I am reluctantly putting up for sale my 1971 tax exempt SWB Sidewinder due to house move, I'm not desperate to sell, would just like to release some cash, 'm asking £9250 for her. I have added some history below from Nat who I bought the buggy from in Feb 2014.


To give you a bit of background, I got  a beach buggy because I always wanted one having grown up overseas in the 70's. In 2011 I was made redundant and I decided that in between looking for a new job I was going to find something to do for myself. I looked at a few buggies and ended up buying this one. It didn't look anything like this when I got it much of it was wrong , but the basic shape was right.  Anyway I spend a month driving it around and breaking down all over the place. I started fixing/ replacing stuff and then I got a job. I very soon realised that I couldn't finish what I started. I was rapidly going the same way so many projects go. How many times have you seen an advert saying lost interest, never got round to finishing etc etc. I decided that I was not going to become one of those so I took the decision to send it to flatlands and to get it finished to a decent standard. So that's what I did. I haven't added it all up but I have spent considerably more  on it than the asking price. That didn't include buying it in the first place.

I spoke at length to mark at flatlands and many people end up having a show buggy built at over £15 K. I wanted a nice buggy, but primarily  one I could use. You could put it in amongst the show only buggies, it won't win first prize, but it won't come last either. Its good but not too good to use if that makes sense. I went to a lot of effort to ensure that the parts used were quality parts. Quality comes at a price.

Performance wise, I wanted an engine with torque, not a high revving high performance engine most people put in buggies. You have to realize that its not a hot hatch. It can go fast , but that's not really the point of it. I commissioned James to build me a nice engine that has good torque and would make an easy to drive buggy. We ended up going for a standard 1600 made up of genuine VW parts, with full flow, that would breathe better. I drive an M5 as a daily car and trust me I don't find the buggy slow. It will do 100 MPH, but of far more importance is the way it drives. Its just sweet and almost effortless, you don't have to rev it to get anywhere. I had it properly set up on the rolling road and peak power is some 85 BHP, but again , its not about peak power its about how it drives.

So I have added it up . When I got it, it came with £626 of receipt's.  I have the receipts for £2299 worth of parts and £5554 at flatlands. That doesn't include the £3500 spent on the engine or the £750 for the one off exhaust manifold. I don't have the receipts for those, as some people prefer to be paid in cash, so you will have to take my word for it. Of course you can always call the people concerned I am sure they will be happy to confirm their work. I have spent over £12,000 on it and that does not include what I paid for it.  I did look at quite a few at the time and yes you can buy a terrible car for £3000 or less. I did look at the £6000 + region, but found that the quality of work was suspect and I just did not like the fit and finish. Thus I went for this one as it was fundamentally sound. I wanted something as well put together as you will ever get with a beach buggy. You have to appreciate its never going to be a Bentley as its a 1971 beetle floor pan, but having been & seen more than a few of these cars mine does drive very nicely. Its ,mainly down to the way its been set up. Too many people set them up too hard use wrong/short shocks  and run the tyres with too high a psi and the cars rattle and drive badly. Also i have seen too many cars that are not straight or where the body is twisted. The thing about buggies is that no two are the same.

I know I have spent far more money on it that I will ever get back, but that was my decision. I don't like to cut corners. Trust me you get what you pay for. I hate bodges/poor workmanship.

Anyway, my loss will be someone else's gain. I hope I have uploaded the pictured from Photo bucket successfully.

Do you still have it for sale and can you send some photos

Hello Stanley reeves, who are you??

He's Stanley reeves.


I think you are being asked to introduce yourself in the new member bit or suffer the wrath of overused and meaningless smileys or emoticons or whatever they are.

I think it may be sold as the photos have been deleted.

And welcome.

Is still for sale, a few tyre kickers.....only to be expected I guess. I can re-load the pic's if needed? 

Pictures are going to help if you are asking top dollar   

Relist the pictures, and we can tidy the thread up again for you

Hi I'd be interested in photos

This wouldn't by chance be orange and for sale at a dealer in Wimbourne??

Cheers

Mike

Now sold and gone to a good home!