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Dune buggy
Dune buggy
George W. Bush in a dune buggy
George W. Bush in a dune buggy

A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load ( Mass) or performing labour in machines This article is about tires used on road Vehicles including pneumatic tires and solid tires. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. The design is usually a modified vehicle with a modified engine mounted on an open chassis. A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's The modifications usually attempt to increase the power to weight ratio by either lightening the vehicle or increasing engine power or both. They are also often referred to as air buggies, and those with an open frame chassis are called sandrails. A sandrail, or sand rail or sandcar or "rail" is a lightweight Motor vehicle specifically built for traveling across sandy terrain

A similar, more recent generation of off road vehicle, often similar in appearance to a sand rail but designed for different use, is the "off road go kart". For other meanings see Kart (disambiguation Kart racing or karting is a variant of Open-wheel Motor sport with The difference between a dune buggy or go kart and an "off road" buggy or kart is sometimes nothing more than the type of tires fitted -sand tires or all terrain tires - but "off road" go karts and buggies are a rapidly developing category of their own.

Contents

Design

Dune buggies are usually created using one of two to three different methods.

The first involves alteration of an existing vehicle, most notably the older Volkswagen Type One (Beetle, or Bug). The Volkswagen Beetle, officially known as the type 1 and originally called ‘Käfer’ is an Economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen The Beetle is preferred for a variety of reasons. Most significant is the position of the rear mounted Volkswagen engine, which with removal of bodywork transfers a high proportion of the weight to the rear driven wheels for extra traction. In Automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the Engine at the rear of the vehicle The Volkswagen air cooled engine is one of the most widely used and versatile Internal The engine is air cooled, simplifying engine modification, and the absence of a radiator eliminates a source of failure. The low price; robustness of the front suspension; and the sizable quantity of spare parts from other VW Beetles and Type 2 buses are a further advantage. The Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as Transporter) was the second automotive line introduced by German automaker Volkswagen. Corvair engines are also a popular way to upgrade to 6 cylinders and sometimes vehicles are fitted with turbochargers to provide as much as 180 horsepower. The Chevrolet Corvair was an Automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 to 1969 for the 1960&ndash1969 Model For example, one such conversion was a 1970 Manx 2 on a 1961 VW chassis. It was fitted with a 180 HP turbocharged Corvair engine, with reverse rotation, mated to a VW transaxle. A transaxle, in the Automotive field is a component that combines the functionality of the '''trans'''mission, the differential and the drive

The second method involves construction of a vehicle frame from steel tubing formed and welded together. The advantage of this method is that the fabricator can change fundamental parts of the vehicle (usually the suspension and addition of a built-in roll cage). Buggies of this type are called sandrails because of the rail frame. A sandrail, or sand rail or sandcar or "rail" is a lightweight Motor vehicle specifically built for traveling across sandy terrain Sandrails, as with the VW Bug, often have the engine located behind the driver. Sizes can vary from a small engined one seat size to 4 seat, 8+ cylinder vehicles. Sandrails can have panels or custom shaped body coverings over the rails and tubing that comprise the vehicle, though many are left bare.

The third is only a temporary fix. These dune buggies represent mixes of the above two design philosophies, typically after a converted vehicle sustains damage from age, hard use, or accidents and spare parts are not available or affordable. This type of creation is called The Boston-Murphy style.

Function

Initially dune buggies were designed for navigating desert or beaches (hence the word "dune"). However, dune buggies have become more diversified in terms of the terrain they can handle and are being built for more generic off road tasks, such as CORR / SCORE indoor track racing. Some are even built for and used as on-road vehicles. Typically the function is determined before the buggy is created in order to maximize the comfort or abilities of the vehicle.

Although dune buggies can be bought (as a kit), many drivers make their own. This is done by separately buying chassis, engine, tires, steering wheel, and axles. Some builders make their own chassis, which creates a special, customized vehicle.

A 1961 or later Volkswagen sedan is the preferred donor to create a Dune Buggy. The VW Type 2, Type 3 and Type 4 do not make good donor cars, however the engine, transaxle, wheels, and instruments can be used from these models.

Other parts that can be salvaged from a donor VW for use in a Dune Buggy include the front axle and suspension, frame, pedal assembly, shock absorbers, seats, battery, fuel tank (1961 or later), steering column, brakes, instruments and switches, windshield wiper, horn and emergency flasher unit.

Military buggies

Because of the obvious advantages a buggy can afford on some terrain, they are also used by the military. The buggies built for the US military are called Desert Patrol Vehicles (or DPV). The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV formerly called the Fast Attack Vehicle (FAV is a high-speed lightly-armored Sandrail -like vehicle first used in combat during They were previously called Fast Attack Vehicles or FAV and are used by US Navy Seals. The DPVs are built by Chenowth Racing Products Inc. , a San Diego based company. As with most military material, they are not sold outside the government.

Tube Framed Buggies

Over time Buggies have been altered to allow maximum recreational use. They are now available in varying sizes.

Professional racing buggy with a V8 engine and fibre-glass body on a tubular steel frame
Professional racing buggy with a V8 engine and fibre-glass body on a tubular steel frame

The most common form of non-racing buggy consists of a 'tube frame' which is simple to construct and sturdy. If the frame bends or breaks it is simple to fix. Steel tubing is preferred to "pipe" as pipe is rolled and welded, tubing is mandrel drawn, making it stronger and with consistent wall thickness.

Engine size varies depending on the suspension, frame strength and performance needs. Engine size has varied from 50 cc for small light buggies to 7+ liter engines designed for professional racing. Dune buggies use both automatic or manual transmissions, sometimes based on application and engine power, but often based simply on personal choice.

Fiberglass Dune Buggies

Fiberglass dune buggies come in many shapes and sizes. Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. The most popular are those seen on TV like Wonderbug and Speed Buggy. Speed Buggy was a Saturday Morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from September 8, 1973 to August 30, These types of dune buggies are known as "clones". Many companies worldwide have, to varying degrees, attempted to copy the original fiberglass dune buggy the "Meyers Manx" built by Bruce Meyers. The Meyers Manx Dune buggy was designed by Californian engineer artist and surfer Bruce Meyers and built by his company between

Kit cars are a variant that use the dune buggy philosophy of substituting significant amounts of a car with custom parts to resemble production, modified or prototype cars. A prototype is an original type form or instance of something serving as a typical example basis or standard for other things of the same category For instance: American Fiberglass Product’s “Humbug” has similar features to a classic Corvette, Berry’s “Mini-T” was a nod to the Ford Model T, or BMB Automotive’s “Surviver” is a scaled down version of the Lamborghini Cheetah. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and also the Flivver) was an Automobile produced by Henry Ford 's Ford The Lamborghini Cheetah was Lamborghini 's first attempt at an off-road vehicle

Bruce Meyers behind the wheel of the first Manx

A Meyers Manx Clone

Greek version of beach buggy

The Greek beach buggy was built by Pan-Car in the 1980's

Dune buggies in popular culture

See also

External links

The Meyers Manx Dune buggy was designed by Californian engineer artist and surfer Bruce Meyers and built by his company between EMPI a Volkswagen aftermarket company started to produce fiberglass dune buggies in the late 1960s The term Baja Bug generally refers to a Volkswagen Beetle modified to operate on sand dunes and beaches although other versions of Air-cooled Volkswagens are sometimes The Mini Moke is a vehicle based on the Mini and designed for the British Motor Corporation (BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. The Volkswagen Type 181 "Kurierwagen", popularly known in the United Kingdom as the Trekker, in the United States as the Thing

Dictionary

dune buggy

-noun

  1. A recreational vehicle with large tyres / tires, designed for use on beaches and sand dunes
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