honda powered kid buggy...

[draggbody]

with all of the complaining about boring build theads i decided to hold out til i was a little more complete... i decided to build this for my daughter... she is seven and a true sport about wheelin', camping, being outdoors, etc... she has been saying that she has wanted a buggy she could drive and really started pestering me after we went to harlan and she was seeing those RZR side by sides everywhere... shes like see daddy, you could just buy me one of those.... $10k+... cough, cough.... so after being inspired by rockapes build i desided to build my own... 3/4:1 scale....

i had a set of 31" boggers, freebie, i wanted to keep it small and low and narrow... i need it to fit sideways on my trailer that i tow my camper and buggy on... so i se my eyes on a set of sami axles, offset diffs and narrow... then i got a set of late 90's dodge 1500 wheels that i machined to larger hub bore, they were 16s that i needed for my tires... i used a 93 civic for a drivetrain, 1.6L vtec sohc and an automatic...

the next, and most important order of business was safety... i wanted everything to be kid sized, seats, seatbelts, steering wheel, pedals, you name it...

i decided to use one links front and rear mainly for simplicity, clearance, and protecion of the driveshafts... i want her to be able to just plow over anything w/ no concern as to damage on the under carriage... she would have no concept of damage anyways... enough blabbing, on to the pics...

this is what i started w/, a honda drivetrain, a set of sami axles and some boggers...

i listed this on our local board so i am cutting and pasting alot of the text so it my seem a little choppy...

11-2-07
82" WB, pontential cage height of 62"... the cab is tight as frog pussy, but i think it is going to be fine... the master cyl will mount in the rear, so nothing will need a "firewall"... these are at full stuff...






11-4-07

update... i got some work done this weekend, spencer and i set the engine up on the "subframe" and mounted the first piece of tube, which is the hardest by far... i did realize that i will need a wider set of axles, which are from a newer models... made one of the tranmission/ driveshaft adapters, the motor mounts are done...

this is the mounts




flanges...

[draggbody]

11-6-07

rear one link is finished... here is the setup...



rear view...



the joint... yes, that mother sucker is HUGE!!!!



this is where the brake booster is going... that is behind the passeger seat, facing the rear...

[draggbody]

11-8-07

todays update... the majority of the cage is finished... i still have to work on the floor, but i am waiting on shocks...

[draggbody]

11-16-07

so it seems as though i have come to a screeching halt... visually that is... i am trying to work out details now... anyways... heres the progress...

rear motor mount...



exhaust... yes that is a polished stainless muffler w/ mandrel bent pipe...:finger:





this is the front side of the brake booster... that is the passenger side, behind the seat... the right side of the pic is the front of the buggy...



front driveshaft/ pillow block... and how about fuck that fucking mother fucker of a front driveshaft... i have a 1 1/16 splined shaft, do the make a fucking pillow block that size??? of fucking course not... so i had to buy a 1 1/4 and then machine a bushing to make up the difference....



this is all under the passenger seat... front link mount, the jack shaft setup on the brake booster, and pillow block mount...

[draggbody]

11-18-07

this is my coilover setup... these are parts store shock "helper" coils and a 2" tube clamp... i dont take any credit for this idea as it was randy morris who thought of this... no other noticable progress today....

[csudman]

Awsome, keep em coming.

[draggbody]

11-25-07

man am i getting jealous... i mean her buggy is going to be WAY nicer than mine... not to brag... okay, to brag the freaking fuel tank is nicer most rigs i have seen, this bitch is beautiful... all stainless, tigged, aircraft style cap... fucking sexy!!!! i made the gas tank "skid" and the radiator shield out of puched steel...
i am so pleased with the detail i am able to put into this buggy... hopefully i can start it next week and start teardown....
i added a little more cage... i feel 100% confident in letting my little girl roll this bitch as much and hard as she can now... my thoughts were to leave it as it was strong enough, but my gut was telling me to add more... so i went w/ the gut feeling....








gas tank and rear roll pan installed...

[PsychoticDeadGuy]

This is a really cool idea! Props for doing the work yourself for your daughter!

[toykilla5150]

very kool! I want one now. how wide is it outside of tire to out side of tire?

I know somebody will say it so, Please biuld/put a shield under the orbital valve incase of a ruptured/pinhole in a hydro line. I have been cut wide open by a hydro line praying fliud out of a pinhole. It was not fun.

I do love your idea

[draggbody]

11-25-07

this will give a little more porportion to the size of this thing...my back is touching the cage....

[draggbody]

BTW i am 5'10"

poser flex shot :rock:... acctually i had to check some clearances, but it is cool none the less...

[draggbody]

Originally Posted by toykilla5150

how wide is it outside of tire to out side of tire?

64" outside of tire to outside of tire... ~5 feet at ride height, 112" overall lenght... ~14" of belly height...

[jmdzuk]

I like ,keep the updates coming.

[Mosephus]

That's very cool, we don't have kids yet but I've been dreaming up something similar. Good Job.

[muddermilitia]

Your daughter is going to be the most popular kid in school! Looks awesome so far

[MattyB4x4]

thats totally freaking cool. i'm really diggin all these "tiny" buggies

[jhama78]

man thats awesome... looking forward to more updates..

[suprdave737]

So its big enough inside for you to test drive it right? Also have you looked into arm restraints if kids are gonna be driving it? Very nice project thanks for sharing.

[94toytruck]

Awesome that your building it for your daughter

[draggbody]

Originally Posted by suprdave737

So its big enough inside for you to test drive it right? Also have you looked into arm restraints if kids are gonna be driving it? Very nice project thanks for sharing.

i am thinking about window nets, but she KNOWS about arms inside... granted she will not be following me on obsticles, more like a chase vehicle... it is tight for me, the seat is adjustable and fits my wife good, she is 5'... i will wear a helmet so i dont beat my brains out... she will wear a DOT/snell motocross helmet... i dont even let her ride in my buggy w/o it...

[Rock Ape]

Thats pretty damn cool....

I think your gonna be mad when this goes places easier that yours will!!! Are you planning to have some kind of speed limiter on it??I know mine would be more power than I would wanna turn a kid loose with,without some kind of limiter.

I told my wife I would just move the pedals closer on lo-budget pimpin for my little one when she gets big enough.But for now Im gonna have to fine tune it until then.....

[habitatxskate]

amazing, my lil sis is 3 and she loves lifted trucks and mud already. she plays in my truck all the time. my dad wants to start her on a quad then from there not really sure.

[draggbody]

i want to look into a top speed limiter... i know they can remove it, i am just wondering if they can reverse whatever does that and "restict" it... i dont want to reduce the power as it may be neccesary for hills etc... i will do mechanical stop if all else fails... i will also start her out in like 2nd gear and not tell her about the others as she will think that she will tear something up if she puts it in 3rd or 4th....

[dethmachinefab]

The build looks tits, nice work. The load leveling shocks work great for little buggys, i have used them on mine but found the rebound to be a bit slower than id like. Cant wait for action shots.

[Mustard Dog]

Very cool