ALSV Dune Buggys

[ntsqd]

Cool buggies, all. But how are the noise levels in those things? I imagine long distances might be tiring if they're noisy?

My buggy was OK for about 100 miles. After that I was really ready to be in something else or not moving at all. The noise wasn't so bad as the whipping that you get from the turbulent air. I found that a set of wind pants made a huge improvement in long distance comfort, but 100 miles was still about the outer limit of what I wanted to do.

Since I'm ranging further and further afield it was sitting more and more, so I traded it off for an engine donor that will make the FJ60 more capable and efficient.

Would a standard FWD transaxle mounted to a transverse engine not serve the purpose well? I know it goes against the VW/Porsche-style transmission layout, but seems to provide the benefit of more standard components....???

Spence

At one time I gave a lot of thought to using a Rabbit t/a (because I had a spare) set North-South mid-engined in the buggy. Figured to use a pair of 200 series Nissan/Sube rear diffs for the front and rear diffs. The resulting final drive ratio meant that I needed a power plant that could scream if short highway runs were going to be possible. A 13B looked like the hot ticket in those days.

The real issue in using a FWD t/a is the distance between the CVJ flanges. You really want them to be as close together as possible. That makes the 1/2 shafts as long as possible for a given track width, so a given CVJ max angle nets the greatest wheel travel. Given the speed over ground potential, wheel travel should be a dominate constraint in all design considerations. Another potential issue is the final drive ratio. My buggy above was built mostly for going over rough trails. It has a 5.375:1 R&P in it. Most FWD R&P ratios are high 4's at best. Can make first gear rather tall with any sort of decently sized rear tire.

Are these street legal? Man would I love one of those to tow behind my rig....totally awesome!! Are the frames and suspension fully custom or is there the guts of some production vehicle hidden in there? If fully custom AND street legal, how do you acquire a VIN for registration?

Spence

Some states will register such a buggy if it has all of the required street legal parts that state requires. Some have no fender requirements until some minimum weight is reached (1500 lbs being the common number).
Look into Specially Constructed Vehicle registration in your state. If there is no VIN the state will usually assign one once all the other requirements are met.

I would go for something based on this design:

That particular design is intended for sand use only. It is designed to be light (& FAST!) but lacks the structure needed to live very long in the desert or woods. See how low the 'upper' side tubes are in comparison to those buggies with plates on them? Note also the long, unsupported tube spans in the green house part of the frame. Assuming that body panels are installed (highly recommended!) the low upper side tube also exposes the occupants to a lot more flying grit than do those frames with a much higher side tube. You can make it work, and folks have done it, but it's really out of it's design envelope.

 

[ARlZONA]

Are these street legal? Man would I love one of those to tow behind my rig....totally awesome!! Are the frames and suspension fully custom or is there the guts of some production vehicle hidden in there? If fully custom AND street legal, how do you acquire a VIN for registration?

Spence

Arizona is really easy to make things street legal. At one time you could use the VIN from the car you contructed the buggy from, that is how mine is. They since changed it and now you need a special constructed tag, easy to get all you have to do is meet the minimum requirements as published by the state.

While these shown are fully custom you do not need to go to this extent. A basic baja bug or manx type car will get you a lot of places, no need for 4x4 with cars that weight so little.

200 - 500 miles is not unusual over a weekend but all at once would be tough.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

That particular design is intended for sand use only. It is designed to be light (& FAST!) but lacks the structure needed to live very long in the desert or woods. See how low the 'upper' side tubes are in comparison to those buggies with plates on them? Note also the long, unsupported tube spans in the green house part of the frame. Assuming that body panels are installed (highly recommended!) the low upper side tube also exposes the occupants to a lot more flying grit than do those frames with a much higher side tube. You can make it work, and folks have done it, but it's really out of it's design envelope.

Never thought about that..lol. I swear I learn more on this forum than anywhere else.


I use to have a friend years ago that had a 4 seat sand rail with a chevy 4.3V6 mounted in the back... insane is the only way to describe the acceleration... but as you pointed out it was only for sand.

 

[ARlZONA]

Hard to want to build something when a quality transaxle costs so much more money than any other part on the vehicle.

I love buggies and still hope someday to have a nice one.

Agreed, I found a used Mendeola one so it was a little easer but they are not cheap.

I built my first buggy, what a mistake that was. For the money I had into it I could have had twice the car used.

Too many good used ones out there a great prices today.

 

[timh]

Agreed, I found a used Mendeola one so it was a little easer but they are not cheap.

I built my first buggy, what a mistake that was. For the money I had into it I could have had twice the car used.

Too many good used ones out there a great prices today.

I was looking at at least $15k to build a car that would be sold for maybe $8k when it was done!

 

[EuroJoe]

what about

this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhC95UTWIVo

:wings::wings:

 

[ARlZONA]

I was looking at at least $15k to build a car that would be sold for maybe $8k when it was done!

Exactly

 

[ntsqd]

Keep the weight & HP low, like an ACVW or a very mild H2O pumper and with care an 091 isn't too bad of a choice. Weddle has some right now that are aluminum cased and brand NEW for about $1500. Unless a h2o VW engine is the choice they will need a different bell housing.

As soon as words like "Turbo" or "V-something" enter the discussion the 091 packs it's bags.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Would a standard FWD transaxle mounted to a transverse engine not serve the purpose well? I know it goes against the VW/Porsche-style transmission layout, but seems to provide the benefit of more standard components....???

Spence

There's no reason at all that wouldn't work. Check out the Ariel Atom. Amongst the fastest street legal vehicles in the world with an unassuming 4 cylinder and transaxle.

I'd suggest considering a 2.0L or 2.3L Ford Duratec from a Focus. It's going to be much cheaper than a Honda, lighter, simpler, capable of even more power (yes!) and mated to an MTX-75 gearbox which is nearly indestructible and with an available Quaife LSD (think: TruTrac)

 

[ntsqd]

Any idea what the CV flange to CV flange width of the MTX-75 t/a is?

 

[haven]

The buggy photos reminded me of the ROC Car, the tube chassis buggy they drive in the Race of Champions. While the ROC is on pavement, the vehicle suspension could be modified to soak up off-road obstacles, too.

This photo shows Mattias Ekström, participating in the 2009 Race of Champions in Beijing earlier this month. Ekström won for the third time, beating drivers from several racing disciplines, including Formula 1 and World Rally Championship.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Any idea what the CV flange to CV flange width of the MTX-75 t/a is?

Not off the top of my head but.... it's not much. The CV joints plug directly into the differential.

The only weak part of the MTX-75 is the diff itself. Once replaced with a Quaife, it's bulletproof. Guys are putting 3-400hp through them with drag slicks with little problem.