Hello from Washington State

[pgemin]

Hi all,

I'm from Washington State, on the wet side of the mountains. I am a family man with children ranging in ages from 24 months to 11 years. I have built three buggies in my time:

Single Seat 11 HP buggy with rear suspension in my early 20's - donated to a neighbor kid years ago.
Two seater Badland ST3 with 13 inches of travel in each corner and 700cc snowmobile engine - Started about 14 years ago - Perpetual work in progress. It doesn't look much like an ST3 anymore.
Two seater 8 HP buggy with 4 inches of suspension in all 4 corners - Built it with my kids during Covid.

A coworker once (rightfully) accused me of being a neo-luddite; so don't expect too many pictures.

I was a champion lurker on Minibuggy.net for well over a decade and never made a post. Aren't you all lucky!

 

[Denny]

Hey, hey, no big words allowed here. We are simple folk and youngsters! People call me a simpleton all the time. Yea, they multiply like tribbles, good on you for teaching your kids the craft.

 

[BaconBitRacing]

Welcome! I like big words myself, but they send Denny to the nuthouse everytime…

 

[Denny]

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Welcome!

 

[panchothedog]

Welcome to the forum. A bona fide experienced builder. WOW. Even if you can't take pictures and use words above and beyond Denny's comprehension level, we are glad to have you. Now get one of your young ones to show you how to use the camera.

 

[TNThomas]

Welcome in, where on the west side of the Cascades are you? I'm in Shoreline and have seen another guy on here in Kirkland/Bellevue. Any good spots to ride where you are at? The only good close spot I can think of is Walker Valley ORV.

 

[lug-nuts]

Welcome, i made a few posts on Minibuggy myself. This is a good forum to be part of.

 

[pgemin]

I live in Kitsap County. I've taken the buggies out to Walker Valley, but that's about 3-4 hours away. I typically take them out to Tahuya near Belfair which is about 45 minutes away.

 

[Denny]

Welcome! I’m in Indiana.

 

[pgemin]

Here is a short video of my big buggy, the heavily modified Badland ST3. I'm driving and my son is the copilot. The video was taken shortly before Christmas out at Tahuya State Forest in the ORV staging area. Sorry, no cool mud-slinging, just a teaser.

I hope this works, otherwise there will be about 10 comments telling me how to load a video.

 

[Denny]

Don’t feel bad, I don’t know how to load a picture or video either.

 

[TNThomas]

Here is a short video of my big buggy, the heavily modified Badland ST3. I'm driving and my son is the copilot. The video was taken shortly before Christmas out at Tahuya State Forest in the ORV staging area. Sorry, no cool mud-slinging, just a teaser.

I hope this works, otherwise there will be about 10 comments telling me how to load a video.

Works for me! Did you put a snowmobile engine in there? Looks like a fun setup.

 

[pgemin]

One does not simply "put" a snowmobile engine in a dune buggy. I took almost a year to shoehorn in a 700cc Polaris snowmobile engine. It has 135-140 HP. This engine came with electric reverse (PERC) and I added electric start. It's a beast on dirt roads and tackles all the jeep trails. The only thing it doesn't do is rock gardens.

 

[TNThomas]

One does not simply "put" a snowmobile engine in a dune buggy. I took almost a year to shoehorn in a 700cc Polaris snowmobile engine. It has 135-140 HP. This engine came with electric reverse (PERC) and I added electric start. It's a beast on dirt roads and tackles all the jeep trails. The only thing it doesn't do is rock gardens.

Hence why I asked, thats alot of work! I considered doing the same but didn't want the extra challenge. What did you do for cooling the engine?

 

[pgemin]

It has a dual-core Honda Civic radiator with a 90 watt fan - a bit overkill. From personal experience, Walker Valley's slow steep uphill climbs can quickly overheat a snowmobile engine if it doesn't have a fan.

I repurposed the snowmobile's coolant bottle and it became my coolant manifold. I added a Honda Civic overflow tank. Unfortunately, both the coolant bottle and the overflow tank have over-pressure release caps*. After a few mis-steps including some coolant leaks, and a moderately overheated engine, I found the solution: 1) plug the coolant bottle release port, effectively making it a sealed manifold, so extra coolant only drains through the overflow tank, and 2) mount the overflow tank as high as possible. The engine stays cool and I no longer drip antifreeze.

*This means that the coolant exits the system in two different ways, which results in a mess of coolant everywhere.

 

[TNThomas]

It has a dual-core Honda Civic radiator with a 90 watt fan - a bit overkill. From personal experience, Walker Valley's slow steep uphill climbs can quickly overheat a snowmobile engine if it doesn't have a fan.

I repurposed the snowmobile's coolant bottle and it became my coolant manifold. I added a Honda Civic overflow tank. Unfortunately, both the coolant bottle and the overflow tank have over-pressure release caps*. After a few mis-steps including some coolant leaks, and a moderately overheated engine, I found the solution: 1) plug the coolant bottle release port, effectively making it a sealed manifold, so extra coolant only drains through the overflow tank, and 2) mount the overflow tank as high as possible. The engine stays cool and I no longer drip antifreeze.

*This means that the coolant exits the system in two different ways, which results in a mess of coolant everywhere.

Cheers and good problem solving! Luckily the rain/darkness should help too.