I know it's all about what you want or what you put into it. But it cost $6k minimum to roll a good one out the door.You can build it for 6 but who will pay it? I guess it's like sox and underwear.I'm thinking about building some single seaters with lateral fwd honda motors with short 20" long chaindrive aluminium trailing arms. Automatic with 12 tooth driver sprockets and 15 tooth driven sprockets.With Firestones on each side it will be only 70" wide(that is thinking that a Firestone is 14" wide, each).A standard length with a king pin front end, center rack and hiem joint steering.The frame will be an extremly lite weight strong flexible dragster style.It will cost $6 to build but I have to sell it for 10K minimum.I've been looking into dependable 2006+ Honda 2.4 170 hp, toyota 2.4 168, nissan and vw 2.5 5 cyl. 170 hp.And they all love pump gas.They may not be the biggest in HP but they have good torque aswell. A turbo option is also possible.The stock exaust will twist upward out the back just below the fuel tank and battery, with a chrome srtaight pipe.The small radiator will be between the seat and motor.It will be built for business! A tiptronic automatic trans can be driven manually.They come in 4-6 speeds.

Well. No response. I guess that about wraps it up.Keep on buying your $1k carbs ,$1k blocks, kennedy kits, heads,the 40 year gears and the chineese cheese, the $8/gal motion lotion and stay where we were in the 80's and 90's.Did ya know America had a flying jet b4 the Germans but the American generals were so sold on propellers til the day a bolt of lightening went past them.There will be a day when you HAVE to eat out of California's hands or follow Dave to the jap salvage yard.Look at a Harley .You can't change their tradition of a motor basicly designed 50+ years ago , but, there is more technology in the Jap RADIO between thier handle bars.

DD i love ur idea uv been saying u were gunna start building frames i really enjoy seeing your creations every weekend u come up with some awesome things if i had the money to have another buggy built id be at ur doorstep right now keep on keepin on because nothin brings a bigger smile to my face than you seein your buggys pull up to long hill

I know it stands for Something An Asshole Buys but did you ever look over the old Saabs that had the engine bolted on top of the transmission with the clutch in the front? Compact design and even has a turbo. Now just make some long travel A arms to go with it and you won't need chains

thanks stillwell! but who are you?You know I'm wasted at long hill every week end. When the rich wreck their rides, their motors and trans need loved, I'm retared now and I'm at the right place and the right time to do this.I've made alot of mechanical mistakes in the past but I've gained a wealth of knowlege doing it.When you give up, you give up. Just ask any ol sperm cell.

that's a thought Bubba, but I had a motor up high once and I could not keep the front end down. With the Passat I learned it was a GREAT motor but parts were scarce.That's why I want to go to the newest, most plentiful dependable vehicle with the latest technology so I can get into the future better.I want to DRIVE the car b4 I dismantle it.

Its dakota the one that hangs out at normas i used to have drew wjth me all the time ull prlly know me by the piece of shit blue buggy i have haha

Passat, I think your designs are very cool. I like to do some street driving here in the Tennessee Mountains so a chain drive would limit the mph I would think. I have debated building a two seat car for the trips were momma stays home and its jut me and little Red. I know that there are real advantages to the chain drive, designed and built a lot of machines over the years that were double and triple chain sprockets.

_________________
Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

The only way to sell them is to build them . We all know you know how to post pics now so start a build thread and then put it on the trail and prove it works better,that's the only way to get it done.so put up or shut up,lol.and that was typed in my sarcasm font .prove us there is a better way ole great wise one. Chad

_________________
NOW GAS IT!!!!!

Hi Chad. I understand the prove it or put up or shut up. Those words were probably used when wagons got wheels .I NEED TO SEE THE INTREST LEVEL IN SOME PEOPLE WANTING SOMETHING NEW. Nobody does it til someone cool,says it's cool. Or a joke that ain't funny til the boss laughs.Or the King's nod. I CANNOT set up welding tables, jigs, patterns and buy metal by the ton,several Jap cars in the yard unless I can "identify the market"1st. W/c motors are too heavy to hang off the back of any trans if you want to climb steeeep.Unless they only have 2" of ground hieghth under the oil pan. This rail will have the rear edge of the motor right at the center of the rear sprocket(fwd of the axle). Enough said. So,I'm asking the great people of Woodsbuggy to put up or shut up .I could just sell the bare dragster frame with motor mts and trailing arms only to help on price and shipping.That way use or buy your own vw wheels, front end, seat, brakes, pedals,gas tank, battery etc, and the Honda motor and trans from your local salvage.When Iococa was the cheese of Chrysler in the 70's he said "Build it and they will come". The Japs went out to the public and g'vmt to see what they wanted 1st.There is no big money in it for me, just the same, hopefully new,
passion yall have, but someone has to take the ball and run it in.

As much as I would love to see a Production Buggy for sale and I am sure it would kick butt.. I am not sure if you find a lot of people dropping $10K on a buggy.

Another idea to think about would be a Chain Drive Conversion kit.. Create a chain drive trailing arm kit that replaces the trailing arms on a stock IRS torsion housing. Allow for different CV flange options on a set Axle length. Include the sprocket/chain already setup with wheel bearings and brakes/rotors.

If this was developed as a complete turn key "bolt on" solution, I bet you could sell a bunch of them for $2500.

It was this video that gave me the idea...

_________________
Woodsbuggy forum is now on the Tapatalk Mobile app... (iPhone, iPad and Android devices)

Thanks Mickey. Of coarse most of us don't have it ,I am looking for ways a few can afford it. And those baby chains from bubba were an inspiration to my baby chains . I crafted up an aluminum set coming straight back from the springplate out of aluminum that use a $7 bronze bushing 2" wide that rides inside the sprocket with 3 ounces of gear dope (13 tooth). No need for 2 wheel bearrings and a stub axle riding inches away to hold the torque.The MSL book says it will hold 42000 lbs so I guess I'm good.lolTherefore the tires can come in that much closer.His inspiration lead to my inpiration to make a trailing arm 6 inches narrower! Multiply that by both sides.Narrow buggies have more room in the road to manuever.I had a very wide buggy once (The Wedge) and there was nothing I COULD DO but hit a washout and usually I had to put 1 wheel up in the weeds to go up a hill and it always wanted to pull lt or rt depending on which wheel was slipping or gripping.Today with chains it is just what that heavy Buick V6 needed. Wheels a foot+ back, 20"+ hieghth,and only 78"TSL 40 to TSL 40.I've been driving and pulling with with it and it works perfectly.That's why I want this new one to be 70", wide Firestone to wide Firestone. A tractor brake will not really be needed with 40" from inside tire edge to inside tire edge.A low c of g will keep it from rolling over.A narrower buggy will also ride on that inner crest of the road.thanks mickey.

Do yall see the left edge of Bubba's c/v joint when the vid starts? That is where the right edge of my chain meets.And every thing is inline with a 1"x6" hard aluminium plate 15" long.Aluminium is $25/ft.Vw bus 71-79 bearring housings bolted to the rear of the aluminium. A large sprocket welded to the stub axle.It's adjustable aswell.I use bus joints with a car shaft like he did.

I want a 2 seat, mid engine, A arm front end with a powerglide and whatever center chunk and axles will hold 400 to 450 horsepower but there is a catch. I want it to look good. I really wish ppl would do some more of these type buggys. Work out the bugs and see what works the best. Ppl are dropping 15 to 20 grand right and left for these rzr's that have taking over all the parks I ride. If someone could build a really clean, working buggy with this setup I would drop the cash just to be different. No offense but my days of cleaning carbs and driving 2 and a 1/2 hours north west to buy vw parts and to have work done are over. Can't afford the time I used to invest with air cooled motors. I need efi and the durability of bigger stuff all around witch adds weight but I gotta do something different. Thanks for being different man. Ppl like you give ppl like me hope for the future when it comes to buggys.

Actually I used 924 Porsche CV's and stubs (Thing/VW 411/412) and SAW 15 5/8" axles but those are minor details. The vision was Marty's and whoever else stayed up at night and thought up "babychains", I merely put my own spin on it. The beauty in the the theory is it creates the same footprint much like putting an extended swingarm on a motorcycle for the purpose of hillclimbing, and if you find you don't want to climb hills anymore take them off and slap on a set of trailing arms. You are on the right path exploring new power/ transmission options, I'd love to try an automatic transmission.

Exactly. .I'd love the powerglide with 400+ also. The powerglide driver seat will be 1 foot further up than the Passat set up.But anyway.I'm sold on very very lite like this new idea 170hp with about the same in torque w/just a little gear reduction and a tiptronic automatic .This can be hauled in the back of a pick up or a T trailer with a car.Powerglide guy must need to borrow a dual axle trailer and big truck and gas to get to Wellsville.Compare dragging a dead single seater out of the woods verses a Rockcrawler. And buy $800+ tires each. Or forget the 4cyl. The Japs make some great V6's that will fit just as easy.The original vw bug 's that I drove from '77-02' had 50hp after the 1st year of loosing compression and would get 50-60,000 miles. My wife's '03 New Beetle has 115 hp and runs great after 140K. Modern motors have came a loooong way so let's take advantage of them.A couple of sensors around the motor with a computer nearby. Temp gauge reads 180 no matter how you drive it.Oh and to clear up 1 myth. I had a compt sit in an ammo box all winter, 2 years ago, 3" deep in rain water, and was not affected at all.