BeachBuggy.eu

A quick status update0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 10:13 pm on Friday, June 25, 2010

Our new community for beach buggy enthusiasts has been a great success, in only a few months over 150 people have signed up. I have decided however to keep this blog running independently instead of redirecting it to the new site as I have found out that a lot of you out there follow these build posts with anticipation.

Right now however all my efforts are focused on trying to get my new Manx buggy on the road.. and Agent Orange is in storage while we find a house with a bigger garage. But I have definitely regained my passion for buggies and will make sure I have everything I need to get this buggy on the road next season.

In the mean time, I hope to hear from you and read all about your builds on BeachBuggyClub.com

We are moving!0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 7:30 pm on Friday, February 26, 2010

Like I mentioned in a previous post… beachbuggy.eu is moving to a new platform. The idea is to create a new home for all you beach buggy enthusiasts to show your builds and projects.
We are currently very busy refining applications etc. in the new platform but you can already give the new site a try on www.beachbuggyclub.com
When ready this blog will also be migrated onto the new website where you will be able to follow the progress of my two current projects.

The blog on the new site is open members to create their own build threads and we hope to see many of you taking this opportunity to share from your experiences
Obviously we’d love to know what you think of the new site, so feel free to leave comments in the “Suggestions Box” in the forum section

A new family member2

Filed under: Blue Manx — Agent Orange at 8:35 pm on Monday, January 25, 2010

It has been very quiet in the garage during these cold winter months but a great deal of detail work has been done on parts that could be taken off the buggy, more about that later. This post is about the latest addition to my cherished collection, increasing the number of buggies to a staggering 2 =)
Truth to be told, an opportunity simply too good to miss came along to own an original Meyers Manx and I just couldn’t resist the temptation…
This buggy is number 18 of roughly 45 that were ever built in the UK under licence of Mr. Meyers and the only one in its light blue colour, some of its best featues are:
- 1835 engine with dual cannons and a single Dellorto 40 carburettor
- 12V Alternator
- IRS rear suspension
- Adjustable king and link pin front suspension
- Gene Berg shifter
- Nudge bar and engine cage

I have no big plans for this buggy but give it a thorough clean, service its engine and gearbox and drive it! As much as I love my highly customised Agent Orange, I am also a big fan of the traditional 60’s look of these cars.
In due course I will try to get hold of a pair of high back seats (for safety) and perhaps have a soft top made for it. The buggy came with a fibre-glass hard top but I am undecided whether or not to drill holes in the body to fit it. Its previous owners seem to have taken very good care of the body as no unnecessary holes have been drilled.

I am also planning a major re-design of this website to turn it into more of a community for all you Beach Buggy fans out there so stay tuned.

Time For Adjustmens0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 12:54 am on Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The engine break-in went well and the engine now feels like it is supposed to.. so it’s time for some adjustments. After completing the break-in procedure, the engine oil and oil filter were replaced to get rid of any metal particles, dirt or gasket bits that may have been left in there during the assembly. No matter how meticulous you are, there will always be some dirt left in there and changing the engine oil is a MUST after running in the engine for the first time.

The next task on a boxer engine like this one is to check timing and valve clearance, the timing had been set to 0 degrees TDC to make sure the engine would fire up quickly and the valve clearance was set to 0.20mm for the break-in (rather too loose than too tight for the first run). Now that the lifter and cam have settled, i reset the valve clearance to 0.15mm using a feeler gauge and the machine feels a lot quieter. These figures are the same as used on a type-1 engine, the reason for this is because I am using a type-4 cam with solid type-1 lifters instead of the OEM hydraulic lifters.

The moment of truth4

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 1:20 pm on Saturday, July 26, 2008

After all that hard work it all came down to this moment, would it run or would all that effort have been for nothing?

Well as you can see in the video it took a few attempts to get the engine running, mostly due to the lack of fuel in the carburettors, but as soon as it fired up it ran just fine. We had to abort the break-in a couple of times because the engine temperature got alarmingly high, this is not uncommon though with rebuilt engines as all the new parts need to wear in.

After the break-in was completed, i.e. 15 minutes at 2500-3000rpm, the engine oil was drained and the oil filter replaced. Now I need to re-adjust the valve clearance, set the timing and balance the carburettors.

Start up preparations0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 9:42 am on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Well I (and the Beach Buggy) have relocated once more… below are a few pictures of the Buggy when it came out of the garage for the first time in a year. I have to say, my enthusiasm came right back when I got it out and got to admire it from a different angle. There wasn’t much missing on the Buggy then, a few more hoses around the engine and some welding to finish off the copper pipes running under the floor pan.

Recently I got around to fitting those last hoses and the copper pipe has finally been welded. I’ve spent a few hours synchronising the carburettors and checking that the coolant system is air tight for the big day.

For the latter, I bought a tool from Sealey which is the one you can see on the last picture of this post, it has to be the most ingenious garage tool I have bought this year… it can check you cooling system for leaks by removing all air from the system and allowing you to monitor the vacuum pressure on the manometer on top of the tool. If the pressure is maintained, the system is free from leaks and you can proceed to fill the system with antifreeze. But here comes the ingenious part, the tool uses the same under pressure it created to test the system to fill the system with antifreeze and because the system didn’t have any air in it, you can rest assured that you don’t have any airlocks. Genious!

Unfortunately my system did have leaks and I am currently in the process of finding and sorting these out.

Final Assembly0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 8:20 pm on Sunday, February 10, 2008

The engine is back and Turbo Thomas made a cracking job, if you’ve ever had the chance to admire his work you will agree he is an artist with the welder. The lot is in again and I’ve started final assembly, I finally have all the important bits I need and hopefully I will be able to get this Beach Buggy project running before the summer.

While I waited for the exhaust to be finished, I started building a speaker shelf. It will not only hold the speakers and tweeters but will also hide the coolant reservoir and a bunch of coolant hoses, thats the downside of running a water cooled engine, lots and lots of hoses.

And the engine is out again…0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 7:49 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2008

The engine had to come out one last time but for a good reason… Turbothomas is welding a custom exhaust system in stainless steel for my Beach Buggy and it was easier to bring him just the engine that the whole car.

A lot of small jobs have been finished since the last update, the coolant system is 99% finished, the windshield and wiper motor are in place, the bonnet and lights are back in place and I am only missing a few bits and bobs before I can put the dashboard back in.

It has been slow progress during the past few months but the buggy is coming together quite well. While I wait to get the engine back, I am finishing the last touches of the interior and sorting out the fit of the soft top. More updates to come soon…

eShores provide a great selection of tailor made holiday

The engine is in0

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 1:42 am on Sunday, June 17, 2007

End float was finally set and the build can continue. The flywheel, clutch and pressure plate were fitted and the engine could be fitted to the gearbox. I’m having a few clearance problems with the air-cleaners but a set of lower filters should solve that. I will start bending coolant pipes during the week and hopefully I can order the mild steel pipes I need to modify the exhaust system, yet more clearance problems there.

Stay tuned…

Roll-bar cover finished3

Filed under: Build Phase III — Agent Orange at 9:46 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2007

There’s been slow progress on the buggy lately mainly due to us moving house (and garage) again, but some progress has been made. The cover for the roll-bar is finished after countless hours of sewing and I’m preparing to couple the engine to the gearbox. The clutch pressure plate has been upgraded to a KEP 1700lbs unit and a new clutch disk has been purchased. I’ve only ran into a small problem finding the correct sizes of shims to set the end play but that should be sorted any time now.

— Next Page »