Beginner buggy build

joescoolcustoms · Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:46 am Post subject:

Not the first time around the block, but the first time you roll out to go somewhere, with all your small punch list done, you will feel great about it.

Put a new, good quality coupler in there and forget about it. Spring is coming, push on.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

ammocan · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:49 pm Post subject:

10 hrs cutting and lots and lots and lots of welding today. I got the other pan traced and cut out. Spent a little time perfecting the fit but its amazing how nicely parts fit when you spend a little extra time on the template. I then spend several hrs just welding. I wanted the pan fully welded and I wanted it to look pretty so on the top especially I took my time to get a good result. Anyway big mile stone today with the floor pans completed.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

its not perfect but I was very pleased with the final product.

_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

heywebonya · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:59 am Post subject:

Great floor plans, I may be taking my body off and adding sid bars and re doing the back portions.
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If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!

ammocan · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:55 pm Post subject:

9 hrs today. Today I focused on the rear end and got the rear support for the roll cage and rear seat all done. a few notes on what I did. the rear end is tight and very little room for extra steel back there so I used 5/8" solid bar to give me the strength I need and fit in the tight space and moulded the end of 1 1/2" tubing to weld to the bar. the storage built into the fiberglass takes all the real estate. Even with the bar I still have some tight fits. I utilized every possible mounting point to weld to and triangles for strength as I have seen others do. When it was done it feels crazy strong. and I did the cross member to support the rear seat and to have mounting point for the rear seat belts. to mount the rear bumper/cage I used the idea I saw on Joe's puzzle Manx with the slip on fittings. Don't know if this was your original idea Joe but Kudos on that one.

Poor planning and forgetting to order pipe couplers left me to fabricate my own. it wasn't too bad to do only took about 30 min but a few notes on this. make them in pairs and keep them in pairs because when you drill them out they will not be as uniform and consistent as factory made. I drilled them in pairs and used a bolt to keep the first hole lined up. these are a bugger to fit if the holes are even a little off and you generally have to get the drill out again to ream out the holes if they do not match

_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

ammocan · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:49 pm Post subject:

So I have had a lot of thoughts about this build and on paper it looks good but there is a lot that goes on that's not in this thread like home life, body aches, finances, and your mental state.

First off I did mention in the past that I have gone to bed sore well let me be frank for a minute. in the last 2 days I HURT like hell. not only have I been sore but today I felt like my back would give out and I have a shoulder that hurt so bad yesterday while welding I just stopped and on my knees I just stared at the floor pan for like 15 min and went into a daydream until I felt like I could go again. For those of you who do this kind of work for a living hats off to you because you WORK for a living! I thought I would sleep better but I hurt too bad to sleep well. fortunately I sit on my butt all day at work so I will recover when I go back.

I will follow this with my mental state. Every day I had set aside to work on this project I actualy thought Nah I would rather just sit and watch TV. I have to have a motivating factor fortunately I have several. First Off I dream of the day when I get to park my ride next to many of yours for a photo op and compare scars and build ideas. I constantly think about taking my family to explore the mountains in it. My 4 year old daughter asks me almost every day "dad are you fixing the buggy?" and my wife even has commented about being excited to take it camping. another motivator for me is comments from you guys on the samba. It has helped a lot to have positive feedback.

This brings me to my home life. Let me say this. If you start with a project and a wife and end with only a buggy you have failed. I have planned every day I work in the garage with my wife so she is not frustrated with me when I just disappear for a whole day or several hrs. my wife has been great to let me spend so much time on this project especially since I have so little free time anyway working a full time and a part time job. it also difficult to get it all done and spend time with the kids but I try realy hard to make it all work. how you ask? reference paragraph 3.

Next is finances. I looked an many other build before starting my own and thought where do these people get all their money but I have changed my tune on that. I would not claim its a cheap hobby but relatively speaking its leftovers compared to 5 star dining in the car world ( I love leftovers). in the off road world you could easily build 3 buggies for the price of 1 Polaris RZR at an out the door cost of $24,000. I work 2 jobs to pay the bills but we do have a little spending money and working with my wife she has helped by setting aside a little money each month to pay for the project. Yeah some of the funding came from credit but its pennies compared to the side by side we almost pulled the trigger on last spring and I will own this buggy free and clear a few months after completion.

anyways this is my rant but being this is a beginner build I thought all you considering this type of project should know whats going on behind the scenes. please do not assume this is all peaches and cream. Its sad to see project not getting done. I saw a post by a guy who had his pan finished then it was pushed outside and sat to succumb to the elements and time all over again. I believe projects don't get done because of being ill prepared in many ways.
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

joescoolcustoms · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:20 am Post subject:

Nice work, good thought process. Keep up the struggle, it is worth it.

The original under carriage support bracing was not my idea first. It was original to me the first time I did it, before I found the internet and saw that other people had made similar design's. It is a engineering aspect that adds a lot of strength to the overall chassis structure.

For your build rant, been there, just last night, and again right now. I am on the computer in the middle of the day because my body is beat down. I have been shoveling snow off the garage driveway so that in three days when we get a heat wave, 38* F, I will have a clean area to sand blast the chassis I am working on.

When I met and married my wife, I was in the middle of building a '64 Chevelle Drag Car. Narrowed rear, 22 point cage, nitrous and so forth. She accepted who I am and the need for me to have a creative outlet. We are a good pair, and I am changing almost the whole aspect of the Puzzle Manx for her. Pulling the wheels inward to make steering easier, lowering it so she can get in/out better, disc brakes so it will require less peddle pressure to stop. She will be going on the ECVW '15 trip with me and I will need her to be able to drive it at times. It is good your wife is involved, try to pull her in more, like decisions on colors of even the smallest stuff like suspension components, seat positioning, seat belt placement so it if comfortable for her. The more she is involved, the more she will enjoy taking part in the use of it.

Finances. A car hobby is expensive, period. Our hobby is one of the cheapest of the set. I try and keep a few hundred available for when deals pop up, I can get them. I just scored a disc brake set for the front of my buggy, composite rotors, dual piston floating calipers, wide five with wheel studs, braided lines, new, just older. $ 300 shipped. By buying some used, and some at sweet deals, I saved about $ 6 K building my buggy, if it were all bought new.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

ammocan · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:42 pm Post subject:

thanks Joe I have involved my wife a lot and she enjoys being involved. the seats were just for her because she demanded cushioned seats and specifically requested the black and white ones. she is also picking the paint color and she is going to try her hand at sewing the top for it which Im very excited about but I never thought about things like drivability. much to think about. Thanks again.

Heywebonya - thanks for the comments as well but if your car is in good working order don't take it apart! Why would you do that to yourself? Who am I kidding as soon as I get mine done I will probably find another reason to take mine apart again. we all seem to be gluttons for punishment.
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

ammocan · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:45 pm Post subject:

only did 3 hrs today between errands and tired bones that's all I could muster. I got a few things done including the body mount studs. I got coupling nuts that are 1 3/4" long for 1/2" bolts these are barely wider than 3/4" outside points so I drilled 3/4" holes and pounded them in with a hammer so they were just snug and welded them in place. I have seen a few others do this and get really fancy like turning the nuts round but this worked really well for my body mounts and was actually pretty quick. I drilled the holes with a step bit. this is the first time I used one and debated buying one because they are sooo expensive but after drilling a dozen holes it was a slick little tool and totally worth the money just use cutting oil and it should last. after I welded and grinded it smooth I ran a 1/2" tap into it to clean it out. slag flies in there and you cant get a bolt in there after welding and grinding. I also got the rear frame braces done that connect the pan to the torsion tubes.

_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

Hacksaw44 · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 9:26 am Post subject:

Great Project !! Welds look great . Man I need to get started lol

ammocan · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:36 pm Post subject:

so here is a learning experience. I have very little bending to do and as I mentioned before I do not have a bender and I do not have one budgeted since I am currently blowing all my money on a buggy. I have a very simple rear cage for the kiddos. its simple and can be completed in 2 possibly 4 bends. see picture below. anyway I spent like an hr on the phone trying to find a local shop to bend the tubing for me an I found one shop kinda close but he quoted me $70 to do the bends. it doesn't sound like much but its a lot when the budget is gone.
I tried an alternate option to cut and weld and I mocked it up and I hate it and I would just be disappointed with myself forever if I left it so the end result is I wasted 3 hrs and about 8ft of tubing.

so now I differ to the experienced for options, Ideas, or anyone that is viewing this that lives in Utah with a bender willing to help. I suspect I will just have to come up the the 70 bucks.
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

joescoolcustoms · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:15 pm Post subject:

Early in my life, I cut a few corners, not safety, but things involving looks or style. I learned to wait that little more time and do it the way I wanted to see it a year from now. Because, a year from now, I would look back and think, it was only that little bit more and I could have had it the way I wanted it.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

ammocan · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:42 pm Post subject:

So i was given a recommendation to check with exhaust shops for bending capabilities but I originally checked muffler shops for bending and for exhaust flange couplers but i struck out everywhere I called. Places that did exhaust work had extruding benders for thin wall exhaust pipe and the crimp benders that leave 30 little crimps in the pipe like the cheap fittings you get at an auto parts store and none of these shops had the flanges i was looking for. I was dumbfounded that there was no shop around that could help me BUT i started calling around again and someone recommended an old muffler shop about 20 min away. I called them and they said it would be no problem so i took my tubing to them and they did both my bends for 10 bucks. They bend tubing all day long for $5 a bend. This means this muffler shop would do all the bends in a 6 point cage for the same price as the dude that quoted me $70 and they are tight perfect bends.

if this helps anyone in my area here is the shop info
RICKS MUFFLER
227 W 990 N, Orem, UT 84057
(801) 225-5404

NICE SHOP GREAT DUDES AND CHEAP!
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

jrailer · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:51 pm Post subject:

I was going to say ricks he his a great guy

ammocan · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:53 pm Post subject:

So I did 6 hrs today. I did some straps along the rear of the tunnel where i did all of the repair work on the original builders shortening job. I also smoothed out the really ugly welds by laying down a few beads to fill in the gaps then ground it smooth and it turned out pretty decent. The photo doesn't do it justice. Once it has a coat of bed liner it will look pretty good. I'm sure you perfectionists will also note all the splatter that I need to clean up. Don't judge me its an archaic stick welder.

I then did the rear seat roll cage. I am very pleased with the result with the bent tubing rather that the cut and weld job. Its amazing how different the look is. I also changed the angles slightly and got a ton more head clearance without changing the look much

I am so glad I waited and put in the extra effort to get it done the way I wanted.
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

joescoolcustoms · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:31 am Post subject:

Looks good!

For the welding, now that your chassis is super strong with the extra metal you have put in around the tunnel cut, use a little body filler to "flow" it the rest of the way smooth. Once I am almost ready to shoot the final coats on my chassis, I go through with maybe 2 to 3 ounces of filler and just add where needed to make it look really smooth. Most say the bed liner will hide it, but from experience, some still shows through.

Keep it up, you are closing in on the finish line!
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

wythac · Samba Member Joined: August 02, 2004 Posts: 2791

Some of my mig welds don't look as good as your stick welds! Very nice work. Someone told me once that spatter is an opportunity for brushing up on your grinder skills! (Not that I see any in your pics).

ammocan · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:02 pm Post subject:

joescoolcustoms · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:26 pm Post subject:

Since I use so little on my work anymore, (don't much fool with metal cars, just fiberglass), I buy the best auto body filler I can, but only in a quart. Gold series. Usually the quart will last me several years. Since you have built strength into your chassis, it will not be flexing and any fillers will not pop out. The glass fortified fillers are OK, I just prefer standard filer.

Here is a chassis I just finished, and used seam sealer on. I will shoot the paint on it in the next hour. You can see the small amount of filler I use, and this one is a lot because I had to replace the entire E-Brake section due to the chassis flexing and was broken. Max thickness is about 1/16 inch, just to make it smooth. Normally it is just right at the shortening seam.

I do not know your skill level with body work and paint, so, putting a time line on it would be anything but accurate. Two sayings come to mind:

The last 10% of the build takes 90% of the time.

It will be finished once you are done.

You are making good progress and no matter how long it takes, you cannot get done by worry about the time. Don't kill yourself, keep steady and it will finish.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

ammocan · Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:38 pm Post subject:

8 hrs and I got done the front dash support. its not part of the cage but it will serve me in a few ways. It gives me a much better mounting point for the steering column which it did not have before. the wind screen will bolt to it through the fiber glass for more rigidity and I integrated a mount for my CB radio which I am very excited about. My Father and I decided that a CB was an absolute must since we were exploring the mountains in our buggies and most communication was honking the horn and yelling at each other so we are both installing them for this summer.

Im whittling away at my list to complete the chassis all that remains is

mounting seats
Seat belt mounts
relief in floor for pedals
seat belt supports for back seat
CB antenna mount and flag mount
front brake line supports
Modify front and back bumpers to fit new chassis mounts

I am working like crazy to get this list knocked out because I have tentatively planned to paint the chassis a week from Saturday.
_________________
skill comes by the constant repetition of familiar feats, not by one over bold attempt at a feat for which the doer is yet poorly prepared

heywebonya · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:41 am Post subject:

Great build and wonderful rear cage. This is just what I want, be a great place to mount a spare tire out of the way too.

Jeff
_________________
If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!


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