Dune buggy?
 

In light of Rkcarguy's recent build thread, and in light of working "co-op" for my grand father(mechanic) I'm considering building something like the Ariel Atom.

My grand father has a chassis that he is willing to part with and its at most 600 lbs with everything already on it.

That said its got to be sanded and rebuilt partially. But I'm thinking of dropping a Toyota 4AGE silver top 94 with that transmission into it.

After ripping out its engine and tran and swapping for the Toyota engine and trans(current engine is rusted out and would require much more work to salvage) I'd be looking at a 800 #er.

I would supercharge it, but give it a second intake with a simple valve and allow the pulley to release so I can turn the charger off with no massive pumping losses of pulling through a precooler, compressor and piping.

Windscreen is a must. I don't want to wear a helmet and I would like to avoid rocks that manage to notch my bumper destroying my face.

I'm kind of in favor of no body work other than that, simply because its cheap and easy. Aero is going to be a serious drag, and its FE should be pretty decent as should be able to cruise with virtually no fuel.


I've got a month or two before I'll have enough discretionary income to start and finish this project.

Engine trans and all components its going to run 800 bucks plus about 200 in shipping.

I'll need exhaust piping(might go custom and taking input), silencer, and engine components for increased output.

No need for cat, it will be running lean without the super and misted with.

Suggestions opinions?

psst ... coroplast

Forget the blower, put a shot of nitrous on there if you're only looking for "occasional" power.

I had thought of that but I was not particularly keen on it. I'm not quite sure how long say like a 5lb bottle would last, so I wasn't sure if it would meet the requirements for providing a solid thrill to the grocery store(where I would put the groceries I don't know).

It would only need the charger 1-2 times a week, but it would be a 20-40 minute acceleration trip to the speed limit. As I stated I'm not informed about nitrous would it still be the best bet?

I am kind of considering coroplast or fiberglass for body paneling, but I'm not quite sure. It's Cd. is going to be really ugly without it but it won't much much frontal area. . .More than a motorcycle. I would have to mount it directly to the frame since there is no body at all to it anyway.

I'm expecting pretty good FE because the 4AGE silver top Can do 24 mpg with a 1800 lb heavier corrolla attached. I might do the body as break away panels for when I'm using it over distance or just in town. . .

An easy way to cover the frame would be to zip tie coroplast panels to the frame.

FYI, it is illegal to even have a nitrous bottle hooked up in your car if you are on a public roadway.

For better FE why not use a motorcycle engine...
 

...a 'Busa no less!!! An Ariel Atom for the dunes. Around these parts there are lots of multi-seat rails & mini rails trailered on every Friday commute, out to the deserts & dunes. Glamis, a fave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgxTkX9Vp30&eurl=

Steve. . .really?

I can see that being possible and probable but are you sure thats not s state reg?

The ghettoness of zip-tying a whole body is a bit much. I would just use mounts locked between bolts around the bars. . .think rods connecting to crankshaft. and then have them on squick release latches to make it easy instead of using bolts. . .

Nothing against zip-ting individual pieces of coro but the whole frame. . .thats pushing it lol

It is a state reg. This is all I could find for Tn. It looks like you might actually be ok. On a side note, in NY you need a special license just to transport it.

Tennessee Nitrous Oxide: The Tennessee Legislature withdrew legislation to prohibit the highway use of a vehicle equipped to supply nitrous oxide to the engine unless the system is made inoperative by disconnecting the line feeding nitrous oxide; removing the containers from the vehicle; or turning the tank to the off position. The bill did not prohibit operating a tow vehicle or RV that is equipped to supply the engine with nitrous. The bill is based on SAN-model legislation offered to state legislators as a compromise to a complete ban on nitrous oxide systems.

The reason its illegal is because a general anesthetic, or can be. If you have it on a street car and they see it you are guaranteed getting a cup test. I know a few people who have systems with something like it, but they all hide them in places to make sure they don't have to suffer inspections if cops get cranky.

One of them just uses straight O2 with a switch that also tells the MAP to run rich, but its almost dead stoich with the huge volume of O2 he dumps.

I still think I'm not interested in nitrous because its a few squirt line jumper, I'm looking for concurrent runs without stopping that are not drag race 1/4 miles.