a Hard Riding Buggy

“I’M SHOCKED AT HOW HARD THIS BUGGY RIDES !”

if I had a nickel for every time I heard that roll into the shop, I’d have a fresh set of whitewalls on every car in the lot.

You know how the story goes. You finally button up that dune buggy you started way back when the world was spinning a little slower and gas was cheap. Every nut and bolt is just right – fresh bushings, new bearings, clean seals. Sharp wheels, brand-new rubber, and a set of shiny gas shocks that looked like they came straight off a race car.

Then you take her out for that first cruise… and wham! Feels like you’re bouncing down a country road in a wooden buckboard wagon.

Now don’t go blaming the build… the answer’s simple, and it’s right there in the numbers. That old Volkswagen Beetle you started with tipped the scales around 1,850 pounds. Your stripped-down buggy? Closer to 1,300. That’s a whole lot less weight pushing down on the suspension—nearly a third lighter, and that changes the whole ride.

See, those gas shocks you bolted on? They’re fine for a full-bodied Beetle, but on a lightweight buggy they ride stiff as a brick. First trick I tell folks: swap ’em out for a good set of old-school oil-filled shocks. Nothing fancy—just honest hardware that lets the suspension breathe a little. Heck, some of the smoothest rides I’ve seen came from a decent set of used shocks with a little life left in ’em.

Next thing…. your tires. Air ’em down a touch or a lot 🙂

You don’t need to be running sky-high pressure on a featherweight machine like this. For street cruising, try about 10 pounds up front and 15 in the rear if you’re rolling on 70 or 75 series tires. Got those lower-profile 60s? Run them at 18 to 22 at most, but keep ’em no lower than 18 all the way around – they’ve got shorter sidewalls and don’t flex the same way.

Now between softer shocks and dialing in your tire pressure, you’ll feel a night-and-day difference. Smooth, easy, like a Sunday drive instead of a rodeo.

Sure, if you really want to get fancy, you can start reworking torsion leaves or adding adjusters, but that’s getting into deep wrench territory. Most folks don’t need all that.

Start simple. Let the car work with you, not against you. And before long, that buggy’s gonna ride the way it was meant to… cool, comfortable, and cruisin’ just right.

– John Mickle