wanting to build a mini buggy

[ksaneinia]

Hi i am new here and i got lots of good info from you guys i want to build a mini and i wanted to get an idea of how much in parts is it going to cost me i know it all depends on what i want to use but proximately you guys are experience enough to give me an idea
Thanks

[N8ball]

Give us an idea of what you intend to use your buggy for. Sand, trails, racing, street? 2 seater or single? How fast do you want to go? These are all good questions that will help you get some useful feedback. Without them, the ball park is pretty big.

That being said, if you are resourceful you could spend 2-3 grand on a decent ride. If you want the best of everything, the sky is the limit (50 K+ easily).

Also, don't forget the cost of tools and equipment you may need to add to your shop.

[nutz4sand]

A good simple fun kart can be built for a grand IF you find deals on the motor and do not go to fancy and can dio the work yourself. Once its done you can play on it and work on a fancier one with what you learned the first time through.

Go Karts, Off Road Go Kart Plans, we supply plans and kits.

Something like that? Or are you thinking different? Thats a pretty good simple and cost effective build.

For anyone to help you with the cost idea you should get a little specific. What motor are you thinking of using? (Do you already have it?) The amount of power it makes will make the drivetrain cost go up of course. Electric start is a must with a clutch cause you WILL stall it. A CVT (sled type clutch) is far more forgiving if you gotta pull start it.

How much travel do you want it to have?

One seater or two?

Do you need reverse? Getting unstrapped and out of a buggy to push it around is a real pain. Same for starting the clutch motor if you stall it.

The terrain you plan to run in helps also. Where are you gonan be driving it.

Anything else you can tell us you would like this machine to be capable of will help.

Oh yeah! Welcome :]

[ksaneinia]

WOW thanks sooooo much
Ok i want for sand long travel 2 seater i have a chevy cobalt engine with all the wiring and also i have a chevy impala v6 with all the wiring i have a tube bender mig and tig welder circular saw and band saw and a tube notcher
i have done 3 rollcages for road racing thats about it
Thanks so much for your help

[ksaneinia]

I also have a seadoo engine out of a jetski

[nutz4sand]

Jet ski motor not to good for a buggy. To hard to tap power off the crank where the inpeller drive used to be. The cransk have been know to break when conveted. Waters "slippage" allows them to survive.

The chevy Impala V6 might be a tad heavier than you like but if you made something like a Sandrockets machine you can get aways with a salvage yard rear IRS. (Is the Impala front wheel drive? I think it is. You can still build something like that around a front drive motor sideways with the diff locked and a driveshaft running back to the IRS diff)

Sand Rocket - The Ultimate V8 Sandrail - Featured Sandrockets

Using the cars front drive tranny bolted right to the motor makes them offest far to one side or really short travel on the short driveshaft side.

The Cobalt motor has potential. People make adatpers that bolt to thee crank and then a CVT (sled clutch) bolts to that. But then you need to fab a rear drivetrain or buy a RPM tranny or a Jeffco (2500 to 3500 respectively) to have reverse.

Do you want this thing to be automatic or manual shifting?

Lighter weight machines are gonan tend to be faster (all else the same) and nothing handles better than a light machine for the most part. (read nimble)

You "might" consider selling off the motors and what you have and buying a bike motor if you want shifting. If not a sled motor might be a ticket for you. The cobalt motor you have has EVERYTHING neede to make it run right now? A lot of people like those. Good HP and a lot of torque. Plus you can beef it up a lil IF you wish and your drivetrain can handle the power.

You said long travel. I have seen 15 inches alled long travel and some do not consider it long travel til they hit 20 plus.

Either one is gonna need some good 930 CV's or some "home brew" use of modern day front drive CV's that can take angle but have no plunge so other means of plunge have to be built.

What kind of suspension front and rear you looking at?

Just an old fart from Florence Oregon

(Jsut some food for thought) That link shows a neat way to use a common tranny for reverse and good gear reduction. Sprockets tend to limit ground cleanrance some VS a smaller gear.

[ksaneinia]

first thanks for your time and info
It does not matter if it is a 4 or 5 speed or a automatic whatever is easier , long travel i want it to have at least 15,16 travel and i want it to be light , yes i do have everything for the cobalt to run it is still in the car and it runs
Jeffco trany is a bit too much for my pocket right now it is a great product but i can't spend that much just on the trany
930 cv's are no problem i have many cv's i have them from 930 porsche 914 porsche bmw 328

The trany in the link is it out of a 88 honda civic?

[nutz4sand]

Some people GOTTA shift and love the hit of it. I prefer a good auto if possible cause it frees up both hands for the steering. Plus nothing worse than loosing a race due to missing a shift. Or looking a lil silly jsut showing off and missing a shift.

Arrowhead says thats a 88 Civic tranny but I found some Civics of that year and they were a bit different. Other Honda heads on this board also wonder. Any newer Honda tranny is good and the SI ones (Sports Inspired) have closer ratios. You would normally shift the bike motor in his setup but a close ratio is nice if you just need a tiny bit more torque or a tiny bit more speed to beat that other guy. Then you pop the rear tranny into the gear you feel you need and shift the bike motor or let the CVT deal with it. The Newer Honda Trannys are likely stronger. So good to find.

The Honda trannys face that way as the tranny is on the passenger side of the car so its somewhat easy to feed the power in. I have a Honda tranny here for the next "worthy" bike motor I find. I am also looking for a newer VW jetta tranny form the 4 cyl. It faces the opposite way of the Honda tranny but to me its ideal for a sled motor in front of it as modern sleds have the driven (secondary) clutch is always mounted on a long shaft for stability so that will carry the power over to that side then I can fab something to run a chain from the sled shaft to the tranny input shaft.

The one thing that NEEDS to be addressed with these trannies used like this is YOU MUST support the input shaft DEAD STRAIGHT ON. In the cars the tranny shaft fits into the crank and cannot move sideways. If you torque it sideways it will ruin it. No side force! Just rotating!

I would say if you are unable to afford the Jeffco and the like stick with the Cobalt and use then engine and tranny in something like the Sandrocket in the link above. You can drive the car so you know what you got. You also have all you need to make it run (That alone can be golden. Hunting down one part is a pina sometimes) You can go to a Junk Yard and get an IRS rearend for pretty chaep then build a frame around it. Weld or lock the cars diff and run a driveshaft back. Seal the front hole. (The Cobalt car motor will be turned sideways in the frame.) You will not get cheaper than this scince you got the car.

Ford Merkurs have IRS Diffs WITH German CV flanges on them. But they are cast iron adn a bit heavy. (Migh be hard to find scince older) The newer Thunderbird have IRS and I have been told a Aluminum pig case for less weight. You might score a Jaguier rear end for cheap (Like the SandRockets use but any good IRS can work) If you look at Jags the 6 cylinder engines usually had open rear diffs (for cutting brakes) and the 12 cylinders had Positracs.

Many think you need posi in the dunes and I cannot say its bad. But I have NEVER seen a VW rail with an open diff spin just one tire and bury itself. I do not doubt it has happened many times and can see it happening at the top of a dune with one tire weighted a LOT more at a steep angle. But I do not feel a posi rear is a NEED. Plus if you like cutting brakes a diff is needed.

Audi Quattros had some cars with a rear diff with LARGE German CV flanges on it already AND some of them had a rear diff that could be run open or locked with a simple lever on the side of the diff case. (I have one of these sitting in the garage just for such a ride as this) The lever can be operated by another lever and some of the cars like the one mine came out of have a air cylinder to kick the lever on the diff back and forth. I can use that or remove it easy and make a simple lever.

Have to figure what would suit you best.

The cost is gonna float some but most say to figure it out what you think it will be then double that. If you get it done for less you did good. A lot depends on if you can do most of the work and get good deals on the parts you end up going with. Also if you can bend and notch and weld the tube yourself. Then you will save a bit. Shocks are $$ good shocks to $$$$ realllly good shocks. Shocks can make a ride so skimping on them can cost you more in the end. You could consider the design to take some economy shocks for now with adaptors to hold them then later when you can buy nicer chocks you just unbolt the economy shocks and adaptors and bolt the good ones in.

Are you planning on designing the frame?? Or are you looking for plans?

[ksaneinia]

do i have to have and know what i am going to use to have the basic frame?
I want to design the frame myself but i don't think is a good idea for my first build i was thinking of buying a blueprint but again i couldn't find the one i like the closest one i found was the short sand cars frame that i like and i was thinking of purchasing the bare frame from them
i really thank you all for helping me with all this info this would save me lots of time and money

[nutz4sand]

You need to figure out what powerplant you are gonna use then build around it.

A good way to build is to find your powerplant and the wheels. Build IN from the wheels around the powerplant. The suspension geometry has to be good. Get the balance where you want it with the motor then make the frame connect the points. You need a good understanding of frame design and whats done and why. If not and your frame folds up and hurts or kills you I don't need to tell you thats not worth it.