prototype buggy

[tazmannusa]

Hello all
Thought I would show what I am working on, If it works out I will be making 2 . Plan is single arm front suspension and swing in the rear
Tom

 

[fowler]

Good start

looking very sidewinder

 

[tazmannusa]

Yep it is sorta , That was the thing I have a few different plans but none fit the bill 100% and I liked the lines on the sidewinder

 

[fowler]

I also like the sidewinder

But the side engine is a bit limiting

A piranha with a swing arm rear would be better and fairly simple


Intrested to see what u come up with

 

[tazmannusa]

LIL more eye candy and I'm calling it quits for this weekend

 

[landuse]

Nice frame!

 

[tazmannusa]

Thanks
So far I'm happy with it and the wife really likes it
Power wise just going to run the GX390 , governor removed with around 6.5:1 gear ratio and 20" tires , wont be a power house but I think it will be a good reliable combination .
I thought about doing the sidewinder with 2 212 predator engines and 2 rear swing arms for IRS but it just seemed like the engines would be to vulnerable to damage plus anytime you drive through water or mud the engines would take a direct hit from the front and back tires

 

[tazmannusa]

Been doing a little welding on the chassis and deciding between double or single arm front ,I think I am going to go with single arm , saves a little weight and with the arms being 20" long the angle change wont be to drastic . As far as shocks I'm looking at the long travel VW buggy shocks, they have 8" of travel and 125 Lbs an inch rating so I think they will work fine if I mount them to the outer end of the arms and up to towers

 

[tazmannusa]

Here is another one I did a few months ago, it is a mini version of the extreme baja kart but setup for single swing arm rear and double A arm front . set them up side by side so my wife could get a good visual and set inside to see what she likes the best for herself and I will be danged she picked this one , said she feels safer and can see out better.
When I was putting this one together I was having a heck of a time keeping things straight, bending several bends on the same piece and keeping them on the same plane was a nightmare till I finally figured out to level the bender off the main die pin rather than the frame

 

[tazmannusa]

Front suspension done , should be able to take a lot of abuse .
Went to the 18" buggy shocks , they have 6" of travel and 75 lbs inch spring rate the others with 125 Lbs would have been to stiff

 

[landuse]

This frame looks SWEET!! Nice

 

[tazmannusa]

This frame looks SWEET!! Nice

Thanks
so far it is going good , just time consuming

 

[Joe-405]

I really wish I lived in Cali right about now so I could commission you to or persuade to do another one but add about a foot to the rear. I have a 2 cylinder KZ750 that I have wanted to do a single seated buggy with for awhile now.

Oh yeah awesome work by the way !

 

[colestreasures]

That's a nice frame.
Cole

 

[tazmannusa]

I really wish I lived in Cali right about now so I could commission you to or persuade to do another one but add about a foot to the rear. I have a 2 cylinder KZ750 that I have wanted to do a single seated buggy with for awhile now.

Oh yeah awesome work by the way !

Thanks
That would make for an interesting project a 750 in this small of a kart would not be lacking in power and speed
I still think it would be fun to do a twin engine twin trailing arm setup, turn on a dime and have IRS but we shall see how this one rides and drives first. Wife is kinda changing her mind and likes this one better so it may be in the works yet

 

[tazmannusa]

Making progress but still lots to do, we shall see if the swing arm is strong enough for the side loading. I have most the parts I need on the way, I'm going with #40 sprockets and chain 72 t and 11 or 12 t driver . Shocks are going to be the same as front so they will mount right above axle and stay somewhat vertical and give me about 6" of travel
Tom

 

[landuse]

Still looking good. This is going to be a great little buggy

 

[tazmannusa]

Not sure if I should keep this in the same thread or not but anyway I was wondering if anyone else builds there own axles? I need about a 48" x 1-1/4" for this kart so I did a little checking and can get 1144 grade pretty reasonable so I ordered a 12' bar, I haven't tried cutting key ways yet with the end mill but don't think it will be to hard . The way it comes out it will cost me $20 for one, sure worth trying

 

[Rickracer]

If you don't mind my asking, what kind of bender do you use? I've been thinking about buying another one for years, but can't decide on just what I want, and which die sets to get with it. I'l be doing race car roll cages with it as well as projects like these...
I really liked the one I had years ago, but can't remember the brand, several look very similar...

 

[tazmannusa]

If you don't mind my asking, what kind of bender do you use? I've been thinking about buying another one for years, but can't decide on just what I want, and which die sets to get with it. I'l be doing race car roll cages with it as well as projects like these...
I really liked the one I had years ago, but can't remember the brand, several look very similar...

I use the JD 32 manual bender and so far I am pretty happy with it, just took a bit to get use to it, the one I had before had the bottle jack. As far as dies I just buy them every so often till eventually I end up with the whole set, they are quite spendy, so far I have the tube 3/4 with 2.5 R the 1" and 1-1/8" with 3.5 R and the 1-1/4" with 4.5 R. Eventually I want to put the hydraulics on it , getting to old and tired for this manual stuff.
https://www.jd2.com/