The New Buggy - (Build in Progress)

**mikey_d05** · July 6th, 2008, 08:25 PM

Well, I suppose it's about time for me to start this thread. It's pretty much been a year in the making now, and substantial progress is finally being made.

The Preface:
I'm sick of sheet metal. I wanted something low, long, stout, and maneuverable. I was initially leaning towards a V6 and 9's, but I don't have the budget to support that kind of thing right now, so I went with what I know, a V8, 4 speed, and rockwells.

Preliminary Specs:
Vortec 5.3
SM465
NWF Black Box
Ford NP205
Steering Rockwells Front and Rear
49" Iroks
Re-centered Hummer Rims
~125" Wheelbase
27"-30" Belly Height
~6' Tall to the top of the cage
51.75" wide at the sliders
71.75" wide at the shoulders

One thing I was mentally butting my head against when planning all of this is that I'm a tall guy with big feet. Therefore I need lots of leg room and a wide footwell with 3 pedals. This added up to pushing the driver back or the motor forward, and with already bad visibility from being so low, I wouldn't have been able to see a damn thing. So...I decided the motor needed to take a trip to the back.

Anyways, the few pictures I have thus far.

The model I made beforehand:

Tires:

Rockwell Skid:

Pinion Brake:

Got the sliders and mid-plate cross tube tacked in last week. Finished up the mid-plate and tossed the motor and transmission on it last week as well. The drivetrain could come down another inch or two if I bought an LS1 pan and cut a new plate. But, I don't see moving the drivetrain down 1.5" (the most realistic estimate) moving the COG down more than a half inch or so, which IMHO isn't worth it.

Transmission is a standard SM465, motor is a junkyard 5.3. I'm using flipped Hooker LS1 headers. The exhaust will run back (forward) and turn into a Spintech muffler. Intake manifold is an LS1 with the EGR blocked off that I spun 180 degrees to put the throttle body right next to my ear.

The 465 is a 32 spline output, which will go through the Black Box and turn into a 31 spline to go into the Ford 205. The transmission bell is a later model aluminum bell with the mount for a hydro clutch slave.

Currently, the a-pillars, b-pillars, and three spreader bars (rear roof bar, forward roof bar, and lower windshield bar) are tacked in place. Tomorrow I hope to get a better idea of the seating location and bend up a second b-pillar. The seats will probably be ~1' forward of the mid-plate in the pictures. This will give me quite a bit of storage room as well as better visibility.

More pictures to follow tomorrow night.

**filo** · July 6th, 2008, 08:30 PM

Rear engine, 5.3L, forward seating tube buggy??!!

I can't wait to see the rest of this build. Better yet, I can't wait to ride in this monster.

**mikey_d05** · July 6th, 2008, 08:33 PM

Yep, there's quite a bit more done on the tube work than is done in the pictures, just haven't snapped pics of it. Plans are to be able to fire it and roll it under its own power by the end of summer. Might be short most of the wiring, but hopefully links, coilover mounts, and enough wiring and plumbing to run the engine and steering will be done.

**mrs filo** · July 6th, 2008, 08:36 PM

Looks fun Mikey, can hardly wait to see more pics.

**MrK5** · July 6th, 2008, 09:57 PM

Cool! I look forward to seeing the progress.

Did you get cable shifters for the black box and tcase, too?

Is the trans bolted to the motor through that plate?

So will what would normally be the front output actually be driving the rear axle?

With the motor in the back is there any concern about the frontend being too light on steep climbs?

**mikey_d05** · July 7th, 2008, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrK5

Cool! I look forward to seeing the progress.

Did you get cable shifters for the black box and tcase, too?

Is the trans bolted to the motor through that plate?

So will what would normally be the front output actually be driving the rear axle?

With the motor in the back is there any concern about the frontend being too light on steep climbs?

-Bought them, when I will see them I don't know.

-Yes, it's done all the time in other forms of racing.

-Yes, one of the reasons I ditched my Toy t-cases and used a Ford 205 I had sitting around.

-Yes, batteries and fuel will be as far forward as possible, and the rear axle will sit clear behind the motor, but I'm still a bit concerned about that. Hopefully the long wheelbase will help. If it becomes a problem, there's a lot of room for water in the front tires.

**MrK5** · July 7th, 2008, 11:04 AM

I've seen the motor plates like that off the front of motors, never one in between. Will that replace all of the mounts?

**mikey_d05** · July 7th, 2008, 11:11 AM

Nope, the motor mounts, trans and transfer case mounts will still be used, it's just 5 extra bolts to spread out the load and keep everything rigid. The actual plate will get cut down to fit tube work, just made it big so I could hack it off with the plas when I get that far. The drivetrain is going to be solid mounted, so a mid plate just made it a ton easier to set the motor and tranny in the chassis without any supporting tube work...and added a ton of weld surface area to deal with vibration fatigue.