School me on sand cars lol

W

Wil_370

New member
Joined
Jan 27, 2026
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
As the title states , I’ve had can ams for years and want to get into a sand car, Budget of 50k. A lot of the used cars have so many different options as far as transmission / motor / axles etc. what should I stay away from? Would love a SC or turbo car but can do a NA LS and build it later too. Any advice is appreciated.
 
upgrading a car later gets expensive a NA Ls car typically will have a 2D trans with 930 cvs so going above 400Hp with the upgrades you do to the engine you will have to upgrade the whole driveline. The bigger trans run 934 cvs which use 33 spline axels then the hubs at the wheels need to be upgraded to run 934s. also bigger trans are a little wider so shorter axels increased cv angle the s4 srans is longer might not fit mounts will need to be fabed up. So if you are set on a boosted set up find a car that can support the extra Hp with at least a S4 or better trans
 
Your first car will not be your forever car. What that means is that you will not keep the car, so I recommend buying a name brand car. When it comes time to sell, you won't lose your ass as much. It's better to have more transmission, than motor. It's always been my experience to not invest money into expensive upgrades. Get your starter car, drive it and learn with it. When you feel like you know what you want, sell it and move up.
 
Have someone with sandcar experience look at it before buying it. If you don't know what your looking at it is hard to tell the difference between a good deal on a good car or a worn out car with problems. Even old guys will lie to your face. Do they have receipts for maintenance and or parts? An idea situation would be where other people can vouch for the car as being well maintained and not beat. Pay more for a well maintained car now or pay twice what you think you saved on a so called good deal maintaining it later. I was given the advise to budget 10% of the purchase price for repairs and maintenance. I exceeded that prepping for my first trip and fixing the things I found during the trip that the prior owner failed to mention.
Be prepared to spend time in the off season checking your car over and doing maintenance. In my opinion they are not a just put it in the garage when your done and fire it up next year piece of equipment like a generator.
Once you buy one you will meet some of the best guys at the dunes.
 
open-ended question with tons of possible answers
I agree with buying a car now to learn and upgrade when you feel you've out grown or understand what type of dune car you want

find a name brand car, some solid names go back to 2000ish and OG builders way back to the 70s
Funco, racer, tatum, alumicraft, SU, SCU, joefab sand limo, desert dynamics, sand cars.net, toys for big boys, Mosebuilt, raceco, foddrils, prowlers, and on and on, but who's still in business or what parts used on the build are still available

A-Arm versus Leading Arm front suspension
single shock, dual shock, bypass shocks
transmission VW type 1 002 091 094, mendeola e-box 2D S4 S4D S5, albins, fortin
fuel type pump gas, race gas, e85
pedals, hubs and brakes = CNC, wilwood, tatum, gearone, grey area

there is a lot to learn on differences and why one versus the other is a good/better choice
 
Sand cars are prohibitively expensive if you're not able/willing to work on them yourself. There is no "year/make/model" type replacement parts for anything outside of the engine itself. Hop up parts outside basic engine parts are custom, shock tuning is on a case by case basis, and no one sells a kit for anything really. The buggy specific kits and parts that are out there are extremely low volume, so they're at least 4x the cost of a similar SxS part.

If you're not good with mild fabrication, electrical work, and mechanic work, budget thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per year to keep it running. 2D overhaul is $1500-2000 plus whatever broke. One missed shift, careless use of reverse, or racing your former SxS buddies up Olds one too many times and you'll be taking it to a trans guy. S4 is better, but a lot of S4 cars aren't much better off than 2D cars since there's a reason they went with the bigger trans. A supercharged/turbo LS is pushing the upper limits of an S4, especially with the bigger tires everyone's running these days. Wad up an A arm in a witch's eye means spending thousands at a fab shop to make another. 930 CVs are $100 per side (4 per car). And on and on and on.

1769531246390.png

Replace BMW with Buggy here. :ROFLMAO:
 
Don't let people scare you, if you buy a Funco, SCU, Alumicraft, there is support out there.

My Funco was built in 2008, Funco just got me a new rear hub, 17 years after they stop producing them. My advice, stay with brand name car that is still in business.

My 2d tranny comes out of the car every 60 days of duning for a refresh, usually $2,000- $2,500. Engine hasn't been touched except for some over the counter parts from Napa (sensor, Alternator, oil pressure sender). Shocks get nitrogen refill every season, and a rebuild every 60 days of duning. All of this I do (except I take the tranny into a shop), but it isn't hard to work on. If you can change a belt on a SxS you can probably figure everything else out.

One Cavat, I believe some people break all vehicles they drive and some people don't, if you break everything you own, stay away from a buggy. :ROFLMAO:
 
S4 minimum.
Midboard hubs minimum.
2" Hollows.
Bypass all around (rear minimum).
Need to be able to turn wrenches.
Boost makes duning much more fun.
 
lincster said:
S4 minimum.
Midboard hubs minimum.
2" Hollows.
Bypass all around (rear minimum).
Need to be able to turn wrenches.
Boost makes duning much more fun.
Click to expand...
Bummer about midboards is when you need to replace the bearings.

dollar-dollar-bills-yall-money.gif
 
lincster said:
More of a bummer is if you have Outboards. :)
Click to expand...
If you have Outboards, you should be replacing them every 7-10 years, they do fatigue. A lot of carnage you see in the dunes are buggy's 20 years old and breaking their outboards, cheap insurance to replace.
 
Drive with the throttle not the turning brake.
There, I said it.
(Turning brakes kill transmissions.)
Or, unleash those hundies.
Start slow with a new hoopty.
Learns how it responds to you.
Read the above again.
OOPs, I said it again.
 
JDMeister said:
Drive with the throttle not the turning brake.
There, I said it.
(Turning brakes kill transmissions.)
Or, unleash those hundies.
Start slow with a new hoopty.
Learns how it responds to you.
Read the above again.
OOPs, I said it again.
Click to expand...
Nah. I had a NA Honda with a 2d. The 2d lasted a decade between rebuilds and I am on the turning brake just about every turn…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top