| Please forward all comments, suggestions or submissions to - bimelliott(email at)comcast.net and thank you in advance for sharing information on these great little cars. Web site by Bob Elliott (Last Update, 11/12/10) Copyright 2005-2009- Deserter Owners Group - All rights reserved No part of this website may be reproduced |
OK, certainly Autodynamic's or Dearborn Automotive were not the only one to do
this, but they did it anyway. Everyone could not be a Manx dealer, and when Alex D
was told that he could not be a dealer because it was already sold to others in the
area, they jumped on the bandwagon and came up with a modified version of their
own.
Changes from the typical Manx dune buggy of the day included:
- Still using the normal VW pan or chassis, but this time with an extended 84 inch
wheelbase improved the ride and handling.
- Also, more rear wheel coverage and a longer rear apron that gave improved engine
coverage for the MA DMV or the Registry as it's called here.
- Then a larger box surrounded the carburetor area without having to cut that nice
new fiberglass body.
- A solid fiberglass, tuck under fiberglass dash provided a solid mount for steering
and gauges.
Altogether, nothing radical, but small changes that might have kept the copyright
police away at the time? And satisfy the northeast motor vehicle laws.
Autodynamic's and Dearborn had good capacity, a good product and offered a very
complete line of accessories. Overall, a pretty nice package that differentiated
this all-weather buggy from those without complete coverage.
Production ran from 1967 to 1969 and this body was also used for the basis of the
new exciting mid-engined GS chassis kit from Autodynamic's. To date, while
plenty of rear engine Series 1 cars exist, only 5 mid-engined GS cars have been
located with the Series-1 body.
Total production of Autodynamic's Series 1 bodies has been estimated at 802*
pieces, the majority home built. I believe there are more S-1's to be identified
out there, but to many, it's hard to separate them from being called a Manx or just
simply a dune buggy.
* Production numbers as quoted in "the dynamics of autodynamics" article by
David Kaplan in Dec72 SCCA Sports Car magazine.
this, but they did it anyway. Everyone could not be a Manx dealer, and when Alex D
was told that he could not be a dealer because it was already sold to others in the
area, they jumped on the bandwagon and came up with a modified version of their
own.
Changes from the typical Manx dune buggy of the day included:
- Still using the normal VW pan or chassis, but this time with an extended 84 inch
wheelbase improved the ride and handling.
- Also, more rear wheel coverage and a longer rear apron that gave improved engine
coverage for the MA DMV or the Registry as it's called here.
- Then a larger box surrounded the carburetor area without having to cut that nice
new fiberglass body.
- A solid fiberglass, tuck under fiberglass dash provided a solid mount for steering
and gauges.
Altogether, nothing radical, but small changes that might have kept the copyright
police away at the time? And satisfy the northeast motor vehicle laws.
Autodynamic's and Dearborn had good capacity, a good product and offered a very
complete line of accessories. Overall, a pretty nice package that differentiated
this all-weather buggy from those without complete coverage.
Production ran from 1967 to 1969 and this body was also used for the basis of the
new exciting mid-engined GS chassis kit from Autodynamic's. To date, while
plenty of rear engine Series 1 cars exist, only 5 mid-engined GS cars have been
located with the Series-1 body.
Total production of Autodynamic's Series 1 bodies has been estimated at 802*
pieces, the majority home built. I believe there are more S-1's to be identified
out there, but to many, it's hard to separate them from being called a Manx or just
simply a dune buggy.
* Production numbers as quoted in "the dynamics of autodynamics" article by
David Kaplan in Dec72 SCCA Sports Car magazine.
The Deserter Owners Group
Deserter Series 1
(the Manx clone for the North East)
Deserter Series 1
(the Manx clone for the North East)
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