This buggy originally belonged to my step-father. As far as we can tell he bought it in 1983, titled as a 1970 Dune Buggy. He occasionally would talk to me about the project over the years and he occasionally would ask if I had any interest in it, but never really committed to anything. When he recently passed away in the fall of 2022 I inherited it.

It was one of those ‘basket cases’ we all have heard about. He had begun restoring it in about 2001 and I know that because a new windshield was still in the original shipping package with a UPS label containing a 2001 date.

It appears he had replaced the pan with a 1968 Type 1, installed a rebuilt 1971 1600 dual port and begun work on the body. Although the body was close to being complete, it still had some of the original fiber glass sporting patches of bondo and primer. Everything else was scattered throughout his garage in various bins and boxes. The body was sitting unattached on the pan but nothing more when I got it.

I spent the next year trying to put it back together. Boy did I wish he was still alive so I could ask what he was trying to do. Once it was finally back together, thanks to JBugs for the many items I couldn’t find or wanted to update and for the many tech articles that were so indispensable, I was finally able to start it up and take it for a long awaited test drive.

After determining it a viable project, it was disassembled once again and the fiber glass body taken to the body shop. Then came the exciting part, reassembly. Through the many challenges and countless hours in the shop it was finally back on the road. I wanted it to retain the 1970s retro feel in honor of my step-father.