I am back in Business.

[ronholm]

New member intro here... I may be in the wrong place.. But I think ya'll will enjoy this build..


I say "back in business" because I have built a couple of the from scratch before.. and well never really got them complete.. I am counting on ya'll to keep me accountable to finish this one..

Picked it up just a couple weeks ago... was supposed to have never been titled.. but upon showing some pictures to the gentleman behind the counter at Vee Village.. he produced Some pictures of the machine.. and I tracked down the original owner/builder.. It turns out these three guys built three of them all identical.. and they did a heck of a job.. There was a green one.. a black one and a red one.. despite the current color of my machine.. I think I have the green one.. evidence of the original green still lurks in a very few places here and there...


It needs a ton of work to bring it back to its original beauty.. but I will get it there some day.. for now it is well along the pocess of getting it ready for the powder coater..

The big issues I have is the budget is going to be a little tight for a short time.. and the engine that was suposed to be a 1835 was a cobbled up mess.. It had three 85.5 bores and one 83... Errrrr... since it didn't knock.. I may for this summer just try and put some decent jugs of whatever size on there and enjoy the summer...

Enjoy the pix.. the first couple are the buggy now... and the ones with the great looking rail... well those were taken in 1979
















and yeah.. real cute...

[david58]

Nice Entrance Welcome to the STF.

[Sneaks]

welcome to the madness, is that rtv on the heads??

[Big Dave]

welcome to the madness, is that rtv on the heads??

Sure looks like it

I love the old pics. That was a really nice machine in those days. I hope you put it back looking the same as it did back then.

Welcome to the dirt pile

[ronholm]

yeah RTV on the heads... That is really cute isn't it...

Good thing the rest of the buggy has turned out to be such a decent deal... because that is no 1835... hotrod engine... to say the very least... much of the tin on the engine was just cheapo stuff.. but it did have a fully welded fan in a very nice aluminum housing..



This weekends swap meet should turn up a good used jug(s) and slug to get the engine running.. and I also need a stock set of front torsion arms for the drivers side.. the upper is bent.. and the lower was broken inside the tube.. Some how they managed to do that without destroying the tube... Beats me how that was accomplished... Down the road I'll will have to get a chrome set to match the passenger side.. but I have to get it back on its feet ASAP


I have a guy that does lot of powder coating for me.. and that is the plan for the chassis sometime next week.. I just have to make sure I get all my tabs and brackets welded where I want them... cause the downside to powder is there is no touching it up...


Also... one of my rear wheels is bent.. So... right now they are 4 bolts.. if I buy a new set of rear wheels.. shouldn't I pick up wide 5's to send to the Powder coater.. and when the rear disks go on... use that pattern??? Is the swap on a irs from a 4 to a 5 as simple as a drum swap??? or.. am I missing something?

[Fred1214]

Welcome!
I say this because I learned when I joined STF.

WATCH OUT FOR THAT HERBIE GUY!

[Leatherneck]

ronholm welcome to the dirt pile. Good to see you back into the sport. It will be a lot better this time around. Looks like you have a good project on your hands any and all questions you have just ask away we can help not only with the questions but helping you spend your money. Speaking of which I would go with the wide 5 pattern on the rears, you have them on the front already and 5 are better then 4 bigger is better,never enough horsepower and overkill is a good thing. Welcome to STF.

[Joxracing]

Welcome!

That is a sick looking rail, bring it back to former glory for sure!

Oh, that is an amazing garage!

[ronholm]

Dumb question before I power coat...


The front of the rail has been smacked.. and repaired.. the repair was done decently.. I drilled to check and the tubes were sleeved and everything is straight... but if you look in the picture the upper tube makes a straight line into the upper torsion tube..

I can't ever recall seeing this on any rail before??? Should I open this back up and throw in the bend on the upper section of tubing???? Or not worry about it... I can't think of any reason why this would be stronger.. but maybe I am missing something...


Currently the torsion tubes are welded on.. and I plan on putting some clamps back up there so I can upgrade or replace should I FUBAR something goofing off... (because with me that is even more likely than some of you... and yes.. I have seen what yall have been doing )


I might outgrow the stock travel also.. but I think for this one I am going to make it a nice street/woods ride... and when it is time to upgrade there will be no trouble getting my money back out of it around here...



Oh.. and yeah... I like my shop.. Those pix make it look better than it really is.. but given the very little amount of money I have tied up in that old pole barn.. I ain't complaining.. that is for sure.. and... if you ever have a place for a lift.. go for it.. good used ones sell for about 1000 all the time.... and I have less than 350 in that one... Heck.. I have just a bit more than that in the nice floor jack I bought...

[Leatherneck]

ON your rail I would add some " X " bracing on the front on the top tubing, the ones coming from the beam heading towards the windshield. Always plan for the worst and hope for the best. Can't really tell about the straight piece your talking about. Any other pics?

[baja5]

Good call Leather, I'd probably add a couple small diagonals from the windshield hoop down to the armrest bar area as well.Also, as for powdercoating, I'd probably stay away on the frame. It is tough stuff, but makes it almost impossible to find cracks and if you do need to fix one, grinding off the powdercoat can be a tough area to patch. Paint is much easier. It's already an old frame, so i'd want to see any problems that come up. Just my .02

[bajaherbie]

baja5 is right, just throw a coat of implement paint on it (lots of anti-rust stuff in it) and drive it for a year, because you'll probably want to change stuff.....

[ronholm]

Yeah yeah.... but... my Pdr Ctr guy owes me a favor.. and I figure it will look great until I change something... and then I have a nice basecoat down already....


X ing in the front will be a challenge.. if you look at the way the rail was originally.. well... I dunno... There just isn't as much room there as I have seen on some...

Here these pictures show how the frame meets the torsion tubes a little better.. and whada ya think.. I like the idea of Xing it in.. just uuuhhh.. without building it back like it was?? which I don't care for... The expanded metal on the roof got lost the second it got home... and... well...


Oh.. and if you can tell.. on that cabinet behind my Cub Cadet project (next on the list) there lies the turbo that needs to find a home on this thing... there are two Mitsubishi (2.5 T1 dodge) jobs one smaller yet off some tiny chevy engine (not the iron duke turbo) and a T3 in that frame...


Also shining is the Aluminum tread plate for the floor.. it was a crappy tool box... but it is going to make a fine floor..

[baja5]

Ya, it looks like the steering column may be in the way as well. But, I would definately and a couple diagonals to the windshield hoop.

[bajaherbie]

Why didn't you say you had a cub cadet?




here is mine, its a '64 that my dad bought in about '67 or '68.... 7 hp kohler, re-sealed gas tank, original paint(duh) and original rear tires.... the mower deck is off because i had to un-seize the clutch thingy...its missing the hood ornament and the "IH" emblem for the front grille...

your's looks to be a 70's model?