TheSamba.com :: View topic - Dune Buggy Golf Cart Project (with Hampton kiddie ride body)

Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:33 pm

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is I met with the body & paint guy who will be helping me build my project. The bad news is we decided that rather than grow this kiddie ride body to fit the golf cart, we're instead going to try cutting down a full size body.

So I may have a spare kiddie ride body if anyone needs one. Also, I'm looking for a full size Manx style body to use in its place.

Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:23 pm

I found 3 full size bodies for sale near me so far. I hope to get one of them in the next week or so & soon start cutting it down to size (about 4/5 scale) to fit the golf cart. Here are the candidates so far:

Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:41 pm

Some big nasty meats would compliment the look...

Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:59 pm

Looks like that one on the right has some pretty low sides to start with.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:29 pm

HeidelbergJohn4.0 wrote: Looks like that one on the right has some pretty low sides to start with.

The one on the right has some pluses, though I think the low sides might be partially camera angle. It also seems to have a shorter hood, which would mean less cutting.

But I kind of like the other two better for shape. More curvy & less square looking.

Thanks & keep this input coming. It really helps.

Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:40 pm

I picked up the body today and after taking some measurements, it looks like there may be less cutting than I originally expected. The top of the dash is 42" wide and about 23" off the deck. Pretty close to the dimensions of the golf cart.

Off to the body shop for these next week. In the mean time, I'm shopping for tail lights. I've looked through the tail light threads here and am thinking chrome Beetle tail lights. If anyone knows where I can buy a couple, new or show quality, please let me know. Also I need a windshield.

Sat Feb 04, 2012 6:21 pm

A carnival ride buggy with these wheels would look great. However a full size buggy with these wheels? I'd stick with the original plan

Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:30 pm

BL3Manx wrote: A carnival ride buggy with these wheels would look great. However a full size buggy with these wheels? I'd stick with the original plan

Thanks for the input, please keep it coming.

It won't really be a full size body when it's done. It'll lose about a foot in overall length and about 5" from the width for the rear half. The snout is about the only part staying full width. (in order to fit the cart cowl width.)

So in general, with the overall size slightly scaled down, I think the wheels & tires being scaled down will be acceptable. I know that in the end, it will still be a golf cart.

Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:45 am

The front should look fine. I can remember seeing slalom buggies in the 60s with small diameter Goodyear Bluestreaks which looked pretty good.

In the back you have a bigger wheel arch to fill. You might consider cutting the fenders off the buggy, narrowing and shortening them, then glassing and blending them to the existing golf cart body just above the wheels.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:21 am

I searched the forum & saw that some have hinged the hoods on their Manx style buggies. I'm considering this idea. It would give me more storage and/or a place for batteries. (I have no fuel tank up there)

I like the idea of moving the headlight mounting bosses slightly inboard, from the fender to the hood edge. I think the easiest way to go is to use Jeep Wrangler style exterior hinges, probably polished stainless.

If anyone has advice on this set up, or suggestions on latch/strut/prop rod/hinge hardware, please let me know.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:33 pm

Won't putting batteries up front upset the weight balance over the front suspension? Be careful here, since the chassis isn't designed to carry much additional weight up there. Plus, momma won't be too happy if she can't drive it because the steering is too heavy! Keeping the steering light will be key.

That said, I think a lockable storage compartment up front would be nice to have. Something mostly water tight so you can carry light to medium weight stuff - jackets, food, etc.

You might try to look for or make some simple hinges like those on the Kick-Out rear cover. Seems like they'd be fairly simple to make using some aluminum stock? Might take a little trial and error to get the hinge action correct, plus find placement for some gas struts to hold it open.
You can alway mount lights on a front bumper (instead of the body) - since you don't have to worry about road legality, lots of options!

Some key-locking hood pins would secure it down, or if you want to step it up a bit: aerocatches
http://www.aerocatch.net/

I also like these for smaller (non locking) hood latches:
http://www.quik-latch.com/index.html

Oh, find some taller (wide) rear tires to throw on those wheels and I think you'll get the look!

Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:35 pm

GS guy wrote: Won't putting batteries up front upset the weight balance over the front suspension? Be careful here, since the chassis isn't designed to carry much additional weight up there. Plus, momma won't be too happy if she can't drive it because the steering is too heavy! Keeping the steering light will be key.
!

I am concerned about proper weight distribution and wasn't planning to put all 6 batteries out front. But just like you are saying that all the weight in the front might make the steering heavy, I was afraid that if I put it all our back I'd have the opposite problem. If they fit, I wouldn't mind putting 2 or 3 up front & the rest in the rear.

I like the locking compartment idea. Thanks for the links, too.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:25 pm

I took these pictures today. We're making progress. Besides the preliminary door cut outs (planning to do this "Resorter style" - thanks to GS guy for the idea), we've removed about 6" out of the rear fenders and some out of the center. We're discussing taking 3 or 4 inches out of the center of the front end, too. The space between the fenders & the tops of the tires is about twice what I want, so we'll be sectioning a couple inches out of the center of the body to reduce the height. (in other works, remove a chunk parallel to the floor)

Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:58 pm

Looks like its coming together very nicely. Also looks like you have some taller tires than before and you will be sitting in the back seat. It'll be a real head turner. Think about metalflake paint and a tuck and roll interior!

Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:24 pm

Looks good boomerang! Stay at it.

Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:51 am

Mid week progress report - the rear part of the body has been lowered (sectioned) about 4". Today the front end is scheduled to get a similar treatment.

Sunday we're planning to finalize the body mock up & Monday starts the fiberglass work. If you have comments to contribute, please chime in before then if possible.

Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:22 am

Nice work so far! Can I ask what steering wheel and column you are using in the cart?

Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:29 am

mstevens wrote: Nice work so far! Can I ask what steering wheel and column you are using in the cart?

We're hoping to change the angle & maybe the length so we can reuse the existing golf cart column. But that plan might change. I think Ididit makes a tilt column for EZ Go golf carts that's also under consideration.

Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:45 am

Larger diameter rims and tires would really make it look awesome. Troll craigslist....sometimes you can find rims and tires for about 400 bucks....

Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:51 am

MURZI wrote: Larger diameter rims and tires would really make it look awesome. Troll craigslist....sometimes you can find rims and tires for about 400 bucks....

Thanks and I agree. Current tires (23" x 10.5") are temporary, though I might stick with these (12" diameter) wheels.

I'm trying to make this project look as much as I can like a real street driven dune buggy but with (mostly) everything scaled down in size where practical. When you take 4/5 of actual full size wheels & tires, I think I'm about there. But I'm thinking something with more of a street and not off-road tread, maybe 25"x10.5" tires in the rear and 23"x 8.5" up front would help with the correct buggy look & rake.