Borrego Buggy Blast
April 16-18, 1999
80 Manx Club buggies pause for a photo on a dune
(click on photo for larger version)
The Manx Dune Buggy Club gathered for Spring Rites in the Borrego Desert on April 16,17,18, 1999 at the Desert Ironwoods Motel & RV Park. The location is about 3 miles West of Split Mountain Rd. on the South side of Highway #78 in Borrego Springs, CA. This is the second time we stayed here because of the RV facilities, store, and swimming pool.
The weather had been dreary the week before but cleared up and actually threatened to skip spring and go straight to summer. The daytime highs for our outing reached 95 degrees fahrenheit - not too shabby for April when there is snow in other parts of the country!
 J.C. |
The 7 AM breakfast on Sat. morning was enjoyed by all as we left our problems at home and psyched ourselves for a great weekend (although some "let it all hang out" a little too much). |
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Bruce begins the day by lining up the buggies for the "Show & Shine" |  |
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Dave Young brought his aluminum V8 powered buggy and wowed the club with his engineering talent. (see "Buggy of the Month") |  |
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Bruce Meyers got all excited when he saw the lime
green buggy on the left. It is one of the first
production Manx buggies ever built. Bruce said he hand
built the bumpers and windshield which tipped him off
about the age of this collectible. The buggy on the right is owned by Rudy & Marlise Mueller and has a Corvair engine with Mercedes fuel injection. |
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 J.C. |
Our Saturday trip began with our traditional
"Picture Opportunity" with 80+ buggies
stretched out on a huge sand dune. We then took off for the Mud Hills to the south of the Borrego Off-Road Vehicle Park. |
 J.C. |
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The Mud Hills are a maze of winding trails though
narrow canyons. We periodically stopped to enjoy the view. |
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The youngest member of the club just learned to walk
and is a member of the Dave Young family. Bob Yahn proves that his perfect and completely original green metalflake Corvair-powered Manx can be driven on the dirt! |
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Saturday dinner was a barbeque beef specialty
provided by the Ocotillo Wells Fire Department. It was a fine feast enjoyed by all. We especially liked the cool fire station and great food. |
 J.C. |
 J.C. |
The Gill Orr Ensemble provided the evening's
entertainment. These guys really know how to play the
guitar! Bruce and Winnie took the intermission to hold an impromptu club meeting. We discussed how to improve our outings with more organization and how to keep all the buggies going in the right direction (but it did not help much on Sunday). |
 J.C. |
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Sunday morning we hold the club raffle and awards
ceremony. Winnie works hard to get vendors to donate
prizes and we reciprocate by posting their cards and web
address on our web page. On the right is proof the the "Dog Days of Summer" have arrived in the desert! |
 J.C. |
 J.C. |
What is wrong with the picture on the left ? The problem is that the owner of this buggy bought Brazillian king pins. The moral is don't trust your life to parts from Brazil (i.e. no king pins and no brake drums - they break regularly). Jon Carlson's Resorter was lookin' pretty! ---> |
 J.C. |
 J.C. |
Andy's Kublewagen led the group through the weekend.
Now if we could just get all those buggies to follow
them...... Mel Baker relaxes before going home. Home is all the way back to Croydon, England. That is one heck of a trip for a weekend in the desert! |
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Bruce Meyers cleans the sand out of his socks before heading home.
| Sponser | Location |
|---|---|
| B & R Buggies | Oceanside CA |
| Beard Seats | Buckeye AZ |
| Fiber-Tech | Santee CA |
| Goldmine VW Parts | Whittier CA |
| Greg Reed’s Sport Buggies | Santee CA |
| Small Car Connection | Hesperia CA |
| Interstate VW | San Marcos CA |
| Johnson’s Bug Machine | Santee CA |
| Kar-Tek | Chino CA |
| Off Road Warehouse | Escondido CA |
| So Cal Imports | Long Beach CA |
| Sonrise RV | Escondido CA |
| Split Mountain Park & Country Store | Borrego Springs CA |
| Steve’s | El Cajon CA |
| The OVW Co. | Escondido CA |
| Up Yer Bug | Vista CA |
| Vee Dub Parts Unlimited | Huntington Beach CA |
| Vista Transmission | Vista CA |
| West Coast Metric | Harbor City CA |
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| BEST OF SHOW | Rudy Mueller #5 |
| BEST MEYERS MANX | 1st --- Bob Yahn #294 2nd--- Rudy Mueller #5 |
| BEST MANX-TYPE | 1st --- Bill Passey - #287 2nd--- Steve Thorne - #786 |
| BEST TOW’D | 1st --- Steve Widdowson #469 2nd--- Ron Willingham #42 |
| BEST OFF-ROAD | 1st --- Dan Young #795 2nd--- Jerry Isbell #750 |
| BEST STREET | 1st --- Bill Grice #740 2nd--- Bob Yahn #294 |
| BEST UNCONVENTIONAL | 1st --- Bill Grice #740 2nd--- Mark McClellan #1021 |
| MOST IN NEED OF TLC | Mark Gera #538 |
| FARTHEST TO GET HERE | Robert Hunter #938 - Winnemucca NV |
| NEWEST MEMBER PRESENT | Nora Dobranszky #1028 |
| PHILIPPE AWARD | 1st ----------- Tony Anderson #188 2nd ---------- Dan Young #795 3rd ---------- Jay Hulet #120 |
