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New Ibex 4-seat Chassis by Goat Built

342K views 645 replies 206 participants last post by  flatblack51 
#1 ·
Back in September I started a new company, Goat Built, Inc. First on the list of products is a production tube buggy kit, sort of a buggy in a box. I have had this idea is my head for a few years now, started the design over a year ago, and have been hitting the Solidworks hard the last two months. All the tubes are laser notched and bent, just make a fixture base (or not if you have a nice table), assemble and weld it together yourself (of course I can assemble and weld it if you would like). Putting it together yourself takes a lot of cost out and is easily shippable on a pallet, probably $200-$300 to most places.

This chassis is an all purpose dual sport trail rig. Suspension is set up for KOH type wheeling, works great in the rocks, great in the desert. Not an IFS desert car or rock comp rig, but the best you can do in between. Of course you can race it in KOH type races, but most of us are recreational wheelers and want a well thought out, affordable, comfortable trail rig. Here are some of the requirements I had:
  • GM LS truck engine
  • TH400 auto trans
  • Atlas 2 T-Case
  • fits standard D60/14b
  • 40 tires
  • rear bench seat(or storage)
  • 14-16" travel coil overs
  • flat floor and firewall for ease of fabrication
  • sway bars front and rear
  • front mounted radiator
  • same front and rear control arms
  • same drive shaft front and rear/No CV joints
  • triangulated 4-link suspension front and rear
  • plenty of leg and head room

The chassis has been completely designed in SolidWorks, I have drawn every part, cycled and checked every thing for fitment. Here is the result:
 

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#3 ·
Features

Here are some key features and specs:
  • 110" wheelbase
  • 54 wide chassis at the arm rail
  • 40" wide rear bench seat, that right, 40"!!!
  • 14" front/16" rear coil overs, will fit 2.0, 2.5 C/O or air shocks
  • air bumps front and rear
  • front mounted 28 x 19 radiator, with electric fan
  • full-hydro steering
  • will accommodate standard full width 60 front and any rear, or custom diffs, recommend 66" wms w/ 4.5" BS wheels
  • same front and rear lower links and same front and rear upper links
  • Uses the same length front and rear drive shafts, NON-CV!!!, (front is two piece)
  • FITS A STANDARD GM TRUCK 4.8/5.3/6.0 ENGINE!!! STOCK INTAKE, OIL PAN. EXHAUST MANIFOLDS AND ACCESSORIES (NEEDS AS P/S PUMP RELOCATION BRACKET)
  • will accommodated just about any other power-train combination
  • Fits standard Anti-rock sway bars

These chassis kits will be in stock on the shelf with optional brackets, mounts, panels, and accessories:
  • 4-link suspension brackets
  • air bump mounts
  • shock mounts
  • skid plates
  • exhaust kit
  • radiator mounts
  • seat mounts
  • steering mounts
  • all panels: firewall, sides, floor, etc
  • roto-molded fuel tank
  • suspension links
  • uniquely designed hood
  • uniquely designed dash
  • motor mounts
  • any thing else required to assemble, just supply the parts.
 
#439 ·
#6 ·
Here is what I started with, GM truck engine, in 4.8/5.3/6.0 flavor. I designed this chassis around this engine, they are cheap ($500-$1500) and have plenty of power. Best of all it will fit stock, no need to swap the intake manifold, build custom headers and swap the oil pan or accessories, you easily spend another $1000 if you had to do all of that like many of you had to. Just pull a motor out of a truck, have the harness and computer reworked for $400 and bolt it in. I have engine mounts that fit this engine and simply fit the chassis.
 

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#8 ·
And now the good stuff, the build. I picked up the laser cut tubes on Monday, Jan 23. Built the fixture and sorted all the parts on Tuesday and the started assembling tubes Wed and Thurs, what you see below is from Wed and Thurs.

Here's 200 ft of 1-3/4 DOM and 100 ft of 1-1/2 DOM
 

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#9 ·
This buggy kit was designed for a moderately skilled fabricator to be able to put together in a garage, need a welder, grinder and a level (and some clamps and welding magnets help too)

First step is to build a fixture, I used a 20' stick of 2x4x.120 tube, cost about $80. You could also use 2x2. This is the most important step, you need to get this thing square and flat.
 

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#11 ·
Notice the small bolt and holes at the center of the mitered joints? The hole is laser cut in tube at the center line and nodes of each tube. This does three things: lines up the tubes to each other to their exact center lines, helps hold the joint together for assembly, and provides a easy reference point to measure, on the rectangles, just measure diagonally bolt to bolt to square it up. Many of the holes will be left open where they are inside another tube, but exposed ones can be welded up, it's a 1/4" hole. Also notice the part numbers are laser marked on each tube, the chassis was built on the left side, then mirrored, the right side tubes have the part number mirrored.
 

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#12 ·
Next, flip the belly assembly over and bolt it to the fixture and start the base of the cage. The arm rail tubes are a mitered rectangle that was welded before I put it on the uprights.
 

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#13 ·
Here is the construction of the front, the cross tube fits the front sway bar and fits in the fixture to hold it to the correct height and distance from the subframe.
 

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#27 ·
Love the concept, quality of design, and quality of execution. Just not crazy about the lines aesthetically speaking.

The thought that has gone into it is very apparent, and I'm sure it will be a big hit with the jigging fixtures and pre-cut/notched tube.
 
#33 ·
I don't have the price 100% nailed down yet. Should be in the $3500 ball park with all of the tubes. I will offer a stripped down version with just the exterior tubes similar to other chassis on the market for $2400 ballpark.

Cash check or credit card!!

I also have a dealer or group buy program. Fab shops can buy them, put them together and make money on the chassis kit, the assembly labor and parts. Or if a group of friends want to buy a few together they can get a deal.
 
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