TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu May 15, 2025 4:42 pm

Has anybody purchased plans from this site? The site has been up for 10 years and doesn’t look like there been any updates. I’m starting my first buggy build with an old tube chassis that was stripped of all parts including the front beam and rear torsion. I thought the plans would be a good reference.
thanks, Mike.

Thu May 15, 2025 5:29 pm

Just get your new front and rear and square them up. I'm sure anything you buy from there for that purpose is going to help minimally at best. Just get in there and weld it up!

Thu May 15, 2025 5:53 pm

Build it to fit you. I cut mine up and did stuff like widen it for comfy seats, rasie the roof, raise the horizontal bar the steering wheel attatched to. Made it fluffy friendly.

Thu May 15, 2025 6:39 pm

Everything you need to know is right here. Just ask

Thu May 15, 2025 7:00 pm

Yea, there are a few things to change and clean up. First thing is mounting the front beam and was debating whether I needed to mount it at 90 degrees to the bottom of the frame or lean it back a few degrees for caster. It will never see the street so it’s probably not that critical.

Fri May 16, 2025 6:10 pm

It's important. I think it 3 degrees back. Do a search to be sure, I know I have several threads about it.

Sat May 17, 2025 8:39 am

The stock setup is 3 1/2 degrees with a level pan. Most big and little tire setups mostly eliminate this. 1/4" at the axle mount is about 2 degrees.
Caster makes the steering a bit slower and much more stable. Grocery carts have little and wobble a lot. Chopper bikes have a lot and steer badly.
I like about 5 degrees off road, it just goes straighter this way, but can be a bit tiring on pavement.
Dennis

Sat May 17, 2025 9:13 am

I’ll plan on 5 degrees. Beam clamps are arriving today. Looking forward to this build!

Mon May 19, 2025 1:09 pm

If you're not happy with it but it's close, you can always tweak it by adding shims in between the mounts either on the top or bottom depending which way you go. You can do this only to a small degree so get it close to begin with.

Sometimes with welding and the warpage that can happen one side can be a little shorter than the other which is where this helps as well. Then you're not twisting the beam at all.