We’ve heavily bagged on George Barris here in the past. Mostly we’ve freaked out about the hideous looking late model disasters that Barris Kustoms has barfed out over the last few years. One thing that we certainly cannot fault Barris for is being a shrewd businessman who never seemed to let an opportunity pass by. Case in point, the Barris T Buggy. During the height of the dune buggy frenzy of the late 1960s and into the 1970s Barris dove into the fray with the Barris T Buggy, which was a dune buggy that offered the buyer a choice of three styles.
You could get one of these in roadster, soft top, or c-cab configuration. Apparently the c-cab models are super rare and this one we found on eBay is even more distinguished because it was built by Barris Kustoms itself, not one of the myriad of shops across the country licensed to produce them. If we’re reading the ad correctly, only 12 examples were churned out by Barris Kustoms, with the rest coming from the builder network. Apparently George saw far better margins in selling the kits wholesale than actually building the buggies.
This buggy was used as a promotional vehicle, showing up in ads and magazines in 1970 to promote the introduction of the product line. The “Barris touch” was exhibited in the form of the c-cab, lantern style lights, garish grille, and other cues. Interestingly, this one is Corvair powered and is probably built on a Corvair chassis/floor pan as the kits were offered to fit both the VW and Corvair.
We can’t say we hate it. It does have appeal from the era, it has been restored to immaculate shape and the history is well documented. It would definitely beat the hell out of driving around in a Toyta Prius that Barris had Kustomized and definitely is less shameful than the late model Camaros he’s been molesting. We’d take a sawzall to certain portions of the buffy just to put our own kustom touches on it.
If vintage buggies are your thing, this is one special number.
