Should I sell my project? Please help.

[JMperformance]

Hi MBN community,

over the summer of 2020 I acquired a badlands buggy st3 frame. Recently i just started to get on to working on it and the more I dive into the frame the more issues arrive. Here is a list of the issues that I have been contemplating with(and possible solutions:

1) the previous owner who was building the frame did an absolute TERRIBLE job on welding the underside of the frame. I should have looked before I bought it.

solutions: grind all of the old welds off and then re-weld the joints between the metal.

2) the inside of the frame has rust. I'm not sure how much but its there. there is a hole in the square tubing for the flooring to go on the frame rails of the buggy. when you peer inside it seems as if there is a ton of surface rust. In one of the holes you can even see some old welding wire that must have broken off. I know the amount of rust in the square tubing but I am definitely unsure about the amount in the circular tubing that makes up the cage.

solutions: Get a can of rust exhibitor and spray it into the holes.

3) metal quality. Earlier today I was starting to re welding the underside of the buggy. I was running my stick welder at a fairly low voltage. (I think 75) and it burned straight through the metal. it did not do this in any of the previous welds that i did before it.

solutions: patch the holes I make and just keep re-welding. (unsure)

All in all, I really don't want to build a buggy that's going to look nice but on the inside be really crappy. do you guys think I should continue with this project or sell it and start from scratch. Would these solutions be worth my time and effort?

Please let me know,
JMperformance

[jimmyg]

Sell it and start again.

Fix it and run it as is.

Fix and improve on it in stages.

What do you want.

How much do you want to spend.

How does it evolve with you.

You have the answer to most of the above.

I myself say use it as a growth platform and learn with it. We all start with a "Plan" and end up with a "P L A N"........ (6 years later.....)

Grow with it. Then have some fun. Then use that to learn what you want next.

[K-fab]

If you’re having to put all that effort into just getting it ready to be useable, may as well start out with new tubing and build from the ground up.

Like The Duck in Tux says, Start at Plan A, finish with plan what ever finally works.

Rust through tubing would make me wary.

[Kuma]

if you are worried about the integrity of the build and planning to sell it, you should do full disclosure to the next buyer, don't be like the guy who you bought it from. just saying.

[JMperformance]

if you are worried about the integrity of the build and planning to sell it, you should do full disclosure to the next buyer, don't be like the guy who you bought it from. just saying.

I totally agree with you. Nobody likes a liar.

After some consideration and thinking, I have decided I will stick with the frame and just use it as a learning platform. I did some more inspection and the rust is only surface and only located in the square tubing that makes up the bottom of the frame. the entire upper roll cage of the buggy is for the most part rust free with the exception of a small amount of very light surface rust.

Luckily in the next week or two I plan on buying a Hobart 140 MiG welder which should make the process of building this beast much easier.

this forum is a really helpful and I am super grateful that people want to help and not just be rude. Thanks guys!!!

[jimmyg]

We are always happy to help.

[boilermaker]

You could buy a Tig torch,hose, gauge, gas bottle and suitable weld wire and use your existing welding machine as power source ,go over all welds to insure full penetration and thickness . Too if you have a acetylene torch,buy some welding tips and gas weld all joints. World war2 airplanes were gas welded and some of them are still flying today. The best thing about a torch is you can apply heat and re weld a joint without having to add metal. That means you can redo a weld to turn a crappy, non penetrating weld into a good weld. Same with a TIG except any rust or other crap trapped in the weld is hard to cook out, the trick is , when something is cooked out to the surface, to carry it to the side of the puddle so it can be ground of later. A MIG is always a good tool to have for any job, your choice.