sr20 surf buggy

[Jameshunt244]

well it's almost time for me to start my next project

I've collected up some parts over the last year

body

cage

and an engine

also have some toyota axles, fwd trans and some wheels

should be enough to make a start

the plan is to bob tail the surf, mount the engine as far back as practical, run the fwd box as a low ratio transfer case.
then i'll try fit double triangulated front and rear 4 link.

why a surf? because people love to hate on surfs so why not make a surf that's still a surf but not really a surf just to mess with people.

the end goal is to have something light and low that is really simple. i plan to do the local mud plug and we will leave space for winches just incase i want to go down that track and do a season or two of winch challenges.

wish me luck

[Lchundy]

Cool
Like buggys!
Will keep eye on this build
Good luck!

[Jameshunt244]

got a chance to move into the shed and start looking at ride height and working outbid modification.

As I said I want to keep it low. The Sr20 and auto doesn't hang down low so that works in my favour but where i have it resting now i will need to go up 100mm to fit my upper links under body. I'm currently playing around with the tape measure and 4 link calculator to try make something fit without to much panel work and still keeping it low.

here's a pic of desired ride height and a 35

[stealth]

I love builds like this lots of photos plz

[Jameshunt244]

got back cut off, 355mm shorter. have it roughly tacked in place. Sheet metal isn't very fun. with the wire speed as low as I can get it and the power also as low I'm still blowing holes through it super quick. maybe i need to invest in some gas haha.
I'm pretty happy with the shape though just need more practise with welding thin material, that's what it's all about, don't improve by giving up.

here's a couple of pic's to keep ya interested

[Jameshunt244]

Haven't achieved a whole lot of actual progress, just been scratching my head, drawing pictures and measuring bits. as I saw once on TV they call it NVP non visual progress

I have worked out that i should have 30* steering, doesn't seem to be much but the cutting brakes should sort it.

feel free to comment here. this is my first go at 4 link so more than happy for anyones input.

I did get the cage sitting inside, so i can have room to build chassis and also sitting inside helps to keep motivation going.

The rear door I will cut up and stitch the outer skin on.

[Sausager]

This is wild. I'm in for the ride!

Keep it up dude, loving it.

[mudlva]

Sheet metal isn't very fun. with the wire speed as low as I can get it and the power also as low I'm still blowing holes through it super quick. maybe i need to invest in some gas haha.

Couple of tips i found.
Use 0.6mm wire
Use mixed argon co2 gas as welds a little cooler
Pull the weld onto the metal edges
If butt welding fit a small strip behind the weld..will act like a lap join now which is easier to weld.
Tac weld 20mm apart then start to stitch the tacs together.
Once a hole has blown through dont touch it till its cold. Then try repair in opposite direction to initial weld direction. Remember to pull weld onto edge of steel.
Starting off the tac

Ive never had chance to tig but this is a better way to weld thin panel sheet steel.

Mig will do it but need a heap more patiance

[Jameshunt244]

Cheers Mudlva, ill have a bit of a play. Ive tried clamping a thick piece of steel behind panel steel to soak some heat. not always achievable. I will get everything tacked up and then try my hand at tig. It seems to be the way to go and I am a bit worried about putting to much heat into that chromoly cage so would like to tig all the base plates and gussets. So i guess i will be making more of these for my mates. So I can practice. I used the flux core mig but it was easy being 1.6mm

[mudlva]

F.core is good for structual but at 1.6mm just way to heavy for panel steel.

Pick a small role of 0.6mm and wind it onto an old drum that fits your mig. You will also need mixed gas. I have heard of using straight argon but unsure of results. Others will hopefully chip in if im wrong.
As you want to go tig you have to source a bottle of argon anyway and if the results of welding with it on mig works then mint. If it dont you will move faster onto the tig route.

Never welded c.moly so dont know tricks of trade. Heard stories but rather not spout off .as 3rd party stories are very baised.

Looking forward to seeing your final product up and running

[De-Ranged]

I weld lots of sheet metal I love playing with it
My suggestion is to stick with the mig it is far more forgiving than a tig, with the tig your fitment of pannels has to be spot on... it doesn't bridge a gap as easily.... your distance between the torch and work has to be alot more controlled and it is painfully slow lol
0.6mm wire, argon CO2 mix.... tack it before you weld, prep with paint stripping disks (these will remove the paint and rust without eating the steel last thing you want is to thin sheetmetal any more than it is lol
A few tips to help you out
if you can overlap a strip of sheet to the back of a but weld, if its into a corner fold up a backer and weld it in there and then lap the panel to this
If its a large panel spot weld all around, then stitch weld opposites to keep the heat down
I would give you some welder settings but at sheetmetal level particularly stuff thinner than 1mm I've found welders vary that much (even the same brand and model) do some test pieces on the bench to work out the best settings
At this low settings you can control heat a fair portion by the "stick out" length you need to bridge a gap that has developed pull your torch back a bit to increase the "stick out"
Where you have a gap direct the gun towards the piece with more structure and flick it towards the opposite piece to wick the pool across
If you can't get your settings right on the welder weld "stack of tacks" style.... weld a tack let the heat go weld another till you have your stitch then move to another and start another stitch weld

Good luck

[Jameshunt244]

cheers mate, I've had to stop working on this and fix my other one, nothing major but keep having troubles with fwh coming loose and on this occasion gone completely, up a river at night, 10min after we had the discussion to turn left (home) or right (carry on). I'm trying to think of the best way to keep them tight cause checking them every trip isn't cutting it. Whatever I do I'll need to do to this buggy too cause it'll be spinning tyres faster than the ol 2LT does.

I'm deciding on drilling our fwh so i can use cone washers like factory or drilling holes so I can thread wire through and tie every bolt together.
Can't seem to find a link on this. Only remember talking to phil from force4 about them coming loose and from memory he just makes a habit of checking them all the time.

[wjw]

Do you have hub spacers?

[Jameshunt244]

on the prado hubs i did, now i've just started changing to Aisin and surf ifs hubs

[johnny262]

My AVM hubs do this regularly, planning on using a medium strength loctite when I can be bothered

[wjw]

on the prado hubs i did, now i've just started changing to Aisin and surf ifs hubs

I had the same issue when I had spacers, went to LN107 hubs and stubs and AISIN hubs, never had the issue again

[Jameshunt244]

Have had a baby boy so time in the shed has slowed right down but....This weekend Mum & Son went away so I got a solid day and a half. Managed to get my inner guards all tacked in place and made up plates to fix cage in place. A pillar or front hoop what ever you wanna call it mounts right where the factory body mount is. I decided to keep that in place and made up a foot and crush tube to transfer the load down so I can use original mounting. I plan to use 4 of the original body mounts to make squaring up the body to chassis nice and simple.

plan forward is to finish the cage mounts then stitch body back together. Then I can spend time on the engine while I wait for The sheffield mud plug so I can drive the ute chopped one before stripping it down and mounting this cab on the chassis. Easy as be done by christmas lol

anyway here's some pic's