Stev-o gets a Dune Buggy!

[SteveM.]

Hi all..

When I was a kid, a neighbor down the street had a buggy and I've wanted one ever since! It wasnt that high of a priority and I have no shortage of "toys" but the timing was right and yesterday I took delivery of this El Lobo...

I'll be using this thread to ask questions to the experts.

First order of business is replacing the 20+ year old bias ply tires. I may upgrade the wheels later but I'm ok with these wheels for now. This is more a "survivor buggy" not a show vehicle.

I like the staggered look and this will spend some time on off road trails so I want an all terrain tire on the rear. I'm not sure how large I can go on this vehicle w/o causing any issues? The motor is a 1500.
The two sizes I am looking at are:

31x10.5-15 and 33x12.5-15

The rear "wheel well" seems so large that I am leaning towards the 33"


BTW - here are a couple pics of some of my other toys...

'70 Corvette

'75 Kawasaki Z1 900

'74 Honda CB750

[joemama]

Very cool buggy! Looks awesome in that setting. Check out the transmission for dummies sticky in the offroad forum, it will help give you and idea of what ratio trans you might have. Kind of hard to tell from your photos, but looks like you might have long torsion bars in the rear, so keep in mind the clearance between the tire and the torsion bar cover. How tall is the tire you currently have on there? Measure that, and use that and how it performs with that engine/trans combo to help you judge how tall a tire you can run and be happy with the performance. My tires on my buggy are 30 x 9.5 x 15. I have a 1914, and 4.37 gear ratio. I would have gone with 31's, but got the tires I have on there now for free. They work really well. Another thing to keep in mind, is the tire sidewall. On a buggy, you might only run 18 lbs. of air in the back, to let the tires become part of your suspension, for a nicer ride. If your sidewall is too stiff, it wont let the tires flex much, so a tire meant for a heavy 4wd truck might not be ideal. Some tires, like the Pep Boys Dakota a/t, are offered in versions for both trucks, and lighter SUV's.
Love all your toys! I think youll find the buggy as much fun, or more than any of them. Looking forward to your thread.

[oprn]

Very nice classic Buggy complete with the old "rat trap" roll bar. My story is the same as your, always loved Buggies but just have my first one now in my old age!

As for tires, my fronts are 30+ years old and are now at the point that they have very little tread left. I go by how much weather cracking they have not age so much. Mine have virtually none!

My Buggy came with a 1600DP, 3.88 final drive and 27" tall rear tires. It struggled to gain speed in 4th gear. Hills were a bit of an issue too. Yes it did it but not easily.

I run 12 psi front and 24 psi rear if that helps. I get a nice even temperature across the tread at those pressures. Depends on your tire width.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[SteveM.]

[SteveM.]

[oprn]

This Buggy was built and first licenced for the street in '76 the tires easily be could be from the original. The chap who built it passed away, not sure when and his wife kept the car in a heated garage for over 20 years before selling it to a car flipper. All he did was put a used battery in it, replace a couple signal light bulbs and put it up for sale. The tires didn't show a lot of wear and hardly any weather cracking at all.

We drove it with these tires all over the three western provinces the first 3 summers we had it. I wore the rears out and when I wanted to buy new I was told that size has not been available for years. Now it's time for fronts and I expect the same story but not a problem. I want to go 15" Fuchs wheels instead of these 14" anyway.

No flats by the way, just one front that looses about 10 psi over winter.

If you have bias ply tires they are even older than mine! I highly doubt you could still buy bias plys 20 years ago.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Oh, the rat trap? Sorry almost missed the question. It was found that just a single roll bar with no bracing can fold over in a roll over and pin the passengers just like a rodent trap. A brace mid point up the roll bar and down to the rear shock mount goes a long way toward fixing this.

I would like to put a single roll bar on mine too just because it is period correct ant to me looks right. A roll cage of course it so much better but then to me it becomes something more modern.

I may go ahead and put one in with a brace if I can do it without it being too intrusive. Meanwhile I am doing my best to keep the rubber side down!

Nice Vette by the way! That was the last of the good ones before GM turned them into "luxury" sport cars!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[SteveM.]

Hey guys....I'm struggling with what size tires will fit on the back of my 1968 buggy. My buddy has some AT 31x10.5-15 that I can get for dirt cheap but now I am not certain that they will fit? The current bias ply tires are 27" in diameter and a quick measurement between the center of the rear axle and the "torsion bar" [plz excuse my ignorance of the rear suspension terms] is only 14.5", so it seems that the 31" tires would hit this. I want to stick with the wheels I have for now and really want some large AT tires on the back. Havent removed the rear wheels yet, but I believe there are adaptors on there, PO mentioned the wheels were 5x4.75 [Chevy] Plz advise....thanks

[y2kbaja]

31 should fit, I'm running 30 and they fit with room to spare. My class 9 swinger runs 33's and they fit.

[slayer61]

Wow! We must have different year of '68! My torsion bar is completely different... IE shorter

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[slalombuggy]

What size engine do you have?

Big tires totally screw up your gear ratios so an engine either moved torque is required. They also affect engine speed and slow the engine down at any given speed, which in turn affects fan speed, slowing it down and affecting cooling..

Old tires can look fine from the outside, no cracks or deformities, but they dry rot from the inside and can suffer sudden catastrophic failures. Saw it a few times when I worked at a Goodyear tire center as an apprentice.

[SteveM.]

[SteveM.]

[MrGoodtunes]

[SteveM.]

[joemama]

Clearance issues aside, the longer torsions are a plus since they give a softer ride. They would have been standard on a '68. Torsions are interchangeable, so you can go to shorter ones if you want way bigger tires, just need a different cover. As you said, my 30" All Terrains, actually measure 29"
Here is a picture showing how much clearance I have between the tire and the torsion cover.

Just over 1", maybe 1 1/8". If your 31's actually measure 30, or 30 1/2, you only need 1/2" to 3/4" at this spot. If the rims you currently have on there, are narrower than what is suggested for the 31's you are looking at, it will make the tire taller. I dont know thats the case, just something to keep in mind.

[oprn]

Also bear in mind that you may need a bit of room for rear toe in adjustment.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[SteveM.]

[SteveM.]

Havent done much to the buggy, replaced the rusty steering wheel [sorry no pic] and bought a horn. I struggle with wiring [I'm color blind] so plan to ask a buddy to help with that. I need to source front turn signals, it currently has remnants of vintage Yankee 975's.

Found a deal on some slotted mags that I couldnt resist, the wheels it came with were pretty rusty. And found a sale on some Cooper 235/70-15's, so had those mounted up.

Here is a pic of my rear suspension and the buggy as she sits. The front tires are old and too large, need to source some smaller ones.

[joemama]

Tires and wheels look good! Also, that tire size will help your performance.