MGF buggy

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Sounds good to me Andy, you were talking about wheelbase, how was the last one compared with standard?
 

Baloo

Member
I think the last one was a direct copy of the mgf around 90" wheelbase. Whats a freestyle wheelbase?
 

250buggys

Well-known member
Freestyle WB 73"

I could really use some extra space behind the seats for a bigger tank. Will be watching this build project with interest :)
 

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Chris, If you intend to IVA one then is behind the seats the best place? I know people have IVA'd a single one on the passenger side built into an extra firewalled box. My thought was to put the petrol tank inside the front subframe, although I'm not sure if that would be clased as a vulnerable area.
 

Baloo

Member
dont think i could get it down to 73" if thats what a freestyle is, must be because its a mini engine and you can get the seat right up against it,
i seem to remember those that have converted to a k series have stretch the wheelbase one way or another ??

when i put the seat right back in the mgf the seating is perfect for me but i am 6'4" so i wouldn't want it any shorter in the cabin the pedals are what they are so no space to be saved there so only leaves the space behind the seat which is the fuel tank in a mgf, and there isent a huge amount you could save maybe 4" if you had a front mounted tank but i think maybe the best place for the tank is where the mgf has it ? if it was front mounted and you hit a tree it would cover you in fuel when it ruptured ? i have a road legal blitz 2 that has a front mounted tank and it always worries me,



not a lot there to save by moving the tank ? and the exhaust is right behind the seat if you do might be wise to leave a bit more space as there is the turbo version out of the rover 75 wouldent want that warming your backside would you ?
 

Baloo

Member
im thinking that to make a jig i can roll the mgf over upside down then weld a couple of lengths of box section onto the subframes to tie them together then i can unbolt the subframes and lift the body off leaving the subframes complete with engine and box all the water pipes front to back the hydro elastic lines the brake lines etc all still connected, then i can make a chassis/space frame that drops onto the subframes
does that make sense ?
 

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Love it, you certainly have all the boys toys, the pipes certainly won't rust like the originals or cost as much as Stainless Steel lol
 

ChaosMS

Active member
Andy, Awesome looking good, excellent idea linking the two frames together to keep everything connected up!

Are you going to createe a jig for the buggy frame so you can repeat the build quickly?

Rich
 

Baloo

Member
having mixed thoughts about the original fuel tank, using it simplifies things in many ways with all the hoses etc but who needs a 400 mile range and how does the fuel get from the one side to the pick up pipe of the fuel pump, are they just relying on the fuel riding up the slope when you turn right and then getting trapped on that side of the tank ?







 

Baloo

Member
hi Rich
last time i just put the 2 subframes on the bench and joined them up assuming they were the same height to each other, which they are not lol
front subframe is about 40mm higher than the back which i dont think matters but its also at an angle which if i dont replicate will alter the castor angle( i think ) which might be noticeable on tarmac last one was only ever used in a field
not sure how much of a jig i will be making but at the very least i might keep the 2 subframes and suspension welded together that way it can go out on loan for anyone else who wants to have a go
 

Baloo

Member
it cleaned up pretty easy with the jet wash no idea how many miles it had done till i put a battery on it






pot luck
 

Baloo

Member
well striping the mgf was a right royal pain in the arse to many wires to follow and to many small nuts and bolts to undo but its done now so i have a pair of subframes sitting in the correct orientation to each other the right distance apart,



 

Baloo

Member
so decision time on many things starting with the wheelbase, would be ever so easy to chop some out of the length if that was the way to go ?
but im 6' 4" and only just fit in an mgf, pedals need to be in the same place or they will foul the wheels on full lock so the only place to steal some length from is behind the seats ? but this then throws out the gearchange which will move forward by however much you take out of the wheelbase unless you shorten the cables or waste some of the length in a loop, and the most i can see you can steal from behind the seat is less than 4"
im thinking keep it as a direct copy of the mgf ????
 

Baloo

Member
and i need to pump up the hydrostatic suspension as i have a list to port side, previous owner was lowering to make a racer
anyone near birmingham got a pump ?
 
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