Spiderbox Project Thread

[Pripyat]

Can't wait to actually start putting stuff back together.. My 4yr old asked me on the way out the door this morning "Will you fix the go kart so we can ride when i get home from school"?

Just documenting more broken stuff..

Not sure what I'll do about this. Originally there was some 3/4" gas line over the entire protruding part then a barbed coupling that stepped back down in size.

 

[Pripyat]

So I finally got the nut off the rear hub. Interestingly the stud is fine.

After the rust neutralizer sat overnight there was fresh rust in spots all over the wheel. Seems to have neutralized some rust.

Ended up spraying it with primer anyway.

I still havent ordered the 39t sprocket. I'd like to find one cheaper than $35. Here are some pics of the stock setup:

 

[Pripyat]

So I hung the hub in the vise (loose on the axle) and heated it with the torch. Pneumatic hammer did nothing. I also hit it with a sledgehammer and it didn't budge. I'm scared I'm going to break the hub. Tried a puller, too..

Was working on the starter wiring and noticed the brake master cylinder is shot. sigh..

 

[Pripyat]

OK I need some advice. My machinist father-in-law offered to use my MIG welder to weld the bungs in. I have a small wire feed Lincoln MIG welder with 75/25 gas. The bung is 1045 steel. I'm not sure about the steel type of the control arms.

What wire would be best? Please refer this post to your metallurgy specialist if you don't mind. Thanks in advance.

 

[GearHeadGarage]

.024 hard wire . Or tig them

 

[Pripyat]

I'm about to order the wire.. .025 L-56 Will be fine?

 

[GearHeadGarage]

I'm about to order the wire.. .025 L-56 Will be fine?

What's in the welder now? Any size will work, .024 or .025 is small and easier to weld with on small parts. .030 &.035 takes more heat with better chance of burn thru and under cutting.

 

[Pripyat]

Flux core is in it now. Not sure which type. I'm getting non flux core since I'll be using gas going forward.

Here are the wires I have to choose from:
Lincoln Wire Selection

 

[Pripyat]

OK so I really was making this wire selection thing harder than it had to be. Inside the welder is a guide that confirms my suspicion that L56 is the way to go. I'm assuming they suggest it because it does better on dirtier surfaces than the other wires.

Currently it has the .035 InnerShield flux core.

Another couple weekends and I should be able to post some progress.

I'm not sure about what angle to set the heims. Most I've seen online are set to be parallel with the ground with no load which makes sense. But I plan on upgrading shocks later.. Plus with everything torn apart I don't know what the angle is stock.

 

[Pripyat]

So I messed with that seized hub again - It has been soaking in Kroil for the last several days. Penetrating oil didn't seem to help at all. I put a puller on it and used the 1/2" pneumatic impact wrench and it wouldn't budge. I was waiting on something to explode and shrapnel start flying.. Once the puller was on I heated it up -

Likely hotter than I should have heated it.. Hopefully I didn't weaken the hub too much. I had to hammer the puller to get it to budge.

Put impact on puller, beat puller with hammer, repeat.

When it was that far out it still wouldn't budge without hammering. Pretty wild. But I did get it separated without breaking the hub so I can finally place my BD order!

 

[Pripyat]

I've read seemingly all the shock upgrade threads and am looking for some guidance. Front blaster shocks for the rear are going to cost around $70 if I want them to look decent. But for $70 I can get the cheap gas shocks off ebay. I'm not even sure where to start for the fronts.

I'd be OK spending 200-300ish for the 4 shocks. I'm looking at the nitro shocks on ebay for 150/pair.

 

[Pripyat]

The drivers side hub wasnt nearly as bound as the passenger side. It came off with the puller, no heat or hammering. The puller I used is in the cheap front end kits sold at harbor freight.

The rim wasn't nearly as bad, either. Half cleaned up:

Plugged the valve stem holes and redrilled for tubes.

The metal tubes in the control arms were mostly seized to the bushings. I got them all separated. Pic is after I cleaned them up in the ultrasonic cleaner.

Going to clean them up with some fine emery cloth before reassembling.

 

[Pripyat]

I ordered banshee shocks for the rear. If I raise the rear withe banshee shocks, from a geometry perspective, do I need to raise the front? I'm looking at the BD front shocks. Options are stock height or +3".

 

[Pripyat]

Is there a forum I could join that would be more knowledgeable about my spiderbox specific questions?

 

[8t6bronco]

Buggymasters has some members who have a lot of spiderbox build knowledge.

 

[Pripyat]

I wanted to start this thread on buggymasters but I still can't post there. I'm a member with the same username but am still waiting.. I get this if I try to post a new thread in "member introduction":

I've done a lot of little stuff to the sbox. I cleaned up the exhaust stud area and learned that the previous owner drilled the stud but didn't tap for an insert.

A time-sert kit for this thread will put me back around $70 so had I known this starting out I would have just picked up a Predator 212cc from HF for $99. I did a temporary fix to get the thing running (Devcon Liquid Steel Epoxy) and will replace the engine when it fails. Sucks I just bought a UNI filter for this engine..

The carb was trash. Needle valve is corroded into the seat. Bowl only had three of the four screws present. Main jet had been over tightened and was broken. Whoever had this kart was a moron.

I ordered a new one for $20 along with some jets I won't need whenever the exhaust repair fails.

I did clean up the swingarm frame and get a layer of spraypaint on it.

Before:

After:

---------- Post added at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:48 AM ----------

One more thing - I would really like to post some stuff to buggymasters. If anyone can get a mod to approve me I would be very grateful.

Also - I'm learning to weld with the MIG welder. I practiced a little yesterday without a shirt on and ended up with a reverse farmer's sunburn. Everything burned except for my face and hands. Looks hilarious. Lesson learned. I didn't realize how fast you can get burned from welding.

I'm already 100% better than I was a week ago but still have a lot of work to do.

 

[Pripyat]

My father-in-law was coming over Friday to weld in the bungs but I couldn't wait. This is the first one I did -

Welcoming (constructive) criticism. I think it will hold, though.

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Dude, you're a natural.

 

[Pripyat]

All credit goes to youtube. I think the best advice I found (or what I focused on while welding) was listening to the sound to determine if your electrode is sticking out too far. The welding confidence this project has given me is going to do wonders around the garage. I've shied away from metal fabrication far too long! I'm already planning to add some weld to the Sbox frame in critical areas.

LOL this is my first attempt at welding a week ago:
BeforeClean

AfterClean

I can only post that because I have redeemed myself by successfully (I think) welding the bungs in.

 

[Pripyat]

I spent a lot of time cleaning up the control arms to remove the surface rust. I hung them all up on a wooden dowel and doused them in red paint. I was just finishing up, making sure I didn't miss anything, and the whole rack fell in the dirt. I am still ****ed about it.. I go to buy more paint last night and learn that the local Lowe's doesn't carry the color I purchased from out of town. Sigh.

Rear swingarm teaser