Dirtbox Venom Texas build!

[Poboy kartman]

Just going to say one thing- how do you know I haven't been in your shoes? I can guarantee you haven't been in mine....if so....send me the pathology report and let me know what kind of Cancer YOU had......

 

[OzFab]

Easy Doug, play nice...

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Can you write a to-do list and show us how far you have to go? Been Really anxious to see how far this build is!

 

[mysteryboy28]

a to-do list you say? hmmm...

finish rear swingarm, might make the current one smaller for better rigidity (less flexing)
find appropriate rear hubs and rims to accomodate 1 1/8" bearings/axle
fab up a jackshaft for gear reduction to keep main sprocket smaller for better ground clearance
make rack, mount fuel tank
mount radiator, hook up cooling system
make dash with digital speedo and light switches and 12v lighter socket
mount headlights and tail light
mount side mirrors
fab up a storage box, cup holders
finish door latch bars
fab up fenders and mounts
rig up a forward/reverse shifter
brakes
throttle
electrical wiring (always a joy. not)

that's what i can think of off the top of my head!

here's a couple of pics from a few pages back...

sorry about all the drama folks. hoping to get this done soon!

 

[HighTechRedneck]

a to-do list you say? hmmm...

finish rear swingarm, might make the current one smaller for better rigidity (less flexing)
find appropriate rear hubs and rims to accomodate 1 1/8" bearings/axle
fab up a jackshaft for gear reduction to keep main sprocket smaller for better ground clearance
make rack, mount fuel tank
mount radiator, hook up cooling system
make dash with digital speedo and light switches and 12v lighter socket
mount headlights and tail light
mount side mirrors
fab up a storage box, cup holders
finish door latch bars
fab up fenders and mounts
rig up a forward/reverse shifter
brakes
throttle
electrical wiring (always a joy. not)

that's what i can think of off the top of my head!

here's a couple of pics from a few pages back...

sorry about all the drama folks. hoping to get this done soon!

Cup holders are a must! Hope that welder gets fixed soon.

 

[mysteryboy28]

Welder is getting replaced soon hopefully. Already sold the busted one, for chump change. It was old, and the duty cycle sucked (went into thermal shutdown too fast). Got my eye on a new 140 amp 115v MIG/flux welder at home depot or menards (depending on who I can talk down the price the most). Of course, if all else fails ill just get a flux-crap welder from harbor freight. Lol.

 

[firemanjim]

Do you have any current pics? Like how it's sitting right now?

 

[mysteryboy28]

See above, that's were we left off when things all went to hell. Lol.

On a positive note though, looks like I may have some funding on the way for the new welder and parts to finish Billy's buggy. Crossing my fingers!

 

[Poboy kartman]

I sincerely hope you can. ....we are all crossing our fingers and toes....and hoping for a good outcome- not only for Billy, but you as well. .....

Best of luck- but keep in mind what I said......A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.....and a steady income is worth a lot.....

Sorry if I came on a bit strong- but don't discount the value of a steady income. ....

 

[mysteryboy28]

so, things just got interesting. as i mentioned in an earlier post, i had a suspicion that billy might be posing as a new buggy customer, offering me a lot of money to build him a new buggy, even after i told the person that i was done building any new buggy projects. first they offered like $9k (which i reluctantly agreed to), then went up to $12k for no reason, and then $20k before i told the guy to stop offering more money (said he was gonna sell a jeep rock crawler he bought that he wasn't happy with).

the guy agreed to send me a $2k deposit to reserve his buggy build (which i said would not get started till May, after billy's and my landlord's buggies were completed), i explained that that was perfect, and would help me get a new welder and finish these other 2 buggies. so a few days go by after he said he'd mailed the deposit, he calls me on march 31st to say i should have the check in a day or so, and we talked about what he'd like as far as parts and stuff go. seemed like a nice fellow! meanwhile, 2-3 days go by, and no check in the mail. i texted him updates on april 2nd and 3rd to let him know. so i get an email from him earlier tonight (april 3rd at 9:55pm) saying that he had come across a rip-off report about me on march 30th (remember he called me on the 31st to say money was on the way and acted all excited about the buggy). he said he then halted the mailing of the check after reading the report (which he claimed he was able to do because he had sent it with special tracking), and then got in contact with billy. i checked out the rip-off report, and it was posted on the internet on the evening of april 3rd! how could he have seen it on march 30th? hmmm...

so meanwhile, Billy, your buggy will get done as soon as possible, and then we can be done with each other. no need to get your friends involved, or cook up any more elaborate false entrapment scams, or slander me any more. jeesh!

 

[firemanjim]

all I can say is, finish Billy's buggy, and maybe all the "fake customers" would quit calling. Did you remove the ad that says your still selling buggies? I would hop on that, first thing.......

 

[mysteryboy28]

Yeah, I contacted Panda several days ago (after I told you guys about it) and told them to remove the ad, and asked them who posted it. They removed it, but wouldn't tell me who the poster was, completely ignored my question. The ad was posted in december of 2012. So I'm pretty sure is was just a stupid clone web bot thing that was copying craigslist ads in an effort to make panda look more like craigslist.

 

[mysteryboy28]

New welder ordered and on it's way!

It's a Blue Hawk 120v MIG/flux-core welder from Lowes. Nothing super fancy, and the specs were a bit vague. But it looks like it'll get the job done. Claims to be able to weld up to 1/4" thick metal. One review said it was much nicer than the Harbor Freight 90amp flux-core welder. That's good to know, considering the Harbor Freight welder was pretty limited to thinner metal (1/8"), and the duty cycle really sucked.

I'm just gonna run flux-core for now. That means more mess, more prep and cleanup. But if the welder is as powerful as it claims, then i won't need as much welding wire to get the job done.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_425019-4712...roduct_price|0&page=1&facetInfo=#BVRRWidgetID

 

[mysteryboy28]

Getting started on cleaning and organizing the garage, in preparation for the new welder to show up. Pulled my little 3-day go-kart out of the garage for show 'n tell. Needs a seat (gave away the couch that i had borrowed the cushions from. lol). 13hp motor, comet 40 clutch, hydraulic brakes, and rear suspension.

Also picked up a 10lb spool of flux-core wire at Harbor Freight today (along with a free LED flashlight. whoo-hoo!). 20% off coupons are great.

 

[exenos]

Good to see things moving along. ETA of the finished buggy? Mid to late spring?

How have the DJ gigs worked out?

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[mysteryboy28]

No clear ETA on the buggy. Soon as possible, as I borrowed money to get the welder, and probably need about $400 or so in parts to finish it. The weather is finally getting better, but still averaging about 55 degreees. So that doesn't help. Brrr! Lol.

Booked a couple DJ gigs, and hosting our first karaoke gig this week. Hopefully the karaoke gig will be a regular thing. Karaoke music isn't cheap! $1-$2 per song, and they expect you to have hundreds, if not thousands of songs to pick from. Eek!

 

[Felineman]

Don't trust the digital angle finders VERY inaccurate. Better to get a protractor.

 

[mysteryboy28]

I did notice I was getting some sketchy initial results with the angle finder, so I was triple checking before welding.

 

[Felineman]

GOOD BOY those things are crap. A protractor is your freind never trust digital anything including that stupid micrometers ALWAYS trust mechanical for an accurate reading.

 

[exenos]

Digital tools are just fine if you actually buy quality tools. Its the cheap ones that are an issue.