Brad's right. If you don't fill the bore with something solid it WILL distort when welded. So if you ever welded up a set of arms and the inboard bearing didn't fit, that's why.
The set up axle is just to adjust the length of the axle and to keep the CV's aimed at each other.
Should have mentioned that there is over 24" of wheel travel with this set up. I restricted it to 20" so not to push the CV angle. Besides to go any more I would need a set of 38" tall tires just to keep the cage from smashing into the ground. Still haven't weighed them yet, but they are light compared to other arms I have built before. Yes I taped my nuts to the car. You'll noticed I used green tape and not Blue tape. Nothing worse than Blue nuts.
There are a BUNCH of excellent fabricators floating around here. I have one advantage, I have a machine shop, 30 years of experience and I'm not afraid to use it.
Thanks

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mike your talent is amazeing! i have the passion for fabricating but not the tools! would you make your lower bag mounts to sell for someone like me??? i just want to get close to what you run, but can in no way begin to make those lower mounts

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lets just ride

(There are a BUNCH of excellent fabricators floating around here. I have one advantage, I have a machine shop, 30 years of experience and I'm not afraid to use it.)


I would LOVE the tools! But a fabricater i'm not. I would LOVE to have the skills you possess! I fabricate out of necessity but it takes three tries to get it right. Very nice work!!! Can't wait to see the finished product.

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Turbocharged Ecotec,vanogon midshift,Berrien WoodsBuggy wagon.

DITTO!! I can fab a part by cutting steel with a torch, grinding the edges & drilling with a hand drill. Thanks to Instigator's Water Jet I may be able to have him cut complex shapes & save me hours of work but parts like those bag mounts will only appear on my rail if I can buy them. It's way beyond my ability to fab a set even if I had the machines. I can make a pivot from steel plate that uses a grade 8 bolt to swivel but every couple years the holes will egg out & need repair. I know my limits but I can still drool.....

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I think everyone remembers my old car, the black one. I built it in a 12 X 24 self storage garage with almost no equipment.

I built the whole thing with a bench top drill press, a band-saw and a Craftsman bench top belt sander. It was not easy, in fact that is why it took almost 5 years to finish. It wasn't until the last couple of years I started to buy my equipment. If I had to replace everything I have with all new stuff, it would cost just under $100,000, not an easy nut to crunch. The point is if there is a will, there is a way.
The work I do now is mainly maintenance machine. I'm handed a beat-up sample of a part and I'm expected to make a new one that is perfect.
The bulk of my work is in pump repair, pump shafting, shaft sleeves and impeller rings, nothing fancy but it puts Cheerios on the table.
I'm a job shop machine shop, I can make anything for anybody, providing they can pay the price. The going shop rate in this area is from $50 an hour to $80 an hour depending on what's needed. The reason for the seemingly high rate is to pay for the expensive equipment I, we need to do the work. Takes a long time to pay off $100,000 at $50 an hour. Not to mention the years of experience it take to do the work.
As far as making a set of hinges for folks, no big deal except it takes almost a day and a half to make a pair of them, lot more work than it looks. Even at $40 an hour, a set of hinges can cost a bunch. Now as much as I consider myself to be racer/buggy friendly when it comes to pricing, I find that most into buggy's are not willing to pay that price. Example, my double shear torsion eliminators, everyone wanted a set, no one wanted to pay for them, my ball joint to link/pin conversion arms and spindles, everyone wanted a set, no one wanted to pay for them. I can't be expected to give things away and stay in business for very long.
The long to short version is, unless you have a buddy that has the capability to do machine work for cheap or nothing, it's expensive.
Still want a set of hinges? PM me and tell me what your willing to pay, taking into consideration what it takes to do and I'll tell you if I can do it.

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Amen, brother! I would love to build buggies for people all day, but no one would pay much more than what I have in materials, let alone anything (even a little) for the time. But its all in good fun!

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

You spelled it out perfectly. There is a price to pay for quality parts that is beyond the average guys wallet. Unless you have a CNC that can cut dozens of them on it's own you are looking at a $500 set of bag mounts. I have a friend in Michigan with CNC machines but I have yet to ask for a single part due to the cost.

The only way I will contract a part that is one off will be the day I have no choice. It's why I stick to VW based parts. I said it before.....I can't afford to re-invent the wheel. I will however find a way to make a few of your upgrades from plate steel & integrate them but they certainly won't be as pretty.

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I know how you feel mike, when i qoute jobs, i usually set my machine time at 50 bucks an hour. i have thousands of dollars invested in my equipment. one cabinet alone has about 20 thousand dollars worth of tooling in it. so when people ask me to do work for them, and when i give them a price, they look at me like im crazy and i tell them to go out and buy the material, and once they find out how much that costs, they usually dont come back. but i do got a few friends that i will do work for, just to help them out. usually i only charge them a six pack of beer and a pizza. and what i expect in return is when im out riding with them in the woods, they have my back. that usually works out pretty good. there is a couple of guys that when they come over, i will set them up and show them how to run the machines. and let them do the work. its kind of like shop class, we both have alot of fun.
now mike, what really impresses me with your work, is you do all that by hand, no CNC equipment, i call it the old fashion way. but thats what i expect out of a fellow machinest.

these machine are no joke neither i was scared , felt like i had turtle heads pokin out the whole time dave was showing me how to use them

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

I think you do fine work and I thank you for posting it for us to see.Chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

What sucks is when you build a friend a buggy so they will ride with ya ,,,,Then they sell it

Yea your right rock that does suck. I just completly redid a buggy 4 a freind. I let him leave with it before he paid me, and he sold it. lesson learned.

i can build anything i want and ill get it rite by the 3rd or 4th try but i do like to see your work mike, and its much better:mrgreen: and building buggys for friends is how we do it were im from! each person has a strong point so we put it all to use and accomplish the comon goal! (put as many of us in the woods as possible)

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lets just ride

i would hate to see them sell something though that i put alot of effort into! just to help em out

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lets just ride

Great, just what we need on here, another cookie cutter single seater build!!!!

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[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

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its frustrating to see what a mill and lathe can do in the right hands. its even more frustrating owning both and not having the skills to use them properly. i took wood shop, auto mechanics,and welding (way) back in high school. i really wish i had taken machine shop. (lesson to the younger guys here on w.b.)
i do know how to get shit to flow down hill properly and due to this i an fortunate enough to be able to hire a guy with mad machine skills if need be.

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**********"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."
- Sigmund Freud **********
**********"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."
- Antonio Meloni **********

Bill I would be happy to relieve you of that complicated, glorified drill press you have there and replace it with something more suitable, something more, shall I say in your skill range.

Just Kidding my friend.

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Now thats Funny! I don't care who ya are.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Indeed it was

that's a pretty impressive tire plug tool ya got there mike.

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**********"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."
- Sigmund Freud **********
**********"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."
- Antonio Meloni **********

Lol.Chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

Kevlar inner tubes, check.

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Got some more done, air bag, bump stop and fuel cell all finished. The trailing arms need caliper brackets and limit strap tabs and then the rear suspension is finished.


Looks like the air filter is going to plumb directly into the throttle body.


Next are the bars under the motor and the rest of the back cage.

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As usual, AWESOME work!

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When in doubt, hit it in second gear!