My New Buggy Project

My wife decided to buy me a chassis so I can build my own buggy from scratch. This will take many years and lots of dollars. However, I am going to try to do my best to make the most cost effective decisions (including buying used whenever possible). This web page will chronical those decisions for the benefit of others as well as giving people an opportunity to advise me as I go.

* PUBLIC SERVICE NOTICE! ... What NOT to do for insurance! *  

My wife told me she did not want me driving the Pinto (street licensed but I only use it off road) dune buggy unless it was insured.  I searched the dune buggy forums for an answer to this question and found many people use Progressive.  I also read to call an independent broker.  Every independent insurance agent my wife and I called referred us to Progressive.

Progressive is NOT THE ANSWER.  Progressive sold me a policy for the street licensed buggy and claimed it would be covered in off-road use (I emphasized to the agent that it was modified for off-road use and that is primarily what I intended to use it for). She said that was fine as long as it was registered for the street and that it would definitely be covered off-road as well.

When I got my policy I called customer service with a question and came to find out that my vehicle was "unacceptable" for the policy. The customer service rep asked me a series of questions and gave me the following reasons why it was unacceptable: "home built, custom built, modified suspension, off road use, and I had a street use only policy."  Did you get that?  A "Street Use Only" policy for an off road dune buggy and the sales people said it would be covered even though I told them exactly what I was wanting to insure!

Therefore, I would not reccomend using Progressive for any off road vehicles. I ended up licensing the buggy for off road use only and insure it through Foremost Insurance Group which DOES COVER Off Road!

* END PUBLIC SERVICE NOTICE! *  

Decisions made so far (click links for details):

• Chassis: Fugitive Big Boy from Dee Engineering (Bug Pack).
• Rear Suspension:  Torsion Arms and Spring Plates:  Stock Long Bars with Stock Double Spring Plates 
• Engine: Subaru 2.2L from a '90 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon
• Wiring Harness (part of engine but listed separately due to complexity of the conversion ... use Instructions from Kennedy Engineered Products (KEP) ... doing this without their instructions would be impossible!).
• Engine to Transmission Adapter:  Hecker Machineworks, Inc
• Shortened Oil Pan ... I will be doing this myself.
• Exhaust System ... I will be dong this myself ... kept O2 sensor exhaust section from car.
  
• Transaxle:  stock VW Bus 3 rib (purchased from Discount Auto Parts here in Albuquerque New Mexico ... These are great people to deal with) ... works fine in my Pinto buggy and the others are just too expensive for me.
• Trailing Arms:  3x3 Latest Rage (purchased at a local off-road shop so I could return them if any problems ... no problems so far!)
• Front Beam:  widened king pin ... purchased two from Discount Auto Parts that I will make into one widened by 6 inches.
• (added 11/23/06): Axles, Stub Axles, Axle Flanges, and CV Joints:  Stage 3 930 Axle Kit from Quicksand Performance. These are new manufacture CVs with the race prep clearances and features built in without the loss of surface hardening that comes with polishing after the fact. The Stage 3 CVs I got are as smooth as butter and have tons of freedom of motion built in.

Decisions Yet to Be Made (advice on type, manufacturer, and supplier gladly accepted ... I have lots of time to decide):

• Wheels (white spoke steel)
• Tires (???)
• Steering (stock box or rack & pinion)
• Rear Shocks
• Front Shocks
• Pan (strong and light (aluminum) but not too expensive!)
• Seats (need all of the headroom I can get)
• Instrument panels/housing
• Pedal assembly (hydraulic)
• Turn brakes (single or double lever)