LocostUSA.com

I've spent the last two hours reading all of the http://www.rorty-design.com website. It has a great deal of info. I even found these handy dandy locost rear end plans. Very nice:

http://www.rorty-design.com/files/Rorty ... sembly.pdf

The edge website is pretty awesome compared to some of the other plan and part suppliers. I like that they provide a realistic cost to build on their buggies. I'm trying to keep my project under $5,000 and build something with some utility (two seater would get used a lot more than a single). I am waiting to receive the ubuilditplans for their Shredder II two seater, and I'm thinking I'll order the piranha plans from edge. After I study them both, I'll have to decide which I want to build and with what options.

The downsides of the Shredder II to me are the jack shaft and chain rear drive system and the lack of brakes on the front in the basic design that I have read can cause some stopping issues on hills and parking. I've seen a couple builders make their own tubular front control arms and use ATV/UTV uprights with brakes to help it stop better. The positives are easy square tube frame, two seats, and simple drive system relative to making custom axles for an independent rear.

As for the edge designs, the piranha looks like the only one I want to afford, and there are lots of options.

I need a project like this to use what little spare time I have and build some more fab skills while I wait and plan for a locost, kit, etc. to drive on the road.

Steve Graber has had at least one of his frames built for offroad use.
http://www.grabercars.com/content/view/80/2/

His plan set is only $99 and he could give you info to convert.

This would be a very affordable way to go I believe.

I am dreaming of picking up a wrecked Sidekick/Tracker for a donor and building a simple tube space frame similar to a Locost but shorter with an 80" wheel base, and building my own 4x4 CJ2 lookalike. I would wrap the frame with aluminum for the body too. I would use everything from the donor except the body.

Actually, designing a space frame for a mid engine rwd offroader should be easy and if you use a fwd donor car you can use all the parts possible and stay away from the very expensive buggy and utv parts.

I've started building a single seat buggy with the help of a machinist on minibuggy.net. He's providing some laser cut plates and parts for me, and I'm fabricating the frame and sourcing a drivetrain. I'll post up a build once I get further along and take some more pictures. I'm planning on a 1000cc four cylinder bike engine for the drivetrain. It should be fun and relatively quick to build.

Do you already have the motor? I'm curious if/why you think a 1000cc is the way to go vs a 600cc. I've been going back and forth, and still haven't decided. Sure you can save $400-$500 with a 600cc, but in the grand scheme you're going to wind up pretty $$ so a few hundred for a bigger engine isn't the end of the world, but I wonder if it will actually ever matter at all, and just add some weight and break parts faster. I'm thinking that the big hp is really only important if you're in sand with paddles where you are looking for thrust from throwing sand. If you are on dirt I wonder if you'd be able to spin you're tires any time with just a 600? I'm wondering if just a raptor 660 or 700 would be enough and get you reverse basically for free, but that cuts your hp in half again and then some. Anyway I'm excited to see you're build, any particular plans, or you're design? Post a link here to your build thread if you get a chance.
Thanks
Sam

I ride a 998cc Yamaha FZ1, and I honestly don't use the 9,000 to 11,500 rpm range much, but the bottom end is nice for reduced shifting. That' the main reason I want to go with the liter engine, and I'm hoping to find a wrecked but running FZ1 to scavenge from (very familiar with it). It will be nice to have the power for open fields, but I do have the restraint to keep the speed down in the woods. I'll be using a design from a machinist which is similar to an edge piranha but bigger with a different suspension and different rear drive. It will have a fairly beefy rear axle setup, and good front brakes. If you want more info about this guy's work you can find it on minibuggy.net under the username 'RickS.' Hopefully he'll have his site up in the near future to showcase his work. I would like to eventually put a starter motor type reverse on the rear also. It will not be cheap, but it'll fit in the garage and be a good first fab project for me.

Here is a build of a badlandsbuggy design with suspension work from RickS.

http://www.minibuggy.net/forum/badland- ... ld-57.html

I've made some good progress on the single seat buggy I'm building. The end goal can be seen in pictures here:

http://www.rickskraschsite.com/gallery.php

Here are a few highlight pictures of what I've been able to accomplish in my free time. I have a lot of the control arms, nuts, bolts, steering rack, etc. but none of it has been assembled into anything good to look at yet.

Front end:

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2011_12_4 ... ggy_09.JPG

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2011_12_4 ... ggy_10.JPG

Part of cockpit frame:

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2011_12_2 ... uggy_8.JPG

GSXR750 engine:

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2012_1_2_ ... r750_3.JPG

I started a spreadsheet to keep track of and predict all costs. So far it appears this buggy will come in around $10,000 finished. I am outsourcing the control arm construction and tig welding as well as some other rectangular tube sections that require milling or lathe work. A person with more tools or friends with tools could take care of this and save quite a bit of money overall. I'm looking at about a six month start to finish timeframe. I have about 75% of the parts in hand, and my fabrication is around 30% complete.

Almost there. Minibuggy has been a great resource for me.

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2012_4_30 ... ggy_04.JPG

Great! Your daughter will not want to settle for normal cars from here on out!


Give us another picture or two when you get a chance. If you want you could test it off the roof of your house and send us a youtube link!

I've made some more progress, so I thought I'd post up a few pictures.

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2012_7_20 ... uggy_5.JPG

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2012_7_20 ... uggy_8.JPG

First start video on the motor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_3Hk9MrV-8

I love the peek through from the house.

99% done. I've got to pretty it up some more, but I am taking it 12 hours north to the upper peninsula of Michigan to run on some snowmobile trails with the guy who designed it. I've only got a week left before I roll out.

http://youtu.be/zngpuPspS8Q

A video of my right front suspension using an older gopro while up in the UP of Michigan.

http://youtu.be/Ms3fE1ywu8g