1966 Beach Boys Moke

[HandyMan59]

Greetings Mk1'ers
Currently working here in North Carolina, USA on a Preservation Restoration. 1966 " Beach Boys" Moke.

Sure= its a standard OEW Moke of 1966, but for this Moke it received some special treatment in 1966..as Surfer Moke.

Little bit of History for this Moke: Barris Customs in 1966 was commissioned to build 5 identical Cars for the actual Beach Boys. An additional 20 were said to have been planned as Radio giveaway cars by Columbia records for winning a radio challenge. This car is a 'known' giveaway car. Although rumors that the 20 were never completed, only 2-3 are known to still exist in this configuration.

This car was recently pulled out of a garage small family collection in Florida. Has not seen the light of day since about the early 80's
FEW parts have been replaced. Some of the history has been lost or removed. But the goal in the end is to re create 100% without repaint or restoration the car as it was. Few accessories will have to be re created like the 8 Track player has been sourced to put in + the car had removable speakers " to party on the beach with. Original red FUZZ seat covers exist. Top has to be re created with coresponding proper tassles. The car came with the original surfboard too.

As it sits now 100% of anything that holds fluid needs replacement. Brakes + fuel and Cooling. (everything and anything rubber) is very brittle Tires were flat and dry rotted, Original Plys will be installed.

The 'stripes' were once metallic red... Sun + time have faded to a dark grey / Black... some over spray still shows under the fenders. Overall the Body is SUPER SOLID. only small surface rust. Has been treated but not thru rust here and there.

In total _ its all there = even amazing some screws / nuts and bolts have never been touched ( carb screws) or engine bolts. Some items are rusted + stuck = taking patience to free for renewal.

Currently have a nice assortment of parts to install, few items having to be found (like the early mk 1 thermostat housing found here).

Might have a Moke on the road again in a few weeks!

[Tagus]

Let's go Surfin'!!

Really great find!

[Highnumbers]

That is seriously, seriously cool. Amazing find (and glad it's in good enough condition to preserve rather than restore).

Do you know if Barris did all the giveaway cars, in addition to the 5 Beach Boys Mokes? That's quite a large project for a relatively small shop like Barris Kustoms.



Edit: Note that the bottom photo does appear to be the Beach Boys, but the color photo pictured above that is not the BB. Presumably just a photo shoot for Barris and the promotion?

[mk1]

Hi Handyman!

What a fantastic project!

I have been interested in this Moke since I read about it on Jeroen's blog a while ago.

It really is in SPECTACULARLY GOOD condition & looks like a relativity easy project to complete. I am so relieved that you are going to restore it "as is" as opposed to going all out to make it look like new. This is (I reckon) the only sensible way to go with such a wonderfully original car.

Please keep us posted with your progress I am sure that there are many members who would be very interested to follow your progress, I will certainly be one of them.

Owning such an original, famous, special Moke, must go a long way to dulling the pain of having to drive round with pink furry seats & a hood with tassels round it

Thank you so much for sharing this very special project.

M

[Pandora]

My Moke itch is getting really bad!

What a great car and story.

I fully expect to see Mark's one with tassels newly fitted at Blyton

Al

[mini_surfari]

excellent project,

look forward to seeing it progress... even more impressive it came with the boards!

[mab01uk]

Fantastic find and project!

[HandyMan59]

Touch of clarity .
This is not my personal car.( I wish it was) I'm the labor worker for getting it back on the road.. Owned by a local guy who is also a LBC Lover ( Little British car lover).

In all = History is a bit fuzzy on how many promotional cars were actually completed if ANY were actually.

This car came with one receipt for the Air freight from California to Ohio. 1966/1967 .. to a radio station. So that pins this car down to being a 'giveaway" car.

There is some debate as to the additional 20'... we know of one other in the USA that is in 'bad' condition = over painted multiple times. and fully disassembled. but that owner has also done a lot of research in the history of it. He actually visited this car to document some details for his future restoration.

We have little proof, owners are going to try to contact Barris to gather any more info. but the thought is the 5 that the Beachboys are pictured with were possibly the only 5. There's a chance a few of those 5 were surrendered from the beachboys to the Columbia records as 'giveaways' in more limited form.
And it kinda makes sense. A POPULAR Group like beach boys, why would they really want a "cheap' Moke back in the late 60's or 70's.

Most of the Beach Boys have now passed so trying to gather any info from them is near imposisble, along withknowing what sort of car collections they may have had or kept.

Research Continues.

[Peter Laidler]

Just as a matter of interest, what is the reason for the large reinforcing plate (photo 3) bolted to the underside of the body.

[rich@minispares.com]

Just as a matter of interest, what is the reason for the large reinforcing plate (photo 3) bolted to the underside of the body.

the seat belt eyes go through it, you can see them in the other photo

its a great solid moke, isnt it

[Highnumbers]

Most of the Beach Boys have now passed so trying to gather any info from them is near imposisble, along withknowing what sort of car collections they may have had or kept.

Only Brian and Dennis Wilson have passed - all thee of the others are still living. The bigger concern would be their lack of memory about stuff like this. For all we know, they just did this photo shoot and never thought twice about the cars again.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily think any musician back then would turn their nose up at a "cheap" moke, since it was an unusual, fun car. No different than Mike Nesmith and the Beatles driving Mini Coopers (along with Steve McQueen, James Garner and so many other stars). Even Jimi Hendrix drove a cheap VW Meyers Manx dune buggy!

[Bodge]

I have been following this Moke since it appeared on US eBay in July 2017 when the previous owner was asking $37,000 for it. You can see the original listing here.

It's great that it is being so sensitively restored. They don't turn up like this very often, especially with this amount of history. I see it even has the rare heating element around the carburettor dashpot. This was generally only fitted for Mokes destined for North America and Scandinavia.

One of the original five Mini Surfers (or maybe a sixth kept back by George Barris himself) was auctioned off in the early 1980s. You can see the Moke at 4:17 on a YouTube video here. Note that this one is slightly different with its stripy seat cushions, similar to the ones in this image. Note the gold discs as hub caps!

Beach Boys Moke4b.jpg

Here are also a couple of original press clippings about the winner of one of the later batch of Mini Surfers.

Beach Boys Moke5.jpg

Beach Boys Moke6.jpg

I will follow this one with interest and best of luck with your research.
Roger

[Polarsilver]

Those Chevron Stripes would take real skill to apply .. they would have needed to be masked up with different stripe widths to go around some of the bodywork curves to enable the finished effect to look correctly spaced & great ..
Have had a Moke itch since we had 9x people in one ( borrowed) Moke & no top driven at speed from back in the day.

[HandyMan59]

Slowly Coming together... Nothing major to post picture wise for progress.

The owner and I gathered over the weekend to plan the needs for some of the original items to re create to fit this build.

Tassles were chosen ( cotton, 4 Inch, Red/Pink colur.) Using my own Moke as a reference + a M-Parts Top that I have , we were able to decide how they will be affixed and where to the New top being made. ( also in Red )

The next head scratcher is the ' removable' speaker boxes... The tabs are present to hang them from on the dash wall.
In certain Original pictures you can see sort of "tubes' that stick up thru the windshield glass. In other pictures there appears to be multiple Tubes... all pointing UP from a ' ROUND.. type Basket body . that the speaker was inside.

This is sort of what we envision was on top of the speakers.. but not the correct size. in total.



Installing a wiper motor on the drivers side puts more things in the way to also consider these speakers and their Tubes sticking up. STill to determine the best ' layout and build... Plan to possibly put small Bluetooth hidden setup inside the basket for some' actual' TUNES.

Owner is reaching out to Capital Records as we speak to ask for any history or info. Barris' shop is still in California but as we understand mostly shuttered up. Not much online info as these mokes were small potatoes compared to the Barris Batmobile. or other movie Customs done.

[mk1]

It's great to know that this Moke is getting the attention it deserves.

As you say "these mokes were small potatoes compared to the Barris Batmobile. or other movie Customs done" But none the less it is a genuine Barris car & as such has great value historically.

M

[medwaybeat]

Only Brian and Dennis Wilson have passed

https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive?ref ... r%5Eauthor
Best let Brian know.

Great looking project

[Highnumbers]

Only Brian and Dennis Wilson have passed

https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive?ref ... r%5Eauthor
Best let Brian know.

Great looking project

Ha!

Good catch. By Brian, of course, I meant Carl Wilson.

[HandyMan59]

"Im Not Dead YET! "

ha = as myself being a 36 year old, Born in the early 80's - The 60"s beach boys were what we listened to while in the car with my parents and grandparents, I dont totally relate to dates and ages of this history!

This history wont be lost.. Hopefully more gathered and improved with this fun car!

- Jeff is also working on the ' signage " found on the promotional cars. Black with White Lettering = Beach Boys . Surfer Moke Etc. Will Share Pics as they come. Jeff May also join this Forum to join in the discussion. He appreciates the attention.

Acutal pic from early in life.

[Highnumbers]

Great photo!

If you find yourself in need of a sign, let me know. A friend of mine here in California is a signmaker who specializes in vintage-style handpainted pieces like that. He could make one that is identical to the original.

[HandyMan59]

Great photo!

If you find yourself in need of a sign, let me know. A friend of mine here in California is a signmaker who specializes in vintage-style handpainted pieces like that. He could make one that is identical to the original.

Thanks for the offer = I too have a friend in the sign business. + we have already painted the signs up on a metal back board. Will share pics soon.

Normal Pogresss:
Fuel Pump is in + new hoses + lines
Fuel Tank is back in + coated + sealed



Waterpump arrived (will give it a 'used' look" paint job) It cant be super pretty or 'primer red"




Carburator is 'freshened" lightly cleaned = new seals + jet