Pssshhhh.... Now your just talkin' crazy!
CK5
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2008 Buggy Build Thread: Rockwells and 49's
- Thread starter mikey_d05
- Start date
Pssshhhh.... Now your just talkin' crazy!
well i always wanted to hang out with the cool kids in school but it never happened 
It's cool man, just messin with ya. I get most of my updates via CK5, just like everyone else.
There ya go with that airleak again.
Chris - In all reality, if I had to do it over again, I might build a taller rig. Sitting on top of the drivetrain rather than next to it would have made things much easier to build. I'm also not sure that I really lowered my COG all that much. All of the heavy items (tires, axles, drivetrain) would have stayed in the same place. The only weight that would have really gone up would have been a few tubes and a couple hundred pounds of driver and passenger.
However, it's not like anything I've seen before, so that certainly makes up for a lot of it. I just hope that the weight distribution is good enough that I don't end up shying away from some of the nastier hill climbs.
Building the rig a bit higher might be easier but I have no regrets about keeping mine as low as I can.
That few hundred pounds up higher might not sound like much but when the rig is close to rolling it can make all the difference.
I have no experience with mid/rear engine buggies so I have no idea how they perform, though moon buggies certainly have had a lot of success.
I guess you won't really know how it performs until you get it out on the trails but I doubt you'll be disappointed
I have no doubt that it would be able to run circles around either of my previous rigs (and it will likely wheel alongside one of them) but I'm a little nervous about how it will do in comparison to other buggies given the compromises that had to be made.
Just out of curiousity, what does your rig measure to the belly and what did the WB end up at? Do you end up using your skid quite a bit in Colorado? From what I've seen of CO, it looks very similar to the Iron Range here. Moab is so different from anything else that I don't think it would apply to the local terrain.
Just out of curiousity, what does your rig measure to the belly and what did the WB end up at? Do you end up using your skid quite a bit in Colorado? From what I've seen of CO, it looks very similar to the Iron Range here. Moab is so different from anything else that I don't think it would apply to the local terrain.
Mine's about 6'5" to the roof and 22-23" at the belly, wheelbase is 112".
I hit the skid plate, frame, rocker tubes, etc. ALL the time. I actually had to put the skid plate in the press before Blazer Bash because it had bent up enough that it was touching the t-case.
CO rock crawling is pretty much big rocks, Moab is certainly a bit different.
*makes mental note to reinforce the bottom of the chassis*
IIRC I'll be at 27"ish to the belly. WB is set at 130". The upside is that once the front axle is clear, it's smooth all the way to the rear axle.
Still a little bit skeered that my breakover angle is going to phuck me more often than the low COG is going to help.
IIRC I'll be at 27"ish to the belly. WB is set at 130". The upside is that once the front axle is clear, it's smooth all the way to the rear axle.
Still a little bit skeered that my breakover angle is going to phuck me more often than the low COG is going to help.
*makes mental note to reinforce the bottom of the chassis*
IIRC I'll be at 27"ish to the belly. WB is set at 130". The upside is that once the front axle is clear, it's smooth all the way to the rear axle.
Still a little bit skeered that my breakover angle is going to phuck me more often than the low COG is going to help.
130" WB is big but the 27" belly height is really high too.
You'll be fine. Besides, as long as the belly is smooth, you're never hung up as long as you have enough horsepower
Seemed like kind of a waste to be any lower, considering at that point the belly would be at the same height as the axle tubes.
You'll be fine. Besides, as long as the belly is smooth, you're never hung up as long as you have enough horsepower
I kind of have the hankering to do something stupid with a couple of turbos and a megasquirt. That's after I find room for a 20 pound bottle of happy gas.
49" tire means a 24" center or so, minus half the axle tube diameter would seem like 22-23", right?
Anyway, low COG with the highest belly height is the idea and you have that down.
I kind of have the hankering to do something stupid with a couple of turbos and a megasquirt. That's after I find room for a 20 pound bottle of happy gas.
How much fun would that be
Yes, 27" was a good compromise in terms of link mounting, overall height, and being used to having more clearance under the belly than the axle tubes. I've got about an inch left in the rear before the uppers run into the motor mount tubes, and the chassis is actually resting on the front links right now.
How much fun would that be
Even a half-assed spray setup would cost twice what my motor did, I got nothin to lose.
DavidB
1/2 ton status
I like it.
No wonder it's taking a little time to build.
What's your weight ratio f/r gonna be?
No wonder it's taking a little time to build.
What's your weight ratio f/r gonna be?
I like it.
No wonder it's taking a little time to build.
What's your weight ratio f/r gonna be?
No idea what the ratio is going to be. Little bit scared, hoping for the best, and that the low COG minimizes weight transfer enough that I won't end up with brain damage from tumbling backwards down too many hills. I'll also have the winch hooked to the front axle most of the time so that I can keep the front suspension from dropping out on climbs.
Each end of the buggy will have approximately 1200 pounds of unsprung weight.
DavidB
1/2 ton status
Each end of the buggy will have approximately 1200 pounds of unsprung weight.
Well, that means it will at least ride good.
Actually, it probably will since you'll have about 10" of poofy suspension in your sidewalls.
Updates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I think that is MikeyI heard it was one of these
Give me 10-15 years, then it very well might be.
I bent and tacked some coilover hoops for the front end a few weeks ago. Talk about a PITA to notch! Kert and I are coordinating trips so that we'll use my truck and trailer to move project Grade 8, and then I'll haul the buggy back home...just makes it easier for both of us.
Once it gets back here, it will either go into one of two garages, or a storage shed, I haven't decided yet. Because of the recent election, I'm planning and building funds for building the AR lowers I have around, so buggy money is currently being diverted for those projects.
It's a victim of circumstance at the moment, and unfortunately there are no updates to speak of.
