ðHgeocities.com/Baja/Dunes/4099/buggy.htmlgeocities.com/Baja/Dunes/4099/buggy.htmlelayedxYGÔJÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÈ€,ÀÇOKtext/htmlÀÃgÇÿÿÿÿb‰.HFri, 20 Feb 2004 18:41:08 GMTŠMozilla/4.5 (compatible; HTTrack 3.0x; Windows 98)en, *YGÔJÇ

home made baja expedition buggy





















bumper is just big enough to protect the steering box and winch but not forward of the front tires so vertical steps can still be climbed (or winched over).



plenty of elbow room, the turning brakes are going on the drivers side, not in the middle between the seats.







drivers side just about ready for a torsion bar. i can barely pull the suspension up with both bilsteins on.



with shocks



without shocks. upper shock mounts are original bug upper mounts, cut off, cut in half and welded on with the mig that i'm borowing (the handheld band saw is making things easier too).



lower shock mounts and mostly completed irs pivot mount. mounts designed for minimal shock bushing wear (slightly tilted).



begining to cut metal away for the irs pivots



pivot positioned for perfect wheel alignment and minimal pivot bushing deflection. i bolted the irs arm to the spring plate in the middle of the adjustment slots and found the postion that gave the best alignment and tacked it on. much metal had to be bent out of the way to find the proper position, it was quite an ordeal and i still have to do the other side.



wheel alignment is perfect.






i think this speaks for itself















i'm using the shock towers for the upper front supports, everything will be braced and strenghtened in time. the lower tubes are in the same plane as the top of the frame tunnel, giving the frame about 7 more inches of ground clearence over the bug pan. the bus tranny shift rod is higher than a bug so this allows the floor to be higher up without any shifting problems.






i have finally have enough parts lying around to construct my very own buggy.

i'm planning on fabricating the frame from scratch, using the bug pan as a jig. once enough frame has been built up, the pan will be cut off. i've been thinking up some pretty crazy ideas about making the frame very custom, with extreme ground clearence being the main priority. well just have to see how it progresses.

it's goint to be ball joint front, irs rear. the pan is a 68 so i will be doing an irs conversion, by welding in aftermarket irs piviots. the irs arms will be boxed in and have multiple shocks. four wheel drum brakes - bug front, type 3 rear. my old blue baja's white spoke wheels and turning brakes. i have all the parts i need to make the buggy besides the steel tubing and a few other small items.



here's the 3-rib bus tranny (from my green and white bus that is abandoned in mexico), notice that the shifter part of the tranny is above the frame tunnel, this makes things interesting if installing a bus tranny in a baja.

this is just the begining, i need to aquire a fair amount of steel tubing to construct the frame. but when i'm done, i'm sure that it will be quite different from every other buggy or rail out there.


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