Sandrail Rebuild...

Reddragon

Reddragon

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OK, so here we go again! Back in 2016ish... I  stretched my two seat VW offroad racecar to a four seat Sandrail, and put a turbo Subie into it.  I also put a used 2D in it and it worked for about 2 seasons and then needed repairs (2nd & 3rd went away).  Anyway, since it was broke for Thanksgiving 2019 we decided to get a RZR and go to the dune with some friends. I spent a good amount of time upgrading the RZR, and using it in the dunes and the desert.  Well I've always missed the power, sound and just driving my Sandrail, especially in the dunes.  The RZR in fun, but it not the same as the Sandrail.  So now it's time to upgrade it and get it back in the sand!!  My plans are to convert the front from a beam to A-Arms, redo the dash, make it lower so I have better visibility, upgrade to a switchpros to simplify the wiring and finally I'm going to put an LS in it.  I haven't had a V8 in anything in so long I'm craving the sound of a nice V8.  This is going to be a good time teaching my 17yr old how to fabricate stuff, do some wiring etc.  This project is gonna take me a while but I'll try to post pictures etc. as I have time and money!!

 
Post up some pictures of what you’re working on. Also love seeing cars

 
Makes no sense until you mentioned getting your son involved. Fricken awesome. Can't wait to see the progress.

 
We got a few tubes out of the way today.  Hopefully we can get a few tubes back in place tomorrow.  Finally got the plasma table up and running, that will make cutting the bulkhead for the steering rack etc. much easier!  He loves having his picture taken!!

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A little more done today. We cut out the bulkhead plate for the inner suspension mounts the other day. We got a couple bars tac'd in.  Not sure if we'll work on it tomorrow or not but at least we got some done today!!

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Cool build and keep up w/ the pics.

There hasn't been many build threads like there used to be.

Checkout tabzone....they sell all kind of tabs, gussets and even A-arm kits.

Alper Motorsports did a build a few years ago w/ the A-arm kit ( maybe he an post up pics ?)

https://www.tabzone.com/sand-rail-parts.html

 
Yeah there used to be a lot of build threads in here before the crash…

My brother in law is building the “trike”,  I’ll post a couple pics when he’s finished.  It was in pretty bad shape when he got it.  Looks pretty good now. 

 
Awesome, keep the pics coming.....we are suckers for build threads.

 
Been lazy about posting what got done last weekend,  I machined some tapered mounts for the A-arms and got them welded in.  Probably not going to gonna have time to work on it too much this weekend. 

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Got the spreader bar done.  Took some time to make sure it was square and level. But we got it!

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I think you might be happier in the long run changing the rack to a buggy rack with the spreader coming out the front, 

 
I thought about changing it to an end load rack or one like you suggested.  I figure we would try this first and if we don’t like it or it shows some excessive wear. I’ll change it then.  We got a long way to go and I may change my mind before we’re done. 

 
How did you figure out your rack height and spreader bar width before getting the arms and spindles in place? For me that has been one of the final "mock ups" to ensure I get good steering geometry and almost no bump steer.  Be sure to check all of that as you go along. It's no fun to drive a car with too much bump steer or bad steering geometry. I'm just red neck engineering (trial and error) until I get it right. You also need to make sure that rack will move the wheels the correct direction when you turn the steering wheel. It is a rear steer rack so it is intended to move the tires in the opposite direction of a front steer rack. I don't mean the position of the spreader bar and inner tie rods, I mean the position of the arm on the spindle and the outer ends. 

 
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Well Dang!! I didn’t even think about it steering backwards!! Looks like I will be getting the new steering rack after all. 
 

I measured the spindle mounting points from center of the top bolt hole to the center of the tie rod mount on the spindle. That would keep the a-arms and the tie rod parallel. That is how I determined the height of the steering rack. As for the spreader bar I made sure the mounting points were inline between the top and bottom inner a-arm mounts.   I drew everything in cad before I made it, but it’s still trial and error for me as well. 
 

I am mocking up the a-arms with pvc pipe before I make anything in steel. That way I can tweak it before wasting a ton of material.  
 

 
Been a minute since I posted an update. After my huge oversight with the steering box. Still can’t believe I missed that!! Anyway I got a new steering rack, got the a-arms tacked up. Designed the new bulk head for the new steering rack and purchased the motor even though I’m not ready for it.  Not going to be able to work on it much for the next couple weeks.  I gotta go help my kid in Texas move. 

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