British Buggy Build

TimberwolfII · Post by **TimberwolfII** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:03 pm

Thankx. It was very nearly derelict when we came 4 years ago, done a TON of work, its what we do. buy, do up, sell. Economy making the last bit difficult

Confused about the comment on the 912 Deminimis?? BTW your rail was an inspiration way back! like the 4 seater look.

DeMinimis · Post by **DeMinimis** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:17 pm

Oh oh, I never meant to inspire anyone. Thanks. In the movie clip there is a 912 at the end of the clip.

TimberwolfII · Post by **TimberwolfII** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:59 pm

Small update, I've got the windscreen in on some little brackets to make it solid. I found in it's previous incarnations that the screen gets a load of hammer from use as a hand hold when folk get in and out. I'm going to fit corner gusset tubes that will hopefully persuade folk to grab them not the top of the screen/roll hoop.

BTW that thing on the steering shaft is a hanging pedal cluster with a servo off a volvo 240. pedal pressures were getting a bit high for the Mrs Timberwolf last time so I thought I'd try a different tack. The servo will have to go around the side of the cluster to get the bonnet on tho'.

Then I've worked on the front end. i've got a problem here in that at the moment I've got a ball joint font end inherited from the previous build and I haven't got the funds yet to shell for the LP where I'm going so, in order to progress the build and get things on four wheels I have come up with an 'adjustable' beam mount to take account of the different beam dimensions

This way I can just swap out the drop tubes when i go up to the 'built' LP without having to cut anything out. it also leaves the way clear for an easier a arm set up years in the future. Thats why these things are never finished...............

GDRBORETIRED · Post by **GDRBORETIRED** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:58 pm

Nice trick, the beam drop that is.

buzzboy · Post by **buzzboy** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:10 pm

TimberwolfII wrote:
Yes it is RHD, all the civilised nations drive on the correct side of the road you know (right! HS!). I did read why we drive that side one time, something to do with horses and carts IIRC.

How I remember this I don't know as I tried to forget latin but...
The Roman's drove on the left so one drive wouldn't accidentally whip a passing driver.

And now I must ask my stupid RHD vw question:
How are the pedals set up on a RHD bug? The gas pedal has the through rod inside the other pedals? Longer clutch pedal hook as well?

TimberwolfII · Post by **TimberwolfII** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:49 am

Yeah it's something to do with horses and carts. i'll maybe have to do a google.

According to Wikipedia we drive on the left due to keeping you rsword hand free ready to bash an assailant, reins held in the left hand, the British Empire made that law go half way round the world. Usa drives right so the guy on the back horse of a wagon train who sat on the left hand horse could avoid on coming wagons.....

Driving on the left is supposed to result in less accidents.........but this is disputed, depends on the drivers I'd think!!

The throttle has a long rod that goes right through the cluster to emerge in the passenger side foot well under a pressed steel cover. The clutch runs over that and the inner shaft that locates into a boss in the tunnel. The clutch hook coinsides with the end of the bowden tube towards the passenger side of the tunnel. the brake runs on the inner shaft which is bolted down to the drivers foot well. The brake works through the firewall onto the master cylinder the far side of the napoleans hat.

Ancientbugger · Post by **Ancientbugger** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:12 am

Actually, and if anyone knows differently I believe it's to do with soldiers marching to and from battle fronts and being able to pass weapons from ones leaving the front to ones approaching the front. Plus most countries that were either conquered by Napoleon or sided with him changed to the wrong side of the road which is why most of the old British Empire still drives on the correct side, Canadians excepted. Plus lovely house -how much?

Ancientbugger · Post by **Ancientbugger** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:14 am

Oh yes the smug Swedes just to piss every one else off they changed overnight in the 60's or 70's with hardly an accident!!!!

Ol'fogasaurus · Post by **Ol'fogasaurus** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:24 am

Hmmm, I thought that since the left-handers are the minority, you drove on the left side in order to stop street racing. Shifting with the left hand was thought to be slower also (to eliminate drag racing and we all know what to eliminate means). Add to that, the fragility of old straight cut gear boxes. By engaging the gears slower you could do less damage (the gear box of the old Austin Q-40 Devon or Dennon for example, My brothers ’56 Morgan [TR2} for another example)..

Also, it is the horses really caused this phenomenon. They, being the smartest of the pair, raced clock wise, I think to get the race over with faster, which necessitated that the driver to be positioned to the inside of the turn for balance. When the car came along, the driver sat on the right not to offset the engine torque (to the right) but add the weight to car on the inside of the turn. But since circle racing there is clockwise, things got squirrely and boring. That is why they adopted the French and Italian style of racing… the road course (they couldn’t figure out which direction to turn so they turn both left and right) which, again, is just a circle for the confused. (For those of us who get motion sickness while riding in a swerving car, now you know the origin of the color “British Racing Green”)

The exception was the long road race like “the Monte” witch is long enough and windy enough that the drivers got lost and seldom could find their way back (hence the need for navigator/co-drivers and the race team). We had the riding mechanic which was there to fix things so we could race longer. (also for someone to fly out of the car in case of a wreck). This made racing more spectacular with bodies flying all over the place. This lead to a difference betting line; when, how many, distanced, and the number of bounces.. I wish Indy still had the riding mechanic there to mark the course during the scary parts of the race.

Now about the berserkers and their battle axes in their right hands…. They are still around but mostly at night, after a hard day at the office. Need that right hand ready and the passengers’, sitting on the right, were in the way of a good swing. Driving on the left side is away to continue the violence of driving. I think this is why Americans are so frustrated on the road (road rage) no chance to swing something other than using the car to vent. Hand signals, while still legal, have been mandatory offset by the stalk/lever on the side of the steering column. The problem now is that there is not a position on the column for the appropriate signal. our doo-gooders have struck again by trying to stop the carnage/stupidity by (trying to) legislating stupidity which never will work! Stupidity is too quick. Politicians are too slow, and their aren’t enough trees for paper to adequately make this work. I for get who said it but to break down the word Politics you have Poly; which is more than one. Then you have the word Tic which is a blood sucker. Now you know the proper definition of that workd but I digress.

(If this makes sense then you can join me at my race track… The Funny Farm Off-Road Pace Park formally known as I-5)

Welcome to the colonies

bajaherbie · Post by **bajaherbie** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:14 pm

good post, lee...

Ol'fogasaurus · Post by **Ol'fogasaurus** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:44 pm

Sorry I got a little silly. I felt better afterwards, then silly, then embarrassed. I will let it stand though. I hope the British will understand about brain damage in old people and forgive and forget. (During my layoff from seeing, I am reading the Aubry/Mautritus series by Patrick O’Brian. This will tell them much on my current thought process.) After all they won the war (they got rid of us)

Ol'fogasaurus · Post by **Ol'fogasaurus** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:22 pm

I hope I didn't insult them or scare them off/

TimberwolfII · Post by **TimberwolfII** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:52 pm

Hell no Ol'fog!..........I get told I'm getting early onset dimentia by the missus regularly

I just thought what the f...............?

I've done zip on the buggy recently - been chasing a fault in the welder, turns out the torch hose has a blockage in it not letting the shield gas through. Have had nearly the whole gas curcuit out to determine it's in the hose.

TimberwolfII · Post by **TimberwolfII** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:05 pm

UPDATE!! Yey, got some time to myself out in the barn. Machine Mart came good (and expensive) with a new torch and hose, and the welder and welder got their groove on. After posting for help across cyberspace, I had numerous suggestions and after a bit of practice I had several moments of enlightenment (grasshopper). I got the thing dialled in and started making welds i'd put my name to and not want to hide behind the alloy skinning. Second moment of enlightenment came when I started using gravity and not fighting it - i rolled the frame over so all the welds were made horizontally. 'DOH well yeah!!' all the experienced welders say, but maybe I'm a bit fick......

So:

and:

There not all good - these are my faves - but i am getting better, which is nice! The last one, which is the rear outer suspension mount, has a bit in the middle which is where I couldn't move the torch enough and nearly fell over....not good when your pouring every ounce of concentration into that new 'perfect weld'. Swore alot.

The buggy is starting to vaguely resemble a proper motor with round wheely things appearing and the triangulation in down the sides:

Also I got the whole rear suspension in, and it goes up and down, and not in and out, hurray!
54" hub face to hub face - PHAT A$$....mmmmmmmmmmm!

So next move is to continue welding the seams up, bolt in the seats, make brum brum noises for a while and then work out where the whearing steel is going, and those ovlov peddles.... head scratching time again me thinks! Oh yeah and tidy up the barn a bit.........what a feckin mess!!!

Ol'fogasaurus · Post by **Ol'fogasaurus** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:27 pm

Impressed!! WElds looking... like welds not melted wire to a piece of metal.

Got an off subject question. In weight measurement, what is a stone. Is a pound a partial/sub meaurement of a stone, not just currency? Still reading those British authors.