Do-it-yourself buggies are a dream from my childhood. I remember how we, yard boys of 5-7 years old, were interested in technology. They collected some pieces of iron and argued about cars and motorcycles. We often approached drivers driving into our yard and asked them how much the car “charged,” that is, what speed it could accelerate to. The guys usually answered, some seriously, some jokingly. We could spend hours watching a neighbor repair his iron horse, and then start a fight for greasy, worn-out parts that belonged in the trash heap.
Many people had bicycles back then; older guys could even fix minor breakdowns, tighten the chain, and pump up the tires. But only one had a four-wheeled pedal Moskvich, my friend and peer. Green in color, with a horn and headlights, it was invariably a source of disputes and even fights for the boys’ place at the wheel. The only drawback of the Moskvich was its low speed; cyclists were easily overtaken. How cool it would be to put a real engine in the Moskvich!
There were even legends among us about seeing such a miracle personally. I often dreamed about how I would drive along paths and paths in such a little car.
Time passed, I grew up, I learned to use a wrench, a drill and a soldering iron. Of course, I had already outgrown the Moskvich’s dimensions, and it was not at all suitable for the engine. But the desire to build something of my own, with wheels and a motor, did not leave me.
An electric bicycle is a dress rehearsal on the way to a “do-it-yourself buggy.”
The first self-propelled vehicle I assembled with my own hands was an electric bicycle.
He's on the right in the photo. Of course, buying a battery and a wheel with a motor, and then attaching it all to the bike turned out to be a simple matter. But I was pleased with the result. I will never forget my first trip through the city at night. The bike rides on its own! Silently! No need to pedal! At that time, electric bicycles were still a rarity in our city, and often overtaken by my cycling colleagues, they looked at me with bewildered glances. The lack of a garage prevented me from creating a homemade car, because even a bicycle with an electric motor took up a significant space in the corridor. And only after moving outside the city, to a private house, where there was room to spread out, I began to think in detail about how to assemble the buggy with my own hands.
So, what to build?
Collect DIY buggy from end-of-life Sovavtoprom products?
Or build four-wheeled velomobile, installing a motor like the Soviet D6 there
Or maybe collect Cyclecar? A small car on moped wheels with a walk-behind tractor engine?
Or will it be trike with a streamlined aluminum body, a powerful electric motor and a bunch of lithium batteries?
I thought for a long time. All options had their pros and cons:
- I didn’t really want to find Oka and use a grinder and a sledgehammer to unscrew the stuck bolts, and then constantly tinker with the engine.
- The velomobile would have been flimsy for country roads; the cyclic car had no suspension or gearbox.
- The electric trike turned out to be too expensive and tied to an outlet.
But we had to start somewhere. You need to know in advance what the future homemade product will be intended for. This is either a walking option for traveling around the surrounding area, or a household assistant - a mini tractor, or maybe a buggy, assembled with your own hands, will be used as a sports equipment - to drive along the intersection.
Despite the presence of a vegetable garden and the unequivocal hints of my wife and mother-in-law, I still needed a recreational vehicle that would not shy away from forest paths, mud and puddles. Of course, the buggy must be equipped with suspension, reliable steering and headlights.
Buying an engine is the 1st step to a “do-it-yourself buggy”
I started by buying an engine. I didn’t need high speed, therefore, I didn’t need a powerful motor. The choice was between moped engines and stationary motors from walk-behind tractors.
The former were favored by the presence of a gearbox, generator, electric starter and clutch, while the latter were distinguished by high traction at low speeds, the presence of a gas tank and a long service life.
Moped engine.
Stationary motor from a walk-behind tractor
I chose the Lifan 168 engine with 5.5 horsepower. It was also equipped with a generator and electric starter, and unlike moped engines, it did not require the separate purchase of a muffler, tank and other small things.
As a gearbox - an absolutely necessary thing for any car, I purchased a Dnepr motorcycle gearbox. Of course, I had to tinker with it a little, change the oil and seals.
Buying wheels is the second step to assembling a buggy yourself
With wheels there was also a torment of choice. Moped wheels weren’t suitable because they didn’t hold up well against side loads; I didn’t take car wheels because of the cost and weight; wheels from wheelbarrows couldn’t withstand the loads. As a result, I bought wheels from a walk-behind tractor.
Well, and a bunch of other little things. Chains, sprockets, voltage regulator for the generator, shock absorbers, bearings, bolts and nuts, a stainless steel pipe for the rear axle, a brake disc from a scooter and a car from the same.
We buy a welding machine and learn how to cook iron
At the same time, I bought an inexpensive welding inverter, Resanta 140, a pack of electrodes, a mask and leggings. Having ruined several meters of scrap metal and wasted half of the electrodes, I more or less learned how to cook.
At first I decided to make the clutch the same as on walk-behind tractors - a belt with a pressing roller. Well, the steering is from the Oka car. It took me about 25,000 rubles for everything. Well, it began. I was too lazy to make even a simple sketch, not to mention drawings. For which he subsequently paid with time, metal and money. Something had to be adjusted, cut, welded.
The frame was shortened, the shock absorbers were swapped, the steering and suspension were redesigned.
And I actually found the part that connects the gearbox input shaft and the flywheel while dismantling the shed. Finally the frame was welded and the engine and gearbox were secured. The buggy, assembled with my own hands, passed the very first sea test without even having a steering wheel. I installed the front wheels on the axle shafts in the holes of the front suspension arms, engaged reverse gear, started the engine and pressed the tension roller with my hand. The car went!!!
The structure of my buggy
In general, the design is very simple. Frame made of profile steel pipes of various sections. The front wheels from the walk-behind tractor are connected to the hubs from the moped with three bolts. The bearings in the hubs were replaced, 6202 were installed under a 15 mm axle. For the front wheel axles I used the front wheel mounting bolts of the Voskhod motorcycle. The steering knuckles are homemade, made from a 40 mm angle, with an M 16 bolt as a kingpin, which rotates in a union nut, which in turn is turned and pressed into the pipe.
Castor, Ackerman angle are set by eye. The front axle beam is connected to the frame by reaction rods. Shock absorbers are attached to the frame and beam with welded corners.
The steering is from the Oka car. The steering rods and shaft were shortened.
Homemade pedals - gas, brake and clutch (will be removed when not needed) Cable drive of gas and hydraulic brakes. The rear axle is a hollow steel pipe with a diameter of 30 mm. The wheel hubs from the walk-behind tractor are attached to it. The brake disc and driven gear are attached to the hubs with M 10 bolts. Chain drive, motorcycle chain 428 pitch. The engine is equipped with a centrifugal clutch, from which a 420 chain goes to the driven sprocket located on the gearbox input shaft. Gear ratios – Engine – gearbox 3.6, gearbox – axle – 3.2, plus four gears.
Wheels 4.00-10 with developed lugs. The exhaust pipe of the muffler was lengthened, the engine became quieter.
How to make a buggy with your own hands. Description of design
Now the homemade car is driving, causing surprise and smiles among passers-by. Of course, he cannot go on public roads. The project is not finished, it is necessary to improve the gear shift drive, install a protective frame, more comfortable seats, and lighting equipment with a battery. But my homemade product drives quite well on paths and country roads. Thanks to the gearbox, you can crawl at minimum speed through mud or accelerate to 30 kilometers per hour on a flat road. And the pleasure of walking, the delight of my son, who nicknamed the homemade product Dynamite, the knowledge that he was able to assemble a car himself, is worth both the money and the time spent!!!
Every child dreams of riding a go-kart, scooter, moped, or motorcycle, but when it comes to a real buggy, there is practically no limit to his delight. Making this type of transport is not difficult, you only need a little desire. You just need to successfully purchase a 125 cm3 scooter engine.
DIY materials and tools
engine 125 cm3;
old metal water pipes;
electric welding;
wheels 10 inches;
steering rods from VAZ 2101;
scooter shock absorbers;
brake pads.
Buggy manufacturing process
Step 1. Making the frame and steering
Using ordinary water pipes of different sections and profiles, a frame is made for the future buggy. Metal parts must be connected using conventional electric welding.
It is optimal to take regular 10-inch wheels from a scooter. The suspension is independent pendulum, with shock absorbers in both directions. In a regular go-kart, control is done through the steering rack; in a homemade buggy there will be no steering rack. You just need to find steering rods from the Zhiguli “Kopeyka”. Driving a buggy will be more difficult than a regular go-kart.
Step 2. Differential
To have reverse gear and differential in the buggy, you need to use a gear axle from the Ant scooter; it has everything we need. To reduce engine vibration, it must be firmly bolted to the frame. The drive should be located in accordance with the center of the pendulum mounting, thus making it possible to adjust the chain tension.
Step 3: Installing the Brakes
Brakes are installed only on the rear wheels. There are brake drums on each axle shaft and they stop the buggy very well. It is necessary to get the cables from the Zhiguli hand brakes. When you press the pedal, they activate the brake pads on each drum.
Step 4: Final assembly steps
The fuel tank is also taken from any scooter. The seat from Zaporozhets is ideal for a mini-buggy; it can easily be adjusted to suit any height. We put everything in its place and enjoy using this homemade product.
Conclusion
Buggy in
January 14, 2018 Article
DIY buggy from NIVA
I really wanted to do it DIY buggy from the fields on all-wheel drive, moreover, according to the plan, it should be lighter than the standard and have a fully independent suspension. There are several buggies where both front suspensions from Niva are used as suspension. I consider this a half-measure, since the entire front suspension assembly weighs as much as 130 kg. My fist after weighing is 2.4 kg, Niva’s is 6! The only thing that needs to be done is to preserve the layout of the units from the donor - the most standard spare parts.
Everything else is my fantasy at someone else’s expense. The main purpose of the car is fishing and trips to the forest. UAZ tires, Cordiant Off Road on overcooked Niva wheels. 1.7 engine, 4-speed gearbox, cardan shafts, RPM - everything is standard.
After I agreed with the client on the general concept of the machine, I had to make several sketches on paper and transfer everything to the computer. I work in AutoCAD and the ultra-modern paper-pencil system:
Some hardware:
Since there was no welding table, we had to make a base from what was at hand - a rolling table and two channels, which were brought into the plane and allowed us to make an even frame. The difference in the suspension mounting points (when measuring diagonals) is 2-3 mm, although in reality you didn’t have to bother with that.
Welded base:
So, the base is ready. Now we need to cook the main arcs and pipes for the suspension:
I welded this car in the workshop of some restorers I know, so I had to drag the frame several times and re-align everything to the level. With constant measurements of all dimensions, the roof moved to the right by 5 mm, but these are minor things:
I decided to lengthen the suspension arms as much as possible to increase wheel travel. To do this, it was necessary to reduce the distance between the pipes on which the levers are attached and increase the track to 1550 mm. The CV shafts had to be made to order. To prevent the suspension mounting points from going away, I made the brackets for attaching the arms so that they at the same time act as conductors for fixing the frame pipes:
The tunnel was made with installed units, and we had to think about how to properly place the tubes so that they would not interfere with unscrewing the nuts. All units can be removed quite simply.
The total weight of the frame is 156 kg, it was made from that pipe, of which there was a lot. What does not belong to the load-bearing frame could be welded from a pipe of a smaller cross-section, so after welding I sat and figured out how much weight the frame could lose - it gained 51 kg:
The gas tank is classic. This will allow you to make a dashboard entirely from VAZ instruments:
Sheet body kit, extremely simple:
Mounting the RPM in a cross-country manner - as our buggies do on all-wheel drive buggies. Since nivovods have an incorrect understanding of physics and are locked into a standard body, they break the body quite often. If you make a metal housing as described, then the gearbox housing can easily withstand 400 forces!
When using spare parts cut on a CNC plasma cutter, there is no need for a milling machine. This kind of fist can be made very inexpensively and with any configuration. This is the rear fist, the base is a piece of DN100 water pipe and plates from a plasma cutter:
Using two shock absorbers at different distances from the swing point of the lever itself, we get different forces on the piston, different movements and slightly different characteristics of the shock absorbers. It turns out that the characteristic of one shock absorber is slightly shifted relative to the other:
Suspension:
Jig for welding the front knuckle:
The fist itself:
Rear suspension assembly:
Ready chassis
Wheel alignment can also be done on the knee. All you need is a piece of rope and an elastic band from a hand truck - she pulls the rope tight:
Dashboard:
As R. Kolesnikov (a former pilot from the Gazprom team) always says, if an all-wheel drive buggy rolls easily by hand, then the wheel alignment angles are correct. We managed to get within the required limits, and even taking into account the fact that the wheel alignment is made on the knee, the chassis rolls quite easily. All that remains is to make the body kit, connect the electrics and start it.
Master: Andrey “Nitro” Anikin
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The first step, of course, is to decide which buggy you want to drive on the roads (or on the roads?). It should shine like a super or muscle car, or be dirty and scary like in Mad Max, but with a happy face of the owner who sits behind the wheel of a loud, rolling, off-road monster.
The second option, by the way, is quite exciting, but somehow after the apocalypse. In the meantime, we need to live in this world, where there is still a place for the beautiful and the intelligent. So here's a photo of the buggy we ended up with:
I think it looks quite nice. One question - how to do this? Questions like “will it be possible to get permission for it? will he be able to drive off-road?” etc. fade into the background. In a state where you see such power and beauty, you just want to answer “Move aside, gentlemen, where is my mask and welding machine.”
“Hey, palehche, guy!” First - the drawings! We found something similar on the Internet - and here they are, the drawings:
In the expectation that during construction we will be able to change the appearance of the frame the way we want, we decided to use such drawings at our own peril and risk.
Buggy pipes
The first questions facing the material implementation of a buggy are: what type of pipe to use, where to find these pipes.
For each buggy builder, such issues are resolved differently. In our case, we chose pipes with a diameter of 40mm and a wall thickness of 3mm.
To find such pipes, we had to go to an industrial area at the opposite end of the city. Why weren’t they sold to us somewhere nearby (although there were places)? Yes, because no one is going to order a truck from afar for such a small volume (only 50 meters of pipe) (the seller even snorted with displeasure). Therefore, we had to go to where the pipes were available. As for the “seamless-seamlessness” - depending on your luck, availability. We took sutures. After all, our buggy won't have to dock with the moon. More likely)
Pipe bender
First, let’s decide - why can’t we just bend the pipe “over the knee”? How we tried)
Health will still come in handy, but you can still try to use improvised means to bend the pipe.
What happened? We were quite able to bend the pipes at a small angle using “bricks” and physical force.
But for sections of the frame in critical places that are designed to protect against rollovers, kinks are unacceptable.
So, should you buy a pipe bender or order a pipe bending service?
Yes, we ordered the service, why delay? But just in case, we studied the issue.
There are different types of pipe benders for different types of pipes. What points may exist and what should be taken into account:
1. A pipe bender can be created to bend profile (rectangular in cross-section) or non-profile (round in cross-section) pipes.
2. A pipe bender may not “take” (fail to bend) pipes that are too thick (depending on the type of pipe bender).
3. Types of pipe benders: manual, (manual) hydraulic, electro-hydraulic, electric. There are probably others. Why have an idea about this: they cost differently, and offer different opportunities.
Different types of pipe benders:
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What capabilities of a pipe bender you need to know about in order to bend pipes for a buggy:
1. Range of diameters and thicknesses of pipes that can be worked with.
2. Maximum bending angle.
3. Bend angle accuracy.
This data was enough for us.
Question price? The most suitable pipe bender (hydraulic) for our conditions cost from 12,000 rubles. But I think it’s unlikely that we would have been able to find such a good option. Most likely the price would be around 20,000 rubles.
If we talk about the pipe bender with which the guys bent the pipes for us, then it was just a hydraulic pipe bender. What is the accuracy of its bending angle? Let's just say: it's good that we took a protractor with us. An ordinary school protractor. After bending, the pipe springs back a little; we had to adapt to physical processes in order to adjust the desired angle. This is probably normal.
As a result, we managed to get correctly curved pipes for the upper part of the frame for only 800 rubles.
Metal crown
When joining round pipes together, you need to ensure a minimum distance between them at the joint. It is advisable to do without distance at all. Then the weld should go like clockwork.
Pictures, I need pictures. Now I'm going crazy:
Here I have tried to depict a 90 degree connection between two pipes (I hope the meaning is clear). So, delta S ideally should not exist at all. To do this, you need to cut a semicircle at the top and bottom of one of the pipes (on the right). Rough semicircle radius = pipe radius. But in practice, you also need to take into account the thickness of the pipe.
There are several ways to achieve a semicircular cut like this. In descending order of accuracy:
1. Milling machine
2. Metal crown
3. Bulgarian
You can probably come up with even more hardcore ways, but let's start with what we have at hand. So, let's see. Milling machine. Aw. No, he is silent. Metal crown. Somewhere, a crown from a hardware store echoes in the distance.
We go there and are surprised to discover that the crown itself costs around 600-1000 rubles. Yeah, we find crowns for 200 rubles. We take two pieces. And the base for it (spindle) 800 rubles! Pfff, okay, let's take it too.
In general, we now have a bit with a spindle, we put it all on the drill. And we are trying to cut pieces of the required diameter on our pipe.
Test 1: cut a piece on the pipe from the top side, add WD-40 (you can also use water) for cooling. It was possible to cut, but several teeth fell off from the crown.
Test 2: cut a piece on the pipe from the bottom side, add WD-40 (you can also use water) for cooling. I managed to cut it off and all the teeth fell off completely.
Having assessed the trends, it became clear that such 200-ruble crowns would definitely not be enough for us. Having confirmed this trend in practice, we managed to complete 5 percent of the work with joints.
But we decided to end the story with the joints on a positive note! And the remaining joints were finished using a small grinder. Slowly, carefully, but surely, this tool helped bring the work to fruition.
Perhaps we simply approached the choice of crown incorrectly. You can unsubscribe in the comments about this.
Afterword
If you are interested in the fate of the project, or you also got inspired and decided to build a buggy (or teach us), you can subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow, comment, have fun)
A homemade buggy is one of the best options to teach your growing child to drive and instill a love of technology from an early age. The design of the presented buggy is simple and reliable, and also quite inexpensive. Step-by-step assembly photos are included. This buggy has a gasoline engine from a Sadko walk-behind tractor with a power of 6.5 l/s located in the rear of the car; for the internal combustion engine, a separate frame is welded from a pipe and profile, which is attached to the main frame. Torque from the engine is transmitted to the gearbox, and from it through a chain transmission to the driven sprocket of the rear axle driving the wheel.
The buggy frame is welded from a 22 x 1.5 mm pipe; a pipe bender was used to give the parts the desired shape. The suspension is made in an interesting way, namely the axle shafts sit rigidly on the frame, but the half frame with the engine has two twin shock absorbers from a scooter. The front suspension is also on shock absorbers from a scooter, the homemade steering is the same as on the go-karts. The rear wheels are from the domestic scooter "Tulitsa" and the front wheels are from a scooter.
The engine power is enough to propel a teenager around; even adults wouldn’t mind riding a buggy)
So, let's look at the design features of the machine
Materials
- Gasoline internal combustion engine from the Sadko walk-behind tractor
- gearbox
- scooter front wheels
- rear wheels of the Tulitsa scooter
- pipe 22x1.5 mm
- driven sprocket from a motorcycle
- rear axle
- housing bearings
- shock absorbers 4 pcs
Tools
- welding machine
- drill
- pipe bender
- Angle grinder (grinder)
- set of wrenches
- measuring and plumbing tools
- skillful hands and a bright head
Step-by-step photos of assembling a buggy with your own hands. 
The rear axle of the buggy is made from a bored axle shaft from a ZIL car, a homemade differential, brake discs, a driven star from a motorcycle and support bearings are installed, which are actually attached to the frame holding the axle in a given position. 
The front wheels are borrowed from a scooter, and the rear wheels are from the domestic scooter “Tulitsa” 
PLEASE NOTE ATTENTION! The engine is mounted on a separate semi-frame, which is attached to the buggy with levers, and two shock absorbers from a scooter are mounted in the upper part, thus creating a pendulum suspension with the rear axle rigidly sitting on the frame (see photo below)
The steering is homemade and is made according to the kart principle. 
Rear wheels of scooter 
Front scooter 
ICE petrol 6.5 l/s "Sadko" is mainly installed on walk-behind tractors and other garden equipment. 
Pulley 3 streams 
Homemade muffler 
The gearbox transmits torque to the rear axle through a chain drive and a sprocket from the motorcycle. 
Once again ATTENTION! Consider how the rear suspension is designed. 
During the tests, the shortcomings of this suspension design were identified and it was decided to convert it to an independent one for each wheel and axle shafts. Here's what actually came out of it... 
As you can see, A-arms are installed. 
Front suspension. 
Differential and axle shafts. 
Disc brakes. 
This is the kind of buggy the author came up with; the design is quite simple, except for the fact that the frame requires a pipe passed through a pipe bender. If you have any thoughts on how to simplify the manufacture of the frame, then write a comment (constructive criticism is welcome)