Back at it! Baja Reaction 150cc rebuild

[andrew1320]

Hey I'm back from the dead! Recently picked up a Baja Reaction for dirt cheap at $130. Guy who I bought it from was an older gentlemen. It was sitting at his barn/shop for a while and he just wanted to free up some space. He had a collection of old cars and he let me take a peek . One of my favorites was this gem!



All original 1982 Delorean! He even let me sit inside of it.




Brought the buggy home




The motor on it is locked up and it has a few smaller issues. Plans for it include:

-Big bore kit
-Different seats
-Engine/Trans performance upgrades
-New front tires
-Suspension upgrades/Beef up front end
-Front/Rear fenders
-Might regear the sprocket

This is how it sits as of now





I took the engine out already to inspect it.

[jmansracerocket]

Welcome back, thats a good pick up for $130, but also looks like alot of work, great find, great rescue.

[Gy6buggy88]

I have the exact same baja reaction 150, bought it last year in pretty well the same condition. Did a lot of the mods your planning. Finding a pair of adult size seats that will fit that frame is next to impossible, unless you pull car seats from maybe a Honda or a Mazda. Buying original factory seats is crazy expensive, plus there cheap quality and not very comfortable. I would suggest used seats from a RZR side-by-side atv. Let me know if I can help.

[x-bird]

I had one of these for the wife for a couple years. I think the rzr seats are a good call, for as good of condition as the one I had was in, the seats were still painful. fun machine, nice and quick with a few of the standard mods.

[andrew1320]

Originally Posted by jmansracerocket

Welcome back, thats a good pick up for $130, but also looks like alot of work, great find, great rescue.

Ya it needs some front end work also. Front end suspension design kinda looks similar to the yerf dog. Looks like the previous owner hit something and bent the control arm brackets. I was also aware of the internal reverse on this buggy and heard of people having issues with the gears shearing/wearing out. I've taken it apart and verified that the transmission shifts and works properly.

Originally Posted by Gy6buggy88

I have the exact same baja reaction 150, bought it last year in pretty well the same condition. Did a lot of the mods your planning. Finding a pair of adult size seats that will fit that frame is next to impossible, unless you pull car seats from maybe a Honda or a Mazda. Buying original factory seats is crazy expensive, plus there cheap quality and not very comfortable. I would suggest used seats from a RZR side-by-side atv. Let me know if I can help.

Well I ended up buying a race seat with sliders from a guy off craigslist. will get pics up soon.

Originally Posted by x-bird

I had one of these for the wife for a couple years. I think the rzr seats are a good call, for as good of condition as the one I had was in, the seats were still painful. fun machine, nice and quick with a few of the standard mods.

This buggy seems to be a little bigger than some of the other. Seems to have a longer wheel base.

So I got some progress! Started putting the motor back together. Got to the point where I wanted to install the piston and mount the head, but I ran into an issue. I could not find any of the dowel rods! The previous owner tore the engine apart and had no idea what he was doing. I'm suspecting that I didn't lose the dowel rods, I don't think the guy who tore the engine apart installed them back, hence the engine locking up. The cam cap was also missing the dowel rods and that was cracked in 3 pieces.

It also looks like the previous owner had the crankcase bored to fit a bigger bore. I now feel bad for only stepping up to a 155cc bbk

Also found out I bought the wrong dr.pulley sliders. I got 12g instead of 10g Gonna try them out before I decide to change them.



got a yellow spring








upgraded to titanium valve springs I had laying around


Ended up buying pretty much everything new. New Crank, Bearings, seals, BBK with new head, plastics, Electrical components, Carb, Wire harness, etc. Would of probably been cheaper just to buy a new engine lol.

Depending on how the buggy is going to perform, I would like try do a sprocket swap. How would I be able to do that since this buggy uses a dual sprocket? Can I just get a single 39t sprocket and use it with one chain?

Oh I also bought new front rims/tires! 20-7-8 Carlisle Trail Wolf

[jmansracerocket]

Great rescue, bringing her back from the dead.

[x-bird]

shouldn't be an issue with going with 1 chain. LMK if you can't get a hold of a 39T sprocket, have a spare in like new condition.

[andrew1320]

Lots of stuff going on. Finished up the wiring. Bought a universal atv harness and trimmed off everything I didn't need off it. It's kinda long but it does the job.



Got my fresh air filter setup





Got my 39t sprocket



So i guess when you switch to a single sprocket install of the dual sprocket it doesn't like up correctly. I had to use washers to line it up. Need to use locktite so they don't loosen up.



also figured out why my rear brakes sucked. While bleeding the brakes, I found out that the front right caliper wouldn't bleed. Either the line or the caliper has gunk built up.



Took it out for a couple times for a shake down test and it wouldn't start anymore.





Those bolts needed some locktite also.

Found a cool hill area in my brothers backyard. Took out the buggies and had a blast







This is how it sits as of now. With all the mods (a12 cam, 155cc bbk, 26mm carb, aluminum long intake manifold,uni filter, 135 jet, 12g sliders, yellow spring, etc) it pulls really great. I get the issue with the transmission popping out of gear and causing a nasty grind. I put a spring to hold the gear level in gear but it still does it sometimes. Might need to use a stiffer spring. Also got a deal on a seat with sliders for $40. Mounted that up. I bought another seat for the passenger but without sliders.



Also installed a lightbar. Its huge and SUPER bright. It needs to be aimed a little higher.