At $17,000, Is This Meyers Manx SR2 A Super Cool Cat?

Today's Nice Price or No Dice Manx SR2 is the second VW-based kit car offered by legendary builder Bruce Meyers, and it features a design he thought would be far harder to copy than his first: the ubiquitous dune buggy. Let's decide what such a unique bit of car culture should cost.

With the recent discontinuation of the Supra, fans eager to carry the torch of non-tepid Toyotas are left with only the GR86 coupe and the crazily expensive GR Corolla as rides of choice. The fact that Toyota couldn't be bothered to develop the last-generation Supra on its own, leveraging BMW for most of the under-skirt bits, makes it questionable whether the company even has any interest in sporty cars anymore. Instead of pulse-pumping sports cars, the company offers around a dozen five-door crossover-style vehicles, since that's what sells these days.

That wasn't always the case; in addition to the Supra, Toyota once offered a rally-bred version of the stalwart Celica and a full-blown mid-engine sports car in the MR2. We looked at a 1993 Toyota MR2 on Tuesday, a non-turbo car that otherwise had all the options we'd want. Unfortunately, that non-turbo nature and a non-working A/C compressor called into question its $14,000 asking price. In the end, you all gave that a heave-ho in an 85% 'No Dice' downvote.

A lack of taint-tightening Toyotas doesn't mean that the automotive landscape has totally turned into dullsville, however. There are plenty of fun and interesting cars and, yes, even trucks, out there from which to choose when something more than sleepwalking self-driving is in order. But what if you wanted something crazier than what's on the menu right now from the ever-shrinking cadre of entertaining cars on the market? That's when a rare opportunity like today's Meyers Manx SR feels especially apt.

The SR2's creator, Bruce Meyers, grew up living the California dream. A bohemian artist and engineer, Meyers spent his early adult years surfing, off-road racing, and teaching himself to mold fiberglass as a boat builder. His talents all merged in the creation of the original Meyers Manx dune buggy, introduced in 1964. 

Built on a VW Type 1 platform shortened by 14.5 inches, the Manx immediately became an icon and set off an industry of copycats. Meyers went to court to stop the copiers from making dime on his design, but to little success. Taking another tack, Meyers' next street kit, the Manx SR2 (Street Roadster), was far more complex, featuring 10 body panels (as opposed to the original Manx's two) and iconic scissor-style doors. Unfortunately, the cost of the lawsuits, along with nasty letters from the IRS, ate away at Meyers' company finances, and he closed the doors in 1971. By that time, fewer than 200 Manx SR body kits had left the Fountain Valley factory.

This is one of those rare SR models, built on a VW Beetle platform, but powered by a Chevy Corvair air-cooled six. Unlike most automotive engines, the Corvair mill spins counterclockwise, so the car also has the Chevy four-speed manual gearbox instead of a VW transmission. According to the ad, the added power (likely around 140 horsepower gross) makes the car "fly!"

The car rolls, appropriately enough, on a set of Western Bullet Torque Thrust-style wheels wrapped in white-letter BF Goodrich tires. They sit proud in the exaggerated wheel arches, looking almost comically large in comparison to the car's miniature 80-inch wheelbase.

Another way Bruce Meyers and co-designer Stewart Reed sought to improve upon the original Manx was through weather protection, fitting the SR2 with an optional fabric targa top and side curtains. This car appears to have neither, nor does it even seem to have a windshield wiper, making it a fair-weather friend. It's also missing one of the front bumperettes, which could be hard to find. Other than those issues, the car's exterior appears to be in really good shape, with the paint still shining and everything else still intact.

Make no mistake, though: this car is a project that needs some work. The seller claims the seats are "ready for upholstery," implying that they have somehow been pre-gaming for the effort. There's also apparently an issue with the scissor doors (a first, by the way), as they seem to be sitting in place in most of the pictures but aren't actually attached by their hinges. That's evident in the interior photo, where the passenger-side door is absent entirely.

The interior itself is in rough but serviceable condition. Those upholstery-ready seats are nothing more than fiberglass shells with an inch or so of ancient foam padding, and they look about as comfortable as sitting on an orange crate. The rest of the cabin is black-painted fiberglass with a bare VW floorpan. Neither element looks too egregious. 

The dashboard offers a full complement of VDO gauges with the tach hilariously pegged at a 4,500 rpm redline. The speedometer's odometer inset shows 30,461 miles, but the ad claims an "I don't know" 99,999 as the mileage. On the plus side, the car's title is clean, and the seller claims it is licensed as an "asvr," which I believe means home-built, with a 1987 VIN assignment.

As noted at the outset, this Manx SR is one of those rare birds to catch in the classifieds. It's not crazy rare, though, as there's another with the same Corvair power, but in orange and with a salvage title, offered through one of the classic car classifieds.

This one, despite some questions and missing pieces, looks like a great foundation for a light restoration. That would result in a unique and fun sport-about for weekend and car show duty. Find the top and side curtains, and rain won't be the hindrance the car currently faces.

With all that in mind—and yes, it was a lot—what do you think about this Manx SR? More importantly, how do you feel about spending $17,000 to buy it? Is that a fair price, given the car's rarity and condition? Or does that price make you want to turn tail and run?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Hat tip to Don R. for the hookup!

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