Devil Boy Hot Rod: 1970 Volkswagen Dune Buggy

There are times when a ride in a home built rat rod doesn't make sense -- let's say you are trying to impress the parents of your new girlfriend.  And there are times when a rat rod does make sense -- when you are trying to terrify your daughter's new potential boyfriend.  However, in either one of those cases the most important rule to remember is that you shouldn't spend a bunch of your money on the hulk, but you could let the previous owner spend his time and money building it for you.  Find this 1970 Volkswagen Dune Buggy offered for $8575 in Farmington Hills, MI via craigslist.  Tip from Rock On!

Kellison Sandpiper: 1977 Volkswagen Dune Buggy

For the most part, cars from the mid 1970s are terrible things -- the fuel crisis and tightening emissions standards curbed any street legal fun, and the safety nazis made sure that cars were properly ugly and anything but fun to drive. But there is only so much you can do to crush the spirit of car lovers and there is always a will and a way. So from the ashes of the Malaise era came from the custom dune buggy movement, which took old slow VW bugs and turned them into fun to drive beach cruisers...just don't expect to cruise on any beaches because that was outlawed a long time ago. Drive 'em on the street. Find this 1977 Volkswagen-based Dune Buggy offered for $4000 in Seattle, WA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.

Monster Machine: 1966 Volkswagen Donkbuggy

If you didn't think the world needed a Donkbuggy...well you'd have been wrong.  Where do I start..? The Donk is an urban commuter that uses HUGE wheels and a significant list, but the buggy is a small offroad style beach cruiser...mix them together and you get this 1966 Volkswagen Donkbuggy offered for $7,500 in Youngstown, OH via craigslist. Tip from Doug.

VW Based Kit: 1967 Bounty Hunter

Bruce Meyers was the father of the late 1960s VW based dune buggy movement but plenty of other folks built little buggys in various quantities.  A guy named Brian Dries built something he called the Bounty Hunter out of a small workshop in Burbank, CA, -- and to be totally honest, I didn't know anything about the Bounty Hunter (or the Deserter) until today!  Find this 1967 Meyers Bounty Hunter offered for $6,700 in East Cty San Diego, CA via craigslist.  Tip from RockOn!

Transvairy Cool: 1971 Meyers Manx SR

Bruce Meyers wasn't the first guy to build a Volkswagen based dune buggy, but he put his name on enough examples that he became the face for low volume VW kit cars in the 1970s.  The original Manx dune buggy was developed for jumping over dunes, but in 1970 Meyers introduced the Manx SR, a sports buggy for the road.  Find this 1971 Meyers Manx SR offered for $1800 in El Cajon, CA via craigslist.

Caterwagen: 2001 Volkswagen Dune Buggy

Building a Caterham (Lotus) kit car will set you back something in the range of 40-large even with today's excellent dollar-pound exchange ratio, and even a used off-brand kit will cost in excess of $10k.  However, if you are willing to live with something that is a bit more Volkswageny and less Lotusey...you can save even more money.  Find this 2001 or 1972 Volkswagen Dune Buggy offered for $5,995 in Tacoma, WA via Premium-motors.com.  Tip from JB1025

Army Men: 1962 Meyers Tow'd Dune Buggy

When I was a kid, I had a small collection of those little plastic molded army men -- and they were awesome.  A few of the guys had guns, one guy had rocket launcher, and another guy was a slightly different shade of army green, but he had a grenade in one hand and was missing the other.  Obviously he was "Sergeant" and ran this rag-tag group of dirt soldiers...I wonder whatever happened to those guys...?  Anyway, if Sarge and his crew ever came to life, this is what they'd drive.  Find this 1962 Meyers Tow'd Dune Buggy here on eBay  bidding for $4,122 reserve-not-met with a few hours to go, located in Las Vegas, NV.

Manx Clone: 1960 Volkswagen Dune Buggy

Back in the 60's when Volkswagen Beetle carcasses littered America's streets like used syringes in NYC's Central Park, a California surfer / artist / boat-builder / engineer named Bruce Meyers started a company out of Fountain Valley building kit bodies that mounted on shortened Type 1 chassis.  This next feature might not be an original Meyers Manx, but it looks like a lot of fun for the cash.  Find this 1960 Volkswagen Dune Buggy offered for $3,895 in Campbell, CA via craigslist.

The Hulk: 2004 Volkswagen Dune Buggy

Volkswagen's original Type 1 Beetle was a simple car. For years you could find cheap examples in junkyards, parking lots, and garages around the globe.  Naturally the Type 1 was used as the basis for countless kit cars, such as the iconic Meyers Manx dune buggy.  Today's example is a custom job, and might just be cool enough to pull off a green metallic paint job.  Find this 2004 (??) Volkswagen Dune Buggy here on eBay bidding for $5,600 with 2 days to go, located in Westminster, MD.

5k: Vortec V8 Powered: 1966 Volkswagen Beetle Apocalypse Rover

This next tip comes from JAS who writes:

Dear DT,  No, this is not your usual 1966 VW. This is for any survivalist out there who will need to ''bug' out in a hurry at the next zombie apocalypse (or 2016, when Hillary Clinton is elected president). It seems to have everything necessary for Arizona except the beer cooler and the rifle racks. Just a quick swing in to Walmart and it will be ready to go.  --JAS

Find this 1966 Volkswagen Beetle Apocalypse Rover currently bidding for $2,050 on auctionnationonline.net, auction ends Friday at noon MST (Arizona don't need no stinkin' daylight savings - the days here are long enough already -JAS).

1k: Mildly Upset Max: 1984 Pontiac Fiero Dune Buggy

If the apocalypse is going to be a place where gas is rationed and parts are limited, it would not be a good idea to drive around in a supercharged interceptor V8 or a giant 4x4 Land Crusher...the better bet would be something powered by a fuel efficient inline-4 or V6 and small enough to squeeze under fallen overpasses.  Find this 1984 Pontiac Fiero Dune Buggy offered for $1,700 in Sioux Falls, SD via craigslist.  I have no idea where this tip came from, but I don't think I found it on my own...fess up in the comments if you sent it!