Which engine and which frame ?

[Baloo]

hi baloo if i would of realised you was at Steve's today you could of popped round 2 doors away and had a look at my chassie as i started building 1 a while ago a bit longer at the back for the petrol tank and i made mine out of 40x40 box as i was planing on putting a 1800 rover in it but never got round to finshing it as i started building another 1 the same as Steve's and the other day i went to fit the mini seats and its a very tight fit so when you say a couple of inches wider that's a very good idea and i would think about raising the roll cage as when i sit in mine my heads very close and i think if you wore a helmet it would be eather closer i will look forward to seeing the pics when you start the build as it mite make me want to finish mine. here is a few pics of mine so you can have a look          http://photobucket.com/dave_060

hi boger
sorry mate l dident know you lived a couple of  doors up from steve or l would have popped up and said hello, l am still finding my way around the forum and whos who etc, had a good look through your pics and all looks good to me, funny l thought about 40 x 40 box too, how far away from finishing yours are you  ?,
cheers Andy

[Baloo]

well l have taken the plunge and decided l am going to biuld a buggy along the lines of a freestyle not quite the same but simalar, you know the sort of thing, a wheel in each corner and the engine behind the seats
l have to finish my present project before l start physically on this one but for the time being l am going to collect bits and make plans,
l had already decided that l wanted  to use a metro or mgf subframe in the rear since it opens up more engine options for later upgrades

its too late to change my mind now,    l have been and bought this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290337439346&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

seemed a good buy to me since it has the drive shafts hubs etc and already incorperates the handbrakes in the calipers

l will pester you all with questions later 







Andy

[boger123]

hi andy ive built the buggy ive just striped it down for paint my brothers flating the frame ready for paint and hopefully it will be ready to rebuild wednesday then i can start on the 40x40 frame as to me the 40x40 looks a better frame than the 25x25 but it is heavey  but i am thinking of doing one in all tube as i think that would look nice and a bit lighter than the 40x40.your  subframe looks a good setup what width is the front of the subframe where it will bolt up to the frame   cheers dave  

[Baloo]

hi Dave

so you will be out and about driving yours soon then  ,

the dimensions for the mgf subframe are 47" between the fixing holes in yellow, but you could easily lop them off and reduce it down to 41" red lines, if that was better



Andy

[Baloo]

on the subject of engine choice l was looking on ebay at the rover k series as l think that is what l am going to use, l was also pondering using an auto gearbox as l like them offroad, with this in mind l was looking at the under bonnet pics of various rovers and what struck me was that any rover that has any auto box has the engine backwards ie dissy at the drivers side instead of the passenger side, whys dis den, ?,
dont rover do thier own auto box as l assume the back to front engine is a honda unit ?





perhaps using an auto might also have the benifit that the engine is sat on the passengerside balancing up the wieght when theres only the driver in it

[boger123]

hi Andy so that subframe will line up with a standard freestyle frame as of the top of my head the back of the freestyle is 48inch's i reckon that will be a very nice set up better than the old mini subframe  what suspension are you using as for me driving my buggy about soon i don't now if you get the same but once you have built it you start loosing interst and you start looking for a next project (40x40 all tube) ???Ive been cleaning and painting all the parts for 2 days very boaring job cheers Dave

[Baloo]

hi Andy so that subframe will line up with a standard freestyle frame as of the top of my head the back of the freestyle is 48inch's i reckon that will be a very nice set up better than the old mini subframe  what suspension are you using as for me driving my buggy about soon i don't now if you get the same but once you have built it you start loosing interst and you start looking for a next project (40x40 all tube) ???Ive been cleaning and painting all the parts for 2 days very boaring job cheers Dave

Hi Dave
           yes it looks like the metro/mgf subframe will fit up to the back of the chassis ok,  but what l dont know is how much wider the track will be ?,  and if its say 4" wider would you want to make the front wider as well to match it ?
yes l know what you mean about wanting to move onto the next project   lol, here's one of my next projects, its going to be a lawnmower 

l see there was a recovery truck in your photo album is it yours ?

Andy

[jason_l]

hi Andy so that subframe will line up with a standard freestyle frame as of the top of my head the back of the freestyle is 48inch's i reckon that will be a very nice set up better than the old mini subframe  what suspension are you using as for me driving my buggy about soon i don't now if you get the same but once you have built it you start loosing interst and you start looking for a next project (40x40 all tube) ???Ive been cleaning and painting all the parts for 2 days very boaring job cheers Dave

Hi Dave
           yes it looks like the metro/mgf subframe will fit up to the back of the chassis ok,  but what l dont know is how much wider the track will be ?,  and if its say 4" wider would you want to make the front wider as well to match it ?
yes l know what you mean about wanting to move onto the next project   lol, here's one of my next projects, its going to be a lawnmower  

l see there was a recovery truck in your photo album is it yours ?

Andy

Hi Andy, mine is 12'' wider at the back and im planning on leaving the front as it is. Its also been lengthened by over 12'' to accomodate the fuel cell. 

Also the smart car lawn mower looks great  ever since the smart car was released i have wanted one and then spray it orange and write flymo down the side and put a big grass box on the back for a laugh 

[Baloo]

hi jason  12" wider on the rear that sounds mean , you will have to rember that extra 12" when going through gate ways etc 
the best reference l can find for the track of a mini is 4ft or 1200mm if this is right then the mgf is nealy 8" wider at 1400mm, a bit more than l wanted really but l dont want to be shortening drivesnafts so l might go with it,
l feel the front could do with widening a bit maybe 100 to 150mm but the steering rack will be the limiting factor here unless the metro one can be used which l am just investigating, l quite like the small size of the freestyle so l dont want to go to big but would like to use stock subframes, driveshafts, steering racks etc so a bit more home work to do yet

andy

[jason_l]

hi jason  12" wider on the rear that sounds mean , you will have to rember that extra 12" when going through gate ways etc 
the best reference l can find for the track of a mini is 4ft or 1200mm if this is right then the mgf is nealy 8" wider at 1400mm, a bit more than l wanted really but l dont want to be shortening drivesnafts so l might go with it,
l feel the front could do with widening a bit maybe 100 to 150mm but the steering rack will be the limiting factor here unless the metro one can be used which l am just investigating, l quite like the small size of the freestyle so l dont want to go to big but would like to use stock subframes, driveshafts, steering racks etc so a bit more home work to do yet

andy

Gateways! I had problems getting it on a trailer, front went on fine then the rear almost fell of the edges of the ramps. I need to put a reminder on the dash that the rear is ALOT wider, It does have a smillar stance to a go-kart so should handle like one, with any luck!

I was going to widen the front but like you have already pointed out i didn't want to start messing around with new racks/suspension etc. Although i will be converting to Coilovers on the front anyway.

You have the skills to make something from scratch though and should easily be able to design something that will work! Good luck mate, keep us all informed.

Jason :d

[boger123]

hi Andy i like the look of your lornmower if i was you i would make the front the same as the back but i don't now if your planning to uses the same setup as a freestyle on the front as if you was it would be very simple to extend the plates to make the front a bit wider i just think it would look better if it was the same size on the back and the front and as for the recovery truck in the pic you can see it was mine but now its been sold as that's what Ive been making for a while here is some pic of what i was making before the buggy http://photobucket.com/dave_060  cheers Dave

[HolyCount]

I like the lawnmower too ---- might actually consider being seen in that one!!!!!

I'd say, keep the front narrow and widen the back, like Jason has done -- it looks a lot meaner that the standard buggy -- but needs that extra length too.

[Phaeton]

Don't know if any of these pictures are any use to you Andy, but these are some pictures of the subframe you have grafted onto the back of a Freestyle.

HERE

The geometry of the wishbone suspension of the front was wrong, it was positive with no adjustment. All it needed was new wishbones making slightly longer to correct.

Alan...

[Baloo]

hi Andy i like the look of your lornmower if i was you i would make the front the same as the back but i don't now if your planning to uses the same setup as a freestyle on the front as if you was it would be very simple to extend the plates to make the front a bit wider i just think it would look better if it was the same size on the back and the front and as for the recovery truck in the pic you can see it was mine but now its been sold as that's what Ive been making for a while here is some pic of what i was making before the buggy http://photobucket.com/dave_060  cheers Dave

hi dave

nice recovery truck,  must be very usefull to have your own recovery truck, certainly make a few more items on ebay buyable 
l have a ldv flatbed truck parked up that l always thought l would make in to a recovery truck but as yet have never got round to it,  but one day 

[Baloo]

Don't know if any of these pictures are any use to you Andy, but these are some pictures of the subframe you have grafted onto the back of a Freestyle.

HERE

The geometry of the wishbone suspension of the front was wrong, it was positive with no adjustment. All it needed was new wishbones making slightly longer to correct.

Alan...

thanks Alan some intresting pictures in there, so who's is that one ? or who biult it that far ?, looks like it has taken a while by the surface rust on it,
looking at the pics in there l see what l think of as a standard metro front subframe reconisable by me from the fact it has bottom wishbones which  l thought would be the same on all metros ?

then l looked at this one

and it dosent have bottom wishbones, so whats this one then an "A" series metro subframe ?

heres some pics of the mgf subframe l have









it might be based on a metro subframe but there is certainly a lot of differences like no wishbones

certainly confusing to the newcomer 
but l am learning slowly

l see most people convert to spring over shocks if they can, are the hydro suspension units no good then ?
since l have them there l was thinking about using them either individually or linked together ?
can you get valves that screw in to the unit so as you can pump each one or them up ?