe with a ghost flame. I also have tube bumpers for the front and rear to be installed. For now I'm just enjoying driving it.
