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Just when I though my 13" of ground clearance was pretty good, I came across this on the way home from working on my friends baja. It must have at least 24" of clearance under the whole thing . What interested me was the rear suspension setup with the auxillary torsion bar setup.

Is this a promotional setup or is this actually a military vehicle?

sweet... I cant say for sure but it looks like they use it, except i would think it would be a different color if it actually saw any action.

its Navy, they use it underwater scouting the beach heads for military invasions.

Looks like the real deal. Missing a few items and yep that color is a wee bit off.

Looks real, I think they were flat black, late 80's early 90's vinage.

I know that some of the special forces units in various branches use sand rails, but not widely. That one looks more like a recruitment tool - that being said, it looks like a lot of fun to drive!

Stray

They are Real. Chenowth built them back about 20 years ago or so. A guy I used to play softball with a guy that had one. His dad worked for Chenowth at that time and he got to go the the base and pilage old cars for parts. There used to be a video that showed the ins and outs of the vehicle along with it jumping off the loading dock. About a 4 foot drop. I believe the price tag was in the 50K range. The side pods were used to hold gear or a wounded soldier if needed. If I recall right they played a pretty big role back in 91 in Desert Storm. They used a VW 2180 and a bus box.

Glad you guys were excited about it, too. It had a 5 Rib, but they wouln't let me take the heads off so I'll trust you that it's 2180. The front had longer arms (obviously) and they were lifted so high that the arms almost touched eachother. And dual coil-overs, never seen that in the front. I wish I got a better picture of the spring plate pivot because it looks like it's supported on the outboard side, too(double sheer, I think is the right word).

The rear inside pivots were abnormally long (5"?), though it was still a semi trailing arm.

It was used in the 90's. I was stationed at Commander Naval Special Warfair Group 2 in Little Creek, Va in 1992. It was where the east coast Navy Seal teams operated out of (team 2, 4, and 8 ). I was stationed to the Mobile Communications Team, one of many support units for the seals. These rails were one of many really cool vehicles I got to drive and thrash in defense of our great country. They also played a big role in my interest of the Vw over all these years. only difference on my rails over here I don't have to worry about 50 cal brass burning my neck..LOL

Okay... This first one is for Herbie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpaVubxHWqo

And for the rest of you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPodfRgM ... re=related

Did anyone else imagine a 50 caliber link ending up in the fan housing? They have a grate there to prevent it.

"desert patrol vehicle" is the magic search word. Looks like the promotional one is lifted and tricked out a bit.

heck yeah!


i like the "ink pen" coil springs on the front of the fast attack vehicle..

ts39136 wrote:

navy buggy-6.jpg

navy buggy-7.jpg

The extra torsion bar was a bump stop. We had the same setup on our Raceco single seat 12 car until last month when we converted it to coilovers and bi-pass. Car lasted 25 years with it and it is still in working order.

Here's a pic off of an earlier FAV. Seems it was used more as a sway bar????????