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Jamnajar Samba Member
Joined: August 28, 2006 Posts: 542 Location: Saratoga Springs, UT
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:33 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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How is your electric power steering working out? We are looking at adding it to our baja. _________________ Strictly Baja Official Utah Chapter:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/352715201562333/ |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 5:43 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Jamnajar wrote: |
How is your electric power steering working out? We are looking at adding it to our baja. |
Jamnajar,
So far so good.... We are running 33x10.50x15s all the way around on the car and the EPS has worked flawlessly on the street and in the dirt. We have put several hundred pretty hard pre run miles on it over the last few months and even more play miles. It still feels like new.
Just remember NOT to run a steering dampener with the EPS, it makes the computer think that there is a constant side load which will make the car wander and overheat the motor.
It's pretty cool not having a death grip on the wheel doing 70-80mph in the Whoops _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:27 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Haven't really updated anything on the build in a while so I thought I would share an upgrade. For the original build on the car we used a set of forged 2 1/2 x 1" front training arms. They worked well on the street and we did get about 400 dirt miles on them. After the upgrade to King coilovers and bypasses and a day of tuning, the car became an entirely new beast. The car no longer hit bottom on mid bumps or G-outs and it is confident and stable in the whoops at high speed.
Not many miles after getting the car dialed in, the frontend became very harsh, began rebounding scary slow and packing in. Upon inspection of the frontend you could see both lower arms had bent at the beam bushings.
During disassembly of the frontend we also noticed that both lower arms had bent inside the beam and all 4 arms had cracks at the point where the casting meets the shank and the 5/8 link pins were bent as well as excessive wear on all the bushings. Fortunately we discovered these issues before there was a catastrophic failure at high speed!
I got in contact with Dave at Kartek adout the issues with the frontend and how quickly things had transpired. We talked about how the car is used and budget then came up with a parts list. The car now has a new set of welded cromoly Woods 4 x1" arm 7/8" cryogenically frozen alloy link pins and new bushings. The photos below show the difference in arm size and material thickness.
The frontend is completely rebuilt and we have a solid 500 miles pre running and chasing without a single issue.
_________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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no1clyde Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2013 Posts: 365 Location: Elko Nv.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 11:15 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Alan in September I sheared a lower front arm off right where yours bent. Mine are my home made ones and I will be making another set using 1 1/2-1/2 wall
next set. I did a pretty good fix for our Utah Adventure and made the 783 mile run on it but was nervous LOL. I did have a few problems with other things like forgetting a couple welds 3 years ago and some bad CVs but we (me and my car) had another great trip and time
I find it interesting that we both tweaked front arms almost the same way at almost the same time in our cars lives
From our Utah trip last week
Ed |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:37 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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All comes down to my version of the old hot rodder's saying:
"Speed Costs Money. How fast can you afford to go?"
If you're gonna drive that hard and that fast and hit things, then the parts need to be strong. Many of the 5-open racers have upgraded to larger OD shanks on the trailing arms inside of larger diameter tube for the beam.
Then most of them can't seem to keep up with the 5-1600 fast guys. Dave mentioned above is one of the very few who can consistently run away from them. Just like he can run away from the rest of the 5-Open guys. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:24 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Dusty, I could not agree more! My right foot and my wallet have come to an understanding... If the foot wants to wear shoes it needs the lighten up on the go pedal Now I just need to figure out how get rid of the sharp rocks in the desert
_________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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pullstart Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2016 Posts: 599 Location: Middleville, MI
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:08 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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1fastbigguy wrote: |
Now I just need to figure out how get rid of the sharp rocks in the desert
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Play in the dunes? _________________ 4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.
my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0 |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:56 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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I think with a set of razors up front, some paddles in the back and another couple hundred horsepower sand would be a ton of fun! I spent a large part of my childhood riding ATC's, Quads and later Buggy's out at Pismo beach. We used to camp at Osso Falco lakes and ride out to Guadeloupe, Devils slide and to the Pier for clam chowder... Now only about 7% of the dunes are open, it's very sad. _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:45 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Well I've been working on that problem for the last 50 years or so. Try to round off several rocks every time I go out in the dez. Lots of sharp rocks out here though.
And to make it worse, folks and mother nature keep uncovering MORE. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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heywebonya Samba Member
Joined: July 08, 2010 Posts: 823 Location: Portage, MI
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Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 5:16 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Wow, what a great build and amazing buggy.
Thanks for sharing the updates. _________________ If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy! |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:11 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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heywebonya wrote: |
Wow, what a great build and amazing buggy.
Thanks for sharing the updates. |
Thanks for checking out the build! _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:17 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Well I didn't get to go to Baja but I did manage to get a great burrito at Don Lalo's!
_________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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pullstart Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2016 Posts: 599 Location: Middleville, MI
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:52 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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1fastbigguy wrote: |
pullstart wrote: |
Gotcha. I know right now with my 002 (I believe is stock build) I'm screaming down the road anything more than 60. Though I hardly ever hit that, I'm thinking a tire size increase will be beneficial at least once I go water cooled. Hopefully within two months... if I'm lucky! |
You are really going to enjoy that Subaru! My buddy has the 2.5 in his Thing with a Subi 5 speed. We had a clutch issue at the McKenzie's 250 last month so we had to do the entire race in second gear... needless to say the angry right foot held the car at about 6000 rpm's for nearly 6 hours. The motor never missed a beat!
Tire size increase will help, just be gentle with that 002 box or all the inside parts will find there way out! |
Well, I like the Subi so much I'm planning to pick up a couple 2.2/5 speed donors next week! I'd like to keep the 5 speed in a car (maybe have a 2 seater build?), does your buddy have any build page for the Thing... mainly showing shift linkage detail? It looks to be that they're stock solid linkage, but a cable type would likely be easier to route in a rear engine car.
I've also thought weather I should go with a reverse r&p or keep the car mid-engine, any thoughts from the desert? _________________ 4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.
my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0 |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 12:43 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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pullstart wrote: |
1fastbigguy wrote: |
pullstart wrote: |
Gotcha. I know right now with my 002 (I believe is stock build) I'm screaming down the road anything more than 60. Though I hardly ever hit that, I'm thinking a tire size increase will be beneficial at least once I go water cooled. Hopefully within two months... if I'm lucky! |
You are really going to enjoy that Subaru! My buddy has the 2.5 in his Thing with a Subi 5 speed. We had a clutch issue at the McKenzie's 250 last month so we had to do the entire race in second gear... needless to say the angry right foot held the car at about 6000 rpm's for nearly 6 hours. The motor never missed a beat!
Tire size increase will help, just be gentle with that 002 box or all the inside parts will find there way out! |
Well, I like the Subi so much I'm planning to pick up a couple 2.2/5 speed donors next week! I'd like to keep the 5 speed in a car (maybe have a 2 seater build?), does your buddy have any build page for the Thing... mainly showing shift linkage detail? It looks to be that they're stock solid linkage, but a cable type would likely be easier to route in a rear engine car.
I've also thought weather I should go with a reverse r&p or keep the car mid-engine, any thoughts from the desert? |
The Thing is set up with a solid shift shaft and a heim joint shifter. He doesn't have a build thread but I can get you some photos after Thanksgiving. Since your car is mid engine it will be a much different set up. If you what it to be rear engine you will have to get the reverse ring and pinion. I would say call the guys at Subi works and talk to them about what you want to do, how much horsepower you plan to build, the tire size you will be running and how hard you are going to drive the car. We had a case falure at our last race and are working with Subi works to come up with a solution.
Glad you are enjoying the power and the extra gear! _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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pullstart Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2016 Posts: 599 Location: Middleville, MI
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:48 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Well so far I'm still running a bus trans, stock with the EJ25. I'll be picking up two 2.2/5 speed Subi donors next week that I'm considering the pros and cons of each orientation of the trans. But pics of his shift linkage and whatnot would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! _________________ 4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.
my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0 |
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FishTaco Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2017 Posts: 1 Location: Long Beach
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:55 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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What an excellent build and thread! As I was reading I was curious if you had any issues getting it registered, since California seems to be pretty cranky about non-stock builds.
Thanks for the great thread. |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:45 pm Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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FishTaco wrote: |
What an excellent build and thread! As I was reading I was curious if you had any issues getting it registered, since California seems to be pretty cranky about non-stock builds.
Thanks for the great thread. |
Fish Taco,
Thank you and I'm glad you are enjoying the thread! We started the "rebuild" with a car that was currently registered. We only changed the worn-out parts, repaired some rust damage and added a little bit of tubing for bumpers and roll over protection... other than that she's pretty much a stock 1961 bug _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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mkparker Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2004 Posts: 332 Location: Sherman, Tx
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:12 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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I like that response! ^^^^
I know the info is in the thread somewhere, but could you confirm the dimensions of the "stockish" beam and rear trailing arms please? _________________ Michael
Pit Boy 6163 Spec Trophy Truck |
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1fastbigguy Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2012 Posts: 310 Location: Ojai, CA
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 7:19 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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mkparker wrote: |
I like that response! ^^^^
I know the info is in the thread somewhere, but could you confirm the dimensions of the "stockish" beam and rear trailing arms please? |
MK,
I don't remember the measurements of the worn out parts but here are the measements of the stockish replacement parts.
Front beam is 48" wide with 4x1 Woods arm's. Front track width is 85" @ outside tire sidewall.
Rear arms are 22" from center of outside pivot to center of axle and 25" wide. The rear track width is 84". I'm not sure what that equates to ( 3×3, 5×5, ?×?) but they are a tad bit wider than the swing axle was. _________________ Cheers!
59 Ragtop
61 Ragtop Baja
69 Squareback
@Dustydrone
#Ohibaja
Our Build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545394 |
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mkparker Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2004 Posts: 332 Location: Sherman, Tx
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:57 am Post subject: Re: Father and Son Baja Bug- Daily Driver |
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Just got back from China, thanks for the response! Car is outstanding! _________________ Michael
Pit Boy 6163 Spec Trophy Truck |
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