Buggy on air ride

[ocdgarage]

I bought a fairly beat body/roof and a pair of floor sections from a guy in Black Creek about 20 years ago, roughed the build together, got distracted for too long with other things and now am determined to finish this build. Along with the IRS suspension I opted for 2x3 rectangular steel perimeter frame with heavy gauge steel floor pans. The body bolts to a metal frame with a 1 3/4" body lift which in turn bolts to the floor. The body lift was necessary as the rear tires would otherwise contact the underside of the rear wheel openings at full drop. There's a lot of fiberglass work ahead but I'm waiting for warmer weather to start that.

I have a 1600dp I believe to be stock, but is very clean and came with an 009 distributor + lightened flywheel. I'm planning to clean/paint the motor, new carb, electronic vacuum distributor, Baja type header with muffler and some dress-up parts. Once the buggy's on the road I can always build up a cammed 2L. for it.










The motor and transaxle received a 3" lift to keep them and the exhaust off the pavement when 'rail'n. The rear section of the tunnel had to be cut and raised to allow clearance between the shift rod and the e-brake system.

[ocdgarage]

Made some progress with the seat build for my buggy:

[1hotvw]

that's like a hard tail bike

[PICTUP]

Nice work! What complement of tools do you use?

Thanks for the pics...keep 'em coming

[ocdgarage]

Jan 23, 2023 18:51:51 GMT -8 PICTUP said:

Nice work! What complement of tools do you use?

Thanks for the pics...keep 'em coming

The seats are 16ga mild steel, I used cardboard to build the seat in 3d and that became the template. I cut it out with an electric shear you can buy at Canadian Tire. From there it was a 4" angle grinder to trim and polish the welds and rough edges. I used a 2" hole saw to drill the speed holes and finished with a dimple die. A hole saw was used to cut the ends of the seat belt slots and a jigsaw used to open it up. I don't have any fancy tools like an English wheel so I made a plywood form to hold the upright part/seat back and the base while I tacked it together. The forming was done over a length of plastic sewer pipe.

[ocdgarage]

And then there were two... I'll be drilling mounting holes for the seats/belts shortly. Once bolted down, I'll start sourcing materials for the upholstery. I've got wind lacing coming to line the seat edges and a 1" dimple die to add some more holes to the project.

[ocdgarage]

First part of the steering wheel/column support was fabricated today, it'll be much easier to move the car around the workshop now. The missing dash panel will be notched to fit the '72 column, then glassed back in once the weather warms up a bit. Still waiting on my steering wheel adapter to arrive from the US.

[Volktales]

Are you going to have enough depth to mount gauges in the panel with that metal hoop there? Why I am asking is we had a customer built buggy and he had various clearance issues. When I wired up the windshield wipers to work, the mechanism smacked into the steering column! Not fun at all...

[ocdgarage]

There will be no gauges above the steering column, the plan is to create a vertical console between the seats which will have the GPS speedo at the top, followed by the air ride controls/gauge, then all the volts, oil pressure, etc in descending order. The wiper assembly seems like it will fit too but that's yet to be confirmed. There is about 1/2" between the hoop and the back side of the dash, the wiper assembly should hang just in front of the hoop but we will see what happens once the wiper assembly is sucked up tight against the body.

[PICTUP]

Jan 29, 2023 20:10:07 GMT -8 ocdgarage said:

Not being a Bug owner nor driver(I think I have driven 2 or 3 in my life), how is the clearance for the left foot with that steering column brace? It looks tight, but maybe my inexperience is showing.

Am I correct in assuming this is going be a street legal buggy? Is the registration all good? I only ask these questions because when trying to pass inspection, I got caught on 4 point seat belts not being compliant with the law. Seemed stupid but maybe they are too much for emergency situations in the "regular" world(ie not the race world where they are actually safer as is my understanding). Dave from Port Alberni will of course know all the regulations in and out, being in heavy in the industry. Anyhow, I fitted regular ones for the inspection but never got to getting the inspection done before realizing the vehicle was not for me. One of my many 2-steps back .

I see you are hosting your pics on thesamba.com . Everett Barnes encourages that for his site so they seem quite protected....Smart plan! Nice clear pics too

[ocdgarage]

Nice to know the windshield wiper assembly and the dash panel fit okay with the new column support in place. There will be no gauges above the steering column, the GPS speedo will be in the centre, with air ride controls/gauges down the vertical console which will soon be entering the CAD mock-up phase.


Pictup: I had the seat belts from a previous project, they looked the part for the theme of this build. I never thought they'd do too good a job for inspection to be honest as dune buggies offer about the same crash protection as a large motorcycle with a faring (lol). Like the air ride, I'm sure there will be 'temporary inconveniences' when it comes to the inspection stage. I have more room for my left leg with the column support than I do for my right foot on the gas pedal, I'm an average sized European, I don't see a problem. I'm happy with the pics from my new phone, (thanks!).

[1hotvw]

are you going to do a roll bar and tie the steering support to it and down to the frame horns, from which you could run mounts for rear bumper cage??

[ocdgarage]

Feb 5, 2023 17:32:08 GMT -8 1hotvw said:

are you going to do a roll bar and tie the steering support to it and down to the frame horns, from which you could run mounts for rear bumper cage??

I will be adding more to the single hoop starting with the console I'm now working on. Next time the body is off I'll likely add a couple more tubes in that foot box area. Plans include a rear bumper cage (the deluxe Cip one) which will tie into the rear air ride frame work/shock mounts. As I want to be able to remove the body for repairs, mods, etc, my plan is for a bolt in roll cage which will likely connect to the steering support as well. I'm not planning on a fully tied-in front to rear welded cage, the car's for cruising and showing mainly, not serious racing. There will be additional frame work up front, tying the front beam in with a support for the fuel tank.

[ocdgarage]

Finished the cardboard mock up, then transferred the measurements to 16ga sheet metal and cut out the face of the console. Plans are to fill in the buggy's dash, mount the gauges to the console behind and cut out new openings for speedo + air-ride gauge/controls on the upper section. The middle will have two pairs of gauges and the lower section/sides will have more speed holes. The console will be spaced slightly away from the fiberglass dash and will be welded to the steering support hoop and main tunnel.

[ocdgarage]

This is an early test fit, but once the console is finished I'll have lots of useful information + central control of the air system instead of four Schrader valves. Lots of fiberglass repairs to do soon too.