Home » Beach Bums: 1964 VW Dune Buggy vs 1969 VW Baja Bug

Beach Bums: 1964 VW Dune Buggy vs 1969 VW Baja Bug

Sbsd 8 18 2023
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Good morning, and happy Friday! Today we’re going to throw a little sand around with some cool beach toys. But before we head out for fun in the sun, let’s finish up with yesterday’s Minnesota sedans:

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A comfortable win for the Neon. Having owned both a ’99 Neon and an ’05 Focus, I’m inclined to agree. The Focus is a perfectly good little car, but the Neon is lightning in a bottle. Mine was an automatic, and it was still a hoot to drive, right up until it was rear-ended by a careless WRX driver with no insurance.

But enough about that. As you all know, the Autopian’s big muckety-mucks are at some big shindig in California this week, on a beach playing with pebbles or something (or was it on a beach listening to Pebbles? I forget). Anyway, it’s all too tony for the likes of us, so we’re going to look at a couple of hacked-up Volkswagens that would be a ton of fun on any other beach. Here they are.

1964 Volkswagen dune buggy – $4,999

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Engine/drivetrain: Overhead valve flat 4 of unspecified size, 4 speed manual, RWD

Location: San Diego, CA

Odometer reading: 57,000 miles

Equivalent Tamiya RC model: Sand Rover

I’ll be honest: I don’t know exactly what this car is. Bruce Meyers’s original Manx dune buggy spawned so many imitators (and outright ripoffs) that they’re almost impossible to keep straight. This isn’t an actual Manx, but I don’t know much more than that. I looked through a bunch of dune buggy photos, trying to match up the shapes of the fenders and those fairly distinctive add-on side pods, without any luck. But on the plus side, I got to look at a bunch of dune buggy photos.

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What the seller does say is that this car is based on, and likely titled as, a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. Obviously, it’s a bit of a mashup, because the rear wheels are the earlier five-lug design, while the fronts are the later four-lugs. Maybe the front suspension is from a later car or something. They don’t give us any clue as to the engine’s displacement either, but I’d be willing to bet it’s not the original Beetle’s 1300.

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They do say it runs and drives, and is “available for test drives,” but is not street-legal. That makes no sense because it wears California plates that are only a year out of date. Are the expired tags the only thing preventing you from the noisiest, windiest, coolest commute to work ever? Or did they get pulled over and busted for not having windshield wipers or something? It’s hard to say.

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A dune buggy like this is pretty much the epitome of “somebody else’s project,” however, so maybe it’s best to plan on tearing it all apart when you get it home, even if you can drive it there. Besides, as cool as it is now, you’ll want to put your own special touches on it anyway, right?

1969 Volkswagen Baja Bug – $3,500

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Engine/drivetrain: 1600 cc overhead valve flat 4, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Oregon City, OR

Odometer reading: Ad says 3250, whatever that means, but does it really matter?

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Equivalent Tamiya RC model: Sand Scorcher

If you simply must have doors and a roof, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here we have a ’69 Beetle, converted to a Baja bug, which at its most basic level is as easy as bolting on a kit from J.C. Whitney and jacking up the suspension to fit bigger tires. (Or it used to be; they don’t seem to carry them anymore.)

I went through a phase when I was 18 when I wanted to build a Baja bug in the worst way; I even went as far as buying a $200 beat-up Beetle. Unfortunately, what I bought was a Super Beetle, which won’t work for a Baja conversion; I didn’t understand the difference. Live and learn.

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This bug is powered by a 1600 cc engine, which was rebuilt last year. It has a bunch of other new parts, and it runs and drives great. Obviously, all the money was spent on the mechanical side; cosmetically it’s a bit scruffy. But this is a toy, not a show car; make it too pretty, and you’ll be afraid to have some fun with it. It probably could use a coat of paint, though, and in some color other than sand. Camouflage on the dunes is not a great idea, unless you’re hiding from the Sardaukar.

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Inside, it’s mostly worn-out ’69 Beetle. But hey, it’s got a skull shift knob, a tape deck (which I sincerely hope is either a Sparkomatic or a Kraco), and a fire extinguisher. What more do you need? You could, of course, do it up as fancy as you like, but again, the fancier you make it, the less fun it becomes.

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This one has expired tags as well, by several years. And mismatched tires that are probably frighteningly out-of-date. So once again, it’s probably best to take it home and spend a winter getting it ready for the summer. But the cool thing about a Baja bug is that it’s more or less still just a Beetle, with all the normal-car stuff still intact. You could drive this anywhere, anytime, once you whip it into shape. Well, I mean, if you re-routed the oil cooler lines and re-installed the rear window.

The air-cooled VW universe is vast and contains a lot of little corners and subcultures. But dune buggies and Baja bugs have always been my favorites. I’ve only gotten to play with one once, but it hooked me, and if I lived closer to a place where I could have some fun with it, I’d still love to have one. But which way to go? Fiberglass-bodied buggy, or hacked-up regular Beetle?

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(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)

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Arrest-me Red
Arrest-me Red
1 year ago

The 64 looks the part vs being punched in the face until cross eyed.

My one my dreams is a beach house and the 64would fit right in/

Mike F.
Mike F.
1 year ago

a tape deck (which I sincerely hope is either a Sparkomatic or a Kraco)

OK, that cracked me up.

Because of my deep and all-encompassing knowledge of dune buggies and Baja Bugs, there is no doubt in my mind that I would take the bug. This is because it has a skull shift knob.

Dug Deep
Dug Deep
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike F.

Yep, and the extinguisher is for the Sparkomatic. I know this because I wired one into my old Type 3 myself and filled the cabin with smoke. Apparently, wires you simply find in dad’s garage may not be up to spec.

Cyko9
Cyko9
1 year ago

Gotta go with the Baja. It’s a beater that will lean into the role.

Boxing Pistons
Boxing Pistons
1 year ago

I was going to go with the more civilized option, but checked myself. Neither are going to be daily drivers, so you might as well lean into it. Dune buggy for me!

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 year ago

Dune buggy if for no other reason than to channel my inner Det. Hutchinson. Now, who wants to play Starsky?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2oLEnGjYE

JDE
JDE
1 year ago

I like them both, but I hate yellow, still I would probably rather have a top down version over the enclosed bubble.

Gubbin
Gubbin
1 year ago

Dune buggy! I may live within a few miles of the Baja Bug where it’s damp or raining 2/3 of the year, but if I’m getting an impractical vehicle, I’m going full-dumbass.

…and in a fit of synchronicity, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys just came on the radio.

Toecutter
Toecutter
1 year ago

That Baja Bug is enclosed. So I voted for that.

It would make for a fantastic 1.9L TDI swap.

JDE
JDE
1 year ago
Reply to  Toecutter

you might have to since the exhaust has no water flap on the exhaust and it resides in Oregon. The buggy at least has the exhaust tip turned out to avoid water instrusion. also it is san diego, much drier. though I would take a look underneath long and hard, salt water is no friend to VW pans.

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
1 year ago
Reply to  Toecutter

Or, say to hell with fuel economy and WRX swap it.

Toecutter
Toecutter
1 year ago
Reply to  Thomas Metcalf

Even then, it would probably do okay. Like low to mid 20 mpg range, mostly because it is light.

Dogisbadob
Dogisbadob
1 year ago

I’ll take the white one.

Also, why can’t you baja a super beetle?

JumboG
JumboG
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

Plus even if you did it’s not nearly as strong as the older torsion bar suspension that you can pound on anything and it won’t break.

Nycbjr
Nycbjr
1 year ago

my vote just tied it up! 50/50! I chose the open air bug

Cal67
Cal67
1 year ago

Front end on the 64 is far nicer than the 69 but roof trumps it for me. 69 Baja.

Tim Cougar
Tim Cougar
1 year ago

I love them both, but I’m currently sitting within eyesight of the ocean so I voted dune buggy.

James Davidson
James Davidson
1 year ago

Dune buggy! And…

“As you all know, the Autopian’s big muckety-mucks are at some big shindig in California this week, on a beach playing with pebbles or something (or was it on a beach listening to Pebbles? I forget).”

If David Tracy is there, it’s called Pebbles and Bam Bam!

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
1 year ago

Yellow buggy. I can tap my inner Elvis in “Live a Little, Love a Little” while cranking the King in the tape deck.

XLEJim700
XLEJim700
1 year ago

Baja fer the HaHa!!

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago

’69, dudes!

For several reasons – some practical, some personal.

The later model has the 12V electrical system and 4-bolt wheels all around; the mismatch of 4- and 5-lug on the ’64 – caused by installing a later front axle – is off-putting. The plain white wheels (complete with rust) on the front of the ’64 are the cheapest aftermarket items imaginable and I’ve never been a fan.

The Baja has the later 1600 which would be fine for rolling around town. The ’64 may not have its original engine, but from what I can see in the pics it is a single-port engine. This is the older style which IIRC would have a max displacement of 1500cc.

The dune buggy appears to have no seat belts at all, which may be part of its non-street-legal-ness. It may depend on jurisdiction, but I think kit cars need to have the same (or equivalent) safety features that were included in the original car.

I actually kind of like the high-mounted oil cooler on the Baja, but for practicality’s sake would mount it below the window opening and reinstall the glass. The roof shape will still have air flowing over the cooler in the lower location, and having a window will keep the weather out.

Dogisbadob
Dogisbadob
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

seat belts weren’t required in 64 AFAIK

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago
Reply to  Dogisbadob

That’s a good point. I don’t know when seat belts became a requirement.

Hot Stuff
Hot Stuff
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Seat belts were required in 1968 I think, which was also the first year for side marker lights. I had a 1966 Pontiac with lap belts, listed on the Monroney sticker as an extra cost option.

JDE
JDE
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

I have a 69 Chevy Camaro, it has lap belts only. it would not surprise me if the 64 Beetle had not seat belts at all.

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago
Reply to  JDE

That’s entirely possible.

I had a ’71 Challenger that was equipped with separate lap belts and shoulder belts. The shoulder belts were folded and clipped against the headliner, just inboard of the doors. I didn’t use them much. 🙂

Cheats McCheats
Cheats McCheats
1 year ago

Don’t care for either of these at all. I guess I will take the cheaper of the 2 and donate it to one of those cars for cancer places as a write-off.

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
1 year ago

1-877-kars for kids, k-a-r-s kars for kids. Donate your car today

StillNotATony
StillNotATony
1 year ago
Reply to  Thomas Metcalf

You.

You and this comment are the entire reason we need a dislike button.

Cargeek!
Cargeek!
1 year ago
Reply to  Thomas Metcalf

Now that you got that DAMN song stuck in my head. I will now send you a lime green and pink PT Cuiser to drive around in for a year!

notoriousDUG
notoriousDUG
1 year ago

As sombody who has owned stuff with no roof in the past it has to be the bug.
With no option to not get wet or bewt to death by the wind that buggy is a hard pass.

10001010
10001010
1 year ago

Dude! If ever there was a day when we needed a friggin BOTH button!!!

I had to go with the Baja Bug for nostalgia reasons. That’s the first car I remember my dad owning and my sister and I practically grew up in the backseat of that car. I have fond memories of going mudding in that thing. But…. I still really want to buggy too.

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
1 year ago

I am normally all about the Baja bugs, but in this case, I went dune buggy. I’m sure if I went at looked at the Baja bug in person (good thing I’m no longer local to it, honestly) I’d pick it up, but from just the ads the dune buggy just looks more put together and more fun.

Last edited 1 year ago by Squirrelmaster
Geoff Buchholz
Geoff Buchholz
1 year ago

If you’re looking for something like this, you might as well just send it, right?

Dune buggy for me, and I’ll also be doing “vroom-a-zoom-zoom” sound effects in traffic.

StillNotATony
StillNotATony
1 year ago

(Michael Keaton Batman)

You wanna get nuts?!?

LET’S GET NUTS!!!

Dune buggy!

Icouldntfindaclevername
Icouldntfindaclevername
1 year ago

I would take them both, but I live in a rainy climate. I’ll take the Baja. However it’s also being in a rainy climate, with that exhaust setup, how much rust is in the engine now?

James Davidson
James Davidson
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

Yes. It does!

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

I use a soup can on my tractor’s exhaust. It launches 20 feet if I forget to take it off.

MATTinMKE
MATTinMKE
1 year ago

Hardest decision in a good long time. Open top fun, or a freshly rebuilt engine? Voted dune buggy, but the correct answer is both.

Donald Petersen
Donald Petersen
1 year ago

Wrench!
(Wrench!)
Socket!
(Socket!)
Plugs! Motor! Tires! Chassis!
Speed Buggy!

MATTinMKE
MATTinMKE
1 year ago

A vroom a zoom zoom!

Data
Data
1 year ago

Tinker approves. You’ll need to repaint it orange, though.

Donald Petersen
Donald Petersen
1 year ago
Reply to  Data

If I get the right shade of metalflake I can make it into Wonderbug!

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