Beach Buggy Conversion/Build file= BeachBuggy
Introduction I bought a 1972 VW sedan, with a 1600 cc motor, to convert to a Beach
Buggy. The following people / firms were involved in the project :-
Beach Buggy Australia. George & Clarke, 2/34 High Tech Dr., Kunda Park, Ph=(07)5445-6459
Supplied:- Rolling chassis, with reinforced perimeter and disc brakes and suspensions all round.
BB Oz Fibreglass body, metal flake red plus windscreen and glass, lights, instruments, wiring.
Roll bars, side bars, bumper bars, steering wheel, reconditioned transmission.
The customer was responsible for the assembly of the above, prior to obtaining and engineers
certificate and registration. There was no instruction or assembly manual in the kit !!
Myself, John Parjel, Civil Engineer extraordinaire, retired..,.. Ph=(07) 5474 3554
This proved to be a pleasant change from managing major high rise or industrial developments !
Ross (the bike) Simonsen, ex. racing mechanic for several bike racing teams in Europe.
Ross has had vast experience in building, repairing and riding racing motorbikes and is highly
experienced in all areas of the motor repair business, particularly welding and making things FIT.
Noosa Marine Upholstery, Con & Mick, 38 Rene St. Noosaville, ph= 07 5474 2266
Mick had the difficult task of creating a custom canopy for weather protection. The major problem
being the raised sides of the body, which one had to clamber over to get inside. This involved a tricky
cutout from the roof section to enable entry and exit. They did the best job possible, considering the
constraints. Well recommended. Nevertheless, putting the side covers on or off is a fiddly exercise.
Custom Offroad, Peter Walshe, 28 Hayward St. Stafford,  07 3356 4356 Supplied and fitted 
the Coil over Shock absorbers, raising ground clearance to about 230+ all round. Recommended.
AM auto services, Noosaville, Alan & Miles, ph= 07 5455 5269
Alan and Miles did the subsequent Subaru engine conversion, at their Noosaville workshop. Their
pride in their workmanship was highly commendable. Never did they leave anything undone that
needed to be done, and did much extra work, to ensure an excellent result. Highly recommended.
Volks-Mod, Gunther or Kurt, 4/22 Hutchinson St. Burleigh Heads, ph= 07 5593 5300 Did an
excellent job getting all engineers and rego approvals, after minor modifications. Recommended
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chassis1
The 1972 VW beetle being stripped for delivery The chassis in BB Oz shop, being built.
as a "donor" car to BB Oz. Workmanship is excellent.
After BB Oz delivered the rolling chassis, body, bars etc. to my place, Ross and I commenced the
assembly. We had been warned that some of the parts would be hard to fit the first time, requiring
use of "spreader bars" and fitting and re-fitting, drilling and re-drilling holes. This proved to be an
understatement. The hardest part to fit was the dash frame, together with the bonnet and windscreen.
These were assembled, drilled, tapped, dis-assembled, bits welded on and sequence repeated until
everything looked right. We broke two windscreens in the process.
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Rolling chassis + body ready for assembly. Close up of rolling chassis & Ross the bike.
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Ross tapping body/chassis fixing holes. Parj repositioning fuel filler tube on fuel tank.
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Ross positions steering wheel/shaft on Seats have been fitted, and now we find we
dash frame. Note the skyhook. have two (2) steering wheels.
End of session 1, time taken to date = 2 men, 3 days= 6 man days
Work still to be completed, at end of session 1 :-
1. Petrol tank needs welding, fix new filler/close old. Cut filler hole in glass hood + seal + tank support.
2. Install instruments in dash panel, speedo, oil press. + temp. + battery voltage.
3. Install headlight, taillights, seat belts + warning light
4. Final fix of body to chassis & dash frame. Final fix of windscreen and new glass.
5. Final wiring to instruments, engine, lights, etc.
6. Obtain engineers certificate and register buggy !!!
I imagine it will take another month or so, depending on how much time Ross the Bike can take off
his normal job. It may be useful if we/BB Oz could prepare an assembly manual, together with photos
and diagrams for future use. More photos and narrative in next week or so.
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Session 2, commence Wed 4 Apr-07, end Thurs 5-Apr-07.
Fuel tank welding and installation. The old filler tube was drilled & cut out and re-welded in
the centre of the tank, to appear central when the bonnet was closed. Took the usual precautions for
tank welding, by rinsing out many times, then leaving tank as full of water as possible. Even then, we
applied a flame attached to the end of a stick, to confirm NO explosive vapours around when welding.
Fuel lines leaving tank will be armour covered, to prevent leaks from rubbing against moving steering
rods. Fuel vent will do a complete lap around tank to prevent leakage on roll-over. (thanks George !)
We found an easy method of locating the hole in the bonnet for the fuel filler cap, which was blind
when the bonnet was on. Simply hang a plumb bob from the ceiling above the centre of the filler cap,
then put on the bonnet in final position and mark hole saw centre from plumb bob. Simple and easy.
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Session2 012
Plumb Bob setup being tested. Welding fuel tank. Full of water for safety.
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Fuel filler welded in new location, old hole sealed. Plumb bob located over fuel filler centre.
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Session2 030
Cutting fuel filler hole in bonnet. Plumb bob Bracket to support full fuel tank in violent
located bonnet hole centre. manoeuvres and jumps. (thanks George)
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BB Oz advised us to put a steel fuel tank support bracket under the front of the fuel tank. It was felt
that under severe driving conditions and a full fuel load, extra support was required under the tank.
No doubt George from BB Oz dropped several fuel tanks without this support, while desert racing in
his reckless younger days.
Install Instruments into dash panel Suitable holes were cut in the dash panel using the
borrowed hole saws from BB Oz. The speedo had to be right of centre and the other smaller dials
for Oil pressure, Oil temperature and battery voltage, were located where convenient.
The speedo was a tight fit and several cuts had to be made, outside of the flat face area.
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Session2 049
Instruments in position for final seal. Another view of instrument panel.
Side bars installation. The side bars came powder coated together with fixing brackets
and plates. The ends had to be wire brushed clean for welding to the chassis and to the fixing plates.
We then made a temporary support table to hold the bars in position, while the welding was done.
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Session2 042
Wire brushing side bars & brackets for welding. Welding side bars and brackets to chassis.
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Weld locations marked by masking tape. Hole for speedo cable & details of steering
Also useful for marking was office "whiteout" shaft seal fixing. Support fixed to cross bar.
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Headlights, taillights and turn indicators. The headlights were an easy installation, merely
drilling 2 holes in the body, then bolting on the headlights and wiring into position with parts provided.
The taillights and rear turn lights were a standard item which fitted easy into the hole saw cuts.
Seat Belts. These also were an easy installation as the mounting bolt holes were already
in existence with tapped threads into the main roll bars and chassis tunnel.
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Rear view showing tail lights & blinkers. Side view showing roll cage and side bars.
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Yollie & Ross testing seats & view of Instruments. Side view at end of session 2.
End of session 2, TOTAL time taken to date = 2 men, 5 days= 10 man days
Work still to be completed, at end of session 2, in say 1 weeks time :-
1.0 Petrol Tank Needs cleaning & painting with rust inhibitor & chassis black paint.
Fix fuel lines (with armour), vent lines, fuel gauge sender
2.0 Fix body to Remove body, roll bars, bonnet, dash panel, seats, seat belts.
Chassis. Apply spacers and sealant---Sikaflex, between body and chassis.
Then replace all above and final tighten all bolts and fixings.
Replace windscreen and fix into position.
3.0 Wiring Layout main wiring looms and ensure all instruments, items within reach.
Fix wiring/fuse box into position above passenger's feet. This box enables
fuses to be examined/replaced without removing hood or from beneath car.
4.0 Engine. Bench test VW 1600 engine and tune dual throat Weber carby's.
Install engine and connect fuel, wiring, engine controls.
5.0 Misc. Final install of all lights, indicators, mirrors, windscreen wipers/sprays, etc.
Fix new steering shaft adaptor, previous one did not fit shaft splines.
Fit carpets and sound deadening mats to conceal wiring runs.
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6.0 Return all BB Oz. Will check all tack welds, bars to chassis etc. and do final welds.
to BB Oz :- Fit front & rear bumper bars and touch up all steel left unpainted or exposed
for welding. General check on all assembly and build details and test fit the
canopy and any other items, not completed to date.
Then BB Oz will have all the wiring connected and tested by an experienced
auto electrician and test all systems. Then, do a shakedown road test.
7.0 Engineers Cert. A qualified and certified mechanical engineer, Alan Marburg, will inspect the
and registration. car in detail and provide a written compliance/approval when satisfied.
The car is then driven to the nearest QLD registry office for issue of
registration plates, ready for normal road use.
8.0 Final Photos Final finished photos of BUGGY and special tools used. (eg: spreader bar etc)
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SUMMARY The TOTAL time spent in actual assembly/construction of the beach buggy by
John Parjel and Ross the Bike was :-
2 men by :- 7 days= 14 man days total.
This time excluded time taken for looking and shopping for tools, parts and
materials and offcourse, time taken by BB Oz and the auto electrician.
You would need a workshop, with good natural light, preferably an area of say 6m long by 4m wide
by 2.3m clear height. Plenty of shelving and work benches are essential for tools, parts, nuts & bolts.
It pays to have a planned work schedule and don't be shy of making copious notes and reminders.
Apart from normal home workshop car tools, the following are, in our opinion, essential :-
* Two willing men, one at least an experienced welder/handyman/repairer.
* A gasless MIG welder plus decent air compressor for air tools and cleaning.
* Powerful angle grinder, for cutting steel and a powerful sander/polisher with stainless
steel circular wire brushes, for rust removal and cleaning for welds.
* A good 12mm drill with decent bits. Also tapping bits, 12mm, 10mm, 8mm. (many break)
* A "spreader bar" tool for lining up/fitting body to chassis. See photos of 2 we used, one
using a standard old VW jack, plus extension pipes and end fittings.
* Vacuum cleaner handy to remove fibreglass dust when drilling or cutting holes.
* A determination to make parts fit, that seem impossible at 1st, 2nd or 3rd attempts !!
Registration, Roadworthy & Engineers Certificate. After session 3 work was completed, in one
day, the buggy was returned to BB Oz for their final checks, engineers certificate and roadworthy.
There were some problems in gaining the Engineers Certificate, because of some existing issues
between Qld., transport, BB Oz and the certifying engineers. Therefore, after some lengthy delays of
about 4 months, it was decided to get all the statutory approvals at VolksMod workshop, where there
were no pre-existing issues to be resolved. After some minor modifications to the rollbars, engine
covers and painting over chromework, all the approvals were duly obtained, and the vehicle was
legally registered for use in Queensland.
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By avoiding some pre-existing issues, we were able to :-
a) Retain the larger non-standard buggy wheels.
b) Not having to replace the new disc brakes all round with the original drum brakes.
c) Not having to fill in the larger wheel openings with blockouts.
d) My buggy was considered to be modified, NOT re-built, therefore the above lesser
requirements were allowed.
Note :- If anyone is considering a short wheelbase buggy, forget about it. The approvals then
required would be the same as for a brand new car, built after today's date.(Jesus wept!)
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Final photos, after registration. Only canopy and new carby cover still to be finished.
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In BB Oz workshop for final checks and Parj and Ross, after rego. Long delays were
Qld. Transport approvals. Ended up getting experienced in getting roadworthy and
rego approvals at VolksMod, because of Engineers approvals. Ended up having to
pre-existing issues with Qld. Transport. get another engineer for all approvals.
Still with VW 1600 cc motor, 65 hp.
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helmet 002
Side view, note the hat ! Bought one even Got the right headgear for the next hillclimb
more "poncy" than this one. (with feather !) or rally. I get more comments/sas about the
Trying to buy a leather flying helmet, from helmet, than I get about the Buggy !!
WW1 vintage. Finally got one from USA. Many want to buy it at any price !!
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Side view, showing large wheels. Front view, with rego plates.
Disc brakes all around were OK, as were Now for a more powerful motor !!
larger wheels for beach/off-road. Maybe a Subaru or 2200cc VW stoker.
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Subaru Engine Conversion, by AM auto services, Noosaville. Ph=(07) 5455 5269
After several trial runs, it became obvious that the standard 1600 cc motor, even with dual throat
Weber carby's and extractor exhausts, was somewhat underpowered for "soft" sand use. The
choices were to soup up the VW motor, or do a Subaru motor conversion. The Subaru motor option
was selected as it gave good reliability with fuel injection and heaps of "unstressed" surplus power.
Alan and Miles of AM auto services, Noosaville, ph=(07) 5455 5269 did the conversion. They used a
Liberty 2.2 lt. Engine, from a 1995 Liberty Subaru, developing about 131 hp, vs 60 hp original VW.
The engine was examined and tested, and all gaskets/belts replaced. A readily available adaptor
plate was used, with purpose built radiator installed at the front, with associated pipes and pumps.
Extra instrumentation was used to suit the Subaru engine management computer. Several clutches
were tried before one was found strong enough to handle the extra power. (modified Kombi clutch)
I was very impressed with the standard of work done by Alan and Miles of AM motors. They did not
take any short cuts or leave anything undone, that needed to be done. Very highly recommended.
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2.2 lt. Subaru motor, as installed. (131hp) AM workshop, Alan and Miles.(Ross behind)
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Admiring the Subaru installation. It sounds great  Showing canopy, best result possible. Tricky
and feels as grunty and lively as our 350Z to install/remove side panels.
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Staring to enjoy the fruits of all the labours. Handles soft sand with ease. Also gives
Look out Simpson Desert, Cape York etc. most sedans a fright at the traffic lights !!
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