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Does anyone else remember that TikTok dad who took his daughter's miniature toy Jeep and resprayed it to look like a real Wrangler Rubicon? Well, these days, that dad gets Father of the Year. But half a century ago, kids could've ridden around in something far more badass. This is a 1972 HPE Muskin Dune Cat, and it does everything a plastic Barbie Jeep only wishes it could do.
Coming to us for sale out of Danville, Pennsylvania, it almost looks like somebody took a Meyers Manx dune buggy and shrunk it down to a form factor more suitable for young children. In truth, the 30 mph top speed the brochure for this machine touts is probably not suitable for anyone under the age of 13 or so. Then again, it was the 1970s, the days before the safety-obsessed nanny state we live in today. So it stands to reason that young kids did put-put around in little buggies like this 50 years ago.
In the era when three and four-wheeled ATVs were still in their infancy, the Muskin Dune Cat represented an altogether different philosophy towards building a small form-factor 4x4 vehicle. One that mimicked a more traditional off-roading SUV like a Range Rover or a Ford Bronco, seemingly hit with a shrink ray and given rear tires so chunky that they stretch out past the fender flares. In those days, the powersports market was more or less totally unregulated to the point some very unsafe vehicles managed to slip into the hands of adults and children alike.
As a result, These pint-sized machines were only manufactured for three years between 1971 and 1974. Heaven only knows if production ended due to low sales or a class-action lawsuit, which wasn't uncommon during the early days of motorized powersports when someone, heaven forbid a child, found themselves maimed or otherwise grievously harmed behind the wheel of three-wheeled ATVs, or in this case, a four-wheeler. Listen, it was just a different time back then, back before big corporations had to pay much attention to the effects their products had on their customers after they'd already left the showroom floor.
This particular example for sale is slightly different these days than its bone-stock brethren. Popular aftermarket mods for this vehicle often include upgrading the engine, and this 212 cc Ghost four-stroke engine is no exception. With new tires, disk brakes, and a new torque converter, there's as much new hardware on this classic rig as a modern entry-level side-by-side. The previous owner even re-inforced the bodywork underneath the driver's seat so the fiberglass body isn't too badly stressed going forward. Add it all up, and an asking price of $3,000 isn't too bad at all.
In the era when three and four-wheeled ATVs were still in their infancy, the Muskin Dune Cat represented an altogether different philosophy towards building a small form-factor 4x4 vehicle. One that mimicked a more traditional off-roading SUV like a Range Rover or a Ford Bronco, seemingly hit with a shrink ray and given rear tires so chunky that they stretch out past the fender flares. In those days, the powersports market was more or less totally unregulated to the point some very unsafe vehicles managed to slip into the hands of adults and children alike.
As a result, These pint-sized machines were only manufactured for three years between 1971 and 1974. Heaven only knows if production ended due to low sales or a class-action lawsuit, which wasn't uncommon during the early days of motorized powersports when someone, heaven forbid a child, found themselves maimed or otherwise grievously harmed behind the wheel of three-wheeled ATVs, or in this case, a four-wheeler. Listen, it was just a different time back then, back before big corporations had to pay much attention to the effects their products had on their customers after they'd already left the showroom floor.
This particular example for sale is slightly different these days than its bone-stock brethren. Popular aftermarket mods for this vehicle often include upgrading the engine, and this 212 cc Ghost four-stroke engine is no exception. With new tires, disk brakes, and a new torque converter, there's as much new hardware on this classic rig as a modern entry-level side-by-side. The previous owner even re-inforced the bodywork underneath the driver's seat so the fiberglass body isn't too badly stressed going forward. Add it all up, and an asking price of $3,000 isn't too bad at all.
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