I have been riding offroad rigs for years. Never really rode with a buggy til this past weekend. Now I must say I would like to find more out and learn more about buggies. When speaking to the guy he told me a lot about things I will need to do to make it where a buggy is durable and fun. I was wondering if I could get advise from the many of members on this site to what I would need or do to build a fun, powerful, durable, and entertaining buggy. I was looking and I like the beeline 98" Pack rat frame. Looking for motor, trans, axles, etc. to be strong to do what I want when I want. Assistance is much needed and thank you for your help.

Where do you live? And where will you ride? What kind of budget? And do you want a AC VW engine or a Water Cooled out of a newer car. Both engines have pros and cons. Alot of it depends on your budget, engine building knowledge and goals for the buggy. A water cooled motor gives reliable power without alot of cost. But you gain weight, have to wire up the ECU and buy an adapter plate setup. Air Cooled VW will give you the best power to weight and a simple setup. But a high-end one is very expensive in comparison to a WC with the same HP. The majority of the guys doing the best in the "HIll climb compititions" run high dollar VW's. Once you have decided on an engine you want you can build the buggy around it. The frame you are looking at is a very nice 2 seater frame. If you are going to build one from scratch I hope you have deep pockets I personally bought one that was 80% of what I wanted then added too it. It saves money but its not as fulfilling as building your own. But if you are new to the sport like I was when I bought mine, its nice to get out there on a cheeper one and ride for a yr or two before you buy a bunch of new parts and realize you want something completely different then what you just built. You won't find 2 buggies alike, unless you go to KY, and everyone has different opinions on whats best. Good luck and welcome to buggies, it will become an obsession. Feel free to ask all the questions you want, the guys on here a pretty good at having the right answers. And if you have some time start reading through all the old post. Tons of knowledge out there to be had.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

Welcome to the Forum. You have come to the right place for all the Info you need to build a Buggy. I would have to say that being your first build you may be better off buying an already build Buggy to learn on. This approach will get you in the Woods much quicker and will cost so much less than building from scratch. There are many good deals to be had right now.

_________________
Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

I am located in the tri-state area and ride all over. Go to Haspin acres, black mountain, been to Coal Creek or Windrock. Then other properties that my friends own. Budget is hear say with work and economy. When reading and talking I am looking to use a air cooled 1915cc to a 2110cc vw engine. With a 6 rib trans or doing some reading about vanagon trans. I am willing to spend the money with the motor and the trans along with axles to make sure it is durable and relaible. Ground clearence will be a manditory with where I ride so I would like to use 33" cut boggers on the rear. I am told to use ball joint front end instead of kingpin, is that a true or false statement?

Thank you odyknuck but you know how they say that if you want it done right, do it yourself. That is kinda what my thoughts are here. I did that with my 4x4 offroad rig and it went awesome with the guy who owned it. Then once I bought it there was things here and things there that kept happening that built into a costly purchase in the long run. I dont want to rush the build just do the build. Do it to here I dont what is in it and when it needs a fix I know what I need to do. But any thoughts on this matter is important.

[quote="whygobuggy"]I am located in the tri-state area and ride all over. Go to Haspin acres, black mountain, been to Coal Creek or Windrock. Then other properties that my friends own. Budget is hear say with work and economy. When reading and talking I am looking to use a air cooled 1915cc to a 2110cc vw engine. With a 6 rib trans or doing some reading about vanagon trans. I am willing to spend the money with the motor and the trans along with axles to make sure it is durable and relaible. Ground clearence will be a manditory with where I ride so I would like to use 33" cut boggers on the rear. I am told to use ball joint front end instead of kingpin, is that a true or false statement?


link pin with tweed combo spindles if your on a budget and fodrell combos if you have deep pockets.

_________________
**********"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."
- Sigmund Freud **********
**********"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."
- Antonio Meloni **********

I second that, ball joints nice if you stay stock because parts are cheep and easier to find. But if you want it to hold up, Link and combos are the route.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

FODDRILL 3' 2 Deg KING KONG DROP COMBOS with BUSHES,LINK PINS
FODDRILL REG COMBO 2 DEG W-K/K STUB
where would i acquire these from near cincinnati?

Try Drews. Or google them and look at having them shipped. I bought my tweeds straight from Tweed.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

Ok so for the front end link pin with either tweed or foddrill spindles? With either of these front end setups can you place a cnc front disc brake kits. I would have two steer brakes between the seats and the a single hand brake on the left side of my seat with it working the front disc brakes. Possible or no? If so what set up works?

Yes you can run front breaks on either setup. And as far as strength, make sure you get 930 cv's in the rear.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

Are 930 cv's the strongest then is there a conversion kit that maybe stronger.
LIke on www.dansperformanceparts.com there is a lot to look at type 1 and type 2?
3x3 trailing arms for a wider stance, good or bad---what to follow up with axle wise?
Man thank you guys for all this help I will have a million more ?s to ask but once done i will be ready to ride ride ride.

Where are you at .you can make k/p to b/g spindles . 2x3 trailing arm 18 3/4 axles 930 or 19 1/4 for 3x3

Nitro mudder are you asking where am i at as in location or in building the buggy?
For the front in wanting to use Warrior Axle Beam with Towers, WARRIOR AXLE BEAM, 6'' WIDER THAN STOCK, 8" TOWERS
Thank you for the info on the 2x3 and 3x3

i have also heard that there are pros and cons on suspension travel... i want all up travel in front and down in rear right?... i've read on here something about differences in hill climbing and trail riding... so whats the happy medium if i want to do both well...

Build a good hillclimber and you can ride any trail.

No happy medium. Just like building a street and trail buggy. It can be decent at both, but not excellent at either one. JMO

Larry

Drews can get those spindles, but keep in mind a Foddrill 3"drop 2 degree king kong spindles are around $1500 a piece. That not a typo. so thats $3,000 for 2 spindles. and the matched set of arms is in the ballpark of $2,000. I suggest looking into woods spindles, they are much cheaper, and still a near bullet-proof design.

_________________
Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

What about transmission? Strong transmission to run to a 2110cc with 33" cut boggers and just throttle happy all the time. Reading about the water cooled vanagon from a 84-on and that sounds like a good way to go or a 6 rib. What is ppls thoughts on it?
What about the planetary gear super differentials that the predator buggy site has for sale?
I know I said Beeline Pack Rat but what about the predator frame?

OMG!! They should give you a free buggy to mount them to them for that price.

Ok if i was gunna run the baja 1000 maybe by those spindles, maybe. Deffinatly want the super diff. I think that WC vanagon is the stronger trans, but let a few of these guys chime in first.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

Ok so maybe not the foddrill spindles but get the tweed spindles. Tweeds 3" Lift Combo Spindles These Tweed's King Pin Combo Spindles will give you an extra 3'' of lift for more ground clearance and are a must have if you do any type of Off-roading. Built in the USA. Works great with any longer front trailing arms.
TWEEDS 3" LIFTED COMBO SPINDLE WITH HEIM TIE ROD ENDS HOLES

I just bought the tweeds, yet to mount them. Look very strong.

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

Did you purchase the 3" or stock height?

3" but it's accually 2-3/4" raised

_________________
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

[/url]

I had a set of tweeds, lasted 2 years in the woods, and almost 1 ten min. heat race Woods are a much better product. But I did hear tweed has changed a few things since mine like using bearings instead of bushings, and better king pins i think.

_________________
Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....