Bruce Meyers' prototype car has passed away at the age of 94

This feature was originally published in the December 2013 issue of Top Gear Magazine

"I'm not smart, but I'm very talented. I can paint, I have a good sense of proportion, I know a lot about fiberglass, and I am a horny old ******. I have participated in the competition" in Bonneville, shaped surfboard, I have never made a business plan. The whole plan—the whole me—is in the Manx carriage. "

Bruce Meyers is 87 years old, and Meyers Manx will celebrate his 50th birthday in 2014. A trendy car that defined the California beach culture from which it originated, created the Baja 1000 and wheel-to-wheel off-road racing, took advantage of one of Volkswagen’s most famous innovations, and intercepted the chain letter of safety games to obtain car aesthetics . It has been copied more than 300,000 times, all over the world, and it owes its creator a wealth. Literally.

It is also completely, indecently cute. "When I was a kid in Newport Beach—before the life of strollers, cars, and beach boys—I was full of comics," Meyers said, speaking to his home and studio in the valley. The colorful grilled charm is indifferent to the center, close to San Diego. "Mickey Mouse drives these small cars with big wheels around. I want to drive them from the pages of the book. I never thought I would do this, but I kind of think cars will become part of my life."

Text: Matthew Jones Photography: Robert Yeager

This is not surprising. His father competed in Indianapolis in 1906, 1907, and 1908 and was one of three people who persuaded Henry Ford to establish a dealer network. "I think this is the reason I liked Ford before; back then, I just assumed that if you drive other cars, you were a square. But when the Great Depression came, our Ford—and Buick and Lincoln—all Go. Then in 1944, I was selected.

"The navy is tough. When I was stationed near the coast of Okinawa, I had to jump off an aircraft carrier because it caught fire after a kamikaze attack [Kill 389]. After that, I kind of left the car alone for a while, and had A few years belonged to me." Meyers went to the South China Sea, established a trading post on the coral atoll, and sailed to Tahiti, where he lived in a dilapidated tin hut in the Polynesian sun.

"As soon as I returned to the United States, I wanted to sail south again. At that time, I had already done some surfboard shaping and shipbuilding with fiberglass, so I started making a 42-foot catamaran. When I put it together , I can surf, smoke a little grass, go to art school, compete with '32 Highboy Ford on the lake bed in [Bonneville], chase beautiful girls, hang out on Pismo Beach, look at the water pump [named after their water-cooled engine]- The first dune vehicle.

"Their motors and gearboxes are mounted on the rear axles. At the end of each axle, they have two, sometimes three wheels welded together, and the frame rails protrude forward 20 feet. They spray flames. Interesting, but I know they are inefficient.

"Then I saw someone driving the Beetle floor. It swept across the water like a mosquito, even with 35bhp and 4-inch tires. In the desert, all the weight at the rear end makes sense. That's why the Mexicans drive their pickups. There are 50 gallon buckets in the rear-the driven wheels get the best traction because they are pushed down onto the loose surface.

"But there is another factor. Volkswagen drag arm suspension." Meyers stretched out his left hand in front of him, palm down, index finger down. Then he started hitting himself with his other hand. Color eyebrow exercises suggested that I should do the same. "Did you see it? It doesn't hurt. Try to hit that finger up. It will hurt." I am willing. I bet you too. It is true. "This is how the trailing arm suspension works-that's why these things jump over the dirt. The entire mass of settings-engines, machinery-make me think. I can build something truly innovative. But I don't know it will be responsible. For Baja 1000..."

Bruce is not the only one. In 1960, EMPI, a Volkswagen dealer and modification parts supplier in Los Angeles, provided a metal kit called Sportster. It costs about $500 and is designed as a kit that can be bolted directly to the shortened Volkswagen floor and mechanical devices. In theory, perfect. Find an abandoned beetle, throw away the body, shorten the chassis, and put a lighter shell on it. Work for a long weekend, then point its lantern chin to the sand, and then pump it low to save. But there is a problem. The body is an angular straight section, very ugly.

"I am an artist and I want to bring a sense of sportiness and attitude to Manx. Dune buggies have a message: fun. They are fun to drive and should look like it. Nothing was done at the time. So I watched The top of the front fender must be flat to hold a few bottles of beer, the sides must be high enough to prevent dirt and sand from entering your eyes, it must be compatible with the Beetle machine, and you must be able to build it yourself. Then I added all the Lines and feminine forms, and the Mickey Mouse adventure I can do.

"I called the first car-the car of 1964-a hard shell car. I built 12 of them. They were all fiberglass and had no floor. The Beetle engine and suspension were bolted. I haven't learned yet. Believe in this material. In Laohong-Car #1-I brought cushions, fur and resin [fix it] because I thought I would be thrown on my ass when it suddenly sounded in the street.

"But it's a sturdy car, and I have more confidence in it. I took it to the sand dunes, jumped up, and hit the thing violently. Then, in the same year, my partner and I were in Ted Mangels, Big Bear Lake, Arguing with some cyclists, I decided that I wanted to beat them in the race-they said the bike was the best, I said the off-road bike was the best. So we held a race to see who can get the fastest from Tijuana to La Paz -Approximately 832 miles off-road.

"To be honest, I really don't think we can do it-it's just a bluff. But then Ted showed up at my house with a map under his arm, and we crawled around on the floor to calculate the average speed and the fuel stopped. We stopped. Calculated that we can do it in about 30 hours-cyclists do it in 40 hours, so we have a chance."

"I didn't want to lose, so we brought extra gasoline. We guessed it was 65 gallons, so we took 40 gallons outside-25 gallons in three old oxygen cylinders tied to the carriage, and the rest in the fuel tank. . We have another 25-gallon milk bottle between our legs. It’s stupid, but at the time we thought “go fucking”. We did it in 34 hours and 45 minutes, faster than the biker More than five hours.

"When I got home, my wife who was advertising in car magazines decided to tell the world. I had hoped to sell some kits to pay for the cost, but she thought it was more valuable than that. She wrote to 100 editors, three When the story appeared on the newsstand, the phone rang and I had 350 orders overnight. I even turned down the person who owns EMPI [Joe Vittone], and he wanted to work together.

"I don’t know, but Old Red and I started off-road racing. So many cyclists and riders wanted to participate, which prompted Ed Pearlman to establish the National Off-Road Racing Association, so it became the Mexico 1000. In 1967, it had its own Accredited agency. That year, Meyers Manx was ranked first, and another car was ranked second in the same class. In the end, my small bet with some riders became Baja 1000."

Bruce's Manx is deeply influenced by California beach culture. It is the filament in a light bulb. Its warm and bright ideas illuminate the world of post-war spam. If you can't own Venice Beach, you can own an off-road vehicle. But its success is overwhelming. Then Bruce had a near-fatal crash in the second Baja 1000, and his injuries meant that he could not complete the order. He redesigned the Manx to equip it with a complete Volkswagen floor [the red car in the picture], which reduced his workload, but he is still trying to meet the demand. Then he noticed something. His designs are everywhere, and in some places he insists on not leaving.

"It's easy to copy. You just take a mold of a fiberglass shell and eject your own. I even have a 1965 patent and sued a company for copyright infringement in 1969." The judge ruled that Manx was against him. It is claimed that Manx has been used publicly for a year before obtaining a patent. "I could have appealed, but I have invested $30,000 in this case, and the other person has a more mean lawyer.

"Manx has been copied about 300,000 times in all around the world-France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia. In 1994, I participated in the dune buggy festival in Le Mans and led 1,100 cars around the track, where I was Driving the only real Meyers. But many people-including me-were caught up because I lost a lot of money. I knew I made some wrong decisions, and for a while I couldn't even listen To the word dune cart. But I was tired of my own urination and moaning, so I opened a club.

"Auto club usually means that there are people around you who have bought cars, but for us, they are people who make cars. You will see cars made with Dad. In some cases, Dad is gone, but The car is still here. It’s more important than money. That’s why you can still buy these cars today. People have a deeper connection with dune buggies, which makes them laugh happier than any other car. This is what makes me The reason for happiness. This is a great contribution."

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