Badland ST2 custom build from Ireland

[Nivek4209]

Hi all
My names Kevin I'm 39 mechanic by trade but work in engineering for the last 20 years cars are more a hobby now than anything else
I've had ideas of building a buggy for years now and there was always something more important financially and otherwise ,I've been gathering parts for years as I suspect most of you do
I purchased a 750 gsxr k5 powerplant around 6 years go with just 300 miles on it
Wheels and rims followed soon after
Bucket seat and loads of other useful stuff
I had it in mind to buy plans from edge products but one day recently I found a video from another member here on YouTube about there build and having never heard of an st2 a google search ensued

I liked what I saw and bought the plans for a long travel st2 though mine may end up buying more of a medium travel buggy
Bought piping and invested in a pipe bender and off we go



Once. All the plans were transferred to my jig board things progressed nicely
Time for me at this is always gonna be an issue I work six days most weeks
Day one saw me this far



Day two was a lot shorter and involved allot of head scratching I didn't like the box section used in he plans to make the base of the frame it seems to me a little agricultural so I decided to go with a full tube frame this straying away from the. Plan hasn't caused me much issue so far
This pic shows the tubular base with engine and. Things fitted for guide only



Rear drive train is going to have a limited slip diff I made up from a impreza wrx rear LSD
It was incorporated into the original wishbone mounts from the badland plans and will have twin in board disc brakes when complete I'm using the std r160 shafts and cut down rear impreza hubs too
This is why I may end up loosing some suspension travel I'm unsure as yet how much angle these drives can take but I'm hoping around 14 " + or --



Tonight I got about 4 hours at it it's now 1.40 am here and I'm not long up from the garage
After 2 mates passed comment that my buggy was very long I decided tonight to take 9 inches off the overall length before I did anything else structural it was also in my head that it was big but my friends confirmed it for me. Luckily it was an easy task as its only tacked together as yet.
Also added a few more bars from the original layout I think it looks better now that its shorter
I will have to rework my steering angles now I reckon and hope this decrease in overall length won't have any ill effects



That's it for now
More updates will follow as this buggy owes its origins to Erwin from the Netherlands if I hadn't seen his video I'd be building something different

[Duane]

I do like your skills and willingness to change things to suit your whims. The frame looks good. What is the specs on the tube you are using? I want to see your bender also. Keep those pictures coming.

[rumorco]

I would really like to see your bender. My tube flattens out.

Are you using tube or pipe?

[Nivek4209]

I'm using pipe what we call gun barell over here it has a 2.5 mm wall mild steel with a welded seam all the way on the inside
That is what the specs call for on the badlands buggy plans
I had seamless tubing bought but the dies / guides on my bender dont fit it perfectly so it does tend to flatten a bit
My bender is a hyd 15 ton capacity sealy brand it will bend from 1/2 " to 3" pipe
I'm quite happy with it easy used and cost me 500€ about 750 dollars
Probably expensive if you only want to build one buggy but I will use it on other builds and make the odd piece of farm machinery too
Will take another pic of it tonight and post it here

[Nivek4209]

Also went shopping today and bought a small single phase Harrison lathe
It's old but its all good

[monkeyinfantry]

If i'm not mistaken, you're not supposed to use pipe because its designed to hold pressure in and carry liquids, not hold up to physical hits, aka, it will fold like a paperclip in an accident

[Nivek4209]

Plan says use it so I used it mild steel is what it recommends
It specifically say don't use high carbon as it will snap and scuere you like a sausage in an accident I'd rather have a bent buggy that be stabbed by a wishbone or cage bar
This is an amature build I'm not a pro welder qualified to weld special metals
In the short lengths between braces it will be fine

[Bullnerd]

You got one of them backwards lathes!

Just kidding.In the US the compound and carriage handles are opposite.Boy is it hard to switch after using one or the other for a long time.

Nice lathe.

[monkeyinfantry]

Ok well if the plans say use mild steel pipe then I guess you can, I've just always heard to use mild steel DOM tube and nothing less. Just lookin out for your safety! Buggy looks good

[Nivek4209]

I'd love to use something lighter and stronger and less of it but on my first build at least I'm going to stick with this