Budget Truck Buggy Build

Since I am waiting for some warmer weather to paint the pan (I have to plan my trip to the sandblaster accordingly) I started working on other stuff.  I got my extra king and link beam stripped in prep for narrowing.  To get the front tires to tuck under the body like I want the beam needs to be narrowed at least a 4"....I have been wanting to replace the 6" beam in Java and I think this is my opportunity.  So I am going to build a 4" beam and install it in Java and use the 6" beam under the buggy.  

I also started working on gathering parts for the spindles.  I am going to run drop spindle four lug disc brakes.  I already purchased the spindles, king pins, link pins, brake hoses, bearings, spindle nuts and bearing caps along time ago.  Went to Gary's on Monday and picked up some rotors and calipers.  This left me with a need for a set of carriers.  So I dug around in the garage and found some complete take off spindles that I got from Randy a while back.  After dissasembly of the spindles and some degreasing on the carriers I got this...



After a few minutes in the blast cabinet....



Since this is a budget build I figured I would give taking the three remaining bias plys off the rims shot.  After pulling the first tire from the rusted out wheel I was leaning torward taking the last three to the tire store but today I felt like attempting it.  To warm up me and my harbor freight manual tire changer I did some work to my spare tires for my trailer. I replaced a leaking valve stem on one trailer spare and replaced a cracked and dry rotted tire on the second spare.  Then came the fun of breaking the beads ad removing three 30 year old cold bias plys.   One tire gave me problems breaking the bead and another tire gave me a hard time coming off but I got them done. Saved a few bucks for future expense and got a workout!

Front Wheels 14x6....re-barreled wheel on the right



Rear Wheels 15x8

Started tearing the engine down so I could remove the rusty exhaust, external oil cooler setup and just the amount of dirt on the engine.  Compression and end play feel good by hand so hopefully the compression numbers come out good.  If so I will clean everything, install a dog house oil cooler, new oil pressure switch, one barrel carb and intake (saving the two barrel intake for another project), new exhaust and some general tune up items

I am still plugging away.  Primed and painted the spindles and carriers and started pressing new king pins in.  I picked up another pedal assembly the ones that came with this buggy, the other buggy chassis and the irs chassis were all junk.  I also picked up a replacement stub axle as one of mine had bad threads. Chassis went to the blaster today!  Hope to have it painted next week so I can start assembly!  

Still working on it but most of it has been cleanup/de-grease or sand blasting work. I did get the spindles built the other day. 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SeWRQ-d7ksCC_N0JgJwwrLntyuY0WeyJDKjVNeV-l-Q4EVmv59LX2Ds5a0t9CQ92SOp8x2unSGR4CWvRkJoOuHBwr2fOSVBp4LUNnrARbFwnQ6BY1fCgBSkSsY5a7r6icpMGizX0I5_tGytgy79Y3unnhUrN2MLY51Oc-ueGUyqJSt8sq8rjIIgxNY9xZC7QsBeTdeo844c4Qcgv1sOfUxqHWXnFYTDzIiMJ3b6GK_PxG0tmIAO8knTf4GMaGIeZWbrL9T5LHygcOEEnaApq2yuSbdS271GDdFzJ0Gd4EnUp11o-Mj_31ccqisQGXz1ZbYRN4-W71N-nlj1YJwxY4qilyfzC3BXc_Xbh-bnKUunSTdCyUKNf22XOh538pyZdiFVoJvxYLZsHCqeGdoEk8BzBReYUTeQurEXxF0jaVvvfKI0fPr8-lYA1f10P59dwbSkWdoQl13cfOL2jZkFhdRA2VCvVAvTw1HbZWLYIvF70PwhTiETa671etPNwbRG00vTfWDms2Sn3LdzJNIwDQwCdfse2LR1eF2NOXDTHEDx0mEYX99GoWCFqzFDhIj9eo4_HqTRJHN-yVvxbTrmDXykqWabpoiU3E1w9mREuav_-jbxLVHV9Uw0b_RwgDb08jPDnVcrHgHeA-rdTZOvsw_mH-13tytB4JdBNVutCxeEUaSoKBmj-HJg=w960-h633-no

I also took apart the CV joints and cleaned them up and put them back together.  Waiting on new boots so I can get the axles reassembled.  Also mocked up my later steering column but I didn't like how it fit so back to the early column.  I pulled the early column apart and cleaned the bearing and sand blasted everything but the steering shaft which I just wire wheeled.  Also pulled apart the pedals and blasted all the parts.  Didn't quite get everything prepped for primer before the rain started today so I guess I will just have to wait.  

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/id9BNUb0-go5PJ6rDkpeZItM2yTcqP1Obc7-bvm8zNvcaeZYJATC0wUY2rLZvpUK55n6yDffI8P2jKZgcB5iJ41S36jwooZXzc4c8IPUcfCfh6ZrPMt3-MuUz5R9QanIoNUHpVkjIj7Pb0jJ63oSh1o2-yZHuo0bwNoSVoV_-6LNtJB8rpeihprKM3L16aJ1mtV8RFBMFWUJFby7obg9Kirvpd15q3IfVNxxJ_C6hzx1s_mbhTZyCmv9y_fNCFZrEnRwWPKNiUQvQhAeB_TRqXIp4D3LNao5YV1cg-Za9cA8poEAZP_ZGL8IJxdkbPPSE_g-3m_L23eLhZ-_tSvF7wePDpSGP_W31JxRwBP58Nsmda12y55smUgR8nE6n_fDx0Z8ytHC7K2Sy34PD7R5vHM_NaPp-pBq0EVuRSJFS04zdD8At_c--SaZx1OneWBoaFW5ffHu5BZiGv2CNs9M1SjLSOcXNdgSNdAz2CDwI-vZk97xVmbisFt8Mpp2f3Mxw34R4msReap727DTSgffS0makfhXc4WtfoQ5zsbz6KAIyWyZ2NiliJu0fbr-u9YNtHnXkjHV_NDRwGxB3jJIglyFKjKkgEaSA_D5Dc4EAwTgBKqo8Zkc1cbP1H0WcbVOhrEFuLkT3d9OeCFSw-4tparOWOs4imritJBLKLJFUX1IDBrPaYM0ZOs=w960-h633-no

Does anyone have a 13"-14" steering wheel for sale?  Looking for a three spoke wheel and I prefer wood rimmed.  It can be worn and/or rusty and it must be cheap!
 
While it was raining I decided to cleanup the used headlights I picked up a while back.  After pulling the old bulbs and washing the buckets inside I gave them a little polish with the steel wool.  I think they will work perfect for the hoodride buggy!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MuooJQx54d8-jp0JCNxJ_7P5QT08CbovZ89q-3SGvhCj6W69o5Yw1S12DfNVPApgNbPlyhGd1wn8o2UFLzhYUi9YKEm9YChhPOiAxlNyDsnsKHFeNITNrED2-nyqBZT24ZFevjHKx_KP2Kac_gqAHMZSuLcQB-iEzknOQAqHdb-aClkn9WtwZDXzSeA9Mo2idwlkKHKwUpmV1Ds0yFlw8QMEcAIeCmfaVcGoPcFaPTeBnnac3pgpvCiNKPqaosPwWnmutQ6i8hsfmXAgtoQf1lFrf1gmzJn-bY4qrqcvOcrvpTwj_SF63FbBNLDoqpEoZwVGq3oExHJ3bd1VNE6nUOXIu1y-4Y2KGao9AO3BieXJWimwtFEK2yQ9eVGQRwX-8rMp6AhyjqBvEqv0dXY-i0RYeit2OszsSSv1u74X5pJuWTfqNNlDea6f7Hq6YwG1fruc-wp0sf6YJnDgsUzg0aL8LMl0mSLakccs2ga1Xp3JK9LIR_5wXkQqzgU2zQbyB1di-EK7SDx37cuM0uvgfsJ_3Gwxhk9kRaNm8djkC-HW4T-2bUr7C1IWv1Y6T1D_zLTXIdyEumbOTTFg0oDPwN2y4E_zdWHoqYQ-uhAhW-0TaQ5ZJew3os8lBh2ttGpei6nEdkVZ0VggxIssrldvow-kbBxfhN0MVf_l_aDptpBMnQR4-mgnKQE=w960-h633-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/E5f_kzINUk3eeNWcyOgNpR9ztknyjlP-snQUULaiZlA-KrmUpuP8WwOm7HiF_cF0YwU2Pu5T2f9eLGRCz5AWjUIEhMf3QfUM5fwk4FnhOq9Kav1aR-FxNOBgD-bhsWgpQX5ceOegRp6kwc18N2w469mlwit1smXhIZAvGNWA1cJg0kJgDHBsNmw_mhpiccPkEPm_A6lnP-yya9ja_UM939i0oy_dHyVPHGhUT_5ueR3C7Boms8Kel5aT5Wu0Dv-T-73EPvGovHU57mGdhBMPMphQ5HogsJP7nhzjErs0rfEtqxhufJu04lbUzU3xYoBbCIJB1HFCH7STcmIV2erp92aTzBUCpBz5vPgH217vIL_ImiTxBI0TlLSQxmQ-0mOmnyQcuOoeo5VTCIlMkT8R4S2REHXggFlW7xBn1CjHVc-2Nf3w0HkZ92ikBD7prNwre0G7ab0FnAHu7OHM6SEGPzzW7hht8PBsxEJaUcMjHydVb0GGSb__RXK0dtl37-hwgOCnvrjwHn-N_YNuLAmGqBjqruX_lfDAAo_0vkr8SjunvdIeaIOB-u69a74tcAixryRykUrY3mk1cHWXdXVKYiFVEnDapEtdgbNsVsoppiKa4C1O2bUl6D1fhBscjcWUGOTIr77GfOf1cj8MZNORC6tk_uvqF68xDdRcj3Oe0qAXDtOEHezX37w=w960-h633-no

Rainy day today so I spent some time laying out parts that I have for the buggy.  Still waiting on the pan to come back from sandblasting.  Just need a few good weather days so they can get it blasted and I can get it in epoxy.  I went ahead and bought another gallon of raptor bed liner to cover the pan with.  Last full size pan took 3 quarts....hoping the 14" shorter pan will only take 2 but if not I will just put it on really thick.  



While I was looking through spare parts I ran across two later wiper motors.  Wanting the buggy to be fully functional I decided to test them out and see if I couldn't get one to work.  Both assemblys were splined shaft styles with one being a dash switch motor and the other a column switch motor.  For the buggy I am planning on using a dash wiper switch as I didn't like how the later steering column fit.  After testing the motors with my handy power probe, one motor turned out to be good.  It was a little slow with linkage hooked up but nothing a little time couldn't fix.  Of course it wasn't the dash switch motor so off to research I went.  I knew from past experience that the column switch wiper motors will pop a fuse when they park if they are wired to a dash switch.  My research turned up a wiring schematic for both motors and a suggestion on how to modify the wiring on the later motor which I found here
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620015&highlight=late+model+wiper  
I decided to investigate the wiring/contacts for myself so I pulled the cover off the cam assembly on both motors.  After a little testing and thinking I decided to just clip the ground off the cam assembly.  This may allow the wipers to move a little further past the park position when they are turned off but I figured it would work well enough for a buggy.

I picked a transaxle up from Mike a week or so ago.  He said it had been sitting out of a car standing straight up for a long time.  The output shafts were still free and spinning but the shift forks were stuck in first and the input shaft was frozen.  I decided to drain the oil and fill the tranny up with a gallon of diesel and let it sit over night.  The next day I took an old clutch and slowly worked the input shaft back and forth til it spun free and easy.  Then I flipped the tranny upside down and let it sit for a few hours so the shift forks could get some diesel.  Anyway everything freed up and I started knocking off what little dirt was on the tranny.  



Almost ready.....lol

Got most of my parts that needed painting primed and painted today!  Still have to do the trailing arms and backing plates but they are still in the electrolosis tank.  

Trying to work on a few odds and ends until I get the chassis back.  Today I reassembled the pedals cluster with a new roller pedal, new pedal pads, and a bolt on clutch cable shaft.  That way I wont have to fight trying to keep the cable on the hook because it's going to be hard enough to fiddle with the cluster when the body is on.





I also wanted to get the body pressure washed of most of the dirt it had on it for sitting the amount of years it has.  Nice warm day today so I knocked that out.

Before



After

After looking around for a set of taillights I finally settled on some 41-48 Chevy taillights from Speedway.  I wanted something nice looking but easy on the budget and at just over $40 shipped they were well within budget.  The buggy didn't come with any lights but there were many holes.  I ended up have to cut more of a rectangle out to fit the taillight housing but I think they look good.  I need to get some fiberglass and start filling some holes now!







I finally got my pan back from the blaster today!  One of the transaxle frame horns came back with few more holes than what it left with.  There was three or four small pinholes that I welded up but not before blowing the holes out much larger.  I also had to cut the clutch tube down at the front as I left a little too much for the cable to work right.  I welded up my access hole before it went to the blaster because it was too far forward for me to cut the tube.  Today I just sliced open the tunnel enough to get the sawzall blade in to make the cut and welded it back up.  I also had to remove the spring plates before priming.  Driver side came off easy but the passenger side wouldn't budge.   Broke my favorite big screw driver so I went and got the big pry bar.  With the pry bar I ended up destroying the spring plate and it still wouldn't come off.  Then I got the torch and a long solid rod.  I heated where the splines are in the center and used the rod as a punch to knock the whole torsion bar assembly out.  I picked the pan up around 4pm and by the time I had everything prepped for primer it was getting dark.  I ended up spraying with limited light and running the primer in a couple of spots.  Oh well the bed liner will cover it!

My wheels were ready along with the pan today!  I had them powder coated with a hammered finish.  I didn't fill but the worst of the pits in the wheels so all the rest are still visible but I still think the wheels came out great!  I may end up running trim rings on them anyways so I wasn't really concerned with the pits on the barrels.

Before





After

I ordered a set of Cooper Cobras from discounttiredirect.com and only received two tires bundled together but each tire had a tracking number.  Somewhere in UPS land my other two tires are floating with no tracking number....Discount Tire made it good and shipped me two more that should be here Monday.  Since I bought two different size tires I got one front and one rear.  So I went and bought some valve stems and put the two tires on myself.  After mounting I wished I had bought a little bigger rear tire.  Fronts are 215/70/14s and the rears are 235/60/15s.



I got the center caps mounted too but not before a little work.  I had to run a tap through all the center cap screw holes and drill out every hole on the center caps so they would fit.  Then a short trip to he store for some stainless machine screws.



I also got the pan seam sealed, shot with a second coat of primer and raptor lined.  I ended up using 3 quarts of the raptor liner on the pan.  2 quarts were just not quite enough.

Coming along nicely.

Last couple of days I have gotten a good bit done.  My other two tires showed up Monday so I mounted them with my tire irons.  Also got the trailing arms, steering wheel, backing plates, shift rod coupler cover, spring plates, spring plate covers, fan shroud, cylinder tin and intake blasted and painted.  Today I finally started some reassembly!  First I pulled the pan off the rotisserie and put it on some saw horses.  Then I ran a tap through all the bolt holes on the pan.  I ended up getting the diagonal arms, torsion bars, spring plates and new spring plate bushings installed.  I put all the bearings in the passenger side diagonal arm with fresh grease and installed the stub axle and backing plate.  Started on the driver side but stopped after installing the ball bearing, clip and new grease seal because I have lost the inner spacer for the stub axle.  I moved to the front after that and got the beam installed, leaves dimpled and narrowed, trailing arms and spindles mounted with new link pins.  After giving up installing the inner bearing races in the rotors I ran the clutch, accelerator and e-brake cables.  I mocked up the pedal assembly and mounted the master cylinder.  Also bolted in the e-brake handle with the cutting brake hand levers.    

Finally a roller!  First thing today I went to Ace and bought a bag of bolts so I could get everything bolted together. Spring plate cover bolts, link pin to trailing arms bolts, pedal bolts, shifter bolts, and shifter cover bolts.  I got the front bearings packed and installed along with the rotors and calipers.  One spindle must have been machined wrong as the inner bearing would not go on.....tried a couple of different brand bearings too!  Ended up sanding a little at a time until the bearing went on.  Finished the drivers side trailing arm after finding my stub axle spacer.  Put the brakes on with a new spring kit after cleaning the e-brake hardware and adjusters.  Also installed all the metal brake lines. Ended up shortening 4 out of 6 so they fit just right.  Finished the day by installing the wheels.  Of course it wasn't an easy bolt on and roll.  I had to grind some on both of the calipers to get the front wheels to spin.

Looking good. One thing I figured out doing mine, go to Tractor Supply to buy your nuts and bolts. They sale them buy the pound, not sure about Ace, but its a lot cheaper than Lowes. I'm ready to see the body on it.

56rag wrote:Looking good. One thing I figured out doing mine, go to Tractor Supply to buy your nuts and bolts. They sale them buy the pound, not sure about Ace, but its a lot cheaper than LoWes.

Good tip!  I usually do buy most of my bolts from there but here lately I have hated going in the local tractor supply as they never have what I go for. Also I went for all metric stuff and the last time I looked at tractor supply their metric were not by pound.

Ace is the place / bulk use Fasnal

Dad came over and gave me a hand today.  We cleaned and painted the steering box off the donor buggy chassis.  We got the second tie rod narrowed, painted and installed along with the steering box and other tie rod.  Also installed the new steering stabilizer.  Somewhere in there we wire wheeled the rear drums and painted them and installed the wiper motor in the hood.  James came by just in time with the rear two brake hoses so we installed them and adjusted the rear brakes so we could bleed the system.  Got the brakes bled and the e-brake cables shortened and installed.  It took me a couple of cuts to get them right but I think they are good now.  As far as the brakes go, I am going to test drive the buggy and see how they do before purchasing and adding a proportion valve.  

Finally got the body set on the pan for a mock up.  I ended up just installing the 4" beam that I built for Java and it isn't quite narrow enough for the look I wanted.  The tires stick out about an inch on each side and with the beam all the way up I have very little clearance.....may end up swapping beams after all!  I wish they made the cooper cobras in a smaller size 14" but I bought the smallest they offered. I think I dropped the ball on the size of the sidewalls from front to back.  Even though the rear tires are taller, the extra 1" in the barrel (14" fronts to 15" backs) shortened the sidewall.  Oh well now!





And just because I had it I installed the 4" narrowed sway bar

I was out of town for a week and then finally got back and have been battling allergies but I have made good progress.  The 4 inch beam got swapped for Java's 6 inch beam.  The tires are now even with the fenders and there is plenty of clearance as the 6 inch beam has the adjusters in the stock location.  

The transaxle got a new input shaft seal, nose cone seal, final drive seal, filled with gear oil and installed with new mounts and new Bowden tube.  I also shortened the clutch cable while I was at this point.

Also got the engine installed after swapping the alternator stand, new fuel pump, new o ring on distributor,  freshly painted intake and tin installed with new screws and an exhaust I picked up Tim for at the coop show.  I converted to an alternator and a doghouse cooler.  Topped off with a new clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing.  I still have to install a carb and shorten the accelerator cable.

The body is now bolted down with a new pan seal after drilling a few new holes.  The rear of the buggy is a little off toward the driver side but I will live with it for now.

The wiring is all pulled and almost buttoned except for blinker switch and a few ground wires.    Most of the dash holes are plugged after installing the ignition switch, headlight switch, wiper switch, and speedometer.

After getting most of the wiring done I got to the point were I needed to get the steering column mounted so I could mount the turn signal switch and finish the wiring.  For me to mount the column I had to first mount a seat so I could position the column.   So I pulled a stock seat bottom apart just for the frame with no springs so I could mount my poly seats and still use the stock seat rails.  Well after fabbing mounts the seat was not fitting right so I cut the frame down 1.75" in the front and 2" in the rear and they fit much better.  Still have to do the other side.  Tackling the steering column tomorrow.  I am going to have to cut it down some.

Awesome!!! Getting closer.

fluxcap wrote:Awesome!!!  Getting closer.

Yeah man it is getting close.  I have one issue that has came up with what gas tank to use so I will have to ponder on it for a bit.....

I did get the steering column mounted today.  I ended up cutting down the steering shaft 5 inches to get a better driving position and more room to get in and out of the buggy.  After that I built the steering column support and mounted it up but the column wasn't solid enough.   I ended up making and welding a bracket to the column under the hood to bolt to the front fire wall.  You can still remove the column with the bracket welded on but it has to come out from under the hood.  Now I just have to wire up the turn signal switch and run a couple of grounds to finish the wiring.  

Just from the 30,000 ft. view it looks like a super beetle tank might fit over the steering column if you built up a little plastic 2X4 frame for it to sit on... just a thought.
KC

P.S. I like that steering wheel...

ASBug wrote:P.S. I like that steering wheel...

Thanks! It is exactly what I wanted for the buggy.  I was excited to find it at the swap @ Cruise the Coop!

ASBug wrote:Just from the 30,000 ft. view it looks like a super beetle tank might fit over the steering column if you built up a little plastic 2X4 frame for it to sit on... just a thought.
KC

The issue with the gas tank is/was the height was hitting the hood.  All I had around the house was a 62-67 tank so I made it work.  Ended up spinning the tank so the filler is at the top but I still had to do major surgery.  I ended up cutting out the top of the hump and flattening it so the hood would clear.   Then since i had a flat spot near the center hole cut in the hood I made use of it and welded the filler in the center.  I need to do a good bit of glass filling on the center hole though as it was cut way too big and I had to trim it more to fit what I had.  

Anyway the tank is in, wiring is done under the dash, hood is bolted on, headlights are bolted on, second seat has been shortened and mounted and I received a present from the post office today.....my windshield!!!

I picked up a set of clamp on mirrors and a 66 oil bath at BAP yesterday.

Today after the Braves won I got the windshield bolted down, tag light installed, all the wiring is done and working, carb blown out and installed, throttle cable shortened, cv axles greased and installed