2014 - Piranha

[Felineman]

Waiting on differential and engine so I know how long to make track system being spring I can't just pull out a 1000 LBS buggy across the grass so have to wait till ground hardens up some. Its not my lawn and the guy I bought it off would be killed by his mom if he tore up the grass. Old people and their dam grass.

 

[Felineman]

Just got the Onan engine today and its not what I wanted so the plan now is to work on a deal for a 2.0 litre vw engine out of the upstairs neighbors vw jetta scrap car out front. have engine transmission and axles complete as one unit, should save me some time and room. TOP speed expected to be 100 KMPH, Hope my tracks can hold up to the stress. Plus with all the power I don't have to worry about weight so much anymore. Should be back in business of building this thing soon.

Watch video to get idea of how big new engine will be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_5aXPkkkts

Its a running car but the floors are gone completely so I get to have it for scrap prices. And I can sell off the other parts and make a profit after I get my costs back. Anyone need 98-2004 Jetta parts? Engine is roughly 32" wide 24" deep and 24" high including trans axle so its about the same size as the Onan I was gonna use. Roughly 108 HP with 105 Foot pounds of torque. So I'm gonna have a beast on my hands. Controls will be set up as two foot peddles to operate the left and right brake system, motorcycle handlebars with clutch and throttle and the shifter set up on the floor on the drivers right side. YES the transmission is manual 5 speed. Work should commence as soon as I can talk to the previous owner and make arrangements of payment. Gonna need to get myself a engine lift so hopefully I can begin work within the next week. Lots of pics coming as I just picked up a 24 pack of rechargeables.

 

[DaiSan76]

I'll go ahead and put your mind at ease right now. Your tracks will not hold up to 100 mph.

 

[Felineman]

Probably not but google "ripsaw" and there is a tracked vehicle with tracks that withstand 120 KMPH, Don't forget some snowmobiles do over 100 KMPH and their tracks do hold up. I'm aiming for 60 KMPH to 100 KMPH.

 

[Felineman]

back to work

So I'm starting on the track system today willpost what I have as I build it.

 

[exenos]

Three things.

-Good luck on hitting anything over 100km/h, heck you may not even be able to do that.
A 80hp 500lb sled will do 110km/h on average. Your doubling, if not tripping the weight and only adding 20hp more.

- If you didn't cut the tracks then they would have held up to 100km/h no problem. I don't know how you plan on connecting the tracks back together but make sure it pivots. You cant just bolt a flat plate in there. Once you get this going and you may want to look into getting two 155-164 tracks from a mountain sled and cutting the lugs down to 1" so you have a solid track with no slices.

-Try and keep the track attack angle as shallow as you can. Steep attack angles work fine on hard surfaces but as soon as you get into mud, snow, any thing that you can sink in to it starts to trench. Personally instead of going with the traditional tank style suspension system I would be looking at how snowmobile skids work. It would be much better suited to higher speeds than a traditional bogie system.

 

[Felineman]

First off the speed isn't an issue 5 speed transmission on a 108 HP car engine,4 cyl diesel from a 98 VW Jetta 2.0 litre capable of reaching 180 NOT that any track system will handle that. Second track will be hinged with 1/16 inch stainless steel hinges with double row fastened so they won't break apart as for weight its a car engine trust me there is no way I'm gonna exceed the 3484 LBS the car weighs, maybe half that. Engine weighs 240 LBS approx, buggy will be 500-700 with about 100 in tracks. Not sure if i'm gonna use suspension yet or not depends on what I can find, I might do a solid suspension for now and change it as I work out the bugs if any in the drive train. I'm going to have a slightly sloped front and back so that I can attack ditches in both forward and reverse, tracks will be roughly 15-18 inch apart from top and bottom and have a ground clearance of about 10-12 inches. Tracks are 15 inches wide and approx 2-3 inches from side of frame. YES I will be adding some sort of guard over the tracks in any place you may be able to have fingers or elbows get stuck into. The tracks I'm using are almost 1/2 inch thick so they should hold up to a reasonable speed, if I make 60 KMPH I'll be happy but you know I'm gonna push it till I break the tracks at least once. May have to go get some more 1.5 inch square tubing to do out the engine frame. BTW tracks of 155-164 are worth 500 or more even used track is still 200-300 each and I'm using 3 per side, mind you I got them for 20 bucks each because they were for old 70-80's snowmobiles and he was just gonna use then as walkways. The only real problem I think I'm gonna encounter is the transmission differential sticks out 8 inches from the engine right in the spot I have to mount the drive sprocket for the track, so I need to figure that out when I get the engine out of the car, I'm waiting on a engine lift so I can take it out in one piece.

And the LAST POINT I will make is this....................

TELL ME I CAN'T DO SOMETHING AND I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG
Been doing that for years and never gets old

 

[exenos]

First off the speed isn't an issue 5 speed transmission on a 108 HP car engine,4 cyl diesel from a 98 VW Jetta 2.0 litre

The two 4 cylinders that VW offered in a north american 98 jetta are a 1.9L diesel and a 2.0L gasser ( May have offered the 1.8 but I haven't saw one) . They did not make a 2.0L diesel until 2005

capable of reaching 180 NOT that any track system will handle that.

Who told you that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djn8sE1uoQs

Engine weighs 240 LBS approx,

Try closer to 400 if not more fully dressed with fluids. And then there's the trany, no idea how much that weights but its not light.

BTW tracks of 155-164 are worth 500 or more even used track is still 200-300 each and I'm using 3 per side, mind you I got them for 20 bucks each because they were for old 70-80's snowmobiles and he was just gonna use then as walkways.

That's why I said once you get this going. The fewer joints you have in a track, the better. Once you prove the concept works
then it would probably be worth some money to do it right.

TELL ME I CAN'T DO SOMETHING AND I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG
Been doing that for years and never gets old

I wasn't saying that you cant do it. I was just pointing out some things that you might want to/should address. I'm done.

 

[Felineman]

Yes engine is 240 with transmission and axles closer to 430. I'll check the vin again can't see a 2005 having such floor and rocker issues, you can put your hand inside from the outside in 10 or more spots. but its is a 2.0 diesel 5 speed manual of that I'm sure. There will only be 2 joints per track with the hinge overlapping the track by 1.5 inch with two rows of bolts and washers seriously doubt it will pull out. Ya OK now I want that sled.

 

[Felineman]

end of day progress

So heres the pics of what I have so far, too bad I have to build the exact same thing tomorrow.

 

[KartFab]

Glad to see you back at work!! So are you going to jump this thing after you get it running?

 

[Felineman]

Depends if I can't get it to stop after driving out of the garage Not till I get some sort of suspension and not till I get the bugs worked out first. Too many things can go wrong with just normal operation before I try something stupid.

 

[Felineman]

So I found something today and your just gonna have to wait to see the pics engine axle and all the metal I need for skid plates.

 

[landuse]

your just gonna have to wait.....

with bated breath...

 

[Felineman]

Free crap

So gonna see what I can do with this.

 

[Felineman]

And MORE pictures

More more more gimme more

 

[Felineman]

Hey Itsid I dare you to figure out what this was?

 

[xXPhasemanXx]

Looks like something from a farm or a piece of work equipment. Whatever it is, there's more to it. I feel like there are still some pieces missing. It looks like it was meant to haul stuff around and you can tell since it had a hitch and those two U bars on the top. Maybe it was for hauling barrels of some sort?

 

[Felineman]

1964 Pennington Super 60 mower model 686C is what it appears to be, missing the mower deck and someone changed from wheel to bars for steering. UBER RARE might resell to a restorer.

 

[Felineman]

OK update next week I move into my new shop 20 x 50 complete with heater bench compressor and overhead crane. Cost? 100 a month. Will post pics as soon as I get the keys Monday.