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Reviving my buggy


ryan

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The last time I had the buggy out was March 2020, the weekend before we locked down. My work life has been insane since then, and the buggy sat for an entire year. I'm taking it out for a Club ride/crawling comp in April so I have a fair bit to get done before then. Right now I'm trying to focus on getting it ready to wheel, ignoring some of the fab work that needs to get done this year at some point as well. To do list is pretty simple for right now:
  • New battery
  • Resolve fuel pump issue
  • Cut/repair hood
  • New battery tie down
  • Replace filler neck
  • Extend ARB wiring
  • Check ARB compressor
  • Check winch
  • Clean and paint the cage
  • Paint hood
  • Clean out interior
 
Last edited:


ryan

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After sitting for such a long time, my battery was totally dead as was the fuel pump. Last weekend I put a new battery in and had a crank but no start. No power to the fuel pump at all. Good part was that is the one easily servicable part on the entire buggy. Ended up switching out all the fuses and got it running again, felt great to hear it going.


edit - I drove around the yard a bit and got quite the death stare from our usually friendly neighbor, so that was fun.
 
Last edited:

ryan

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My hood is fiberglass and has gotten beat up on a lot of trees and rocks over the past couple of years. I cut the fenders off the TJ style hood and zip tied it back up so hopefully it'll stop flapping in the wind on the trailer. Trying to knock quick stuff out like this during the week so that I have time over the weekend for more time consuming parts of the project.

58225
PXL_20210408_213137928.jpg
PXL_20210408_213206029.jpg
 
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ryan

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Today I fought my battle against corrosion and used steel it to paint most of the chassis that was easily reachable. It doesn't lay anything like usual spray paint, but worked out ok. Still need some touch up, but I'm very pleased even managed to fit it in the garage
58352

58347
PXL_20210410_185555506.jpg
58349
58350
58351
 
Last edited:

ryan

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I decided to hit the hood real quick with a couple coats just to try and get it looking a little less terrible. Got my mirrors back on as well. I need to create a loom to get back to the old ARB switch, but I think I'll probably wait until after this weekend. Since it's our anniversary Friday and my wife will be wheeling I gave the interior a good cleaning to get as much dirt and smells out of the seats as possible. Everything cleaned up as well as this thing is going to be. Waiting for one part on the filler neck, and then it'll just be a matter of gassing it up and loading it on the trailer.
PXL_20210411_201918394.jpg
 
Last edited:

fastpakr

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That thing's gas? For some reason it was stuck in my brain that you were running propane.
 
Last edited:

Dirtman

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ryan

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ryan

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Last night I got my fire extinguishers back on, mounted the ARB switches where they are, and finishing fueling it up. I'm as ready as I'm going to be for the weekend. After this trip, I need to take it to a fab shop for some tube work and other welding projects.

58517
 

Uncle Gump

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That sure looks fun... have a good time this weekend.

Any plans to do the badlands trip this year?
 

ryan

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That sure looks fun... have a good time this weekend.

Any plans to do the badlands trip this year?
Would love to, but it's too far there and back
 

ryan

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Took the buggy wheeling, and the MAF flipped out and started dumping fuel into the engine. Ended up limping back to the trailer. Over this weekend I replaced the MAF and the IAC, and it sounds like it's running much better now.

Decided to reskin the buggy and paint the interior parts of the cage that I had put off before. Just waiting on my metal to come and then I'll be ready to get back out on the trails

PXL_20210626_175652222.jpg


PXL_20210626_194832394.jpg
 
Last edited:

ryan

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2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Tire Size
42
Fancy black anodized AL skins. Finished wrapping the headers as well. Still need to get fasteners for the skins and I think I'm going to take the plunge and do lizard skin on the interior
PXL_20210731_201721940.jpg
 

ryan

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Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Tire Size
42
Finished up the skins and was dealing with some issues on my fans on the back. One wasn't coming on, so I redid the connection (which had come apart), still not getting anything, and the other fan is running weak. Once it gets hot it starts to stumble. Wondering if the thermostat in the new water pump is bad and/or it's getting too hot and going into a limp mode because I'm not getting any air across the radiator. Grabbed a couple poser shots while I was driving it around to get it warm. Not sure what else it could be, but feel like I'm missing something obvious. If I can get the motor running well then I'm set for the season I think

73715


73716
 

Uncle Gump

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2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
Lead follow or get out of my way
Ya know... coming from the buggy world... the electrical system on open bodied vehicles takes a bunch of water intrusion. I would look over the entire electrical system... mainly all wiring/fuses/relays/switches/connections in the cooling fan controls.
 

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