Dirtbox Venom mini-buggy, 40+ horsepower!

[greaser]

Congratulations and it sounds like the wedding and honeymoon went great. The buggy is really looking good. 27 cans? You might have to invest in a paint gun soon. lol

 

[mysteryboy28]

You are going to place a bar above the a arm brackets correct?

absolutely. for now i'm enjoying having the clearance to measure and weld.

 

[mysteryboy28]

27 cans? You might have to invest in a paint gun soon. lol

i thought about that as i was putting the cans in the cart. lol.

 

[mysteryboy28]

a-arms done, tack welds on the back of the buggy final welded, front shock tabs fabricated.

 

[mysteryboy28]

seats mounted, and front end progress.

 

[n1kogr]

Its looking real good! What do you use for a floor on your buggies?

 

[supermanotorious]

this is inspiring, I have all the tools you do and this is motivating me to use them! I would like a little more info on bending the pipe/how much sand/etc and how you're bending the square tube, I did buy some steel to fabricate square bending dies but haven't quite gotten around to it for a lack of knowing how well to brace the inside of the arch, and how to fabricate a seat for the HF jack, I'm guessing a pipe with an I/D that fits snug around the jack...?

also, how do I calculate bend radius for square tube, I'd like to primarily bend 1.25" x .083 wall so would a 6" curve be appropriate? how tight can you bend it?

In other words, is there a known calculation for this? given tube size and thickness as variables?

****, just dont be lazy and google it lol

http://www.bendtooling.com/bending_formulas.htm

 

[greaser]

Sweet I am really loving the look it has also. That's going to be one hell of a buggy.

 

[mysteryboy28]

Its looking real good! What do you use for a floor on your buggies?

diamond plate aluminum.

 

[mysteryboy28]

this is inspiring, I have all the tools you do and this is motivating me to use them! I would like a little more info on bending the pipe/how much sand/etc and how you're bending the square tube, I did buy some steel to fabricate square bending dies but haven't quite gotten around to it for a lack of knowing how well to brace the inside of the arch, and how to fabricate a seat for the HF jack, I'm guessing a pipe with an I/D that fits snug around the jack...?

also, how do I calculate bend radius for square tube, I'd like to primarily bend 1.25" x .083 wall so would a 6" curve be appropriate? how tight can you bend it?

In other words, is there a known calculation for this? given tube size and thickness as variables?

****, just dont be lazy and google it lol

http://www.bendtooling.com/bending_formulas.htm

trial and error my friend. as for bending: round and square tube work fine with the same die (round dies). just try to get the square tube as level as you can - and bend! there is always some spring-back when you release the bender. so if you want a 45 degree angle, you usually have to bend to like 48 degrees or similar (depends on what you're bending).

when i make a double curved piece (both left and right sides curved 45 degrees) it usually takes about 8 inches off the total length. so a 60 inch piece would become a 52 inch piece. so you can assume you'll lose about 4 inches on average per side when making a 45 degree bend. that's about as formulistic as i get! lol.

 

[OzFab]

trial and error my friend. as for bending: round and square tube work fine with the same die (round dies). just try to get the square tube as level as you can - and bend!

Really? I tried that & all I managed to do was fold it. Could that be because I didn't fill it with sand?

 

[mysteryboy28]

oh, um yeah! thought that was a given. lol. always fill your tubes with sand before bending.

 

[exenos]

oh, um yeah! thought that was a given. lol. always fill your tubes with sand before bending.

Its not really a given because you don't have to fill the tubing with a proper tubing bender and most people assume that a pipe bender would work the same way.

 

[mysteryboy28]

i was going to make my classic hoop a-arms, but even with them packed with sand the heavy guage tubing ended up cracking just as i got them to the desired curve. so i opted for the classic tried-and-true triangle a-arms. easier to slap a bung bolt in the end of them for connecting the spindles.

 

[mysteryboy28]

front shocks finished, rack n pinion mounted, steering wheel mounting bar welded, just need to attach the steering wheel to the rack n pinion.

picked up a nice beat up trailer for $100. it's not a looker, but it'll get the buggies and snowmobiles around!

couple of videos of the suspension in action, and some pics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NeS27qr_Ms&feature=youtu.be


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjnQCCQmwgQ&feature=plcp

 

[mikeprosauceka]

Wow that looks awesome suspension seems good and the buggy is huge cant wait

 

[n1kogr]

i hate you man i wish i had your skills! Anyways it looks great and the suspension looks solid. I just hope once the rear end is complete (engine installed) that the shocks are not too soft

 

[OzFab]

Stiff, but not too stiff. It's looking awesome, great work.

The trailer looks like it's in better condition than mine was, nice find

 

[mysteryboy28]

steering and pedals are done. however, one of the joints on the steering shaft fell apart (the caps over the bearings fell off and little roller bearings fell out all over the place). tried to piece it back together, and as soon as i turned the wheel it fell apart again. lost several of the bearings, so i put it back together and spot-welded the caps on. now there's some noticeable play in the steering. doh! i'll email BMI karts and see how helpful they are.

off to bed i go. later tonight i'll be tackling brakes, then it's motor time!

 

[mysteryboy28]

made the mount for the brake cylinder. cut off the ends of the CV axles and welded on the hubs. welded a hub onto the 50 tooth sprocket.

sleepy time. zzzz...

oh and my buggy wanted to pose for a picture, so...