Bruce Meyers was the bold adventurer and design genius behind the Meyers Manx dune buggy, one of the 1960s great automotive treasures. The Meyers Manx later spawned the Manx Tow’d, a non-street-legal buggy similar to the one recently listed on eBay.
Bruce Myers tends to the Tow'd.
The Tow’d is a custom tube chassis vehicle using Volkswagen power and other VW bits and pieces. The result is a 900-pound fun machine that can be towed to your favorite dune. Chris Pierce, the seller, purchased it after a previous Ohio owner found it on eBay as a project vehicle.
Frame Up!
The restoration completed by the previous owner was enough to bring it up to the standard of Pierce’s large Manx collection. He owns approximately two dozen Manx vehicles in various states of condition.
Making it Street Legal
The listed 1970 model Tow’d is registered to travel the roads—and not just on dunes. Pierce has owned the Tow’d for five years. The listing includes a picture of Bruce Meyers signing the car’s dash.
Pierce said:
I met Bruce Manx and his wife Winnie in 2013 at Manx on the Banx, the premier dune buggy event on the East coast. The show lasts an entire week on the Outer Banks beaches of North Carolina. Bruce and his wife were just wonderful at those events, and his death last February was a huge blow to the Manx community.
Meyers was 94 and still active in the Manx business until selling it in November 2020.
A Surfer’s Wheels
Meyers developed the idea of a beach buggy when he was an active surfer and hot-rodder. His dune buggy creation is an evolution of the cut-down vehicles customized by surfers for beach use.
The Manx, named after a tailless cat breed that originated on the Isle of Man, was launched in 1964. It immediately became a desert-racing icon.
The Tow’d offered on eBay departs from his original design, which used a fiberglass body shell on a modified VW Beetle frame. The Tow’d frame has a wide rear that narrows in front. It’s formed from mild steel two-inch tubing that is 1/8-inch thick.
Retractable Tow Bar
The Tow’d name comes from an integral, retractable tow bar built into the custom tube frame. The vehicle is smaller and lighter than the original Manx. The body is a single thermoformed ABS plastic unit giving it higher impact strength. It tips the scales at one-third of the weight of the Manx.
The VW Beetle supplies its transaxle, front and rear suspension, and steering pieces. In some cases, the dune buggy was equipped with a turbocharged Corvair engine, producing some of the fastest vehicles on the sand.
Painted Ferrari red, this Tow’d has outstanding features:
- Black upholstered seats
- Vintage Gene Berg short-throw VW shifter
- A new black canvas top with in-glass taillight windows
- Working turn signals, horn, front headlights, speedometer, and gauges.
The car was featured on the cover of the 2019 Manx Club wall calendar.
The Tow'd's dashboard in the midst of restoration.
The Tradition Continues
Pierce is hesitant to sell the Tow’d, but he wants to make room to add more Meyers Manx cars to his collection. So this one needs a new home where another Manx enthusiast can further enhance it—thanks to an abundant supply of Meyers Manx parts on eBay. Pierce said, “I’ve been purchasing parts on eBay for nearly 20 years.”
The Tow'd shows off its Stinger exhaust.
A search on eBay for Meyers Manx - opens in new window or tab. also brings up a host of accessories, literature, toys, and apparel—all part of a large culture of dune-worthy vehicles. And the tradition continues with remarkable, restored dune buggies like the 1970 VW Meyers Manx Tow’d recently offered on eBay.
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This article is meant to provide general guidance only. Automotive maintenance, repair, upgrade, and installation may depend on vehicle-specifics such as make and model. Always consult your owner's manual, repair guide for specific information for your particular vehicle and consider a licensed auto-care professional's help as well, particularly for advance repairs.