The buggy that started it all for me

[toomanytoys2]

I’ve posted a few times here, but I never really showed or talked about the buggy that got me started. Here is my 05 Hammerhead 150. I picked it up off of CL for $400.



A little about me: I grew up playing in the dirt riding dirt bikes and VW based dune buggies. In fact, I had my own sand rail when I was 16. Then I had a 20 year dry spell, and then came back to the dirt in full force. First with a Baja Bug that I tricked out, then I got back into dirt bikes. During this time I kept searching for off road go karts that the kids could learn how to drive in. Most were junk, but in searching on the net, I fell into this site and learned about the mini buggies. That’s when I found the HH. Since it smoked like a banshee and would need a rebuild, I talked with Tom and pumped up the engine some (see my sig). While waiting for parts, I went over the HH with a fine tooth comb. The first little mod I made was in the accelerator pedal. I noticed that the pedal had a very long throw and when floored, the only thing that stopped the pedal was the cable. With all this tension on the cable, I could see a very short cable life. So I added another nut to the pedal stop (to limit pedal travel), then I adjusted the cable so that the carb would be wide open at the same time that the pedal hit the stop. This way there is very little tension on the cable and there is less chance for it to break.



I also didn’t like the stock seatbelts, so I added a set of “real” four point harnesses.

To make the ride more comfortable for the passenger, I added a Grab Bar. This way the passenger has a safe place to hold on and doesn’t get thrown around. Also, since I set this buggy up for anyone to drive, I replaced the push button kill switch with a toggle switch. This way the passenger (adult) can kill the motor easily if the driver (child) gets out of control. While I was in the wiring, I disconnected the turn signals. I didn’t want to have any excess wiring that could short out on the trail.



Since I don’t like to get stranded on the trail, I made the electronics box tool less access. Where before, you had to use a screwdriver to open up the box, I made some studs that were threaded on both ends. Then I got some wing nuts and drilled little holes in the wings. I then ran safety wire through the wings to keep them from loosening. This way if I have to access the box on the trail, I just undo the safety wire and unscrew the wing nuts. While I was in that area, I went ahead and made a Redneck air cleaner. I had a header from a DRZ 400 that I cut a section out of, welded on a support tab and it seals up nicely.



Since I had made the intake tract better at sealing out the dirt, I also wanted to make sure that the engine breather would not allow dirt in either. So I ran the breather tube up high and installed a fuel filter at the end. Most people believe that the breather only allows pressure to escape out, but as the piston reciprocates, there is actually a pulsing of pressure back and forth. The filter keeps any dirt or dust particles from being sucked in the engine. Call it a Redneck breather.



Last for the engine was the exhaust system. The stock header had a horrible restriction where it connected to the head. Since I was adding a BB kit and had P&P the head, I knew that I had to get a better flowing exhaust. So I drilled out the restriction. Then I used a modified muffler/spark arrester from a Yamaha ttr125. It is a little loud for the naked ears, but with a helmet on, you can ride all day.



The last mod was to add front Blaster shocks to the rear end. In stock form, I could almost bottom the rear suspension just by jumping on the rear end. I knew that in that shape it would never cut it on the trails. I already had a complete Blaster front end lying around (I was going to build a buggy from scratch), so I made some new upper shock mounts and threw them on. What a difference!!



So with all of these mods it is a blast to drive. When we go to the desert, we usually have about 30 people in the camp and I am not afraid to hand the keys over to anyone that wants to drive it. With the engine package that is in it, I don’t have to worry about burnt clutches or belts (Thanks Tom) and it has enough power to do what I want to do. However, the suspension is still lacking for my tastes, so I picked up a Yerf cheap and am planning my own Franken Buggy. Just thought I would post this as a long overdue hello.


P.S. Don't look at the battery. It is from my lawn mower and is just there to move it around.

[ckau]

05 HH, Good buggy, We bought one from northern Tool in 05' They were priced about $1200, new then. We run the crap out of this thing! It held up very well. comfortable ride and very smooth. Weak link was the front suspension and struts. Never could keep it together for very long. constantly bending axles and tie rod tabs. Gearing was a little too tall for trailing. Good top end but struggled badly on the up hills. Smoked a couple of clutches pulling some long up grades. But in retrospect a good stout machine . We had a ball with it and got our money's worth! Thanks for a quick trip down memory lane

[bear]

yeah, you never forget the "first one"! lol

[toomanytoys2]

In a lot of cases, we have the most fun with the first one, oh wait are we talking buggies

When you have minimum power and suspension, those little hills that you try and try to make really make for some deep satisfaction when you finally do make them. Yet when you start pumping everything up, you have to search harder to get the same rush that you got on those little hills