got an urge to biuld another buggy

[Baloo]

well hello, l havent been around much over the last few years but time rockets by and im retired now, sounds like i should have time on my hands but dont you believe it lol., we sold up and moved house so thats decorating on the list of things to do, and ahouse with no garage what was i thinking. ok well it did have 2 single falling down concert garages at the bottom of the garden but they weren't usable so they got reorganized into one 4 car garage, roof is not on yet but it will be by soon , so that gives me room to have another go at a buggy, i have a road registered Blitz2 in my collection, its pretty rough to small and under powered so i was thinking of doing something with it, maybe cutting it in half and widening it by 10" or so, A series engine needs to be retired was thinking maybe K series which i have or audi/golf turbo, but the thing i really would like to discus is the suspension as its mini based its far to little travel, its ok on smooth tarmac but off road forget it, l think i want long travel double A arm front and rear, thats going to require major surgery/modification but im ok with that.......
i understand how identity woks and as soon as i hack my frame up im into ive territory so maybe i will start with one of my spare frames or start from scratch im not even concerned if its front engined or rear engined, if it turns out to front then mx5 fits the bill as i have one
so where would you go ??

 

[ChaosMS]

Good to see your back Baloo! - You can guess where I stand on this, I would look at building a subframe in front and rear to take the double "A" arm setup its a lot of work whatever way you do it, and half way through youll wonder would it of been easier to just start afresh !!

 

[Phaeton]

Hi Andy, have you seen my thoughts in the Willie build thread, but you've done it before, you could either keep the MGTF suspension or just the bottom arms & do away with the towers & mount the shocks on the frame. Do you still have the 38mm bender or did you leave it behind in the workshop?

Alan.

 

[Baloo]

Good to see your back Baloo! - You can guess where I stand on this, I would look at building a subframe in front and rear to take the double "A" arm setup its a lot of work whatever way you do it, and half way through youll wonder would it of been easier to just start afresh !!

morning
i had a look at the blitz last night and i cant see it happening its all to small not enough space and by the time ive remade everything there wont be any blitz left so as you say i would be better off just starting again from scratch or using something bigger as a base, the blitz might get m mgf subframe bolted in the back and kept for road use

 

[Baloo]

Hi Alan will have a read through your biuld thread, and yes still have the bender, it has 3 dies cant remember the sizes but will have a look, i dident sell anything when i retired hence why i need a 4 car garage lol,

cheers Andy

 

[Baloo]

Hi Andy, have you seen my thoughts in the Willie build thread, but you've done it before, you could either keep the MGTF suspension or just the bottom arms & do away with the towers & mount the shocks on the frame. Do you still have the 38mm bender or did you leave it behind in the workshop?

Alan.

if you need a tube bender your welcome to borrow it

 

[Baloo]

my reasoning for wanting to use the blitz was its road legal and a recognized kit so would be easy to insure, its and old H reg so will become tax free which would make for a cheap toy to run on the road where as if i modify something like a suzuki vitara then its a modified car and insurance will be steep

 

[Phaeton]

TBH Andy I nearly bought a Blitz the other week, unregistered though, but came to the same conclusion that by the time I had chopped it about I couldn't decide if it was worth the £500 he wanted for it as I was going to change most of it, you're slightly different in that it's registered & you own it. But a MGF/TF in the back or TBH any FWD engine that's got a bit of a subframe where the bottom arms hang off it would do.

Yes insurance is getting to be a problem, both our Rav4 & Shogun initially came in with a 50% increase in price, bloody stupid,

 

[250buggys]

Hi Andy, have you still got the Micra engine Kin Road 650? That looked like a lot of fun

 

[Baloo]

Hi Andy, have you still got the Micra engine Kin Road 650? That looked like a lot of fun

this one ?



yep still got that one, im suppose to be thinning them out but its not working lol i bought another Chinese one a few weeks ago only because it was road registered and very cheap, has a cbr 600 engine it but ive not had it running whos ever heard of a ledlow ? might come in useful at some point

i quite like these the shape is almost there but not quite

 

[Baloo]

TBH Andy I nearly bought a Blitz the other week, unregistered though, but came to the same conclusion that by the time I had chopped it about I couldn't decide if it was worth the £500 he wanted for it as I was going to change most of it, you're slightly different in that it's registered & you own it. But a MGF/TF in the back or TBH any FWD engine that's got a bit of a subframe where the bottom arms hang off it would do.

Yes insurance is getting to be a problem, both our Rav4 & Shogun initially came in with a 50% increase in price, bloody stupid,

l think the blitz will have an mgf front and rear subframe fitted and be kept for road use, quite happy with a K series engine and box, ive got a steptronic mgf in the barn somewhere with the steering wheel mounted gear shifter thats what will probably go in in

i was looking at ncf outbaks earlier maybe thats the way forward for my next buggy

 

[Baloo]

l almost like the shape of these



and of course its just a vitara chassis so no iva and its a recognized "kit car" so its easy to insure
the thing i dont like with the look of them is the high bonnet line, i understand its a tall engine and its above an front axle so its going to be high but i think it could be made to look so much better



so if i ditched the inline 4 engine and went with something like a subaru engine which is much lower then i could redesign the front end and give it a proper buggy look

 

[250buggys]

this one ?
View attachment 2277
View attachment 2278

yep still got that one, im suppose to be thinning them out but its not working lol i bought another Chinese one a few weeks ago only because it was road registered and very cheap, has a cbr 600 engine it but ive not had it running whos ever heard of a ledlow ? might come in useful at some point

i quite like these the shape is almost there but not quite
View attachment 2279

Thats great you still have it, you have had that one for a good while.

The new one looks similar to an RL500. Looks like fun

Do you still have access to your off road track or is that gone now?

Great buggy collection

 

[Baloo]

Hi
sorry i dident explain that very well
the picture i posted is the shape that l like ( pgo 500 type )
this one

the one i bought the other day just because it was cheap and had a V5 was this one, havent had it running



i really quite like the pgo buggy shape just needs an automotive engine and box in the back to make it reliable/easy to get parts for

 

[Baloo]

Thats great you still have it, you have had that one for a good while.

The new one looks similar to an RL500. Looks like fun

Do you still have access to your off road track or is that gone now?

Great buggy collection

and yes i still have the track down in the woods i have a fast smooth ish track for buggies and im well on building an off road track that will require a serious 4x4 to get round

 

[250buggys]

Lots of hours off fun down there and so many toys. Good you still have your track.

A few people pop up here looking for parts for Chinese buggies. Never have any probs getting parts for the Freestyle so understand exactly what you mean.

 

[Baloo]

Lots of hours off fun down there and so many toys. Good you still have your track.

A few people pop up here looking for parts for Chinese buggies. Never have any probs getting parts for the Freestyle so understand exactly what you mean.

yep everyone i know with a Chinese buggy is looking for parts to fix them, it makes sense to use a common power train out of a car, i quite like the mgf engine, l think im going to biuld something on a vitara chassis very probably with a subaru forester engine and box

 

[250buggys]

Great, always good to follow another project on the forum. Hoping to see lots of pics.

 

[Baloo]

i can do pictures lol


i have this 2lt vitara which i removed the body off ages ago and then never did anything with the chassis, the 2lt bit is convenient as i have a 2lt forester thats rusted to bits and i think i will use the engine and box out of that so i will just update the engine number no capacity change for them to question, the forester is 4wd with a low box but l think im going rwd only, l can weld up the centre diff in the gearbox and remove the front diff in the gearbox and the vitara chassis

heres the rolling chassis still with the suzuki engine and box in



engine is now out but the chassis is as in pics, in my mind a buggy should be low at the front so i need to get an engine that is lower than the suspension towers



which is why im thinking subaru flat 4 but im open to any other suggestions for a power plant,V6's and V8's can be fairly low in height
heres a pic of vitara chassis with a rover V8 in from one of my projects 20 years ago, wow that makes me feel old



as you can see that sits pretty low, l like the sound of a rover V8 lol but the only thing i have against it is the insurance might be steep, will ponder that one, nothing much is going to happen before xmas anyway as im still building my dream garage at home amongst other things like a CNC plasma table, no chance of getting bored in retirement lol





i might strip the vitara chassis and get it shot blasted ready to start when the garage is ready for occupation

Andy

 

[Phaeton]

I still like this one that you did, needs bars coming from the roll bar to the front dash like the Freestyle, but it's all there.