I don't even have a bug and enjoyed this video. Sure you can buy a kit and be done for the day, but for the guy who built this set up what he learned and experience gained is invaluable. I DIG IT!
You sir did a damn good job, using your video as a reference for the long travel I'm about to build for my Colorado. It's nice when someone posts their trial and error so it makes it a bit easier for other folks. Hoping for 20in of travel strapped at 18 but who knows!! Thanks for uploading
Austin, thanks for the comments and the kind words. Your Colorado sounds like a great project. 20 inches on that truck would be awesome! Even 18 is great travel. Good luck with the build.
Work-Wix, Thank you I hope it helps. In order to not make the video to long I actually left out a lot of specific info. Don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you are building an A Arm setup.
You did a really good job for your first design! Couple tips is forsure box that lower you want the lower arm stronger than the upper if anything it takes most of the load! And other tip I have for you is that the best way to mount shocks is so that at full bump the shock is 90degrees to the lower arm it is mounted on. This gives you the best progressive rate on the shock and doesn’t put you in a possible binding situation that will bend the shock
I take back what I said in previous post. You are doing great and your progress looks really good. You do have the ability to add a new front shock mount bracket to add strength and shock control and dampening to your likeness.
Great video. Seems easy enough to weld another piece of tubing on the lower control arms for a more inward bottom shock mount. Think of an RC buggy or truggy... most have multiple mounting points. Great work!
Beautiful work! The reason you want negative camer, (a tad) at compression. Is to keep the tires contact level with the pavement as the car leans into a corner. You did an amazing job for your first time especially. Again beautiful work!
@@DougBugBuilder Mr Doug I have a beetle 2006 I would like to lift 3 inches in front a back what will be the best way for this project, I will appreciate your coments.
This is awesome thank you so much for making this video I was going to start a Baja beetle project soon been putting it off for too long this is giving me some good ideas to try
Man that is a really cool setup, considering doing something similay. One comment I can't help but make, is that the lower rod end is loaded in heavy bending. Those threaded bearings are known failure points. Still awesome build, love the jugs you built too.
Aheitchoo, Thanks for the comment buddy. Just so I know what to keep an eye out for, are you talking about the lower heim (threaded bearing) at the spindle?
Cool build I built my full size Bronco that has the 4wd beams and long chromoly radius arms heim jointed. I plated and gusseted my beams and upgraded gears with locker an F-250 shaft/U joint out the passenger side and chromoly axles. Tall shock mounts and cycled and cleared everything a lot and strapped it at 17" . I bought after weighing front back and total of the Bronco from King and Bret tuned them great. Ran Deavers in the back a frame to frame upper shock tower and beefed up axles, gears with a locker there too. Rebuilt my transfer case and bought a Monster trans good for 650 hp. It eats up the whoops great at speed without spilling your drink and I have taken it on about 8 long off road trips. I have been looking at Baja Bugs and rails (not just for sand built) cars to drive more aggressive terrain fast but can tow it out and home with the Bronco. I have to keep it for trips that are in areas with street legal and place to place far apart. The building an A arm setup is a bit more involved. The fabrication of the arms for strength you need for its use with geometry etc.. important. It seems the frame of the car has a large part of this with location and design is it best to have a known builder review or design or sell you a tube frame or a roller. Is there information like books detailed enough and good enough to help with building this kind off performance . I am amazed at what my Bronco can do after the 4wd trucks I have had with the better/best kits bought from chain off road shops running Ranchos. It is a different level completely of smooth control much faster over rough desert and capable of crawling locked 4wd with travel. Not much lift but lots of control travel needs glass fenders GOOD JOB If you run around CALI, NV, AZ trips looking for another vehicle on a trip we may ride well and should talk.
brianbirc, I couldn't find anything that walked me through the A Arm build step by step. Most likely because every build like this is pretty unique. I looked through some road racing design books as they went through some of the geometry. But what I found with the most info was websites going over Baja SAE builds. These are competition builds that schools compete in and you must fabricate the buggy from scratch. So they had some good info on how to start and what to focus on. Another thing I did (this will sound crazy) is I modeled the front and rear suspension off my radio control race cars. These cars have very advanced suspension, I worked with these for years when I raced RC cars. Like the 7deg climb or "rake" in the front is carried over from the RC cars. All the designs I saw of 1-1 rigs they were flat. If the suspension is flat then when you nose down when on the brakes the front wheels actually have to travel forward as they compress, that just seemed crazy to me. So I raked it. Anyways, it's a fun build, I recommend you go for it. Thanks for the kind words on my build, and for the comment. I'll be in LA for work next week, you anywhere near there? I'd love to see that Bronco....
Awesome engineering! I'm looking to do some similar work on my 62 Manx. Great to see a good backyard mechanic work through all the issues 1 step at a time and solve it without a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Or maybe you do. lol. Curious, you want the suspension to go up a couple more inches. Have you check the bottom to see where your belly hits the ground and do you have the clearance? Thanks Again
Nic Holbrook, Thanks for the kind words. Never did go to college, but......and this might sound dumb.....I raced RC cars for years and really learned a lot about how to set up and build suspension systems. The belly stops with about 8" to go. I'd like it to stop at 3". So I'd love to change the shock absorber angles to be able to get the additional 5". Currently it's using all the travel it can out of the shock absorbers. BTW, if I build another Baja it will be a Manx, I love those things.
nice job! I don't know if you've ever watched full droop TV here on RUclips, but they are the only off road fabrication I've seen on here. not as in depth as your's but they have good stuff to watch. Keep up the vids!
Kevin Hunting, lol if I had drawings on it I would share them, but I really just built it on the fly. On a future video I might give some detailed info on geometry of the front and rear suspension. I get quite a few questions on that. Thanks for the comment and for watching.
Danny Edwards, she's not driveable yet, but getting close. Once she is up and running I'll have a lot of videos of me bombing her through the trails. Thanks for watching!
Just curious how your Ackerman angle worked out with those spindles? Better to get just 1 spindle, check and see what you end up with, or are the spindles even available with different steering attachment points? Or is it even relevant where this is for mostly off-road use?
Jacob Hawkins, you buy these spindles just like I did fully welded. But if you want to change the Ackerman to more suite your vehicle they sell the steering arm by itself. So you can cut off the one that comes on it and weld another one exactly where you need it. Doing it the way I did you kinda are risking what the end result will be. From what I can tell from just pushing it around the driveway and garage the ackerman is a little to extreme. Meaning the inside wheel turns in a little to sharp. However I haven't done any alignment on it yet so it could already be toed in or out to much. Either way I don't think I'll try to make it perfect because the bug will mostly be in the dirt. Hope that answers your question and thanks for the comment.
I would make some minor changes to the lower control arm for a little more strength. And I would add pneumatic bumps on it. But aside from that I'm really happy with this setup.
Set front end from rear end left wheel needs to turn slower than right wheel or vise versa set front end from lines steering rods to center of rear end ones longer than other explanation Bob's builds ck it out he build 1930 Chevy with air bags pretty cool arms lift are crazy works fast and great also ck out bike put coolo
Love what you did here. I don't suppose you will share your measurements so I could build my own manx like this? I've been watching your videos and I'm pretty sure I could figure it out but having some measurements would make it a lot easier.
Come along way from beginning looks crazy bump steering the Bob's rat rods builds old rats but has great align for steering might take a look great Faber like yourself looks great I'm building a rail vw. Easy and fun keep rolling building or helping on a 84 camero anyways have fun jonoooo
very inspiring build...alot of good... but from my experience working on vehicles....u would want a bushing where your top aarms attach to the frame... those fish eye connectors or what ever thyre called... they look like metal on metal...so usually a nice anti vibration bushing is pushed into the aarm... maybe you could mock that up ..u clearly have the skill...lol.. id just modify your design to accept some small bushings then make a barket and just bolt it on... awesome build tho!
@@DougBugBuilder yea greese fitting could be a very easy aid for the squeak...and its pretty east to drill out a hole and screw the fitting in. im redoing the front end of my s10 blazer and got the crazy idea to give it a wicking front end suspension upgrade with coilovers instead of the normal torsion bar setup. so this video is very inspiring ...and those uni ball joints are on every thing offroad come to find out. using components like that help people be able to wrap thier head around a build and create for them selves. do have a good site for ordering stuff like that.?
um I'm trying to make my first buggy is there an email I can contact you at for advice on certain problems I may be facing or may face in the future (current problem I'm trying to find where I can find steel tubes)
I really didn't grasp the full extent of what you were saying at the beginning of the video when you said you were not a suspension designer hah! Regardless it looks like you accomplished what you wanted and your buggy looks awesome, hope you have fun with it when it's done
@@DougBugBuilder I've thrown around the idea of making my own long travel suspension. I've had plenty of fabrication experience like you and engineering experience but not on suspension. This video is an awesome motivation to give it a try
I have about 1,000 miles on it at this point. It works really well. Handles trails at a good pace. The bump stops are only neoprene. So if you're going fast enough to hit those it gets really rough. But if you stay just under that it's great.
How much did it cost you to build it? Would you be another one for someone if they pay you? I want my son and I to build one together. I'm supposed to be getting a baja bug soon
At the end this Baja cost about 15k to build. I don't build for other people, sorry. But if you browse my newer videos I do a lot to teach others how to build as I do.
Is there a particular reason as to why the top arm is boxed and bottom just tube? Any reason why you couldn't have just done a tube top and run the shock through the middle? Is it strength related? Is it simply because of proper shock angle that caused you to go this route? Great build, I would love to be able to put the time into my car like this.
Roastm3, Good question. I would have rather made both upper and lower arms out of tube. The upper arm on the drivers side had a serious space restriction because the steering shaft pokes through the firewall and goes to the rack and pinion where the upper control arm would wrap around the shock absorber. It was also tight in the front where the upper tube of the chassis ties into the front bumper. These tight tolerances made it so I couldn't bend tube tight enough to be able to use the available space. I wanted to be able to spread the pivot points at the chassis as far apart as possible for strength. So with all that said boxing it I was able to make a design that clearanced everything and also took up as much space as possible for strength. In my video where I fabricate the upper control arms I go over more of this. Thanks for the comment and kind words.
Sure thing buddy. Here are the brakes I used, www.kartek.com/parts/jamar-performance-5-lug-spindle-hub-kit-for-combo-link-spindles.html And here are the spindles, you need a right and a left, www.kartek.com/parts/kartek-off-road-driver-side-tig-welded-heavy-duty-a-arm-combo-link-buggy-or-sand-rail-spindle.html
@@DougBugBuilder dude I've been following your builds and man it's just amazing how you brake everything down and show us the ins and outs! Thank you for your help! Will keep following your builds forsure!
It is an excellent job especially because it shows, that you did it professionally, using templates and raising possible mistakes afuturo to me, I would like to know measures of each of the piesas to start making mine at home as well as you, excellent work friend , it hurts that in Mexico it is difficult to get resources (tools) to carry out such project as soon as I start any doubt I will be consulting you ok. if you have facebook please pass it.
Love this! I watch your videos almost everyday! I just picked up a class 5 baja that use to race back in the 90s and your videos are motivating me to do the same! Any idea as to cost in materials for the front end? Thanks Doug for all your videos!
Hey Boost, Thanks for the kind words. Picking up an ex racer is an awesome way to get a jump start. If there were more of those around here I would have gone that route. Let's see, without going through receipts this is roughly what the front end cost. Spindles $220 ea. Heims, bungs, bushings, $480 total. About $100 in metal. So converting to A Arm was about 1k additional. Now the shocks, steering rack, hubs and brakes carried over from the beam suspension, so I didn't add those. I will say I absolutely love it over the beam! even though it didn't get me that much more travel, it is super smooth and very adjustable. Good luck whichever way you go.
What you see in this video cost about $2,700, that includes everything except the wheels and tires. Later on I made the rear suspension A Arm as well and that cost $2,100 minus wheels and tires.
Ethan, With the high alignment spacers the heims will rotate quite a bit. But to be honest I was hoping the steering would turn a little sharper lock to lock. Like making a U turn in a neighborhood street would require a 3 point turn. For a trophy truck I think that would be a bit much for heims. I think most guys run Uniball type spindles for heavier vehicles.
For sure man, asking questions is the best way to gather info. Check out Kartek Offroad, look in the fabrication category. Seeing what is available will help you figure out your design. Good luck with the build!
I buy those tidbits from Kartek. www.kartek.com/ The heims are 3/4". Here are some part numbers for Kartek for the heims I used. FKBKMX12 - 3/4" bore 3/4-16 RH Thread (Standard) Heim KTK750TBRR1250 - 3/4 bung RH 1 1/2" .120 Wall Tube PRMHMA3412 - High misalignment spacer for 3/4" Heim
@@DougBugBuilder Hey doug nice work, thanks for sharing, you might check these guys out for your heims and such. Found them a few weeks ago. pretty good pricing. midwestcontrol.com
I know how to set up race bikes and long forked choppers for rake and trail so they turn fast or slow with all manner of fork lengths and rear ends (whatever's required) and don't tank slap or lock up but I can't do this.. and saying you're not a suspension guy: that's damn nice work.
Thanks bud, we're both being modest. If you can calculate that on a bike you can certainly do it on a baja. For a fabricator it's really just what we focus on. Keep building and thanks for the comment.
Doug Bug do you know about shanking bolts? The threads are smaller then the shank and if your brackets ride on the threads the bolts can move around and oval out. I by my bolts by the grip length, so that the shank rides on both brackets then I cut off the extra threads, sometimes you have to add washers so the nut doesn’t bottom out. If you look at aircraft bolts they are done this way.
Another great video I think in have watched them all now , this one three times , could u run a single upper link like your h arm rear has for the a arm front ?? Especially if u over built the lower a ?? Thanks for your time.
Cameron Holliday, Thanks for watching and the kind words. It is possible to make an H Arm style front suspension. I considered it because I'm a fan of H Arm suspensions. However the spindle gets really complicated. The spindle needs to rotate for the steering and then also be able to rotate in the lower arm. A true A Arm setup spindle is really pretty simple if you use the heims like I did. If you go A Arm or H Arm the limiting part is the steering connections on either. So there are no travel advantages from one to the other. Great question though!
Doug Bug an h arm lower front is way beyond me although I can picture it , I was wondering if i could use a single tube link upper arm in the front like you used in the rear or if there is something I'm missing and both the front need to be a shaped arms , sorry for the confusion.
If you designed the lower arm like I did on the rear than it would work. However the design of the spindle (the part the wheel bolts to) would be totally different. Look up RC10 B5M, that is a radio controlled car that has H beam front suspension. Might clear things up.
Doug Bug sorry to keep bothering you I seem to be confusing you with bad terminology, I want to use the same spindles as you but am picturing a lower a shaped control arm very beefy and a single dom tube upper prob 1.5 od x .25 wall one end heim for the spindle and one end a bushing the same as the upper control arm on your h arm rear but for my a arm ifs.. I did look at that rc I'm guessing that would need to be ball joint or kingpin to work and I like that too but seems crowded and over complicated. Thanks again for your time both making the videos and responding to your followers. :)
Ahhhh, OK. So I think I follow you. What you are proposing would work. However the upper link needs to be able to both support the spindle left and right (camber) and forward and back (caster). As long as it was strong enough and properly fastened at the chassis end it would work. Not a terrible idea actually, would make it easier to clear the shock absorber.
tmsrsm, most of the chassis welding is done with a Lincoln Electric 120v flux core welder. I switch it over to mig welder when I weld the body work. Any tig welding you see is done with a Lincoln Electric 220v Tig welder. Thanks for the comment.
You're right, I worded that wrong. Thanks for clarifying. If we start to see a lot of Bajas out there with their tires hanging out at the tops we'll know they watched this video.
Lol.. The last video I watched you asked him the same thing. You really are looking to get a nice baja bug. I wish you luck, and have fun when you do find one! They look like alot of fun.
Sure seems like a lot going on up there with steering suspension travel caster camber Ackerman I want to do it tonight I want my mazone sand car short travel
@@theguy9234 the pre made design is the body of the car, not the pan. Tube chassis. Had too. V8 power. We own a lot of vw's. Beetles, trucks,vans, notch backs, wagon backs in various stages.
I love how you explain things. I'm a mechanic/welder, your methods ar4e easy to follow. Thank you for doing these videos.
Thanks for the comment! Appreciate the kind words and glad you like the videos. 👍
I don't even have a bug and enjoyed this video. Sure you can buy a kit and be done for the day, but for the guy who built this set up what he learned and experience gained is invaluable. I DIG IT!
My Damn Channel, Thanks for the kind words, of course I agree with everything you said! lol
You sir did a damn good job, using your video as a reference for the long travel I'm about to build for my Colorado. It's nice when someone posts their trial and error so it makes it a bit easier for other folks. Hoping for 20in of travel strapped at 18 but who knows!! Thanks for uploading
Austin, thanks for the comments and the kind words. Your Colorado sounds like a great project. 20 inches on that truck would be awesome! Even 18 is great travel. Good luck with the build.
thank you i've been waiting for a more informative video on how to build A Arms. This helps a lot.
Work-Wix, Thank you I hope it helps. In order to not make the video to long I actually left out a lot of specific info. Don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you are building an A Arm setup.
Thank you for creating this build video.
You did a really good job for your first design!
Couple tips is forsure box that lower you want the lower arm stronger than the upper if anything it takes most of the load! And other tip I have for you is that the best way to mount shocks is so that at full bump the shock is 90degrees to the lower arm it is mounted on. This gives you the best progressive rate on the shock and doesn’t put you in a possible binding situation that will bend the shock
Great tips! Thanks Luke. I've been considering a little redesign on the front to get a little more travel. I'll keep that in mind.
youo have a picture for example send a link
Great job, great car! Thanks for the video & explanation of how all components work together. Very informative! Nice work!
Glad you liked the video, thanks for the comment.
I take back what I said in previous post. You are doing great and your progress looks really good. You do have the ability to add a new front shock mount bracket to add strength and shock control and dampening to your likeness.
Thanks bud, appreciate the support and comments. Your honesty either way helps this project along.
Great video. Seems easy enough to weld another piece of tubing on the lower control arms for a more inward bottom shock mount. Think of an RC buggy or truggy... most have multiple mounting points. Great work!
Great Job! Thanks to your selfless contribution, I now know how to start with my project.
Great comment! Thank you.
Good luck with your build.
Beautiful work! The reason you want negative camer, (a tad) at compression. Is to keep the tires contact level with the pavement as the car leans into a corner. You did an amazing job for your first time especially. Again beautiful work!
Also ideally the coilover or shock will be 90° to lower arms at full bump
Awesome tips!
Thanks.
I just recently came across your channel. Your videos are very helpful. I appreciate you sharing.
Thanks for the feedback dude, glad you like the videos!
you sir are a scholar and a gentleman. Thanks for posting your process.
Very nice comment, thank you.
Very Educative and Informative, Thanks for sharing, very clean and professional, well done.
Thanks! I appreciate the comment.
@@DougBugBuilder Mr Doug I have a beetle 2006 I would like to lift 3 inches in front a back what will be the best way for this project, I will appreciate your coments.
This is awesome thank you so much for making this video I was going to start a Baja beetle project soon been putting it off for too long this is giving me some good ideas to try
No problem 👍
Some of my newer vids have a lot of suspension design info too.
Good luck with your project.
Esse é o melhor sistema dulplo A que já vi no Baja, parabéns.
Very nice.
Valeu cara! Aprecie as palavras amáveis.
Great work . You inspire me to build a new baja.
That's awesome! Thanks for the comment.
Great job on video and workmanship and design
Thanks Bud!
Beautiful build you got there
Thanks!
Man that is a really cool setup, considering doing something similay. One comment I can't help but make, is that the lower rod end is loaded in heavy bending. Those threaded bearings are known failure points. Still awesome build, love the jugs you built too.
Aheitchoo, Thanks for the comment buddy. Just so I know what to keep an eye out for, are you talking about the lower heim (threaded bearing) at the spindle?
Cool build I built my full size Bronco that has the 4wd beams and long chromoly radius arms heim jointed. I plated and gusseted my beams and upgraded gears with locker an F-250 shaft/U joint out the passenger side and chromoly axles. Tall shock mounts and cycled and cleared everything a lot and strapped it at 17" . I bought after weighing front back and total of the Bronco from King and Bret tuned them great. Ran Deavers in the back a frame to frame upper shock tower and beefed up axles, gears with a locker there too. Rebuilt my transfer case and bought a Monster trans good for 650 hp. It eats up the whoops great at speed without spilling your drink and I have taken it on about 8 long off road trips.
I have been looking at Baja Bugs and rails (not just for sand built) cars to drive more aggressive terrain fast but can tow it out and home with the Bronco. I have to keep it for trips that are in areas with street legal and place to place far apart. The building an A arm setup is a bit more involved. The fabrication of the arms for strength you need for its use with geometry etc.. important. It seems the frame of the car has a large part of this with location and design is it best to have a known builder review or design or sell you a tube frame or a roller. Is there information like books detailed enough and good enough to help with building this kind off performance . I am amazed at what my Bronco can do after the 4wd trucks I have had with the better/best kits bought from chain off road shops running Ranchos. It is a different level completely of smooth control much faster over rough desert and capable of crawling locked 4wd with travel. Not much lift but lots of control travel needs glass fenders
GOOD JOB
If you run around CALI, NV, AZ trips looking for another vehicle on a trip we may ride well and should talk.
brianbirc, I couldn't find anything that walked me through the A Arm build step by step. Most likely because every build like this is pretty unique. I looked through some road racing design books as they went through some of the geometry. But what I found with the most info was websites going over Baja SAE builds. These are competition builds that schools compete in and you must fabricate the buggy from scratch. So they had some good info on how to start and what to focus on. Another thing I did (this will sound crazy) is I modeled the front and rear suspension off my radio control race cars. These cars have very advanced suspension, I worked with these for years when I raced RC cars. Like the 7deg climb or "rake" in the front is carried over from the RC cars. All the designs I saw of 1-1 rigs they were flat. If the suspension is flat then when you nose down when on the brakes the front wheels actually have to travel forward as they compress, that just seemed crazy to me. So I raked it.
Anyways, it's a fun build, I recommend you go for it.
Thanks for the kind words on my build, and for the comment.
I'll be in LA for work next week, you anywhere near there? I'd love to see that Bronco....
This is what RUclips is all about !!! Right here. Thanks for this !!!
Couldn't agree more. RUclips has been a great source for me and I hope this helps others as well. Thanks for the comment!
Real nice.. Ive always found the beam suspension to be a bit more rugged and maybe slightly better for rocky trails. A arm is far superior in sand.
Did you use a cad system to draw up your design? If so I’d kill to get my hands on them
Great video and great workmanship
Thanks 👍
Your not a suspension designer ?
YOU ARE NOW 😉👍🏻
You bet I am! 😁
Awesome engineering! I'm looking to do some similar work on my 62 Manx. Great to see a good backyard mechanic work through all the issues 1 step at a time and solve it without a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Or maybe you do. lol.
Curious, you want the suspension to go up a couple more inches. Have you check the bottom to see where your belly hits the ground and do you have the clearance?
Thanks Again
Nic Holbrook, Thanks for the kind words. Never did go to college, but......and this might sound dumb.....I raced RC cars for years and really learned a lot about how to set up and build suspension systems.
The belly stops with about 8" to go. I'd like it to stop at 3". So I'd love to change the shock absorber angles to be able to get the additional 5". Currently it's using all the travel it can out of the shock absorbers.
BTW, if I build another Baja it will be a Manx, I love those things.
nice job! I don't know if you've ever watched full droop TV here on RUclips, but they are the only off road fabrication I've seen on here. not as in depth as your's but they have good stuff to watch. Keep up the vids!
5th Street Fab Shop, Thanks.
I have seen Full Droop TV, they have some good videos showing their fabrication.
your videos are amazing
Thanks buddy!
Doug, now I just need you to share this build in a drawing format and I am forever in your debt
Kevin Hunting, lol if I had drawings on it I would share them, but I really just built it on the fly. On a future video I might give some detailed info on geometry of the front and rear suspension. I get quite a few questions on that.
Thanks for the comment and for watching.
Doug Bug i love the build, i am going to start one myself as soon as I can get all of the components figured out for my LS1 powered build
Im also starting an ls1 powered baja bug, how has yours come along?
WOW! Awesome fab work
Thanks.
Id like to see a video driving around when you get sometime, good job
Danny Edwards, she's not driveable yet, but getting close. Once she is up and running I'll have a lot of videos of me bombing her through the trails. Thanks for watching!
Great job, well done.
Thank you very much!
Just curious how your Ackerman angle worked out with those spindles? Better to get just 1 spindle, check and see what you end up with, or are the spindles even available with different steering attachment points? Or is it even relevant where this is for mostly off-road use?
Jacob Hawkins, you buy these spindles just like I did fully welded. But if you want to change the Ackerman to more suite your vehicle they sell the steering arm by itself. So you can cut off the one that comes on it and weld another one exactly where you need it.
Doing it the way I did you kinda are risking what the end result will be. From what I can tell from just pushing it around the driveway and garage the ackerman is a little to extreme. Meaning the inside wheel turns in a little to sharp. However I haven't done any alignment on it yet so it could already be toed in or out to much. Either way I don't think I'll try to make it perfect because the bug will mostly be in the dirt.
Hope that answers your question and thanks for the comment.
so what are your thoughts on this front suspension now? would you build it like this again?
I would make some minor changes to the lower control arm for a little more strength. And I would add pneumatic bumps on it. But aside from that I'm really happy with this setup.
awesome job
Great build. Great video. 👍
Set front end from rear end left wheel needs to turn slower than right wheel or vise versa set front end from lines steering rods to center of rear end ones longer than other explanation Bob's builds ck it out he build 1930 Chevy with air bags pretty cool arms lift are crazy works fast and great also ck out bike put coolo
A little behind here for me but do you still have that beam set up ? Perhaps for sale
No, sold that years ago. Sorry.
Love what you did here. I don't suppose you will share your measurements so I could build my own manx like this? I've been watching your videos and I'm pretty sure I could figure it out but having some measurements would make it a lot easier.
Email me at dougbugbuilder@gmail.com I'll send you some dimensions.
Awesome job thanks for sharing looks freakin great!!!
Thanks!
Come along way from beginning looks crazy bump steering the Bob's rat rods builds old rats but has great align for steering might take a look great Faber like yourself looks great I'm building a rail vw. Easy and fun keep rolling building or helping on a 84 camero anyways have fun jonoooo
very inspiring build...alot of good... but from my experience working on vehicles....u would want a bushing where your top aarms attach to the frame... those fish eye connectors or what ever thyre called... they look like metal on metal...so usually a nice anti vibration bushing is pushed into the aarm... maybe you could mock that up ..u clearly have the skill...lol..
id just modify your design to accept some small bushings then make a barket and just bolt it on... awesome build tho!
Thanks for the tips! Those do have a delrin skin between the metal, but it's really thin and they squeak over time.
@@DougBugBuilder yea greese fitting could be a very easy aid for the squeak...and its pretty east to drill out a hole and screw the fitting in.
im redoing the front end of my s10 blazer and got the crazy idea to give it a wicking front end suspension upgrade with coilovers instead of the normal torsion bar setup.
so this video is very inspiring ...and those uni ball joints are on every thing offroad come to find out.
using components like that help people be able to wrap thier head around a build and create for them selves.
do have a good site for ordering stuff like that.?
@@WandersOfficial I get all my tidbits like that from Kartek offroad. www.kartek.com/
Fricken brilliant bro
Thanks!
um I'm trying to make my first buggy is there an email I can contact you at for advice on certain problems I may be facing or may face in the future (current problem I'm trying to find where I can find steel tubes)
Rick Bergolla, my email is dougbugbuilder@gmail.com, I'll help you any way I can.
Thanks for watching.
I really didn't grasp the full extent of what you were saying at the beginning of the video when you said you were not a suspension designer hah! Regardless it looks like you accomplished what you wanted and your buggy looks awesome, hope you have fun with it when it's done
Thanks bud! Appreciate the nice comment. So far she's a blast to bomb around.
@@DougBugBuilder I've thrown around the idea of making my own long travel suspension. I've had plenty of fabrication experience like you and engineering experience but not on suspension. This video is an awesome motivation to give it a try
Quite an engineering project WOW !
Have you tested it off road at speed yet ? Great job !
I have about 1,000 miles on it at this point. It works really well. Handles trails at a good pace. The bump stops are only neoprene. So if you're going fast enough to hit those it gets really rough. But if you stay just under that it's great.
Hello I am new to fabricating suspension and i was wondering what steel you used for the a arms and how it is holding up
I made those out of 1 1/2" DOM, .095" wall thickness. They have held up just fine.
amazing build. thanks for sharing.
Thanks bud!
How much did it cost you to build it? Would you be another one for someone if they pay you? I want my son and I to build one together. I'm supposed to be getting a baja bug soon
At the end this Baja cost about 15k to build. I don't build for other people, sorry. But if you browse my newer videos I do a lot to teach others how to build as I do.
@@DougBugBuilder I love the ratchet build. Looks like I'm gonna have to really work on my welding.
I would love to get the dimensions for that project. Great work
Email me at dougbugbuilder@gmail.com and I can send you dimensions for the frame.
Is there a particular reason as to why the top arm is boxed and bottom just tube? Any reason why you couldn't have just done a tube top and run the shock through the middle? Is it strength related? Is it simply because of proper shock angle that caused you to go this route? Great build, I would love to be able to put the time into my car like this.
Roastm3, Good question. I would have rather made both upper and lower arms out of tube. The upper arm on the drivers side had a serious space restriction because the steering shaft pokes through the firewall and goes to the rack and pinion where the upper control arm would wrap around the shock absorber. It was also tight in the front where the upper tube of the chassis ties into the front bumper. These tight tolerances made it so I couldn't bend tube tight enough to be able to use the available space. I wanted to be able to spread the pivot points at the chassis as far apart as possible for strength. So with all that said boxing it I was able to make a design that clearanced everything and also took up as much space as possible for strength. In my video where I fabricate the upper control arms I go over more of this.
Thanks for the comment and kind words.
Hey buddy I know it's been 4 years since you put up this video but can you provide a link where you got the spindle and brake parts?
Sure thing buddy.
Here are the brakes I used, www.kartek.com/parts/jamar-performance-5-lug-spindle-hub-kit-for-combo-link-spindles.html
And here are the spindles, you need a right and a left, www.kartek.com/parts/kartek-off-road-driver-side-tig-welded-heavy-duty-a-arm-combo-link-buggy-or-sand-rail-spindle.html
@@DougBugBuilder dude I've been following your builds and man it's just amazing how you brake everything down and show us the ins and outs! Thank you for your help! Will keep following your builds forsure!
@@MrDesparza Thanks buddy!
It is an excellent job especially because it shows, that you did it professionally, using templates and raising possible mistakes afuturo to me, I would like to know measures of each of the piesas to start making mine at home as well as you, excellent work friend , it hurts that in Mexico it is difficult to get resources (tools) to carry out such project as soon as I start any doubt I will be consulting you ok.
if you have facebook please pass it.
Love this! I watch your videos almost everyday! I just picked up a class 5 baja that use to race back in the 90s and your videos are motivating me to do the same! Any idea as to cost in materials for the front end? Thanks Doug for all your videos!
Hey Boost, Thanks for the kind words. Picking up an ex racer is an awesome way to get a jump start. If there were more of those around here I would have gone that route.
Let's see, without going through receipts this is roughly what the front end cost.
Spindles $220 ea.
Heims, bungs, bushings, $480 total.
About $100 in metal.
So converting to A Arm was about 1k additional.
Now the shocks, steering rack, hubs and brakes carried over from the beam suspension, so I didn't add those.
I will say I absolutely love it over the beam! even though it didn't get me that much more travel, it is super smooth and very adjustable.
Good luck whichever way you go.
About how much were the spindles and brake s excellent project hoping to do the same on my
About how much did it cost to do the whole a arm front suspension deal you got there?
What you see in this video cost about $2,700, that includes everything except the wheels and tires.
Later on I made the rear suspension A Arm as well and that cost $2,100 minus wheels and tires.
How well is your steering with heim joint bolts rotated vertically instead of horizontally as for mounting inside of spindle?
And would these spindles work well with more of a trophy truck build or would it be too heavy for them?
Ethan, With the high alignment spacers the heims will rotate quite a bit. But to be honest I was hoping the steering would turn a little sharper lock to lock. Like making a U turn in a neighborhood street would require a 3 point turn.
For a trophy truck I think that would be a bit much for heims. I think most guys run Uniball type spindles for heavier vehicles.
Well I'm not really doing a full on trophy truck, I'm doing my own trophy rat kinda like Keith Northrups
I'm just trying to get ideas on what to use for stuff like this cause I've never built a vehicle before
For sure man, asking questions is the best way to gather info. Check out Kartek Offroad, look in the fabrication category. Seeing what is available will help you figure out your design.
Good luck with the build!
where is the start video , where you started , i would realy like to see that
Muito top o jeito que vocês fazem esse tipo de suspensão
Obrigado parceiro! Agradeço o apoio e comentário.
Great work Doug! what size Hem joints are you using ? where do you buy them from? THXS
I buy those tidbits from Kartek.
www.kartek.com/
The heims are 3/4". Here are some part numbers for Kartek for the heims I used.
FKBKMX12 - 3/4" bore 3/4-16 RH Thread (Standard) Heim
KTK750TBRR1250 - 3/4 bung RH 1 1/2" .120 Wall Tube
PRMHMA3412 - High misalignment spacer for 3/4" Heim
@@DougBugBuilder Hey doug nice work, thanks for sharing, you might check these guys out for your heims and such. Found them a few weeks ago. pretty good pricing. midwestcontrol.com
@@aaronerwine5675 Thanks dude, I'll check them out.
How much would you charge to make a rolling chassis with v8 set up
Sorry bud, I don't have time to fabricate for others.
awesome keep up the good work it's all about trial and error and if it doesn't work fix it good job dude 🖒
Baja Larry, I don't care how many times I need to do it as long as eventually I get what I want. lol
Thanks for watching.
I know how to set up race bikes and long forked choppers for rake and trail so they turn fast or slow with all manner of fork lengths and rear ends (whatever's required) and don't tank slap or lock up but I can't do this.. and saying you're not a suspension guy: that's damn nice work.
Thanks bud, we're both being modest. If you can calculate that on a bike you can certainly do it on a baja. For a fabricator it's really just what we focus on. Keep building and thanks for the comment.
What about the bolts? Are those one just for mock up because those look like grade 2 bolts.
Those are grade 5, but you're right, the final build will have grade 8 bolts.
Doug Bug do you know about shanking bolts? The threads are smaller then the shank and if your brackets ride on the threads the bolts can move around and oval out. I by my bolts by the grip length, so that the shank rides on both brackets then I cut off the extra threads, sometimes you have to add washers so the nut doesn’t bottom out. If you look at aircraft bolts they are done this way.
@@markbenoit Good info dude, thanks. Where do you purchase your bolts from?
Doug Bug ababaqa.com/
There in San diego. Some other good places are www.mcfaddendalehardware.com/
And check out www.allensfasteners.com/
Another great video I think in have watched them all now , this one three times , could u run a single upper link like your h arm rear has for the a arm front ?? Especially if u over built the lower a ?? Thanks for your time.
Cameron Holliday, Thanks for watching and the kind words. It is possible to make an H Arm style front suspension. I considered it because I'm a fan of H Arm suspensions. However the spindle gets really complicated. The spindle needs to rotate for the steering and then also be able to rotate in the lower arm. A true A Arm setup spindle is really pretty simple if you use the heims like I did. If you go A Arm or H Arm the limiting part is the steering connections on either. So there are no travel advantages from one to the other. Great question though!
Doug Bug an h arm lower front is way beyond me although I can picture it , I was wondering if i could use a single tube link upper arm in the front like you used in the rear or if there is something I'm missing and both the front need to be a shaped arms , sorry for the confusion.
If you designed the lower arm like I did on the rear than it would work. However the design of the spindle (the part the wheel bolts to) would be totally different. Look up RC10 B5M, that is a radio controlled car that has H beam front suspension. Might clear things up.
Doug Bug sorry to keep bothering you I seem to be confusing you with bad terminology, I want to use the same spindles as you but am picturing a lower a shaped control arm very beefy and a single dom tube upper prob 1.5 od x .25 wall one end heim for the spindle and one end a bushing the same as the upper control arm on your h arm rear but for my a arm ifs.. I did look at that rc I'm guessing that would need to be ball joint or kingpin to work and I like that too but seems crowded and over complicated. Thanks again for your time both making the videos and responding to your followers. :)
Ahhhh, OK. So I think I follow you. What you are proposing would work. However the upper link needs to be able to both support the spindle left and right (camber) and forward and back (caster). As long as it was strong enough and properly fastened at the chassis end it would work.
Not a terrible idea actually, would make it easier to clear the shock absorber.
hi, Is there a email that I can reach you at? I'm building a bug right now and would definitely like to get into detail with help. thanks!
Sure thing Toby, dougbugbuilder@gmail.com
Excellent work!! What welder did you use?
tmsrsm, most of the chassis welding is done with a Lincoln Electric 120v flux core welder. I switch it over to mig welder when I weld the body work. Any tig welding you see is done with a Lincoln Electric 220v Tig welder.
Thanks for the comment.
Are those Buckshot gumbo mudders??
Yes, with the sides of the treads cut off.
Awesome job
Thanks!
Shweeeeet. Luv the build.
Thanks buddy!
Do you have plans for this?
Sorry, I don't for that front end.
That helps alot, Thanks
Glad it helped
TAKE MY MONEY!!!!! Looks great!!!!
LOL....Thanks dude!
GREAT JOB!!
Thanks Buddy!
Hola!! Hay manera que me pasaras los planos!! Quiero hacer eso con un vocho!!
Lo siento amigo, no tengo ningún plan para esta compilación.
I think you might have the majority of those heim joints mounted 90 deg. Out.
nice work !
Thanks!
Rc Cars systems yeah 👍🏻🇧🇪🇲🇦
Nice Job!
Thanks!
Amazing
Thanks!
When the tire/tyre leans inwards in the top it is negative camber.. Not positive camber..
You're right, I worded that wrong. Thanks for clarifying.
If we start to see a lot of Bajas out there with their tires hanging out at the tops we'll know they watched this video.
Chrome moly ?
No, a mixture of DOM and ERW.
Love the video, the music is a little loud and distracting at some points, imho
Thanks, if it's any consolation. I don't talk over music in my videos anymore. Thanks for the comment.
Great video but couldn’t finish it because of the Tetris music 😬
music name ?
The song that plays in most of this video is "Jay Jay" by Kevin MacLeod
Nice...
would you sell it?
Ed Garcia, With the time and money I have in it so far most likely I wouldn't consider selling it until I have had years of fun driving it....
Lol.. The last video I watched you asked him the same thing. You really are looking to get a nice baja bug. I wish you luck, and have fun when you do find one! They look like alot of fun.
Sure seems like a lot going on up there with steering suspension travel caster camber Ackerman I want to do it tonight I want my mazone sand car short travel
Thanks for all your input it'll help a lot
the beam is so much stronger than those himes
Looks similar to a RZR front suspension
They copied me....lol.
It's a pretty standard setup for a Baja.
Hi
Hello!
Excellent content, but I stopped watching half way through due to the background music.
Geez dude you act like no one has ever done this with a beetle before.
Patti D Best have you?
He didn't build this from a premade design.
@@theguy9234 the pre made design is the body of the car, not the pan. Tube chassis. Had too. V8 power. We own a lot of vw's. Beetles, trucks,vans, notch backs, wagon backs in various stages.
just get a nichols fabrication J arm kit for $1600 and call it a day