BearsZX72 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I've been looking at rails for a few months now, started in Nov. 2012. I found one a few weeks back that I liked and the wife really liked it. The draw back for me was that it was located in Phoenix, AZ. Last Friday the wife and I took a road trip to Phoenix to check it out. It was better in person then the pictures we saw. We talked pricing with the seller and talked him down to a price that the wife and I liked and made the buy. Rented a U-Haul trailer and brought it back home to California. It was a 820 mile round trip in 1 day for this rail. Here are some of the specs that I can remember off the top of my head; It's a 2003 Tatum Dual Sport 5 seat, Subaru Turbo motor, Bus 091 w/ Weddle gears, Race Runner 2.0 Coil-overs and 2.5 Triple Bypass on all four corners, desert tires on it, front has 32X15 and the rears are 33X15 BFG's, Centerline wheels, digital dash, G-Force 4 point harness, Ron Davis radiator, Link Engine Management System, Wilwood brake system, disc all four corners Leaving Phoenix all loaded up At home in the garage I've found a few of these little lizards welded on the frame in various places. Does anyone know why or if Tatum did this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakster884 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Awesome. Nothing like a new toy to play with. Looks like you will be having some fun in the dunes very soon. Congrats! :MBdance: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltr450rider Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Nice! Congrats on the new ride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Congrats. It's funny how far we will drive to buy our toys. I did the same thing for the last couple buggies and bikes I have bought. One thing I would highly recommend adding is a B pillar to that cage for safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspadoo Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 You sure that is a Tatum? It may have Tatum front arms but... There was a guy in Az, I think it was Gecko sand rails or something like that that built a low side rail which looked like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearsZX72 Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 You sure that is a Tatum? It may have Tatum front arms but... There was a guy in Az, I think it was Gecko sand rails or something like that that built a low side rail which looked like this. Nope, not sure. The guy I bought it from told me it was a Tatum. I've looked all over the rail and can't find any markings for the manufacture.The title is from AZ and the make states "SPCON" which I searched and found that "SPCON" means Specialty Constructed. In AZ there are six types of specially constructed vehicles that are titled by the AZ DMV; 1. Kit Vehicles 2. Dune Buggies A Dune Buggy is a small light vehicle generally made from a small rear engine chassis (VW is commonly used) and a specially constructed or prefabricated, often fiberglass, body. 3. Sand Rail A Sand Rail is a small lightweight vehicle generally constructed from a tubular frame, engine, transmission and other custom parts. The frame can be purchased from a manufacturer or custom made by an individual. VW engines and transmissions are commonly used. 4. Homemade Trailers 5. Motorcycles 6. Glider Kits Gecko...I'll look into that. Thanks for the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearsZX72 Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Well, I'm doing my research and it looks like it is not a Tatum rail. From what I've found on the web, this rail was made by thebuggyshop.com and it's called the "Gecko". That's why it has the little "Gecko's" welded on the frame. The Buggy Shop was out of Phoenix and is now closed. The builders name is Jeff Pessetto. He closed shop around '07-'08 time frame. I'm going to try and contact him. Maybe he'll have some useful information for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspadoo Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 That's the one, I remember seeing a black one with red beadlocks if I remember correctly, looked good. Enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishlips Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I saw that car on Bakersfield craiglist. looks nice enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearsZX72 Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 ^^Thanks and yes, I too found it on Bakersfield Craigslist.^^ I made contact with the builder and talked to him for a little bit yesterday. This buggy was the 1st one in "The Gecko" series that he built. Jeff Pessetto built a total of 32 different buggies. Jeff would love to hear from anyone that has one of the www.thebuggyshop.com buggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwtdiesel Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Awesome car! I drove to AZ for mine too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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