another buggy tale..with a good ending..well hopefully

[heywebonya]

If you are going to add side baskets or nerf bars add them now. Very simple and useful.

Keeps tools out of the buggy and my kids use them to climb in (my father in law too)
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If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!

[chriswitvw]

Hey, those are nice, useful and look great, but I like the looks of the berrien side pods I modified to fit on my buggy. When I am done I will paint it all orange, I was going to go with yellow but I changed my mind. Nice work too.

thx

[chriswitvw]

Well did some more work, but ran out of argon mix again. Should have opted for the much larger tank. The skeleton is looking very good. Flipping everything over has made it quite easy to dimension all the fabrication work. Since I planned everything based on the present measurements, the fit to the buggy body is perfect. I think I will add some extra supports on the frame horns....cant hurt. cut pieces and weld all open end, weld in floor mounting supports..ect. I am starting to plan for sandblasting and coating ....maybe within two weeks. Need to do a little troubleshooting I think my starter cap on my compressor is failing. Based on reading another one of Joes builds I purchased a rubber trans mount instead of the current solid mount...I love this site....great info!! ...I think the real hard work is done.....starting to dream of a nice solid rolling chassis.

[joescoolcustoms]

That brace looks good. The build is looking good.

I would suggest running two more shorter pieces forward and down to the tunnel bottom. Take off right from the forward stopping point of those two braces and angle them inward leaving the position of the ones you have currently just like they are. Aim to hit the bottom of the tunnel right where it necks down to the consistent size. This will do two things, transfer the rear loading of the horns to the chassis, and act to lift the buggy up over objects in the road instead of catching on the created ledge.
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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

[chriswitvw]

Hey Great advice Joe...and makes a lot of sense too. Turned out great and looks really strong. Might have too put in a V8...lol. Well putting the final touches on the bottom chassis before I flip it over and build up napoleons hat, finish the rear back wall section, install body mounting inserts...ect.. I capped off the open supports pretty happy with how it is going.

[hillmotorsports]

I'll make the same suggestion here...consider adding vent/drain holes to your capped tunes.

I know you're likely watching so what say you Joe?
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Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)

[chriswitvw]

hmmm...I am not sure , I tried to weld them completely shut so water cannot ever get in..??

[joescoolcustoms]

[chriswitvw]

Yes. . a valid point either way. I will inspect my welds and if I can not be sure they have been completely sealed I will drill some drain holes.
Thx for the suggestions!!

[chriswitvw]

Well, I did some more chassis fabrication. I welded in all the necessary supports for the aluminum diamond plate floor I plan to use. I did not really want to raise my body at all, so the way I measured and fabricated my chassis was slightly different than some. The 2" perimeter box tubing sitting on the 1" cross supports was a perfect fit for the body sides. I needed only a 3/4'' box over the napoleon hat and just to tie the 1" box tube to the rear. Might help to look at the pictures, but this created a perfect platform for the body. I was going to run some tubing or something for all the wiring, lines, because I don't want any inside the buggy. I noticed I could use the 2" box tube to run all the items through. So I tied the box 2" box tubing to the napoleons hat with some cross ties to leave the ends open for the wiring ect. I rounded all the edges so I don't abrade any wiring. I marked all the bolt holes and will get some coupling nuts and drill and weld these all in. I will get the floor cut and installed, then remove it and sandblast and coat it with summit chassis shield. I plan to carpet the tunnel maybe with some snaps for removal.

[chriswitvw]

I completed the floor for the chassis, I chose to use 3/16 aluminum diamond plate. The first time I saw this I thought it looked great. I just used some cardboard and made templates and cut it out using a jigsaw. I drilled and tapped the cross members and used stainless steel flat head socket cap screws to mount everything. I mounted some 1" angle aluminum trim, just to give it that finished look. I now have to take everything apart for coating. I was going to use summit chassis shield, but it can not ship to Michigan. I will order some u-pol raptor to apply after I dis-assemble and sandblast. You can see my buggy body sitting outside of my building, with everything spread out I am making quite a mess inside. This weekend was really nice weather, I missed driving it......hopefully this summer..

[chriswitvw]

As I wait for a little better weather to sandblast and paint the chassis I decided to address some of the other needs. My trans is working fine, but I needed to replace the boots and paint it. I chose the one piece German boots so I needed to completely remove the axles. This was not a fun job at all. It took much work to remove the outer housing from the shaft. I will degrease everything clean, abrade with a 3m pad and paint everything. Next I will completely put a new front end on the chassis. I have a brand new OEM front beam, and new everything. As you can see from the pics, this was overdue from rust. I am probably lucky it did not fall apart over a bump...I cant wait until I have a nice rolling chassis....

[chriswitvw]

well... just a little update... I am waiting for a little nicer weather to sandblast and paint the chassis I decided to work on the trans and front end. I took the axle shafts out to strip and paint the trans. The front end requires much more. You can see the rust holes in the current one. I purchased a while back a nice german front end. I am sanding and painting everything. I am using all new ball joints tie rods ect. I purchased some 2"1/2 drop spindles to lower the front end a bit. Lucky I have a 20 ton press, pressing out the old ball joints was not very easy at all. I plan to remove the four small torsion plate springs from both tubes, and keep the larger ones to ease the ride a bit. I am hoping to make everything like new so I get many years of problem free enjoyment.

[chriswitvw]

Well, It has been a while since I posted my progress, It seems the degreasing, repair takes quite a bit longer than I Planned. Probably it always takes longer than planned. I degreased my trans, axles, steering box ect. Painted everything a nice satin black. I also noticed I had a bad rear bearing, so I changed that. I completely rebuilt my front end, with drop spindles, new ball joints, new tie rod ends, absolutely everything brand new. I reduced the number of torsion plates in my front beam to help soften the ride. With weather improving I went back to sandblasting the chassis. I finished it up this weekend, I coated it with u-pol raptor bedliner. I was very pleased with results, like a hammered black satin look. After a few hours in the sun I moved it back inside. I put the new front beam on with caster shims. I also installed the floor pans. Next I will work on installing the trans axle, front and rear drums ect....soon I hope to have a rolling chassis...It may not look like too much, but it really has been a lot of work to get this far. Lots of weekend sacrifices to keep it moving along!!

[chriswitvw]

Did some more work last night. I decided to use 2 1/2" drop spindles to lower the front end a bit, rather than cutting my new german front beam. I was very concerned by my choice of parts because the new spindles had a side note that they required a different type of bearing and tie rod end than the 1966 chassis I have. Couple that with the fact that I converted to front disks which used adapter plates for the caliper mounts, new rotors ect, I expected that everything would not match up. I was very happy when my new made in Germany bearings ect. all went together, the calipers mounted correctly and I was able to install the front wheels. I removed the upper and lower portion of my torsion plates in my front beam, I was hoping this was correct as it would be quite a bit of work to re- assemble if I was wrong. Again I was happy when I put on the wheels lowered it down and it seemed like a improvement. I could stand on the front end and jump to bring it down, but I am sure even with the gas tank in the front it will be fine and improve my ride. Next time to assemble the rear end so it will be a roller....YES!!

[chriswitvw]

Well I officially have a roller. If you never have done this before...I can tell you I am amazed how much work and planning it has taken. I am very happy so far. I ordered the nice german 1 piece boots, only to find they are impossible to put on, unless you cut the axle housing or something.I will replace them with the split boots. Now I will start running brake lines, clutch cables ect. there is plenty to do!! With the 2 1/2" drop spindles I really like its stance.

[joescoolcustoms]

Those original swing axle boots can be a pain to get on, but worth the effort.

Turn them inside out, then put them on over the transaxle end and slide the retaining ring over them. They will go, but do not use any tool to pry with that has any sort of edge or it will split them.

Chassis is looking nice!
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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

[chriswitvw]

Joe, so the non split boot will go over the end that looks kind of like a funnel? The end of the boot for the axle is maybe a 2" diameter and the funnel looking part is like a 5" diameter. But inside out it will stretch over it? If so is it worth the dis assembly effort to use the non split boot instead of the split boot?
thx

[joescoolcustoms]

If it were mine, yes. I have one more sets of split boots, then all mine will only be solid boots. I have done three like this.

This guy appears to have heated the boot in hot water as he put it on.


Link

_________________
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

[chriswitvw]

I will take your advice. Thank you so much Joe for the video. I already have some nice german boots. I know what I will be doing this weekend. Next time I will ask you before I do it wrong or give up....
thx again!!