Author Topic: Beach buggy  (Read 7767 times)

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Offline Baloo

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Beach buggy
« on: May 14, 2017, 08:09:33 AM »
ok I decided to go ahead and build something road legal for use here in the UK

I like this






so one of the days as I was passing cornwall I stopped off and picked this up



Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2017, 08:13:19 AM »
next we need to find something to mount it on, its designed to drop on a beetle floor pan but I don't have a beetle and if I did I don't think I would want to chop it up

so needed some a bit more modern that had disc brakes and power steering etc, Suzuki sidekick seemed about the right size and has lots of things in its favour like all the fat boy alloys so I can have fat wheels, it comes with a multitude of engines so lots of diff ratios are freely available oh and they are cheap cheap 
« Last Edit: May 14, 2017, 09:24:10 AM by Baloo »

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2017, 08:26:55 AM »
 the way the law works in the uk regards what is and isn't road legal allows use to take a vehicle that has a separate chassis remove the body and replace with another and as long as we make no changes to the chassis it remains road legal, there are a few exceptions like we can move engine mounts body mounts etc we can also add in cross members to strength but not remove any, so I have to make the body shell drop on to an un modified swb Suzuki chassis

now you will have to bear with me for a bit as I didn't have a swb Suzuki but was given a lwb for free I mealy chopped it down to the same length as a swb so I could start, I wont be able to use this on the road but its fine for mocking up and can switch to a swb chassis later

here's a sidekick chassis with no clothes on



Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2017, 08:36:05 AM »
now being 4wd obviously means there has to be a front axle which in turn means the engine has to be mounted high up to clear it leading a high bonnet line that I don't like
good time to go 2wd me thinks easy as they come as 2wd as well, remove the front axle pull the driveshafts and hey presto its 2wd. now we can move the engine back which allows it to be mounted much lower down much lower
 

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2017, 08:38:41 AM »
ok clearly that pic is a rover V8 or buick to you guys but I have been learning about all things lexus and that will be the way I am going with a 3uz-fe


Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2017, 08:45:38 AM »
ok first hurdle to over come is the body shell is designed to fit on a shortened beetle floor pan that is 78" or 2000mm wheelbase   the vitara is 2200mm wheel base so a little stretch is in order

although looking at the pics it dosent look 200mm or 8" adrift but it is




Online fabr

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2017, 08:52:58 AM »
Keep the pics/info coming baloo! Always enjoy your builds for sure. Out of curiousity,is there no way possible to retain the 4WD?
"There can be no divided allegiance here.  Any man who says he is an American,
but something else also, isn't an American at all.  We have room for but one
flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is
the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a
loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907

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Online fabr

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2017, 08:58:07 AM »
I assume you will stretch the body just in front of the rear wheel wells?
"There can be no divided allegiance here.  Any man who says he is an American,
but something else also, isn't an American at all.  We have room for but one
flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is
the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a
loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907

-----------------------------------------------------------
 " You have all the right in the world to believe any damn thing you'd like, but you don't have the right to demand that I agree with your fantasy"

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2017, 09:06:19 AM »
Keep the pics/info coming baloo! Always enjoy your builds for sure. Out of curiousity,is there no way possible to retain the 4WD?

hi Master yes it would be easy to keep the 4 wheeldrive just not with a 300 hp lexus engine the front diffs explode easy enough with a Suzuki 100 hp engine, you can get steel front diff from the diesel engine variants that would probably take it, but this is all about sideways driving and steer with your right foot
maybe the next one will be 4 wheel drive,  Suzuki do a 2.7 v6 engine with just shy of 200 bhp that would one be the base vehicle to choose

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2017, 09:08:57 AM »
I assume you will stretch the body just in front of the rear wheel wells?

you have the side recess there and it all slopes down hill to the front making re alignment tricky
don't  know if you can see it well in this pic



Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2017, 09:10:22 AM »
how ever they is a flatish section at the front where I reckon I could get away with it

like this lol


Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2017, 09:21:29 AM »
but before cutting it I needed to make some patch panels in fiberglass, so I pulled a few moulds of various places so l could lengthen and widen the shell






Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #12 on: May 14, 2017, 09:32:19 AM »
small patch panels made

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #13 on: May 14, 2017, 09:36:34 AM »
and with the panels glassed in

Offline Baloo

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Re: Beach buggy
« Reply #14 on: May 14, 2017, 09:37:46 AM »
I am having trouble with photobucket, are there any other hosting sites you recommend ??

 

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