Opis
The real deal. Rebuilt from the ground up almost 20 years ago and the subject of ongoing improvement and enhancement until just last year, this jaw-dropping creation is not your average Baja. With a custom-built 1679cc pushing out close to 95BHP, it has the performance to match the “show” and boasts an insane specification in every department. Benefitting from a substantial file of build photographs and over 100 wiring diagrams and circuit advice notes, this is very rare opportunity to acquire a thoughtfully crafted and beautifully engineered Bug worthy of any show-field. Magazine-featured in 2013, such a well-developed Baja would cost well in excess of £25, 000 to build today and as such represents tremendous value for either committed VW enthusiasts or newcomers to the scene alike.
Baja Bugs originated in Southern California in the late 1960`s and was an inexpensive alternative to the already popular VW based dune buggies introduced by the likes of Bruce Meyers (Meyers Manx) some 5 years earlier. The first Baja is accredited to father and son Neil and Gary Emory, hot-rodders from Newport Beach, and was built in 1968 in the workshops of their local VW dealership where they both worked. Within months, a racing version was taking part in the Mexican 1000 in Baja, California, a serious desert-based off-road race and the stuff of legend was born. Building a Baja was and still is very straightforward – remove all 4 standard wings and cut away all sheet metal below the bonnet lid and rear screen and replace with shortened fibreglass panels. The engine, now exposed for additional cooling, is wrapped in a tubular cage to give protection whist the rugged torsion bar suspension is raised to provide better ground clearance. Add heavy-duty wheels and proper off-road tyres and there you have it. Within a year of Emory`s creation, the Miller-Havens Company of California launched a full Baja kit allowing the homebuilder the chance to dream. It`s popularity was such, that it is reputed that 8 out of the first 10 kits sold were used as moulds by other fledgling companies to make their own kits.
Our Bug started out in April 1971 as a humble Beetle 1200. Unfortunately, we know little of it`s early life but was rescued around 20 years ago by a father and son, both true VW enthusiasts from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Acquired for the princely sum of £600, painted Black and wearing a full Baja kit secured to the body with filler, it was effectively a rolling shell with no engine, no brakes and judging from the photographs, little else of merit. First job was a complete strip of wings, doors, bonnet and boot and complete restoration of the tub including floors. The body was then reassembled with replacement doors and proper fixings. With a sound structure, the finished vehicle took some 5 years to come to fruition, back on the road in 2012 and featured in Volksworld Magazine in April 2013. The subsequent twelve years saw some 4700 miles covered as the Bug was heavily shown across the UK, whilst being continually developed and improved to ultimately create the car it is today. The specification is best described as immense and runs as follows:
Engine: 1679cc with 88mm barrels and pistons, twin 40 Webers, Malpassi Filter King Fuel Filter/ Pressure Regulator, electric fuel pump, 1:1:25 rockers on bolt up shafts with elephant feet valve adjusters and chrome moly push rods, single heavy duty valve springs, Engel 110 cam with straight cut gears, uprated oil pump and external filter, new oil cooler, 1. 5 litre deep oil sump, serpentine pulley system, welded and balanced fan, oil filler tower/ breather box, lightweight flywheel, Stage 1 Kennedy pressure plate, hd bolts, hd rigid disc, urethane cross shaft kit and uprated release bearing, stainless steel 4-pipe Stinger exhaust (one piper per cylinder), Pertronix electronic ignition distributor with high voltage coil, Pertronix 8mm ignition leads, heavy duty starter motor and 51 amp alternator.
Suspension and Brakes: Dropped spindles, truss bar, Red 9 Uniball rear torsion bar conversion with Spax gas adjustable shock absorbers on the rear with uprated 450lbs/ inch springs, coil over shock absorbers at the front, anti-roll bars front and rear and disc brakes front and rear with Goodrich hoses all `round.
Wheels and Tyres: Chrome 10 x 15 rear and 8 x 15 front Modular wheels with 25mm spacers shod with 31” and 26” diameter Falken Landair A/ T tyres respectively.
Interior: Full 4-point show cage, reclining cloth bucket seats (one with Sparco racing harness), custom-made aluminium door cards and dashboard, MOMO steering wheel, immobiliser and alarm, battery isolator switch, full central locking and bonnet solenoid opener, heated rear window, rev counter, ammeter and voltmeter, oil pressure and temperature gauges, EMPI “T” gear shifter and new black carpets.
AV system: Pioneer AVH-X7800BT 7” Single Din Bluetooth Motorised Fold-Out screen CD DVD USB head unit, Edge Audio ED7800 4/ 3/ 2 4 channel 800w car stereo amplifier, Edge EDB12A Active car speakers and 2 Edge Audio ED305-E2 5. 25”210w car door component speaker set.
Miscellaneous: Chrome engine dressing and full-guard, Chrome bull bars, Chrome side bars, pair of Wisamic 7” LED headlights, LED lights all `round, reversing camera and multiple air horns and original horn.
Paintwork: Bare metal repaint (2011) in Old Ford Blue.
With parts alone costing some £9500 (and remember this was almost 20 years ago) and literally 100`s of hours of labour time, this was a no-expense-spared build. From research we have undertaken, to have the Bug built today to a similar specification, would cost in excess of £25, 000.
After 18 of ownership, it was decided, albeit with a heavy heart, the sell the Bug and in Spring 2025, it went up for sale. Over the past 12 months, it has actually changed hands three times moving from South Wales to Derbyshire, then to Kent for around 6 months before being acquired by a mature (77-year-old!) VW enthusiast in Cornwall seeking a classic daily driver. Whilst in Kent, it was rolling road tested and tuned at B. D. Engineering in Sittingbourne with the printouts only confirming what was already known - 95BHP and 105lbs of torque. Once in Cornwall, the Bug was used to potter around the streets of Truro but ownership was sadly short-lived, the new keeper quickly realising that such a vehicle wasn`t ideal for it`s intended purpose. Since acquiring, we have done very little but polish and enjoy it and a few shows are already on the horizon. That is if it doesn’t sell in the meantime!
The Baja presents just as can been seen in the photographs. It is absolutely stunning. Close-up, the paintwork (approaching 15 years old) is typical of an older restoration with a few age-related blemishes and a little micro-blistering to the Baja panels but the overall effect, when seen with all the chrome, is quite amazing. The chrome itself to include Modular wheels, front and side bars, rear cage and engine detailing is in superb condition, whilst glass is all perfect and Falken A/ T tyres nearly new. Step inside and the custom theme continues with full show cage, purpose-made aluminium door cards and dash sporting a full set of race dials, reclining bucket seats and MOMO deep-dished steering wheel and EMPI “T” shifter in perfect position for spirited motoring. And everything is virtually as new. Turn the key, push the starter and with a couple of throttle pumps, the tuned 1679cc fires immediately into life and sounds just as one would expect. Totally awesome. On the open road, this is one quick VW with low gearing (from the original 1200 gearbox) ensuring swift yet precise changes, excellent brakes and balanced handling thanks to the uprated set-up allowing for flat cornering when required. On a sunny Spring afternoon, I took the Bug for a blast along the coast road to West Bay and was genuinely impressed with it`s abilities. Abbotsbury Hill, normally the true test for any old car, came and went in a flash whilst the bumps and bends of this legendary road (loved in particular by motorcyclists) suited the Bug brilliantly. But don`t expect to be discreet. The Bug is truly a feast for the senses and pulling up at West Bay harbour, this was clearly evident with heads turning and people husting to get a better look. Ultimately, it is a full-on show car but with the capabilities to be far more than this and is surprisingly enjoyable on longer runs. I have already booked-in to take it to a couple of appropriate VW and Buggy shows this Spring - that is unless I get an offer I can`t refuse!
The Baja comes with a memory stick that contains all of its history to date to include around 85 colour photographs of the build, over 100 wiring and circuit diagrams, a copy of the Volksworld article, several videos, specification sheets and rolling road printouts from 2025. It is naturally both MoT exempt (exemplary history from 2012 to 2018) and road tax exempt and is correctly registered as a 1679cc on the current V5C. The Bug comes with 2 sets of keys.
The real deal.
Shore Classics is based on the West Dorset coast within easy proximity of both Weymouth and the County town of Dorchester. As classic and vintage dealers, we offer full brokerage facilities. So if you require some help and guidance with selling your classic car or motorcycle, just give us a call today. We are happy to take a reservation fee to hold a vehicle but as a dealership, we don`t operate a structured distance selling scheme.
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