Here we have James May hammering on about the joys of driving a Beach Buggy, and I agree with everything he says.
However, I have one small difference of opinion with him, and it’s about that “no protection from the rain” thing. Maybe the Brits are inured to being wet, given that it’s always raining Over There; but ever since I got caught in a tropical downpour whilst riding in the back of an open Army truck, I’ve hated it. (I don’t mind a gentle drizzle falling on me, by the way, as long as I’m wearing a waterproof hat and raincoat — but trapped in an open car? Nope. Pure misery.)
So my alternative would be, lessee: something in fiberglass, wrapped around a VW engine (just like the Beach Buggy)… but with at least a token amount of protection against the wet stuff. Something like this (no it’s not a real 356, but a deepfake replica):
…and with its hat on:
I know it looks faintly ridiculous, like some old fart with his cap pulled down low over his eyes (yeah I know, I know), and that flimsy canvas thing would not be very good at fending off a Texas-style rainstorm (like that tropical rainstorm I spoke of earlier, only with Added Hail). But it would keep me dry enough until I got home, or under a freeway overpass or whatever.
Want. Badly.
For all the same reasons James May loves his Buggy. And just like the Buggy, it has a near-total lack of electronica:
…and trust me, I could do without the radio.
Mr. du Toit:
Back in 1999 I sold a small property at small profit and used it to buy my wife a brand-new 1997-model Mazda Miata that had been sitting on the dealer’s lot for a long time. ’97 was the last year they made it with the flip-up headlights and little finger-hole door handles. Tiny little 1.6-L engine with a 5-speed (a little under-powered on a freeway) and it got around 33-35 MPG. I put a little 1-1/4″ receiver hitch on it so that she could bring a bicycle with her out of town to go for rides, and also to use with our little motorcycle trailer.
Prior to this we had spent every vacation touring on my motorcycle. I’ve gone through three (3) Honda GoldWings, all of them black (hence the ‘net moniker); my last two had trailer hitches so we didn’t have to look like the Clampett family truck going down the road…we could even get a bicycle on top of our camping gear. We went through every kind of weather you can imagine in the lower 48 and have prowled over almost all of the country.
But she got very tired of riding pillion and continuously being exposed to the weather. Switching over from motorcycle touring to being in a teeny-tiny convertible was amazing. At the top of mountain passes we could simply turn on the heat, put on hats, and be toasty and comfortable with the top down. The top on that car is so simple to put up that we didn’t even have to get out of the car to do it, just pull down the sun visors, pop open the latches, and reach around behind to pull the top up and overhead. Pull it down to the top of the windshield frame and secure it with the latches, then reach around and zip up the rear window; it takes around a minute to be weather-tight. Much like the fake 356 visibility is limited with the top up but that’s okay…it’s either raining or snowing so it doesn’t matter.
We never had a single lick of problems with it on the road (knock wood). In fact the only failures associated with it were that the little clip on the window zipper broke off (zipper still works fine) and the plastic handle on the oil dipstick got fragile and broke off. That’s it. With the electrical system done by the Japanese and NOT by Lucas the Prince of Darkness it has run perfectly for us. Not quite as fun to ride the twisties in the mountains as the bike, but with the top down and a 5-speed manual it’s about as close as you can get.
That car’s going to be 30 years old next year and we’ll have had it for 28. What’s really funny is that the KBB value of it bottomed out about 5 years ago and is now going UP. But you can still find ’em for under $5,000. On t’other hand, I’m pretty sure that you’re too tall to get into one with the top up!
I look at all your sporty little roadsters you tout………..and.
They were built in an era where people of my general circumference were not accounted for. Its not just that my gut has grown as I aged. I always had wide shoulders, and those little fecking things would be worse than airplane seats.
preussenotto:
I’m short (5’7″) but have very wide shoulders as a result of doing gymnastics (rings) from age 17 to age 34; I take a size 44-Short suitcoat (when I can find one).
The width of the seat in the Miata is just fine for me and everybody else that tries it. It’s also got an amazing amount of leg room. What it DOESN’T have is head-room. As short as I am, and as low as the seats are (practically on the floor) I’m still within a couple of inches of hitting the underside of the top when it’s up. If you’re more than around 5’10” you’ll have a problem.
I got to drive a buddies Miata probably about the same vintage as yours. It was a hell of a lot of fun.
Alas I was younger and my flexibility was somewhat better than “dried sticks”. The years of grappling have come for payment and when I say I don’t think I could fit…trust me.
I bought a 3 year old Fiat Spider 1800cc when I was a senior in high school. No air but the top was down most of the time.
The link took me to a video of May driving back and forth in a Meyers Manx. Hard to tell exactly what powered it, but it wasn’t the usual basic 1600 cc VW engine. In that people build them with any air cooled engine and a few V8 versions, It could be anything. Maybe May explained in whatever other video he was yammering on about the car. But yes, you can’t get more basic than a Manx. ( or an Austin Healy Sprite, but that at least had a real heater. )
As for the example shown, that’s a Beck Speedster. ( although they are now called Special Editions ) You can still buy them. https://www.beckspeedster.com/pre-owned-inventory.
And yes I suspect you might have difficulty fitting in one. try one on for size ( with the Top assembled and the side curtains – not windows – in place ) before purchase. even if you can fit you still might not be able to see out to drive safely.
With the added “safety” features of massive door pillars in today’s cars, I can’t see out to drive safely anyway.
the wife’s car seems claustrophobic when I am in it but she likes it so I just muck around in my truck. Had to get running boards on the truck so she can get in it.
Oh well. Sacrifice.
Always a crap shoot getting a car.