Master Hack
Well-known member
Use a bigger wire then.
I built an ST3 several years ago - it contains very similar plans to the ST2 NG. I asked myself many of the exact same questions you are asking.
I too miss minibuggy.net. I was a champion lurker with no posts in14 years.
In short, here are a couple of my solutions:
Brakes: I use one rear brake and added two front brakes. I had a professional welder secure the brackets for the front brake calipers. I matched the rotor bolt pattern to the wheel lug pattern. Make sure your wheel wells are big enough to handle the rotor and caliper.
Electrical: My first engine was a 1994 Polaris 650 3-cylinder converted from fuel injection to carbs and there was basically no electrical except a kill switch, spark plug wires, and a CDI. I blew that engine 14 months ago. My new engine is a 2007 Polaris 700 (I bought the whole functioning snowmobile for $2800 in February). I just got the engine fully installed and running in the buggy 2 months ago. For the electrical on the new engine, I painstakingly cut and extended the harness to the necessary locations (this was easy for me as it was similar to a job I had for several years).
Live axle: I use Porsche 924 CV axles - they are cheaper than 930's and give me 13 inches of travel. The extra width on the rear is compensated by the very wide front end (I think the plans got the total front width wrong).
Jackshaft setup: I have a dual-jackshaft setup: CVT driven pulley and 12 tooth sprocket on the first jackshaft, second jackshaft has ~28 tooth sprocket and 12 tooth sprocket, to final 46 tooth sprocket on the live axle. I don't recommend using smaller than 12 tooth sprockets on 1 inch jackshafts. The final sprocket and brake are welded to a collar that mounts on a 1-1/4 inch keyed shaft.
I have many other lessons-learned, but this should help with several of your questions.
I'll try and explain in plain English, but since this is your thread, I'll limit pictures.What stubs were you using for the axles and did you run discs for the hubs or did you have custom hubs made to run the single disc brake?