Dan & Kyle's father and son project !!

[DaveM]

Hey.. check the steering wheel coupler.  Was that just before the run where it came off in you hands??

tons o' fun. works awesome.

[Reidy02]

WOW that was fast!!! I wasn't trying to be smart Dan just trying to help!! Oh how did the shocks go? You'll have to get some video footage..

[hemi43]

WOW that was fast!!! I wasn't trying to be smart Dan just trying to help!! Oh how did the shocks go? You'll have to get some video footage..

I appreciate any tips !! This is my first "buggy" build, so I'm all ears if it helps me build it better.
I posted a video in my last post  Let me know if you can't open it.
It was only done with a digital camera, so the quality isn't the best.
The shocks work beyond what I expected !! These things were designed for a 6500 lb truck, so I was a bit sceptical to use them. The dampning rate is perfect, and with 35 psi in them there's no bottoming out. I made the right decision 
Dan

[SPEC]

WAY TO GO HEMI

[Voodoochikin04]

yea i want some of those shocks.. but to the tune of 55$ shipping to the US for two of them, thats a bit high.

[Carlriddle]

Hoping you'd see that Voodo, like the larger shock, more air volumn.  Still a good price??  Local auto was like $65 when I checked, but I like the idea of being able to swap.

[SPEC]

Hemi,
Did I miss the link on the shocks?

[Voodoochikin04]

i had him message me it.  the price on their site is 15$ each.  on ebay from them they are 25$ each plus 55$ shipping for 2.  at that price its cheaper just to buy the gabriel hi-jackers from autozone for 65$ longer, more air volume. 

are those explorer shocks a factory stock item? as in be found in a salvage yard?

the thing about the explorer shocks is they can be used without air, so im not sure if that means you can run them with lower pressures?  the gabriels i tried had to have like 60lbs in them before they would lift my buggy up to ride hieght.

[SPEC]

Thanks voods

[hemi43]

Here's the link for those that are interested. http://www.tran-steer.com/parts.htm
I forgot to mention that this guy also sells these on E-bay.
From what he told me, is that he bought 3000 of these things because an auto plant that uses these closed up. They are brand new never installed factory Ford items.
For us north of the border, a find like this is like gold !! We just don't have the ability to source parts ( at a reasonable cost ) from different places. If we need it and can't get it locally, we have to pay these insane shipping costs as well as brokerage and duties.
I'm too old now and too settled, but if I had to do it all over again I would have gotten out of this Country when I was a teenager, and gone South of the border. Canada is becoming  Communist !!  :-[

[Voodoochikin04]

for people in the US..  my local parts stores carry these same shocks as a pair in the range of 70$ to 80$ which is still cheaper than 15$ each plus over the border shipping.... 

[hemi43]

Well, this build is coming to an end!! 
The buggy is more or less finished, and seems to run fine with no issues.
These will be the last pictures before painting. I'm planning on tearing it all apart then getting all the parts powder coated. Most of my projects end up being red, so I think I will do things a bit different this time and paint it dark blue.
I've been working on this for 10 weeks, and I'm still below $1000 invested !!

[SPEC]

looks great hemi

[hemi43]

Well, it's finally done !! Sorry for any dial-up users, because of the many final pictures of our build . :P

All the parts were powder coated here at home except the main frame. It was too large for my oven, so I sent it out.



There's still a couple issues to be taken care of, but that will have to wait until spring. This took 3 times longer than I had expected. I'm just too damn fussy and I hate cutting corners.





The main problem I'm having at the moment is the charging system.
Since this engine was originally in a Honda generator, there's no lighting coil, only a 3amp charging coil.
What I did was buy a lighting coil for a Rotax 377 snowmobile engine. This is rated at 140watts (aprox 12 amp). I remachined the curve to match the Honda flywheel, and mounted it beside the original 3 amp coil. With no load, I can get high voltage, but as soon as any load is applied, it will barely push out 1 amp. The worse part, is that I can only get 12.8 volts DC after the rectifier. It almost seems like the magnets are too weak !
If anyone has any ideas on what else I could try, I'm all ears !!












I really liked this build and hope you enjoyed reading about it. I'm actually thinking about building one for myself so that we can both go out and beat on these things.
If you're in the process of building a buggy, and need any questions answered, I will try and help you any way I can. Just PM me !!
Take care, Dan

[Boostinjdm]

Maybe I missed it, but......engine size and source, axle original application, video?