Project Fun Buggy - Demon Spongebob Buggy

Next came finishing the front suspension, setting up the steering, finding a place for our massive yet indispensable Warn 8274-50 winch, and finally locating the radiator in a place with sufficient airflow and protection from trail abuse. This buggy will have a mechanical steering gear on the front axle in case we end up driving it on a long road/wheeling trip such as our annual Ultimate Adventure. Mechanical steering complicates matters since we had to now find places for the drag link, tie rod, and ram assist. By using OTT Industries' high-steer arms, our tie rod (arrow) mounts above the lowest tube of the chassis at full suspension stuff.

Returning to the shop the next day, fabricator Drew Burroughs and I determined that some drastic modifications had to be done, and a quick cut of the chassis had the lower framerails removed. Even experienced builders come to situations that require re-examining what they have and making adjustments to gain better performance.

We decided that the chassis was the part we could change the easiest. With the front end cut open, we pushed the axle up to full stuff and decided that the winch and steering box had to stay put but the radiator would be going to the back of the buggy. The new plan has a tube dropping from the top rail, allowing space for the axle and steering parts to compress. Bumpstop and Panhard mounts tie the upper and lower framerails together. Next I began building a front winch plate for the 8274 using Light Racing's flared hole dies to strengthen the thin chromoly plate. Burroughs handled the welding duties with a Miller TIG machine. As the front of the buggy came together, we realized its face/grille/winch plate is reminiscent of SpongeBob with a demonic flavor, quite fitting for a rowdy fun machine.

When mounting the drag link and Panhard rod, the goal is to have them as level and as long as possible, so that as the axle articulates it moves very little from side to side. Also keep the mounting points and angle identical to minimize bumpsteer. Since the drag link will be mounted to the top of our high-steer arm, the frame mount had to be down below the lower framerail.

With the drag link attaching to the upper steering arm on the knuckle, we decided to try mounting the Panhard bar there as well. This is something we have not seen before, but the idea is that the Panhard mounts to the high-steer arm above the pivot point that is directly above the kingpin where the knuckle rotates. Since the Panhard will be made of chromoly and heat-treated for strength and gusseted in double-shear, the bends shouldn't be a problem. Tune in next time when we'll show the PSC steering install, along with the swing set, captain's chairs, and front and rear shock mounts.