Buggy travels far from the sand dunes

A whole host of diverse automotive offerings were available in 1971. Yet that year Don Sussland bypassed all the readily found, turnkey muscle machines when looking for an auto and to have some fun.

The craftsman wanted to work on a vehicle that would test the limits of his skills and talents. He settled on a light and nimble Scorpion LT dune buggy.

The project would require a good deal of hands-on labor and good old-fashioned ingenuity, all of which satisfied Sussland. He acquired the kit vehicle from his brother-in-law.

“He was a co-owner in a Yamaha business in Wood Dale,” the Hampshire resident said. “His plan was to build and sell the buggies alongside his snowmobiles and other small-engine machines.”

His relative had ordered the kit from Desert Fox, a Phoenix-based company. The dune buggy was partially assembled.

“His buggy business never panned out. He offered me the unfinished project, which was about a quarter completed.”

The kit was set up to utilize either a Corvair or Volkswagen chassis as its underpinnings. When Sussland took it on, the buggy was mounted on a Corvair chassis. However, Sussland opted to swap it out for a VW Beetle platform instead.

He quickly found a 1962 Volkswagen on which the body had rusted out but underneath was solid. The first hurdle to getting the buggy on the road was a daunting one; in order for the diminutive shell to fit the chassis, 14½ inches of the frame needed to be cut out. The do-it-yourselfer was up for the challenge.

“I was a machinist by trade and had the facilities to do the necessary machining, welding and fabrication,” he said.

The kit came with the body, rear seat cover, roll bar and front and rear bumpers. Everything else was up to the individual owners to track down.

Sussland retained the donor Bug's 1,200 cubic centimeter, air-cooled engine and sourced the other necessary pieces from a local junkyard. He ended up using Toyota seats, Mustang mirrors, '64 Dodge taillights, Triumph motorcycle turn signals and 5-inch motorcycle headlights.

Sussland completed the buggy and had it inspected and titled in 1973. While dune is in the vehicle's name, he opted to keep his runabout strictly on pavement.

“It could have been used off-road but I didn't want to go that route and have it filling up with sand,” Sussland said.

For a stiffer and more controlled ride, he installed heavy-duty stabilizer bars in the front and rear.

“It was a fun little car to take my kids out for rides in.”

All that cruising around on asphalt has kept the enthusiast more than entertained; he's held onto the buggy since its completion.

In 2002, Sussland started the project nearly all over again in order to upgrade the suspension. He purchased a later-model 1969 Beetle from a seller in Aurora. “The updated chassis had such things as front ball joints and an independent rear suspension.”

The '69 VW also came with a bigger 1,500 c.c. engine that Sussland rebuilt and bolstered with a different camshaft. This second build was completed in 2004 and took place in his home garage.

“It was the exact same process and a lot of it came back pretty quick,” he said. “It was also just as much fun.”