Offroad Buggy

Pedal Box

Administrator — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 00:17:18 +0000

The modified steering column and various brackets, bolts and bushes arrived today from Dave Smart (the guy who makes the Freestyle). In the package he included an upto date build manual and a CD with some video footage of Freestyles bouncing and sliding around and going through big puddles and stuff. Claire, my extremely patient and unerstanding girlfriend, will tell you that I couldn’t be any more enthusiastic about my buggy but if I could, I would be more enthusiastic today after seeing those video clips.
Anyway…. more painting and cleaning. Painted the timing cover in silver Hammerite and it looks shite. Reassembled pedal box after reading the proper instructions, this involved drilling various holes in the steel rod that connects the pedal to the plunger in the pedal box. I’m glad of my bench drill fo that, a hand drill would have been hit and miss I reckon. When correctly reassembled I bolted it down after spending some time lining it up with the accelerator pedal, steering column and rack loosely in place.
Pictures show the assembled pedal box. These pictures were mainly took to show the SVA inspector to save me taking the box apart if he needs to see inside.
Time spent – 4 hours
Money spent – Â£85 on steering column, brackets, nuts, bolts bushes etc
- Â£6 on Silver Hammerite.

Pedal Box is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Taking a look at the engine and… more cleaning!

Administrator — Sun, 01 Aug 2004 11:23:05 +0000

1st and 2nd August 2004

Yet more cleaning and painting. Moved engine into middle of garage to start removing bits to clean and paint. Started with timing cover which was as rusty as hell.
Photos show some of the bits I’ve been cleaning and painting. Pray with me that Hammerite won’t burn off on some of the engine bits I have applied it to.
The other photos show the engine before cleaning, the large crankshaft nut which needs to be removed, trying to undo this will just turn the engine so you have to lock the flywheel at the opposoite end of the engine by wedging a screwdriver between the ring gear teeth (shown in next photo). The last photo shows the simplex timing gear after the cover has been removed. I may upgrade to duplex if I get chance, if not its a job to be done later for sure.

Taking a look at the engine and… more cleaning! is a post from: Offroad Buggy

More cleaning

Administrator — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0000

Lots of cleaning and painting over the 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st. I’m de-rusting using electrolysis, wirebrushing clean and then painting. Time spent – 11 hours Money spent – Â£10 on a roll of brake pipe from eBay for the next section of the build. More cleaning is a post from: Offroad Buggy

More cleaning is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Cleaning

Administrator — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 21:40:52 +0000

I’m waiting for parts to arrive and to be sourced now so I’m going to spend a little time cleaning and stripping down the subframe, engine and hubs. Continued strip down of front hubs, only the balljoints left to remove now. Removed a couple of bits from the subframe. Started to paint suspension parts.
Time spent – 2 Hours
Money spent – Â£35 on consumables (engine degreaser, black Hammerite, red engine enamel, white spirt)

Cleaning is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Front hub stripdown

Administrator — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:51:08 +0000

Attacked the front hubs yet again. They have being giving me problems. Especially the offside which the CV joint was firmly stuck. Whacking with a lump hammer had just damaged the end of the CV joint and not freed it off. Today however I managed, using a combination of hammers, breaker bar, and rather unsafe techniques to reduce them to their component parts. In doing so I discovered that I have a pair of probably expensive after market alloy 4-pot calipers. I knew they were not metro or mini standard fit but it was a nice surprise when I lifted them away to find they were as light as a feather.
I’m going to recondition the hubs, new bearings and so on. The stuck CV is now scrap but I’m gonna need a pair of drum brake ones anyway so I’m not that bothered.
Time spent – 1.5 hours
Money spent – 0

Front hub stripdown is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Pedal box

Administrator — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:28:19 +0000

Brake master cylinder arrived today. A rather helpful chap called Muffin Man from alt.autos.mini sold it me for a fiver + postage which is a bargain to say the least. My master cylinder was a servo type and would have not fitted easily (if at all).
Assembled pedal box. Laid out various parts (pedals and box, steering column, handbrake, and gear selctor) to get an idea of where to put the pedals. See photos. Still a little tricky without the seats but I have an idea now. Just need bolting in place down.
Continued the task of cleaning parts.
Time spent – 2 hours
Money spent – Â£10 Second hand master cylinder + postage

Pedal box is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Riveting and bubbling water

Administrator — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:29:20 +0000

Riveted outer panels in place. Started cleaning up some of the parts and de-rusting them using electrolysis. I’m not going into great detail now but electrolysis involves “wiring up” a bucket of water and using the magic of science to reverse the rusting process. It’s far less destructive than using a wire brush and also far less effort. I might write more on it later.
Photos show side panels in place and my electrolysis set up (battery charger, wires, bits of metal and washing up bowl)
Time spent – 2 hours
Money spent – Â£2 on consumables (rivets)

Riveting and bubbling water is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Side Panels

Administrator — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 14:06:33 +0000

Riveted inner side panels in place. Time spent – 30mins Money spent – Â£35 on tools (Vice) Side Panels is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Side Panels is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Work starts today!

Administrator — Sat, 17 Jul 2004 11:57:35 +0000

Work on the buggy officially started today. I had done a little fitting of the panels on Thurs but I got stuck in today. Trimmed inner and outer panels to size after much fit, remove, re-fit, remove etc. Clamped them up and drilled all the holes, They just need riveting now.
Time spent – 3 hours
Cash spent – Nothing

Work starts today! is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Administrator — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 10:36:42 +0000

Started to align and trim body panels. Cleaned up the garage a bit.
Time spent – 1.5 hrs
Cash spent – 0

is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Cleaning up

Administrator — Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:10:00 +0000

Finished stipping rear brake and hub components. Dismantled steering column to send the inner part away to Dave Smart (the manufacturer of the kit) to be modified.
Gave the garage a good clean in preparation for starting work on the actual car.
Time spent – 3 hours
Money spent – Nowt

Cleaning up is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Wrestling the engine

Administrator — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 10:52:31 +0000

Kind of rolled the engine out of the subframe in a very unorthadox manner – unsafe to both me and the engine.
Removed brakes and hubs from one side of the rear subframe.
Cleaned a lot of the crap off the subframe, still needs a more thorough clean and possibly paint. Also started to clean up clutch master cylinder.
Time spent – 3 hours
Money spent – Nothing

Wrestling the engine is a post from: Offroad Buggy

To the tip

Administrator — Mon, 12 Jul 2004 11:43:28 +0000

Took all the scrap to the tip this morning in the back of my Dad’s 4×4, leaving me loads more room in the garage.
Removed suspension and driveshaft from the nearside. Got the driveshaft nut off ok while still on the subframe. Undid all necessary bits to lift engine off subframe when I get some help.
Time spent – 2 hours
Money spent â€“ Nothing

To the tip is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Rear Subframe out

Administrator — Sun, 11 Jul 2004 10:34:31 +0000

Removed rear subframe and chopped up the back section of the car today. That’s hopefully all the cutting up I will need to do. My dad is coming over tomorrow to help me cart all the scrap metal to the tip.
Hacksawed one of the the drive shaft nuts off that I should have removed while on the car.
Time spent – 3 hours
Cash spent – Nothing

Rear Subframe out is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Cutting up cars

Administrator — Sat, 10 Jul 2004 20:48:17 +0000

The screwfix order with the grinding disks etc arrived today so I was able to start cutting up the shell to free a bit of space up in the garage. Managed to get the front end and the roof cut up in to small pieces that will fit in the car. Just the back half to do now when it’s been stripped.
Time spent- 2 Hours
Cash spent – Nothing on car parts. Â£40 on tools and consumables

Cutting up cars is a post from: Offroad Buggy

More donor stripdown

Administrator — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 11:53:52 +0000

My Screwfix order including grinder disks and hacksaw blades didn’t turn up today so I wil have to postpone the cutting up of the shell which was todayâ€™s planned task. Instead I continued strip down of shell. The only thing left to remove from the front half now is the radiator expansion tank.
After this I had another play with the chassis bits, trying again to figure out what went where. Also, I did a couple of things with the Mini’s gear selector, removing the steady bar and turning the bottom plate around which changes the position of the reverse gate to the opposite side. The gear selector is then mounted on the kit facing backwards so you have reverse where it should be (and 1st becomes 4th,2nd becomes 3rd and so on) The gear selector rod is extended and bends round the bottom of the engine, come backs on its self and enters the gearbox as it would normally.
After that I started to strip down the front suspension. This is when I realised my first mistake. I should have removed the drive shaft retaining nuts while the subframe was on the car, preferably with someone with their foot on the brake. If I try to put any decent force on them now i will just end up turning the driveshaft and wheels. I might try doing it with the driveshaft in a vice later but I think I’ll end up using nut splitters or a hacksaw to remove them.
Time spent – 3 Hours
Money spent – Nothing

More donor stripdown is a post from: Offroad Buggy

The Chassis arrives!

Administrator — Mon, 05 Jul 2004 12:10:27 +0000

Keith (the previous owner) turned up with the chassis today. Hooray! I bought it off eBay and it looks as though there are a couple of bits missing although there are a couple of bits I wasn’t expecting and its powder coated too which was a nice surprise.
Anyway, back to the Mini. Removed fuel tank (should have been done at the start really for safety reasons) and clutch master cylinder and brake servo along with a few other things.
Managed to get back to Halfords to take my broken breaker bar back and in the process upgraded to a longer one. Eventually after a lot of swearing and sweating I removed the final subframe bolt and lifted the body over the subframe and engine. The Haynes manual says you need 3 or 4 people to do this but with no interior, no roof and no fear of scratching any paintwork or anything, I did it on my own, although it was a little out of control. Anyway, it came off ok, I didn’t get crushed or anything and the garage still stands. Next I cut the floor in half with a mini-grinder in preparation for cutting it up into bits small enough to take to the tip in my dad’s 4×4. Photos show the pictures of the chassis that were sent to me by the previous owner.
Time spent – 5 hours
Cash Spent – Â£400 on car and delivery, Â£35 on tools and consumables

The Chassis arrives! is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Stripdown continues

Administrator — Sun, 04 Jul 2004 00:21:31 +0000

Spent a while in the garage this afternoon but didn’t get a massive amount done as I was quite tired from a wedding over the weekend. Spent a lot of time tidying around and doing really useless things that didn’t need doing. Need to make sure I have more of a plan in future.
Untangled loads of the wiring loom, its nearly ready to come out now and most of it is labelled so if I need to use it later life will be a lot easier.
Cut the roof off. Hacksawed through the pillars. Moving in and around the car is a lot simpler now. Also removed a couple of other bits of body that get in the way like the front crossmember.
Removed brake master cylinder, wiper motor and steering column.
Did a few other odds and ends.
Time spent – 3 hours
Money spent – Nowt pounds nowty.

Stripdown continues is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Stripdown continues

Administrator — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 20:36:20 +0000

Cleared up the spare parts from yesterday and stashed them in the loft and then continued stripping down the engine bay etc in preparation for subframe/engine removal. All went to plan until I got to removing the final, large subframe to body bolts. My breaker bar didn’t give me enough torque, so against my better judgement I attached a piece of exhaust to it which freed the first bolt but broke the end of the breaker bar while trying the second one. Bah. Left it there for today.
Time spent: 6 Hours
Money spent: Nada

Stripdown continues is a post from: Offroad Buggy

Before the chassis arrives

Administrator — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:40:07 +0000

Had conformation that the chassis will be arriving on Monday which leaves much work to be done before then as I can’t fit both the donor and the chassis in the garage and I don’t want to leave the chassis outside for too long.
I’m off to my Tomo’s (my brother) wedding on Friday so that only really leaves today, tomorrow and possibly a little on Sunday evening to get anything substantial done.
Got a couple of hours this afternoon so started work on stripping the donor. Removed bonnet, boot, exterior trim, lights, fittings, bumpers etc.

Came back in the evening for another 4 hours and removed most of the interior and glass, labelled all wiring as parts were removed. Started a couple of little jobs in preparation for engine removal: drained oil and coolant and removed carb and air cleaner.
No problems today at all (except for not finishing till 2am). I feel like I have made good progress. Everything went reasonably smoothly, even getting the bottom hose off to drain the coolant, a job which from past experience is a right royal pain in the arse. This time however, I was prepared and armed myself with the mother of all screwdrivers which reached down into the bottom of the engine bay and the job was done in 5 mins.
The photos show the car as it was when I finished and the terrible mess around my garage.

Time taken: 6 Hours
Money spent: Nothing (The donor was worthless after being sat at the back of the house on grass for 2 years so I don’t really count that)

Before the chassis arrives is a post from: Offroad Buggy

My offroad buggy

Administrator — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 23:17:58 +0000

There’s more info on the main page about the Freestyle Buggy and it’s construction, but here’s a little about the one that I ended up with.

I bought the basic kit, second hand, but unused, from eBay. To complete the build I will have to purchase various other parts to enable it to pass the SVA test and be road legal.

I plan to make a couple of modifications to the standard setup which at the moment are going to be:
Disc brakes instead of drums for more stopping power;
a 4-pin diff rather than a 2-pin, it’s an off road vehicle so it’s going to take more abuse;
adjustable suspension (ride height and damper), mostly because I have the parts so I might as well;
and finally a few engine mods such as the obligatory MG Metro inlet manifold, K&N air filter and Maniflow/RC40 combo exhaust, plus I might have a tinker with a spare head I have and see if I can squeeze some more power out of it and I’ll probably put a racier (or perhaps downright sick) cam it in, it a weekend fun car so I don’t need to worry about drivability in city traffic.

My offroad buggy is a post from: Offroad Buggy