ASSEMBLY OF THE COYOTE FIBERGLASS BODY

Your Coyote Body is in two parts, the main body section and the hood-dash.

THIS IS IMPORTANT AND WILL SAVE MUCH TIME. Do not place the body on the chassis at this point. Place the body on a pair of padded saw horses, for installation of wiring, instruments, etc.

Install all items possible before mounting the body to the chassis.

SELECTION OF CHASSIS

The chassis selected for the Terra-Buggy running gear should be that of the 1200-series or newer, Volkswagen sedan. the Volkswagen variant, truck, Bus, or Karmann Ghia chassis will not suffice. The instruments, wheels, transaxles, and engines from these autos may be used.

Removing the body is not a difficult task, however, note that the factory has used all metric bolt sixes. Special care should be taken not damage any part which could be sold for parts.

The parts you must save are as follows:

1. Seats and helper springs for adjustment.

2. Battery, strap and cover.

3. 1961 or later gas tank, saving the 4 rectangular washers.

4. Steering column, remove clamping bolt at bottom end of shaft. Save all the steering column assembly. Remove 2 blots and clamp at upper end of the column and save. When removing steering column clamp from the body, save the rubber grommet at the upper, and lower end, as these will be used later.

5. Remove wiring. As you do this tag all disconnected ends for future re-assembly. Color-coded wiring diagrams are shown in the VW Owner's Service Manual.

6. Remove and save: Speedometer, drive cable, ignition switch with bolts, light switch, 1958 or later windshield wiper, windshield wiper switch, gas gauge and sender cable; turning indicator lights, horn, tail lights, license plate light and fuse block. Not forgetting to include all rubber pads, washers and nuts. The larger 1961 or later tail lights are preferred.

7. Brake reservoir.

8. After all the above items have been removed and saved, the body is ready for removal frim the chassis. Bolts wil be found under the back seat, rear fenders, running boards and the gas tank. Save the rectangular washers from under the running boards.

9. Remove the and save the rubber mounting strip from the perimeter of the chassis.

Terra-Buggy

From here on out I'm going to refer to my Manx clone as a Terra-Buggy "Coyote." Most people call they're buggy the Sears Rascal, and I have yet to see someone refer to their buggy as Terra-Buggy Coyote.

I've located a bad copy of the assmebly instructions for the Coyote/Rascal, and since it's too cold out to get any real work done I've decided to post them on my blog. I figure that someone else may want to get a look at whats required to put a buggy together.

Sears Ad

Here's an late 60's ad for the Sears Dune Buggy Body Kit. I always thought that the Sears kit had a rib running down the center of the hood. As you can see this one clearly doesn't. Maybe this kit was taken directly from a Meyer's Manx, then later changed to prevent legal issues?

Still Sanding

I still have losts of sanding to do, but it's getting there! The project will be put on hold until the spring. Too damn cold outside and not enough room in the garage.

Fiber-Jet

I saw this buggy on the Samba, and the seller called it a Fiber-Jet Manx Clone. Looks very close to a Rascal if you ask me. The windshield frame looks exactly like the one on my buggy.

Iron Cross Mirror

While surfing the Mooneyes website I found the Iron Cross, or Maltese Cross as some people call them rear view, and exterior Peep Mirrors.


Mooneyes wanted $39.95 for the rear view, and the same price for one Peep mirror, and I thought that I could do better on the price.



While browsing through my local Pep Boys auto, I found out that APC has a version that looks exactly like the Mooneyes one for $33.00.




The price was slightly better but I thought that I could still do better. Once again eBay to the rescue! After watching a few auctions I ran across one with a low start price that only had one bid. I placed my bid at the last possible second and was able to score the APC mirror for $16.75 shipped to my door!

The Iron Cross Peep mirrors have been around $28.99 a pair on eBay. I'm still looking to get them a little cheaper. I missed one auction for a set that sold for $16.99, maybe I'll get lucky and get a deal like that later on down the road!

Let There Be Light!

These are the lights that I purchased on eBay. They are 5" in diameter, have a diamond cut lense, and a built in running light that I'm going to use as a turn signal. The bulbs are Hyper Whites and have a blueish tint to them when off. The current parking light bulbs that are installed in the lights are blue and will be changed out to amber ones to keep everything legal.

Flip Top Gas Cap

I wanted a flip top gas cap and tried to find something that wasn't too expensive. I went to the local boating place and they wanted $40.00 for a marine gas cap. I thought that was a little too much to pay. Bugpack has a flip top cap that sells for around $30.00 and I seriously considered purchasing it, however I thought that I could do better on the price.

My search led me to eBay and I spent a few weeks trying to find something for a song. After looking at the Mooneyes, and Triumph caps going for over $50.00 a pop I all but gave up. I amended my search parameters and low and behold I found several Jaguar caps going for cheap. The cap that I purchased is from a Jaguar XJ6 and I paid a whopping $9.00 for it!

Sears Rascal

Nice Rascal that was recently for sale on the Samba.

This is another shot of the Rascal that was for sale on the Samba.

Terra Buggy

Sears was the distributor for Terra Buggy Sales in Crawfordsville Indiana. Terra Buggy called it the Coyote, and Sears called it the Rascal. I noticed a faded square sticker on the front bulkhead underneath the gas tank so I'm guessing mine may be a Terra Buggy, even though it doesn't have the distinct dash with the extension. Mine has a Manx type ABS dash, and I also noticed that the hardtop on mine looks more like the Manx hardtop.

Sears Rascal

I've been doing a little research and I think that my buggy is either a Sears Rascal or Terra Buggy. I found these photos and the web.

Can't Seem To Finish One Project!

Well, I've always wanted a dune buggy, and figured that one day I'd purchase one after getting the 56 on the road. I started parting out the Karmann Ghia last year and sold off a fair bit of stuff and was left with the shell, and pan which I still hold the title for.

I had a couple of ads going on The Samba and a local gentleman contacted me about some wheels I had. He was into buggies and sand rails, and was trying to hook his friend up with some Pacer Wheels to finish his Berrien Buggy off. I seem to be the Pacer warehouse for the south burbs! Well all I can say is that these guys gave me the nudge I needed to get a buggy sooner than later.

I watched the buggy forums and eBay to see if there was something in my price range in the area. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, becasue I'd have to explain to the wife why I was dragging home another project, and haven't completed the two taking up space in the garage now. About a month ago I saw an auction for a Manx clone on eBay that was local, and figured that I'd put my bid on it, and as expected I was outbid. I noticed that the winning bidder had zero feedback and lived in California. Since this auction was for local pickup only I emailed the seller and informed him if the deal went south to give me a call and I'd buy the shell. Needless to say the deal was bad from the begining, and about a month later I was the owner of a new to me Manx clone.

My Manx Clone

Rear Shot

Front shot

Sears Rascal