I'm going to look at my bumper and do some thinking for you. Since you can notch the tubing and cut the straight pieces, I was thinking I could just make the bent parts for you and leave them long. Then you could cut and and the straight pieces to fit your frame. It would be really difficult to make the complete front bumper without the frame sitting here.

On the battery, I prefer mine up front. I have all my fuse panel and dash wiring up there so it's a short run for power and I can hide it all. Plus the weight of the battery is in front of the passengers feet. I used heavy gauge welding cable for battery cable and just soldered the ends on. I think it was 0 gauge and I just use a propane torch to solder the ends on with some good flux and solder.

It's looking really good! I'll have a chance later this week to look at how we may be able to get a bumper on there.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Man that would be real cool of you and I would be willing to give it a try. I think it makes sense to put the battery up front.. so I may start out that way and see how it works out... I looked this morning and I may have room in the back as well... but it would be really tight... How did you run your wires back to the motor area from the fuse box? And did you weld in a plate for the battery mount to sit on?

thanks for your help...

My wires all run down the middle of the car zip tied to the tubes. I have a plate welded under the battery and then I have a battery tray I made with a steel bolt down strap that holds it down.

Here you can see the bundle of wires going down to the floor area and then they run straight down the middle to the back of the car.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

If you look to the far right end of my control panel you can see how I used a simple conduit tube to run all my wire to the rear over head. The tubing is from Home Depot or Lowes in the Irrigation section. It is a shinny black tubing that is real flexible. It is 3/4" and will work with seal tight electrical ends.


I ran all of my signal wires from the control box up front to my Computer, Fuse block and relax box in the rear. All of my wires from the control to the main box are light gauge as there only function is to actuate the relays in the back. Each relay is run to a fused switched or un-switched depending on its need.

Things are a little more elaborate on my car due to the fuel injection and all the associated relays. All in all the electrical is very easy. There a few build threads on this site with wiring diagrams. If you are challenged by it let me know and I would be glad to make you up a generic harness with labeled wires.



Here is a photo of my simple battery box made from 1/2" angle with mitered corners welded. Welded two nuts to each side to thread in some all thread rod with jam nuts. Then a flat strap on top. FYI be sure to ground the transmission to the chassis if you don't want your throttle cable to do it. The battery is for a Honda Civic.

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

red barron your not gonna be happy till you have pictures of your rig plastered on every thread are you? just kiddin

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If it ain't broke ill fix that

Hey man I am just getting ready to sell it. This way everyone is familiar with the rig. Now I am kidding , I am just trying to help a buddy out here. Good looking clean rigs are no accident. They take planning and execution. I can't help being a little proud of it, especially sine it was all built by my hands, with blood sweat and a few tears.

I try to support folks like my riding. He is a newbie but he is turning out some real nice work. I was fortunate to grow up with buggies and see all the changes in technology, with that being said I have experienced and repaired just about every failure with AC engines and buggies in general. I just want to pay it foreward by sharing the knowledge.

I like the HPfreak four seater and can't wait to hear you are out beating up and scraping some paint.

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

Nice build thread ! Keep up the great work !!!!

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

Well, I am still waiting on the tubing so I can knock out the last few things I need to weld up on the rear... but I hope to get something done this weekend... I noticed the rear may be off by about a quarter inch side to side by how it sits... that's going to drive me nuts... But it may be the wheel I have on it... one side is about a 1/4 inch or so wider or it might be my floor... I told myself I will not do anything till I get it all together and out of the garage... then I will measure and see... I might be able to adjust the shocks or trailing arms too... but anyway... I am also ordering my wiring harness tomorrow as well... going with the painless 12 circuit one so I have possible circuits in the future... I will not be able to use it all at first but might be able to add as I go... or if I switch to another frame I will be able to take this one with me

Any way... look for more pic's this weekend I hope its starting to look like a buggy that's encouraging... After I wire it up I need to figure out the valve geometry, with it being a stroked motor... I need to shim the rockers and cut the push rods. that will be a pain.... so not looking forward to that.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed the new years holiday...

This is the kit I used from American Autowire:

http://www.americanautowire.com/highway15.html

Could probably use one like this as well for a little savings:

http://rebelwire.com/rebel-wire-product ... ire%20Kits

Rebel even has sand rail specific kits for just over $100.

I like that the American kit wasn't ended into the fuse panel. I could cut to length and make the auxiliary circuits whatever I wanted them to be. I used a self cancelling motorcycle turn signal module from Signal Dynamics, it works like a charm, if you're using turn signals. They all need customizing but the kits sure do make it easy. Full schematics, correct wire gauge, correct fuses, some switches are included...like ignition etc.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

thanks man, much better price range... With me having a VW motor I might go with the VW wire harness then... the kits look nice. Not sure if I should do the deluxe or regular VW kit... and unsure what the dif. is from the hotrod kit? I figure it will be easier for me to wire up the VW motor if the color of the wire matches the diagrams... even if it is only a few wires...

I will do some research and order today.

thanks agn....

I thought I posted this already... But I don't see it....

I can't decide...

1. American Autowire Power Plus 13 Street Rod Wire Kit USA (comes with a few switches?.)
Like this one:
https://touch.ebay.com/tablet/vi?itemId=400100992277

2. Rebel wire delux vw kit... I like that all the wire is factory color so I can run it pretty easily. And it's labeled every 6 inches.
Halfway down the page... Vw delux:
http://ajcustomauto.com/vw-wiring-kits/

For the record.... I have no immediate plans to do more than the following but do like options.

5 or 6 forward facing lights
1 rear facing light
Brake lights
Horn
Accessory or auxiliary plug to charg or run things

Now in the future if I could get all the odd stuff fixed and frame tweaked I may want to do street legal... So I think I should make sure the harness will at least get me there... Even if I have to pull it out of this frame and place in another....

Or am I over thinking this... And should just get the rail buggy harness and upgrade on down the road.... It would save me over 100.00 if I don't need the other.

Let me know... All 3 kits are about the same price 230 ish....

Ah I couldn't stand it...
I ordered the Deluxe VW kit... will be here before next weekend so I will start it then... Update on my tubing... they lost it... so the guy had to track it down and get it moving agn... so looks like I will be cleaning up the garage this weekend and not get anything done... its pretty dang cold anyway...


Specs:
Rebel Wire V.W. BUG DELUXE Wiring Harness

$220.00

16 Circuit universal harness, Horn Relay, Lights, cell phone charger, Hazard, Gauge Power, Wiper, Brake Lights, AC-Heat, Back-up,Radio Constant, Turn signal, Dome light, Trunk Light and 2 Accessory Circuits both Keyed.

12 Fuse panel with 3 prong flasher and Horn Relay.

Assembled with heavy duty SXL wire, labeled every 6" and bundled for easy installation.

OK... Rebel wire harness is in and my tubing is here also... so this weekend I will get that into full swing. I may do a side thread for the wire harness incase anyone wants to know about them... nice stuff... really good to work with too (Good People)...

few pics:








Anyway... For this weekend I need to cut the back of the seat mounts off the tube and lift them about 1/2 inch, also want to make sure they are even... right now I think the driver lays back a tiny bit more than the passenger. After that I need to weld in the seat brace and seatbelt brackets... then I still want to add some tubing to the frame on each side as well as reinforcement for the bump stop... then I am done welding till I move to the front end (forward of the seats). So once that is done I will fall into the wire harness and then my goal will be to get the motor to run before I move to anything else... (well run and stop).

more to follow.

I picked up a few parts from Big Scott (thanks) and will be looking at working on the wire harness soon (need warmer weather first)... I have a billet switch cox, center console, and a pedal slider (that I need to see if will fit)... if the pedal slider fits... What do you guys use for the cable extender (so you can adjust the pedals) I see two put there...

1. is a bar with holes... you move the pedals and then stick the gas pedal in the nearest spot on the extender.

2. Bar with a wing nut bracket on it that you loosen and slide when you move the pedals... (this looks nicer by design to me).

Any way with the weather so cold and me having no heat in the garage I have not been real motivated to go out and do anything... I still need to weld up some holes I found on the bottom of the frame (looks like old rivet holes)... Also need to grind my crappy welds for the seat brace and bump stop brace (you would think it had clicked by now... no my welding still sucks).

I also still need to figure out where and how to mount the fuse box... thinking inside the center console, but unsure how... Water tight electrical box? something that would just open from the side of the console would be nice but I am not sure.

more to follow when my garage thaws out

http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/merch ... ange_high=

http://www.mooreparts.com/store/product/4161/LR-798541/

way down at the bottom of the page: http://www.dansperformanceparts.com/bug ... ytcbh2.htm

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Which one you think I should use Forty? The pedal slider I got from BigScott looks like this (except without the roller pedal part - I think someone cut that off... I can see where it might have been on the side)

http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AC798558&Store_Code=PC&search=pedal+assemblies+latest+rage&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

I will not be ordering anything for a few weeks... just working on a list... I have lots of work to do while I wait though.

I'm not sure. I have seat sliders and fixed pedals so I don't have much experience there. My last rail had adjustable pedals and I bought the CNC bar with 3 adjustments. It matched my pedal mounting plate. I never adjusted them except maybe once so my dad could drive it. For the plate you have with 7 settings you'll need an one that has more settings than the CNC unit. Maybe the Moore Parts one would work. I'd probably call one of those places and see what they recommend.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

yeah, OK... in my case I was just going to stick with fixed pedal mount... but the more I think about it I doubt I will have room for seat sliders... just trying to think ahead... Before I do anything else I need to go out to see if it will even fit... I have a cross tube that might block it... if that is the case I cant use it anyway. I would only want to use it if I could allow for a shorter person to drive... in my case the current fixed location will work...

just ran out to look... if I use the adjustable plate I will only be able to get up to 2 inches closer... not sure it will be of any use to me I was hoping I could get it to work out. I might just stick with what I have...

I sat in it for the first time and man, I feel like I am trapped in there... its so small... I really need a bigger rail... sitting down looking out the windshield upright is almost right in front of me... it may just be I need to get used to it... also the seat is not bolted down but while sitting in the seat... lifting my head up so I can see and placing my hand on top of my head I have about 3 inches of clearance till I touch the tube that's over head...

I need to slow down and think things over, I really need to just get it running... You guys run the mores cable or regular cable?

I use a Morse, or push pull cable. Works great. Most of these cars aren't very big unless they are built specifically to be. Main reason I sold my 4 seat, to build the 2 seat, was the size of the SandFox. It was cramped for sure. No reason to stop now, it's almost done. Don't worry if you have those feelings of, "I wish I would have, or next time I will...", they'll probably be there next time too. Just finish it, run it, enjoy it and build on from there.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

thanks man... for me... unlike you folks... this is all new so I don't know what anything is like... nothing to compare it to. I will keep pushing till I get it done... Morse cable it is... I have a tube welded in for the stock cable... you think it will fit inside that? And what would the best way be to measure (wait till its done and I need the cable to fire it up?).

Thanks agn... I keep telling myself to get it done... and if its as much fun as it looks and you guys say... I could opt out for a larger frame and just switch my stuff over...

My riding, dude the car your working on is way nicer than my first build. You have really good quality components that will transfer to future builds. I use to keep my engine and trans, put in a stock 1600 with a car trans and sell it running and driving. My last build I stripped my old car and sold the components that I was not going to reuse. Now I did sell my power plant and dual carb set up but I was able to build my new car and buy my new WC with just the proceeds from the components I sold. I ended up about 2500.00 out of pocket.

The long and short is you don't lose money when you part them out as when you sell a running driving car.

I don't know if you have enough frame width for a suspension seat but they make big difference on a long day ride or the rocky terrain in Kentucky and Tennessee.

I like Forty think you have done a great job with this build. I would find a nice warm place and sketch out the wire diagram for locating your components. It always helps me to draw it out then I have a record for later. I know your harness is labeled everywhere but once you put your wire molding over it and tape it up then the labels are hard to see. I have never had that continence as I have always built my own (being cheap) there I admitted it.

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

I'm sure a stock steel cable will work fine too. A lot of stock cables out there running the throttle and clutch. It's all whatever your budget allows. The Morse cables can be zip tied to the frame and you just need some sort of tab to bolt it to up near the pedal and also near your carbs. They make a hundred different little gadgets to hold a morese cable but I usually just use a steel tab welded with a hole in it and then get the cables with two nuts on the end to clamp it in.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Thanks Guys... I will keep working on it... I may need to do something about the over head tube though... if I were to hit something that moved me upward I will nail that tube with my head... I mean should I expect that if I have a belt on I will not hit it? not sure... I will try to get some pics so you can give me an opinion... other than that... I will get started on the wire... still need to grind my crappy welding... pics will follow...

for this switch box... what all you think I need for the AC motor?
I have this box:
http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AC903058&Store_Code=PC&search=billet+switch+box&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
Volt

Alt light
Oil light

sealed switch
sealed switch
sealed switch
sealed switch
(could one of these be a start button?)

What should I put in the console?
looks like this:
http://www.pacificcustoms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AC903046&Store_Code=PC&search=console&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

no holes??

I guess I still need a starter switch (push button??)... might add a battery shut off...

looking for other rails with similar things. I want to wire things up and weld tabs where needed... but I may not have the things to hook up right away... Mostly at this point I want it to run and stop.