buggy dreams

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woody

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my FJ40 started with 9 lives and has been beaten thru at least 12....WAY past time to throw away...


What I have: Corbeau Baja SS seats for the front and a 36" Corbeau bench in back (yes, a 4-seat)....55" wide (stock FJ40 cowl width)...weld the stock dash into the tubework...106ish wheelbase...350TBI, 700R, D300...TrentFab hood....fiberglass bezel (no bib)....7075 links with QA-1 heims...39's and TR alums

lookin for pics tho...have a BUNCH of TC and TF and other chassis photos, but I want to use 1-3/4" or 1-1/2" bent tubing to attach the bezel to, rather than use the stock bib...

anyone know of pics or a build link? I've looked for weeks and got nuthin....

and has anyone seen a FJ40 buggy that allows use of the stock windshield? doubt I'll try to pull that off, but it's a thought....

TIA....


(may pick up my 72 junker this week and pull a few items from there....dash....cowl area....mmmm....guess that's it ;) )
 
Woody,

Here is a pic of my junk, I narrowed the hood and bib 4 1/2". 1 3/4" tubing around the bib bent w/ 6" CL die. Good luck on the wind shield frame :D

Matt
First run 005 RS.jpg
 
My TC chassis is 54" at the top of the hood and tapers down a ton.

I like the looks of the buggy above for sure. I usually like the bib and bezel, but that one looks cool like that.

You should buy a chassis. I don't understand why you want to reinvent the wheel. By the time you get the tooling to build a good chassis you could have one in stock.

I love my 54" chassis. Very comfy.

Good luck, get started.
 
Heard you talking about retiring the beast at camp, guessing a day with buggies will get the creative juices flowing.

I really have no expierence with with full on buggies............


BUT....... the day we were out and you cleaned up a rocked tight corner section and then I watched a big jeep on Rocks with front and rear steer 49s linked yadda yadda just built struggle very baddly in that section.

Of course I was with jim in that section and well, you know how it went.


Looking forward to seeing your choice, I think the two seater is way fun and keeps it that much more compact.

Rob
 
What about the blue tubed 40 that Brian Hamilton used to beat the crap out of years back. I think that is his name... It might have had a cruiser frame though. Can't recall. Too bad Troy isn't doing tube work anymore. Wonder if he can help still?

I am broke but thinking the same. The red 40 is simply out dated and needs to change soon.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Hope it means you will still be wheeling this summer in the 40 though.
 
not sure if this pic will work

This is the cruiser buggy I remembered from years ago.
blue rock fj.jpg
 
Heard you talking about retiring the beast at camp, guessing a day with buggies will get the creative juices flowing.

this poor rig is past retiring...I treat it like a buggy, and it's just not...

I am broke but thinking the same. The red 40 is simply out dated and needs to change soon.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Hope it means you will still be wheeling this summer in the 40 though.

the 40 is still intact, for now...'believe' I can do a lot of the design and plan with and keep mine together, and then just move the driveline over....course, that'll still take a lot of time, but I've got that :)

Here's an FJ40 buggy built by Jim's Garage:
FJ buggy - North Carolina 4x4 Forum

perfect - that hood/front section is what I want, combined with a tube-surround for the bezel....thanks!


The local fab guy can build anything from a picture....combine a handful of ideas and beat it thru his thick skull, and I'll get what I want....he did the cage in my rig now and it's WELL tested, and his race truck does well too :) (squeezing the time from him is the tuff part....but I'll push my project onto his summer calendar....)

RidderFab Offroad Racing
 
Been eyeing a Hendrickson X chassis with 40 front hood and bezel, migh be tight for a 350 though,
 
and has anyone seen a FJ40 buggy that allows use of the stock windshield? doubt I'll try to pull that off, but it's a thought....

This was my thought originally when I started buggifying my 40....the more I looked at it and thought about it.....NO DICE!! I even thought maybe a quick removal for the windshield may be the key, but in the end, it came off. To me, as long as you keep the 40 hood and bezel, your staying with the theme of the cruiser buggy.
 
This was my thought originally when I started buggifying my 40....the more I looked at it and thought about it.....NO DICE!! I even thought maybe a quick removal for the windshield may be the key, but in the end, it came off. To me, as long as you keep the 40 hood and bezel, your staying with the theme of the cruiser buggy.

Yea, the main selling point of a buggy is to be able to roll it and not have to fix anything.


Woody - this should be a cool build! looking forward to the progress! 6" Die works Very nice to surround the Bezel! You Building a Set of 1 Tons?

It kind of sucks the Everyone and their brother now has a Cruiser Bezel on their Buggy. I think if you can keep the Louvers and Crotch Vents that would be cool!
 
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Yea, the main selling point of a buggy is to be able to roll it and not have to fix anything.


Woody - this should be a cool build! looking forward to the progress! 6" Die works Very nice to surround the Bezel! You Building a Set of 1 Tons?

Awe common, hybrid diamon nines with blue torches 65 degree turning outers......

Ohhh oh oh and rear steer...


Us poor folk can dream, thats all we got....

Gotta admit, the only way I would own a buggy is if it were used and for sale for around 15 to 20K, everything you hear is thats usually half the build price or less.
 
Yea, the main selling point of a buggy is to be able to roll it and not have to fix anything.


Woody - this should be a cool build! looking forward to the progress! 6" Die works Very nice to surround the Bezel! You Building a Set of 1 Tons?

It kind of sucks the Everyone and their brother now has a Cruiser Bezel on their Buggy. I think if you can keep the Louvers and Crotch Vents that would be cool!

Exaclty, you can roll it and not worry. I REALLY want to keep the side louvers, but it looks like I am going to end up cutting everything but the top of the cowl off. I love the louvers, but the OG sheetmetal will be ravaged the 1st time in the rocks. The main thing I will miss when I cut that part off is the kick vents.

And your right about dang near every "rock rig" has a cruiser bezel, at KOH this year a good amount of them were cruiser outfitted!!!!

I have wanted to build a buggy for A LONG TIME!! Most folks told me that I should just buy a chassis and throw a Tfab hood and a bezel on it.....just didn't sit right with me. I love my cruiser like no other rig I have owned. I wanted the heart of the cruiser to still be there.......even though it may only be the cowl, dash and a 4 ft section of frame in the middle, my ole girl will still be underneath my a$$.
 
I've already got a pair of TrentFab hoods and a fiberglass bezel, so those will be used...

working on an idea that will recreate the cowl area using square tubing and skins...something that will be woody-resistant...and allow the possibility of installing a stock windshield as well....

ideas are flowing, thanks for the pics and comments!
 
I've already got a pair of TrentFab hoods and a fiberglass bezel, so those will be used...

working on an idea that will recreate the cowl area using square tubing and skins...something that will be woody-resistant...and allow the possibility of installing a stock windshield as well....

ideas are flowing, thanks for the pics and comments!

The only problem with the windshield idea is that it is damn heavy. I remember I installed mine in the last form of Kate and with all of the support cut out of the cowl it was way flexy.

Maybe an Aqualu frame with speedglass :smokin:
 
I've already got a pair of TrentFab hoods and a fiberglass bezel, so those will be used...

working on an idea that will recreate the cowl area using square tubing and skins...something that will be woody-resistant...and allow the possibility of installing a stock windshield as well....

ideas are flowing, thanks for the pics and comments!

If your wanting to get rid of the hood you don't use....LET ME KNOW!!! I would hate to put my OG hood on and tear it up. Somebody else could use it.
 
Lame.

Buggies are cool, and I have no problem with running tube frame, coilovers, V8 and all that stuff, but seeing just another buggy with a bib zip-tied to some tube is lame.

I just spent 4 months putting a full body back together that no one will have one just like on the trail that day.

Go Space Ghost V1.0 style.
 
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