The FSU trail buggy build

[Snowracer]

Was going to wait till i had more done to start a build thread but oh well

This is going to be trail buggy so dont be in here looking for fancy go fast part or tig welds. I have been wanting a buggy for a few year now and have tried and failed at starting one before as mainly just collected parts and never built anything. This time is a little different as i wound up with a TMR buggy chassis at a good deal so have a good start this time around. Will be pulling all the parts from my current truck build and using as much of it as i can.

So the build plan is

TMR 2" DOM chassis
BBF 429 with fitech efi
C6 full manual
NV271 tcase
79 HP60 with 4.88, spool and 4340 shafts
10.25 with 4.88 welded

3"x14 race runner coil overs up front
2.5x14 race runner coil overs and 3x14 racer runner bypasses out back

39 BFGs or 44 cut boggers for tires


Pics as everyone likes pictures

buggy on a skid

TMR give you instructions on how to build jigs to build the chassis, my fab table was little to small so had to get creative on some of the parts

 

[Snowracer]

and just cause some pics of the doner truck, started out as a cheap build to hold me over but i got into racing and truck snowballed. It got pretty beat so that was the push to make the buggy finally happen

was a pretty good trail truck

then got a taste of racing and it went down hill from there

 

[Snowracer]

have started to strip the truck and should have all the parts out over new years and hope to have the drivetrain in the chassis as well

and for shits and giggles i tossed the trucks hood and grill on the buggy and its a pretty close fit so might see if i can make it work down the road

 

[dignifiedWT]

Damnit man! Cool project!

 

[Wilson]

I like your scenery, where do you hail from?

 

[Elvis-n-texas]

Dirt naps are fun. Had one not too long ago.

Looking Good so far...

 

[Snowracer]

Damnit man! Cool project!

Thanks man. Was pretty close to making the truck a firewall buggy like your rig but had the chassis so pulled the trigger on it instead

 

[Snowracer]

I like your scenery, where do you hail from?

I'm in Prince George BC Canada. So northern part of the province. With that we don't have much for rock crawling or ultra4 stuff close around here. Lots of muddy and snow trails so build will be more for that so little different them most buggy builds in that respect

 

[YotaAtieToo]

You still sticking by the 271 only? Not that I'm against it, just think now would be the time to go black box/205. 2:1 would be awesome for ripping around, then still have options for craw gears. I'm obviously a fan of doublers.

Not going to use the newer axles either?

 

[Snowracer]

You still sticking by the 271 only? Not that I'm against it, just think now would be the time to go black box/205. 2:1 would be awesome for ripping around, then still have options for craw gears. I'm obviously a fan of doublers.

Not going to use the newer axles either?

Was wondering when you where going to show up

Was bouncing around the idea of going black box/205 the other weekend after pulling the trans and tcase. The 271 is a big ass case so the BB/205 would probably fit better and of course be better gearing option's. I just can't do it right now as the cost would eat up alot of my budget to get this thing done. I'm shooting for having it done for spring so going to build with that I have for now. I've been happy with the 271 as it's strong and pretty good gearing for a stock tcase.

And yes going to use my current diff as it's ready to go so same idea as the tcase. Been slowly collecting stuff so when I have to I can build a new one but current diff should be good for a while

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Was wondering when you where going to show up

Was bouncing around the idea of going black box/205 the other weekend after pulling the trans and tcase. The 271 is a big ass case so the BB/205 would probably fit better and of course be better gearing option's. I just can't do it right now as the cost would eat up alot of my budget to get this thing done. I'm shooting for having it done for spring so going to build with that I have for now. I've been happy with the 271 as it's strong and pretty good gearing for a stock tcase.

And yes going to use my current diff as it's ready to go so same idea as the tcase. Been slowly collecting stuff so when I have to I can build a new one but current diff should be good for a while

Wasn't the same without some ca dick head questioning every decision huh?

That's what I was wondering, how that big bitch would package in the buggy chassis.

Don't they have a titan equivalent in the eco box now? It's only money right?

I get using what you have. I guess you aren't doing the 60s cab build any more?

 

[Snowracer]

Wasn't the same without some ca dick head questioning every decision huh?

That's what I was wondering, how that big bitch would package in the buggy chassis.

Don't they have a titan equivalent in the eco box now? It's only money right?

I get using what you have. I guess you aren't doing the 60s cab build any more?

biggest issue i see with the 271 right now is the rear output is long so might hang out the back of the sub frame a bit. will have a better idea this weekends as hope to get the drivetrain mocked up and will go from there.

no 60s cab build, but still have both the trucks so once the buggy is done ill build a street truck out of them :rolleyes:

 

[Sterlingfire]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiit man! I was wondering when you were gonna get around to this!
This means you'll have rebuilt, fixed, broke and built another rig in the time i have stripped, ground, and built a couple cross members on mine

 

[Snowracer]

got the truck stripped and out of the shop and on the trailer ready for scrap

pulled the chassis off the table and put it on stands so we could get the drive train in it. tcase is pretty big so have put it as far back as i could and might have to make a small skid plate extenstion for the tcase as rear out put is past the sub frame

its clsoe but will be able to do a flat floor over the tcase and most of the trans

and i had to sit and stare at this for a little bit

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Damn that is a long bitch ​​​​​​

Is a black box integrated and a 205 actually shorter?

 

[Snowracer]

Damn that is a long bitch ​​​​​​

Is a black box integrated and a 205 actually shorter?

Thats what she said

ya BB/205 would probably be shorter, or at least the rear output would be. thats not in the budget right now but its good to know that there is lots of room in the sub frame that i can put one in down the road if i get tired of the 271 and find some extra cash ect

 

[dignifiedWT]

What wheelbase are you thinking? Are you using the same shocks as you had on the truck?

 

[Snowracer]

What wheelbase are you thinking? Are you using the same shocks as you had on the truck?

the truck was 117-120 area and it worked really well for the trails i run, so will try and get in that area with the buggy. Yes going to run same coil over bypass set up that was on the truck, have some new 2.5 coil overs to go with the bypasses for out back

 

[rattle_snake]

Sad to see the old ford go away, was one of favorite rigs to see in action. I think you got all you could out of it though.... Anyhow best of luck repackaging the goods into the tube chassis and getting the bugs worked out. Seems like for what you want to do with it the buggy will serve you better, except for being warm and dry in the snow and rain.

 

[Snowracer]

Sad to see the old ford go away, was one of favorite rigs to see in action. I think you got all you could out of it though.... Anyhow best of luck repackaging the goods into the tube chassis and getting the bugs worked out. Seems like for what you want to do with it the buggy will serve you better, except for being warm and dry in the snow and rain.

ya truck was pretty beat and getting tired so was time to build something new or do a total refreash.

buggy might be a bit better then the truck for the snow and rain as i will have a heater unlike in the truck. want to try and do a windshild that clamps to the cage and maybe some canvas skins for snow wheeling. there is a big group of snow wheelers in BC and one of the main guys is running the Shredded Lettuce buggy (TMR chassis) and he has full windows and covers for it and they wheel all winter

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Thats what she said

ya BB/205 would probably be shorter, or at least the rear output would be. thats not in the budget right now but its good to know that there is lots of room in the sub frame that i can put one in down the road if i get tired of the 271 and find some extra cash ect

If it fits, I guess? (that's what she said also! Ooooooo​​​​​​)

I guess worst case, it looks like you'd have to retune driveshafts.

I'm surprised you don't want a bit shorter wb for maneuvering through trees. Everyone wants a million inch wb around here, climbs great, and get high centered great I've always had shorter than what was cool, but sat low. I did all the same climbs as my buddies with 115-118" with my 104" wb and 18" belly.

ya truck was pretty beat and getting tired so was time to build something new or do a total refreash.

buggy might be a bit better then the truck for the snow and rain as i will have a heater unlike in the truck. want to try and do a windshild that clamps to the cage and maybe some canvas skins for snow wheeling. there is a big group of snow wheelers in BC and one of the main guys is running the Shredded Lettuce buggy (TMR chassis) and he has full windows and covers for it and they wheel all winter

There is a few guys up here who run buggies year round. One of the guys in our friend group owns a glass shop and builds actual glass windshields for them so they can run wipers. Windshield without wipers SUCKS imo. They one guy just cut some plexiglass for the side windows and put hinges on roof for gull wing action. the buggy cab is so small that they're usually open, flipped onto the roof. Everything else, except for maybe the back window area, is just closed in the aluminum.

If you're going aftermarket heater, check out inferno. They have a million different options, make sweet compact heater cores with simple ducting and vents. Just go bigger than you think.

 

[Snowracer]

this is buddys TMR buggy and its 113-115 wheel base on 42s and i feel like the rear diff needs to go back

and this is same chassis on 42s but 118 wheel base and looks more perportional to me

and as far as a heater i already have a maradyne heater and vent kit that ive been holding onto for better part of 2 years now. i have so many parts sitting on the shelves in the shop just waiting for this build :rolleyes:

 

[Snowracer]

just going to add this here more for extra info to look back at :rolleyes:

took the shell of the truck in for scrap today and it was 1540 pounds, so no reason i should not be able to drop 1000 pounds with the buggy. that should put me in the 5000-5500 pound area ready to wheel. to give a better idea the blue buggy i posted above says hes 4400/4500 pounds but thats LS ect

 

[rattle_snake]

What exactly is "FSU" in the thread title? FSU buggy in google search get Florida state baby strollers...

With chassis weight saving you can eat and drink more beer and it won't matter.

 

[Snowracer]

What exactly is "FSU" in the thread title? FSU buggy in google search get Florida state baby strollers...

With chassis weight saving you can eat and drink more beer and it won't matter.

Fuck Shit Up :rolleyes: have it cut into a few of the parts and brackets ect and is fitting as usually fsu when i go racing

 

[Snowracer]

got the trans mount built, make the bushing 4" wide so same width as the stock trans mount i was running before

will add a gusset to the tabs as feel like they could bend being so tall

stripped the front diff of all the extra crap i added to it that will no longer be needing

 

[Snowracer]

set the chassis at 12" belly height and rolled the diff under at what would be ride hight on the 39s so can see what full bump will be like.

pushed the diff out infront of the motor and have 1" of clearance between truss and crank pully

makes the steering truss out in front of the chassis

upper link clears the frame and motor, if i move the diff side of the link in anymore it will get to close to the oil filter

but front drive shaft and my exhaust look like they will be in the same spot right now. i can cut the header collector back and maybe even put a 45 or 90 on it. if i have to i will build a new header for the drive side. no issues with pass side

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Lookes like you will need/want a 2 piece front driveline

 

[Snowracer]

Lookes like you will need/want a 2 piece front driveline

pretty much knew that before i even started building.

any recomondations on steading bearing set ups that are not $500 plus ? been looking at doing a cut down pinion and pillow block set up to try and save a little cash

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Maybe I am the outlier...but I am running the rubber carrier bearing and bolt-on yoke that is standard in most 2 peice rear shafts....never killed the carrier bearing and it been in there a few year at this point. To add to this, I have no slip in the midshaft at all with the rear case solid mounted....granted I have a divorced doubler. but I dont see how Guys are killing the metal carrier bearings other than they are way harder than I could imagine on stuff, or things are binding. IMO