I have some great news. I spoke to Curly on the phone this evening on his 80th birthday. Karl, you will be happy to know that he fondly recalled your father, Melvin. Curly told me what a fantastic fabricator he was when Curly could go to Melvin and say "This is what I want to have made", and it was made & made right.

Now for the buggy info:
The company was indeed based in San Antonio. The company went by the name of White Wind Company (which was named after Pontiac's 1965 GTO White Wind ad campaign. The company changed focus after dune buggies to get into high performance VW parts and racing. At that point, the company went by the name of High Performance Manufacturing and Distribution.

The White Wind company made mot only the WHITE WIND buggy in this thread, but also a "VIPER" which also had the dash lettering, so that model should also be easy to ID if we get any pictures of that buggy.

The WHITE WIND buggy was modeled after two buggies: Bushmaster (from Austin Tx) And Meyers Manx. Curly told me that he liked certain traits in both buggy and wanted the WHITE WIND to incorporate the best of both bodies.

Curly does not have exact numbers, however, he tells me that somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 or 600 total buggies were made (between the Viper, which sold better than the White Wind, the White Wind, and the few T buggy bodies they made).

There were also about 10 very lightweight racing Viper bodies made, but Curly doubts any survived because the 'glass was so thin.

Now, the bodies were not actually made by the WHite Wind Company. The bodies were made by at least two companies, the first being a tub manufacturer that was local. Curly can't remember the name of the tub company that made the bodies, but he said they were not in business any longer.

The White Wind company also made a tube buggy (I'm thinking possibly a "rail" buggy?) and they called that the "Rock Rat"

White Wind made buggies from about 1967 to 1969... possibly into 1970... Curly wasn't exactly sure of the dates.

I'm hopeful Curly will be able to have his grandson assist him in scanning a few pictures he has on the wall of Curly and one of the dune buggies the White Wind company made. if I get something, I will be sure to post it.

Jay