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OSP's Zuk/Toy buggy Deux

15K views 71 replies 17 participants last post by  Ju 
#1 · (Edited)
Might never finish this but that's what I said about the first one. It's keeping me busy fabbing - there's just something about angle grinders that I love... I've got 80-90% of the parts already, so I figured might as well build another buggy. My current build really exceeded my expectations so there's not alot of significant changes from that one.

Tentative plans:
Vitara 2.0 engine (J20)
*Behind-axle Toyota IFS box hi-steer
Toy axles w/5.29
Zuk tcase w/ 6.5:1 gears
100% new frame/chassis (first buggy was build from a stock Samurai frame)
Hopefully significantly less metal and more DOM where it counts.
Fuel cell and better storage in the back maybe.
bla bla bla

P.s. I used square tube cuz it's easier to work with, especially when you don't own a bender OR have any round tube whatsoever to start with. More importantly, it's stronger for the belly and much easier to mount a steering box to. A little heavier, but I don't think very much.

*I may find something more reasonable, like another FJ box or a Chevy box with a forward pitman arm, but that's not as interesting, and IFS boxes are easy to find and I have 2 or 3 sitting around)

No frame table but i had some other steel pieces that seemed flat and square.


2 frame rails that are near identical. Not bad.








I'm really hoping I got this square. I can't say I know any fancy techniques to confirm it, but I did measure diagonally from the corners, and also for parallel and level. I'll continue to measure as I weld in case there is tweaking.


 
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#5 · (Edited)
Nothing wrong with the first buggy. Variety of reasons to start this build: love to fab, have lots of spare parts, including a full Vitara with a 2.0... hoping to build this one over the next couple years (?) with little or no downtime on my current wheeler.

Not sure the rear IFS box is going to work. I think the upper link mount is gonna get in the way of the drag link and I don't think I can work around that. Might try a Ford or Chevy box with a forward pitman arm if I can't find another FJ80 box.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Front link mounts are done. I opted to make the upper link on the frame a little different this time. I drilled some holes for the bolts and welded some nuts onto the frame. Oh crap... I just realized I might not have enough room to pull the bolts out if the engine is in the way. hmm... guess I'll have to redo that else I regret it way down the line.





 
#7 · (Edited)
Well, I decided the angle of the front frame rail was unnecessarily steep which would limit how much room I have for the pedals... so.... I'm cutting up those rails and redoing them. This is a minor problem I had with the first build, where I had to shorten the pedals to fit cuz I like my seat super low. A fairly major oversight in my frame design and a bit of a chore to redo the frame rails. But worth redoing.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Done. Almost back to where I was. Should have significantly more room now, even compared to the Zuk frame that my first chassis is based off. I didn't have any 2x3 tube so I used 2x2, and barely had enough of that. Had to scab some pieces together. Shaved a pound or two, I guess, and the strength is still in the right places.
Also lucked out and got some high-steer arms and an FJ80 box. So... guess I don't need to do the queer steer. Kinda bumbed out about that, but I just couldn't figure out any way to make the drag-link fit without interfering with the upper control arm in the 3-link.

 
#10 · (Edited)
Fark ya. I didn't realize solid axle trucks had different tie rods. Good thing I hoarded up a few. Looks like some of thems are bigger than others and have beefier rod ends. I cut, sleaved and plugged this one and it should work goodly. Found a nice 12mm socket to sleeve it with on the cheap. U can see in the photo the top one is the slim tie rod, the lower one is the one I used and the socket fit perfect.


Ayup. That's in. Now, as long as I can get that darn pitman arm off the FJ80 box that's been stuck on it since Reagan...
 
#13 ·
No rear steer. Too hard to do without hydro or electric rams, if it's even possible. Engine is a J20A (2 litre Zuk) hopefully. Drop pitman arm would put the arm in a much more vulnerable position if it hit a rock, and the tradeoff of poorer steering isn't bad. Current steering setup works just fine surprisingly.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Front geometry is done and all tacked in proper. Working on the rear now. Lower link mounts are done. This took me about 4 hours cuz I had to redo all 4 link mounts. I flared out the frame mounts and had to redo the axle mounts cuz they needed a different angle. Something that really surprised me was that the distance between the front and rear axle lower link bolts are dam near exactly the same on both sides - 91" 5/8. If the diagonal geometry is close to that I'll be really excited because my first buggy is quite a bit out due to the slightly bent zuk frame, and that affected quite a bit of rear cage design. Doesn't seem to matter a hoot in performance, tho.
Wheelbase as it sits is about 1-2" shorter than my other buggy so this one might end up about 99". Front links are longer and the rears are shorter. Seat is also lower and more rear-ward than than the other buggy. This buggy is really maximizing the rock-bouncer balance that I was fairly succesfully achieved with the first buggy - as low COG as possible and seat low and back.
Aiming to get the upper frame mounts done then tack some pipe in for shocks to make a roller just for fun. I only get about 5-6 hours a week to work on it.





 
#24 ·
Not exactly sure what to do now. I think the next step is to pull the engine from the Vitara and install it, then build around it. Might leave this for when the weather warms/dries up. I've got an engine to rebuild and hopefully install in the active buggy.



 
#25 ·
Well, my other project has been put on hold so I'm gonna try to get this one done.

I started taking apart the Vitara so that I can easily transfer the engine and drivetrain, wiring, etc. Want to get as much removed but still have it drivevable.





 
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