Partially Committed Racing's buggy #004 build

[slravene]

Have a thread on another site, figured I would check back in here too! This is just a hobby build, we both have full time jobs, so its not going to go super fast...just a build for a friend, but it could give some folks some good ideas and we always welcome feedback too. It might read a bit strange at first since I am just bringing this over from there. Thread is a few months old over there.

So a good friend and I have built 2 of these buggies already (and the #001 is a little toyota buggy). The 2nd two are basically identical save from a few cosmetic changes and the width of the chassis. Mine (the red one) is 48" wide at the cowl and 50" wide at the B pillar - 6.0, 4L60e, Atlas, 60/14b, 42 treps, 112". The silver one is 52" all the way through - 5.3, TH350, Atlas, 60/60, 39 reds, 110". They were started a few years ago and finished about a year ago. They both work pretty well and we have been super happy with them - even if the learning curve for driving them was quite a bit different than our old (also similar) 4.3 V6 short wheelbase cone dodger style buggies!

originally on 40s:

then on 42s:

In any case, not too long after we got these running and wheeling, we had a guy from our wheeling group ask if we would be interested in building him one. At first we were a bit timid as we hadn't ever really given much thought to building for other people; but decided if we were, he was going to be a good one to work with as he was pretty much giving us a blank slate and is a friend. He wanted a copy of mine, except 54" wide throughout and 115" wheelbase for a little extra trail partying. After discussions and agreements we got going on this build. Originally it was going to be just a chassis, but the stars aligned in both directions and we are going to take it all the way to turn key, minus a few steps that he will have done outside.

We are using .188 wall tubing in all the critical spots - belly, rockers, A B and C pillars and along the roof line. The sliders are .250 wall. The rest is .120 in various sizes. It will be a JK fiberglass body; so it will match mine pretty damn closely.

We have been building for a bit, so I will catch everyone up with pictures:

 

[slravene]

Got started with the main section:

pretty quickly got to this point since its pretty easy being able to measure off of a buggy sitting right next to you to confirm everything:

all the slugged sections are plug welded and slugged with 1.5 .250 wall material.

put the cowl up to make sure everything was peachy:

then got the rear section in and rolled it outside for some perspective:

 

[slravene]

then we started adding in some filler tubes.

2nd b pillar, the wing bars, door bars, roof bars, X supports, some gusseting, etc

And then we were ready for parts to be dropped off so we could start putting in the pieces!

 

[slravene]

Parts got dropped off and we started plugging away.

Mild build 6.0, a TH400, a race case Atlas, reused 60 and 14bolt from his old jeep, Fox coilovers, Raceline Wheels, 43" SX, and a boatload of WOD and ruffstuff parts. It is truly amazing how much "buggy kit" stuff there is nowadays and it really has made building buggies a much easier and quick process!

Got things dropped in pretty easily and bolted/tacked into place:

Then started laying out link locations. Ignore the temporary long standoff tube there...that will be shortened down and tied in as we go forward.

And that brings us up to current. We have been keeping track of hours and all in this one just out of curiosity but it is moving shockingly fast this go around (knock on wood!) We have about 5 Saturdays in it at this point.

This weekend we should be able to measure for links and get them on order, then move on to shock mounting and get this thing sitting on its own weight soon!

 

[slravene]

Got the links, radiator, driveshafts, seats, etc on the way over this coming week and we will make some big headway. In the meantime we went ahead and mocked up shock hoop locations. These may change slightly as we get things onboard, but roughly where they will be. Should get us some good uptravel numbers to keep it comfortable on the trails.

 

[slravene]

pretty big day on sunday - Todd came up and dropped off a load of parts and hung around for a few hours and helped muscle some stuff in place and get things bolted together. We got the links all together and bolted in, got the buggy to ride height and set axles into place, got the seat placed and set where Todd was comfortable, then moved onto shocks. Originally we were going to use 14" up front and 16" out back, but its actually going to work out better to run 16"s all around so we are making a swap there. That will actually get him some impressive travel numbers for shock on axle mounting and I think he will have a comfortable trail ride! We will add in some bumpstops on all 4 corners and a rear swaybar as well. Belly height will be about 19.5 - 20" on 43" tires and he should have about 7" uptravel up front and an excessive 10"+ in the rear. he will get the full travel out of both ends without limiting too which will be nice.

As "big" as this chassis is, when it sitting next to mine it still doesnt appear to be much bigger overall - so it should still be pretty nimble.

 

[slravene]

Another big weekend in the PCR shop -

She's pretty much a roller! Minus the rear shock tabs which we are going to recut into something that will look a little better and line up smoother.

Got both seats in and mounted, there will be ample room there for the trans shifter and then 2 cupholders as well. The amp for the speakers will also be back in between there and maybe the trans cooler if we can't fit it out to the side of the fuel cell. We also got the Atlas shifters and linkages hooked up to the seat bar and everything cleared and lined up perfectly on the first try which was nice. We were able to use the stock AA shifter pretty much 98% of the way, with a few changes to put it exactly where we wanted and also be removable without pulling the seats. This will help with adjustments or pulling the tcase quickly if need be. Depending on how the floor and trans mount lays out, you could potentially pull the atlas without pulling the interior out.

Went ahead and trimmed up the start of the firewall too so we can see where all that is going to lay out. It will obviously wrap around the sides too where those panels can be popped off for engine service pretty easily.

Then for fun we laid the massive bladder cell in the back to see how its going to lay out. should get a few miles per tank out of this thing - its going to be strapped in over the top and down all 4 sides and the trans cooler will sit on one side and the battery on the other hopefully. It might get tight in there with shocks...but we will see. Gonna make it work somehow!

The mini version next door checking on progress!

 

[slravene]

For those still watching -

she rolled out of the shop on Saturday! put on some street diggers and pushed it outside. Going to make a few tiny adjustments, but its a big milestone.

We are taking a few weeks off for vacations, but will get back on it hard and fast at the end of October. Aiming to have it torn down for powder by the end of the year.

 

[slravene]

and that brings us to current! Next we will get the fuel cell, sway bar, some other various back end stuff...then move on to interior

 

[GONOVRIT]

Your signature is like 10yrs old brah....

Sweet builds!

 

[slravene]

Your signature is like 10yrs old brah....

Sweet builds!

lol it sure as shit is! I dont even know how to change that...gonna have to figure that out

 

[mcutler]

Welcome back to NC. Keep posting, we always need more good builds and tech.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Glad your sharing here also... Curious, how far apart (width) are your front chassis coilover mounts?

 

[slravene]

Welcome back to NC. Keep posting, we always need more good builds and tech.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Thanks man - I need to get back active over here too...still wheel with a decent amount of NC guys!

Glad your sharing here also... Curious, how far apart (width) are your front chassis coilover mounts?

Not sure, I will need to measure. The chassis rails are ~27" wide up there and the hoops obviously lean out a bit... I would estimate them around the 30-31" ish mark?

 

[slravene]

Back from vacation and getting back on this pile -

Got a ton done on saturday - got the fuel cell mounted up and in place. Originally we had planned to shift it off to one side and get the trans cooler next to it, but after some tinkering we decided to center the cell up and will flush mount the trans cooler to the rear firewall and add a mesh screen so it can pull air from the cab. This will make things a little less crowded in the back.

Shamelessly copied the sway bar mounts/fuel cell tie in from my buggy since they worked out perfectly

Then we got a majority of the main interior in, trimmed, and mounted. There is still some obvious fit and finish to take care of in there - as well as a dash, rear firewall, and console. But that will all fall into place as we go forward. There is tons of footroom in this one compared to mine, which I know Todd was a bit concerned about at first. Hopefully not anymore!

Vs mine:

 

[mcutler]

That will never work...too much foot room- your feet will freeze.... engine is too far forward....engine bay is too spacious.... floor is too flat....



[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


Looking good!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[slravene]

That will never work...too much foot room- your feet will freeze.... engine is too far forward....engine bay is too spacious.... floor is too flat....



[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


Looking good!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

hunk of junk i tell you what!

 

[slravene]

Got the cowl trimmed up and sat down in its place last night, so we can finally really start to see what we are looking like!

It needs final fit and finish and I need to weld the mounts in, but it will basically sit here. We may need to bring it up 1/2" or so to keep the shock bolts underneath the hood, but eyeball measurements say the bolts may already be underneath...we will see once we get the hood laid up there.