Hi-Jumper 4 seat build

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:35 pm

My wife and I currently own and enjoy a Berrien Warrior 2 seat rail buggy with stock swingaxle/kingpin suspension that we built a couple of years ago. We recently decided we want a 4 seater so we can take family and friends (and kids if we have them later) with us to the woods.

So Sunday we went and picked up a 4 seat Hi-Jumper frame with body from a friend of ours. The car has a 6" extended beam with stock shock towers, arms spindles, etc. It has boxed stock IRS arms in the rear, a bug tranny of questionable health, and some SWEET fiberglass seats that would be recycled if I could get money for them

So the plan is to stretch the car so its comfortable for 4 adults. While I've got the saw-zall out, I'm also going to widen it 6" or so to give me some more elbow room and make room for suspension seats if we decide to do so later. I'm also going to re-configure some of the bars to make access to the rear seat easier. Oh, and get rid of those saweet overhead bar modifications

I'm going to put it together with the suspension that it has for now but the goal is to eventually go coil-over in the front with some longer arms and 3x3's with torsions in the rear.

Motor will be a GM Ecotec controlled by a megasquirt. I ordered the adapter from Kennedy as soon as we decided to build a new car so I'd have it in time

I'm not going to give away too much of the paint scheme right now, but it will be similar to what the body currently has with the 80's stripes and all

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:38 pm

That thing is a 4 seater?

Yikes.

Well it looks like it will be one heck of a project. Cant wait to see some progress

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:40 pm

rickosuave1987 wrote:That thing is a 4 seater? Yikes.

Well it looks like it will be one heck of a project. Cant wait to see some progress

Well, like most of the frames out there, its more of a 2+2. When I'm done, I'd be happy if 2 big guys could sit up front and the little ladies can ride in the back.

Post by **david58** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:41 pm

fl_buggy wrote:
rickosuave1987 wrote:That thing is a 4 seater? Yikes.

Well it looks like it will be one heck of a project. Cant wait to see some progress
Well, like most of the frames out there, its more of a 2+2. When I'm done, I'd be happy if 2 big guys could sit up front and the little ladies can ride in the back.

Priceless

Ol'fogasaurus · Post by **Ol'fogasaurus** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 2:06 pm

Very cool but I see a big job here. I am sure you already know this trick but put a piece of tape around the tube so that the ends overlap. That way, when using a saws-all, you can follow the edge of the tape and get a straight cut. I made some straight cuts that later turned out to not be straight.

I will enjoy watching your build.

vw505 · Post by **vw505** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:29 pm

did you order the adapter i could make you a sweet deal on a 2.5 turbo dodge if not.

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 3:47 pm

vw505 wrote:did you order the adapter i could make you a sweet deal on a 2.5 turbo dodge if not.

Ordered and received. Are you abandoning the 2.5? I wanted to go Ecotec because its a small, light, good hp motor that doesn't require the oil pan mods of a suby.

Post by **Leatherneck** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:39 pm

Where are you going to split the frame at?

vw505 · Post by **vw505** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:40 pm

Leatherneck wrote:Where are you going to split the frame at?

right down the back.

takotruckin · Post by **takotruckin** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:21 pm

Since you are going wider, go ahead and widen the torsion housing as well. It will take custom axles, but the travel you could get with a 6" wider housing and 3x3 arms would be awesome.

vw505 · Post by **vw505** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:54 pm

That would be to wide for us. we ride in the woods.

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 4:59 am

Actually Mike the Orlando crew is running some pretty big arms and torsions in their cars and they were riding down everything we were. I never would've believed it if I didn't see it myself. Their cars are approaching 130" WB (one is 130) and a couple don't even have turning brakes and they were right there with us.

I was thinking of using the EMPI widened torsion housing (I think its 9" wider) and 3x3's.

Leather, there is a section of the frame just in front of the torsion that is straight on both top and bottom bars. That is where the cuts will take place.

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:50 am

Well got my tubing yesterday. I ordered seats earlier this week so those should arrive early next week.

First order of business is to cut all of the current seat mounts out and throw a bus tranny into the car. This way I can get the back seats mocked up (and know they will fit with a bus tranny). Once I have the back seats in, I can see how bad leg room is and figure out how much to stretch it from there.

I'm shooting to make the first cuts to lengthen the car January 17th. My friends who we bought the chassis from are coming over for a VW show that sunday, so we're looking to do some stretching on saturday.

Post by **Leatherneck** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:16 am

What kind of bracing are you going to add on? If I remember the HiJumpers are not built with alot of bracing, fairly light weight. Being a 4 seater woodsbuggy it will also help protecting the fragile semi liquid contents.

fl_buggy · Post by **fl_buggy** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:42 am

In looking at the frame, it seems to be braced pretty well. I'm going to make some big changes to the roof though to allow for more headroom.

We don't do woods riding like you see at woodsbuggy.com. There's really not alot of climbing and tumbling back down like those guys do.

I'd say we do woods trail riding.