Hi i am contemplating getting a bug for off road work , registered in NSW and am keen on advice re what set up is the go I am interested in using it for off road only and transport to off road not as a daily. I also dont want to spend a fortune and are happy to modify a vehicle to suit as I have full workhop facilities. Advice would be appreciated? Baja , buggy, country buggie what? Regarsd Mitchell

From my experience a swb Beach Buggy is the best option, because they have a shorter wheel base and are much lighter.

Mark has the right idea and advice there. Just gonna cost u quite a bit more than ur baja, as SWBs are becoming rarer, cause no one can make any swb pans no more without it being classed as an ICV, which is a lot of work and $$$ to try to pass through, + u won't be able to get it regoed with a dub engine on an ICV (if u were to make an swb pan now), cause the ICV gotta comply to present day standards.

Bajas are cheap, and do the job, and u get less dirty, Hehe (sealed cabin). Swb buggies, look for something that has been regoed in the past, or is regoed, they are great, get u a little dirty-er, but as mark said.. well yea. They are kool.

Country buggy, hmm, could be an option too. Be like ur baja, cept not a sealed cabin. Just depends exactly what u after.

IRS is better but not needed.

heres what id do.

cut back the stock metal fenders to make a sort of thin baja like guard set.

cut the back off in baja fashion and get some sort of rear bar.

if money is to spare cut the nose off and get a baja nose cone.

cut and turn front beam
raise the rear torsion.

get yourself some big wheels and rubber and your sweet.

just buy the green rotary turbo powered one in the for sale section and be done with it.

it has the works! including the right price

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=48774

[ Edited on 25-6-06 by dumone ]

The one dumone has suggested is a bloody beautiful start, looking at the specs, and the fact that it is regoed.

At that price of that mad Ass baja, when it comes to buggies of the equivalent, ur looking at something VERY mediocre and not very special at all (on avg) for swb buggy. Probably not even regoed. (i have lookeda round and seen), unless u find one on clearance or in need of desperate selling. but won't be anything too flash.

Other than that, get urself a regoed bug for say $1500 or more, and pay another $200 for a 2nd hand baja kit, beef up the tie rods, get cheap barwork and ur set. They go great stock (cept tie rods), and are good for light use and play. But the one dumone has shown ya, is a bargain for what u would pay for each of the mods separate.

I'd steer clear of that car. It isn't properly certified for NSW rego and at some stage it will come back to bite you.

Go something simple. What's your budget?

my old baja cost me $800 dollars bought, build, regerstered and a trip to fraser for a week and there was only two vw baised cars that beat it off road one was a mean manx that had heaps of money spent on it, the gear box was worth more than both my cars and the other was the guy that helped me build it and his baja. but it put more 4wd's to shame than anything i have seen so if that sounds good and the price is right do it, anthrion was on the right track
P.S it looked a little crap but nothing a paint job cant fix seeing the new owner won best baja with it at the last show there should be heaps of photos of it in action around here somehere. and a really good idea to greatly increase its offroad ablity and make it a lot more fun to drive put a type 4 in it

cheap is nasty

just spend it wisly

DO NOT DO IT DODGY LIKE THEY ARE ALL SAYING

Another good source of information is a book, "Baja Bugs and Buggies" by Jeff Hibbard. It's a bible for VW Off Roaders.

cheap does not allways mean dodgy and expensive dont always make it good but for a reasonalbe price you could a have a nice car and if you can do it yourself the price would be less than a quater of paying someone to do it.
Mine was dodgy as far has transport was concerned but the new owner has spent less than a $1000 on it that included a type 4 engine for it and it is still a very capable offroad car and is completly road worthy so the same car has been bought built and regerstered for less than a $1000 2 times but this time it looks really good and won a trophy so you can do it to its really easy if you know what to do even if you dont its still not hard if i can do you can do it

who said anything about dodgy?

i misread and was thinking it didnt need to be regoed.

so ill make a ps: of get a cheap 2nd hand baja kit instead of cutting the fenders back.

easier to buy than to build.

check out brisdubbas new score.

ebay is your freind.

Mitch

Go see Richard
You would get the Super Buggy for a slab or 2

GREAT off roarder that one

[ Edited on 27-6-2006 by Bizarre ]

I think if you go down the Baja route, you will see how much better a Buggy can go compared to your car. Then you will want a Buggy!

If it was me, I would look for a regoed Buggy, that may need a little TLC for a cheap price and fix it up. They are very simple cars with little to go wrong. the main thing to look for is damage from punishment off road like bent floor pans, bent front beams, steering etc. Don't worry if the motor is not going because you can pick up old Beetle's (not regoed), that still run fine for next to nothing and use them for spares. My brother in law picked a pretty good superbug (complete car) with a great 1600 TP and IRS rear for $200. I think Seagull picked up a 66 Deluxe Beetle (still running) for free!

Also, I've seen quite a few regoed buggies (not running and usually in pieces) for $1000 or less. So who says buggies are expensive. It depends on where you look. From the sound of your first post, it sounds like you don't mind putting a bit of work in, so a Buggy in pieces wouldn't be a problem, right??

One more thing, Buggy bodies don't rust!

Yes, buggies don't rust, well not the body anyway. But there are other expensive hazards. Like for instance, in most cases things of the shelf just don't fit. You really need to become a home fabricator of some sort or be prepared to spend money. Which makes you want to ask lot's of questions about the one you buy and who you buy it off. Because odds are they've screwed up something (I'm including myself in this). Bajas are a lot harder to stuff up in the body/chassis department.

BTW, don't forget this, YOU CANNOT LOCK A BUGGY.

Don't get me wrong, I love my buggy, but there are real advantages to Bajas too.

I bought my Baja for $1000 as a short term measure before buying a buggy. Now I often think about buying a buggy and have had me money to do so but winter comes around and I'm glad I have the Baja. Beautiful spring Sundays and summer mornings I still think Buggy but at night long distances and in winter on a Saturday morning I'm glad I still have the Baja.

Call me soft if you like but it's been the best $1000 I've ever spent. Stockton Beach all the buggy dudes are chaffed, peering through goggles and wearing three layers with a raincoat over those - I'm listening to AC/DC in a Tshirt, yelling at the kids trying not to fall off the side of a dune while the oil light flashes and buszzes sweet warnings at me climbing each dune.

Lol, y not get both :thumb :P

I plan too.... in time Haha.