View Full Version : The cat racing Buggies!
El Gato
03/20/03, 11:59 AM
Yep, it's true. I am starting to build a class-11 buggy (stock bug class). Jim Furgoson (the guy who I'm racing with in the Baja series) is going to foot the bill. I have a few bugs that would be perfect to build up.
Anybody know how to build a race bug?!?! Just kidding, I have a good idea how to do it just not the exact specs I can build to. I've built a couple baja bugs and a sandrail.
I am starting to do some research and the logistics are in the planning stages. I need a shop to work out of, my house is out of the question. I need tools (welder, aircompressor, air tools, etc..) I will need to build or buy a trailor to haul the vehicle. I am starting to get prices for these things. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.
I am really exicted about this. I am hoping to have something together for the Snowflake race.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
Wow, get a rocket and decide to race a bug. I'll go to Snowflake just to see that if it happens ;)
"More than bar wide is too wide ;)"
Yah, I'm going to have to get used to getting the crap beat out of me at a lot slower speed.
The class-11 bugs were averaging about 25mph at the San Felipe last weekend. We were up around the 50mph + average.
Come out to SF, I'll need help loading up the broken parts onto the trailer when it's all done.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
I'll be at Snowflake anyways, thats my speed fix for the year so if you break it up, I'll help ya pick it up
"More than bar wide is too wide ;)"
CharlieB
03/20/03, 3:06 PM
for a trailer try Carson trailers in Phoenix. I bought my 14' tandom there for 800.00 new. They had the best quality trailers for the best price
Charlie
'03 WR 450
'02 Chevy 2500HD 4x4
'03 Raptor (shared)
Helmet Camera to see where I went and a GPS to find my way home
Don't tell me you are getting old on use David. Heck Todd is older than dirt and he has not traded for a car yet. J/K Todd. Next thing we know you will team up with Ed Beard.
Just kidding David just having some fun. Jason and myself want to build a class 5 car but no money. Maybe we should come down to earth and start with a 1600 car.
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
this is what you do, gut out everything in the back and make room for a cadillac northstar engine.... I met a guy who has a bug with a northstar engine in the rear, appx 300HP, and it flat out hauls ass. I heard he does over 120 mph in the desert with it.
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
whiplash #374
quote:Originally posted by Zhvonte
this is what you do, gut out everything in the back and make room for a cadillac northstar engine.... I met a guy who has a bug with a northstar engine in the rear, appx 300HP, and it flat out hauls ass. I heard he does over 120 mph in the desert with it.
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
whiplash #374
But if you do that it will be clasified as class 1 car or even a 10 car. I would saying that David is builing a 1600 car???????? That is a ton cheaper. Plus once you put a motor like that in you need suspension to handle the power of that bad a$$ northstar motor.
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
CharlieB
03/21/03, 8:44 AM
Personally if it was me building a buggy I would settle for nothing less than 600 hp at the tires, but that is just me. I guess I have spent too many years building outrageous engines to ever settle for a stock transplant.
Charlie
'03 WR 450
'02 Chevy 2500HD 4x4
'03 Raptor (shared)
Helmet Camera to see where I went and a GPS to find my way home
El Gato
03/21/03, 11:51 AM
The price tag on a class-1 or class-10 unlimited buggy which is what you would have with a 600hp car with a northstar would be close to the 6 digit range. Not in my range.
A class-11 car is basically a stock bug, re-welded, reinforced with few mods. Even with a built 1600cc engine and type-1 tranny capable of completing a SCORE desert race I'm looking at right around $10,000 and probably $1-2,000 per race after that. Of course that includes tools, car, and everything that goes along with building it and hauling it. I have to start somewhere.
You have to have a lot of experience and talent to try and even keep in those unlimited guy's dust. It would like a BMX racer that has never ridden a dirt bike going out buying a KX500 and entering the PRO class in the BAJA-1000. IT WOULD BE SUICIDE. Have you ever seen those guys driving those unlimited buggies in a desert race up close? I have and its SICK. Those guys are friggin insane. I was watching the race near the end in San Felipe last weekend trying to get some photos. There was a wide open dirt road (2 miles long) with a hairpin turn at the end. When the first trophy truck came through everyone ran out to get a look including myself. He slowed from about 140 to about 90, shifted from 4th to third, swung a little wide (about 10 feet from the crowd), and stomped on the throttle all the way around the corner. He exited the corner somewhere in the 75-85mph range. People were running for there lives. I jumped a barbed wire fence trying to get out of the way. Kids were crying, and women were screaming. It was awesome. He threw a roost 20 feet in the air that lingered for about 2 minutes. There was zero visibilty for about thirty seconds. I have never seen anything like it in my life.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
Zhvonte
03/21/03, 12:36 PM
what the hell are people doing being that close anyways..... being near them buggy are dangerous.....
david, i understand where you are coming from.... aside money, its always good to start small and go big.... But definitely consider doing a northstar in a bug when you reach that point....
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
whiplash #374
Heck yeah. I love to see Trophy trucks, and even class one cars (basicly a truck) rail corners like that. I scares the crap out of everyone, plus I'm sure he was putting on a show for everyone. I heard the first trophy truck overalled the race (San Felipe) a little over 3 hours. That is feaking flying!
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
They had Steve and Johnny back in 6th overall. I think that may be the first time in years that a bike didn't win a Baja race.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
Paul400EX
03/21/03, 3:46 PM
yea it's awesome to watch guys like robbie gordon with their 500,000 dollar trophy trucks doing well over a 100 mph on some pretty rough terrain :D
CMC Mx #169
"Get in line son, before I kick you so hard you'll be wearing your @ss as a hat."
2002 Yellow 400EX
Mods coming soon: Motor work and a pipe
Rumor has it that Robby Gordon is building two Trophy trucks. One is rumored to be for little known guy named Jeremy Mcgrath. My cousin talks to Robby once in a great while, and when he had seen up in Vegas at the Winston cup race he had said something about that. Don't know how true it is, but that would be awesome to MC in a trophy truck.
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
Mcgrath is a hell of a dirtbike rider, long time dominater.... it will be interesting to see, if this holds true, how well he does in the trophy truck.
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
whiplash #374
Paul400EX
03/23/03, 7:03 PM
ummm mcgrath rode bikes ;)
CMC Mx #169
"Get in line son, before I kick you so hard you'll be wearing your @ss as a hat."
2002 Yellow 400EX
Mods coming soon: Motor work and a pipe
blaster44
03/23/03, 7:22 PM
quote:Originally posted by Zhvonte
Mcgrath is a hell of a quadrider, long time dominater.... it will be interesting to see, if this holds true, how well he does in the trophy truck.
haha MC a quad rider, I'd like to see that (j/p marshall)
It would be sweet to see him in a truck though
I've NEVER lost
(but I have been a little behind when time ran out)
Daniel
2002 Blaster with Toomey B-1 pipe kit.(getting redesigned silencer)
quote:Originally posted by Paul400EX
ummm mcgrath rode bikes ;)
CMC Mx #169
"Get in line son, before I kick you so hard you'll be wearing your @ss as a hat."
2002 Yellow 400EX
Mods coming soon: Motor work and a pipe
Have you ever heard of a guy named Rick Johnson? He went on to drive class 8 trucks and kick butt at it. He was also bad a#$ motorcycle rider. How about Jeff Ward? He now drives an IRL car, and is doing very good at it. Look at Travis Pastrana he has been racing a shifter cart,and has a rally car he will race when he retires. If the rumors are true this awsome to watch.
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
I don't know if you guys know Jeff Darland at all. He used to dominate on his CR500 in Az desert racing back in the old ADRA days. He now drives a class-1 unlimited buggy and is doing awesome. I saw him done in San Felipe. He has one of the nicest looking cars out there, but I don't know how he finished.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
Oh Yes, I remember watching him back in 85-86 when I was knee high to a duck. He was so fast ! I watched him at the cinders race and I don't think he had brakes on that bike, it only had two speeds stop or wide open.
Ben Hutchinson
Whiplash #32
BITD #940
Desperado
03/26/03, 7:43 PM
Now your talking my language.:DI wont get into the who's and why's about why I decited to sell my quads years ago, but once I saw what these vehicles could do I was sold on the Idea..I'm traveling alot faster then I ever could on the quads...
Question: why class 11? why not at least a 5-1600? they alow 1" longer and wider front and rear trailing arms. they tend to handle alot better than the 11.. For the money you intend to spend, you could build a very competitive car...
I'm planning on making Snowflake the first race for my car. Three weekends ago we had just finished installing the coilovers on the front of the car..The picture on my bio is a before pic. The car now is really starting to gain alot of ATTITUDE.
Desperado
03/26/03, 7:46 PM
..
Class-11??? That is a good question. I'm not only thinking about the cost of building the bug to race it, but also the cost of maintence. Maybe a class-11 will be more to maintain than a 5-1600 because more things could break, but I always wanted to race that class. It's just one of those things. Why go out out and ride in style at speed when you can go out at half the speed and beat the crap out of yourself?? Doesn't that sound fun? Another thing is that I'm building this car primarily for Jim. He is footing the bill, and we are going to race it together. The thing is that the car will be his. I don't want to spend the extra time and money to build a totally awesome car that I will just have to hand over at the end of the season. Maybe in a few years when the bones are aching to much to twist the throttle I'll build something totally cool that I can set down in and enjoy the mattress wrapped around me ride.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
Desperado
03/27/03, 5:42 PM
Ive seen the class 11's get more cheeres and applause than some of the unlimited classes. Theres somethig bravado about sticking it out in one of these cars. [8] Plus you already have the means of going fast..........[8D]
We have an older 8'x8'x24' trailer if you considering an inclosed trailer.
Desperado do you know someone that is selling a cheap baja for $1000 or less?
Desperado
03/29/03, 9:02 PM
I was just looking through this weeks cycle/buggie trader and there are a couple of bajas in there. Or, you can go out to the Bug-O-Rama Saturday April 12th and see what they have to offer in the car corral.
Paul400EX
03/29/03, 10:49 PM
ryan, you guys have an enclosed trailer? hit me up with a pm with some info of it.
CMC Mx #169
Sponsors:
IRC Motorsports
"Get in line son, before I kick you so hard you'll be wearing your @ss as a hat."
2002 Yellow 400EX
Paul, this is Nick, Ryan is under ryman15 and its our trailer
Desperado, thanks for the info i will have to go check it out.
blaster44
04/01/03, 5:21 PM
Hey paul you remember the other trailer at Johns house???? That's their trailer, I forgot to tell you when you asked about it the other day......
I've NEVER lost
(but I have been a little behind when time ran out)
Daniel
2002 Blaster with Toomey B-1 pipe kit.(getting redesigned silencer)