Bens mini sand rail build QLD, AUSTRALIA..

[benb1984]

Gday, my names ben and this is my how to build my mini sand rail thread..
first up i started with and old honda atc (trike) 200 rear end, has drum brake and the sproket.. perfect.. unbolted that.. next was a trip to the lawn mower wreckers to shop for a front end.. i picked up an old rover ride on mower front end, with good wheels and tyres for $40 so far i was $40 in and halfway there... next i found a bike engine in the paper, its some 80's modle suzuki roadbike engine... im not sure exactly wat its out of.. its had the top end re built and looks excellent, i also heard it turn over wen i picked it up and all sounds good.. im just hoping i can figure out the wiring.. shouldnt be too hard.. i got it for $180, next step was to join the front to the back, i used 1 inch angle about 3mm thick, its light but the plan is to make it strong later.. i got 2 bits about 2.1metres long, i bent it at 45s at each end to give me 1850mm in the middle, which is wat i worked out i need for the engine and me too fit in between, i welded it all up made it square and welded on the rear and front... the rail sits about 250mm off the ground, its 2.3 metres long from the back of the rear wheels to the front of the front wheels, its 900mm accross from the outer of the front wheels, and about 1050mm accross the back, has 25x12x9s on the rear and the front are 16x6.5 mower tyres.. i got no idea how its gonna handle wen im done, but ill worry about that wen its together... i got my total weight so far at 125kgs with the engine front and rear end and basic chassis im going for well under 200 complete, plus my 55kgs or so... as this is my first build i want to keep it as cheap as possible and as simple as posible, thats why im using borrowed bits from mowers and trikes.. my only concern is that my rear wheels arnt wide enough, but ill fix that in the end if i have too, next part of the build is to make the mid frame that will be welded on top of the existing frame i havent worked out any sizes for this yet i have to work out how much feet space i need and etc first.. then comes the engine box, the the roll cage and were off... ill keep you posted as it all comes along, any ideads or suggestions let me no

[Gene]

Welcome to MBN! The run-on police are gonna get ya!

Seriously though, be careful and have fun. Looks like smooth ground and slow speeds will be the rule for safety.

[plkracer]

Be careful with angle iron too. It performs very poor when twisted, unless properly braced or boxed.

[yummi]

Welcome Ben,

Could you tell us more about yourself? Might give folks a frame of reference for advice. Sounds like a good first project. Be safe.

[jumpin jellybean]

Welcome to the site if high speeds and jumping are to be involved with your buggy you will need a smoke and a blind fold JUST KIDDING it looks as you are off to good start keep on going and post tell us more

[benb1984]

hey guys thanks for the interest, let me introduce myself.. im ben, im 24, i used to live in sydney but moved to bundaberg... about 1600ks north on the east coast of australia.. i have no trade skills or real qualifications, i work for a shade sail company, (www.planetshade.com.au) my boss is a boiler maker (i havent told him much about wat im doin yet, he hates that im always out hurting myself on the trike and bikes, i doubt he'd like this much) and we also employ another boiler maker.. i am the labourer, but i been picking things up..
last year i came accross a 1987 250 big red trike.. after that i was hooked on all things fast and scary, i decided i wanted to build an off road buggy, i really wanted to go all out and build something with full A arm suspension and the lot. i even considered making a full size buggy out of an old subaru i could get, but it was too much work for me.. after a few months of thinking long and hard, i decided i would start with something a bit more my skill level.. so i started collecting parts and well, here i am...

the build is comming along well, were into day 6 now.. all the lower frame is complete, yesterday i bought the seat, its out of a toyota celica, about an 84 model, i had to kill the slide adjustment, and the adjustment for lifting the front of the seat up and down the rest works fine tho, and its not like theres gonna be any room to slide it back and forth anyway, i paid $35 for it, all the supporst are made for it, but atm its only clamped in place..

the angle was also a problem, but was easy solved, turns out that coz they are only 133mm apart and its so flexible, it was vey hard to keep square, so to fix this wen i wleded the main cross member, under the front of the seat, i made it dead square with the rear axel, i then put a big clamp on the front end from the cross bar and pulled it in 5mm on one side to make it dead square with the cross bar too, this slighty put the angle under tension and bent it out a bit, after its all done im gonna heat it up with the oxy to let the tension go, i just have to make sure its not gonna move first, other than that its been good....

i been out this morning and got some 16mm reo bar and bent up my basic roll cage shape, i think im gonna make most of the top frame this way because its easy to work with, my boss didnt like the idea of using reo, but im gonna make sure its all re-enforced good.. once ive made the basic shape im gonna wrap reo around the frame like ribs on a boat, hope fully this will make it strong as possible.. i got a few more pics of the finished bottem frame, ill try post more tonight after i make a start on fixing the roll bars in...

i was just wondering too if any one has ever tryed to use out board boat motor steering on a buggy? im pretty sure it would work fine, i have to find 1 and check it out a bit more...
anyway let me no wat u all think..

p.s. the trike pictured isnt the 1 the rear end came from, this 1 is my pride and joy, id never strip it for parts :P
and could some one please explain wat gene means by run on police? its messing with my head hahahaa

[benb1984]

ok i got the main part of the roll cage done.. all came together no problems, still needs all the cross bracing and the front profile, i wanna try get a very pointy front end on it, once its all sheeted over it should look like a jet plane.. i hope not much else yet.. tommorow im gonna look at gettin the front end finished and make a start on some engine mounts, im gonna sit the engine on 2 bits of pretty soild angle and bolt the bottem to them from there it will be welded onto the rest of the frame..

[Jet09]

Is your rollbar made out of rio-bar?

[benb1984]

yep...i know its not the best stuff to use..but im gonna double it up around the main parts before i brace it all.. and in the end its better than no roll bars... but by the time i finished i should be able to throw it off the roof without hurting it

[yoshi]

I wouldn't build that cage outta reebar man, no amount of extra bracing is gonna make that safe, and if you roll it, chancers are pretty good the cage is gonna collapse around you and pin you inside, and i'm not sure that cage is better than nothing at all. IMO

And it looks like you head is gonna stick out above the cage........