Well the time has come to step up to the "Cage". I hate to do it but Im letting both of my 650s go with all the bells & whistles that go along.

Im Having a local shop down here build me a custom 2 seater long travel rail. When I say custom , thats exactly what I mean. 98" wheel base and they have to rework the frame to fit in the trailer ( 29' 5th wheel ).


Later .. JP

 

What powertrain and which suspension are you going with?

I'm working on my Wife. . . may take a while!

 

Im going to put in a 2.2 Liter Supercharged Ecotec. Thats an inline 4 cylinder all aluminum motor. Very light. A great match for a 1400# car and it will run on pump gas. No need to pay 7+ for race fuel. Ill probably be in the upper 200s for HP. Ill mate that up to a built .o91 bus from a guy here in Phoenix. He hand builds all his trannys, welds up the case and all. no assembly line overpriced garbage here. I can buy two of these for one Mendeola DD.
Im going with ADS Shocks on all 4 corners with bypass in the rear. Its an outfit out of Tuscon that did the shocks for a couple of people I know. Great product for the money.
We had some powder coat samples done up and I have to pick them up this week and order the seats. They are already cutting the frame !!

I didnt have to work on my wife .. too much.. she wont ride her DS anymore and everybody we go to the dunes with has transitioned to a car. I can keep up with the cars but my wife couldnt. Time to make the change. I wont miss swollen knees after a weekends worth of riding anymore!

 

What are ADS shocks, where can I find out more about them?
Why not go with a something like a Streebike powered Short sandcar? I read a quote about the bus tranny that said something like everytime you jump with a bus tranny figure $50, when you get to $750 have it rebuilt. I'm not knocking it either, transaxles are the costliest and biggest weak link in sand cars. But going with streetbike engines you eliminate them altogether.

 

Pictures??!!!

Sounds like a sweet ride. I'm very interested in the build.

I do like Superchargers better than turbos so, sounds like an awesome set-up.

 

ADS is a smalll outfit out of Tuscon AZ. No website but high quality stuff. Highly recomended from a small circle of dedicated off road racers. I have seen their cars and the susspension is top notch. Far more than anything Ill ever need but if it cost the same as other vendors why not?? Ill give the small guy the nod first.
I thought hard on the Hybusa Rail and even saw one at Buttercup on Holloween. Sweet stuff and what a distinct sound!! But just not for me. Im sticking with what My builder is comfortable with and what he knows. The Ecotec is a first rate motor and capable of some VERY large HP #s. Nothing I will ever get to, I just want something that is reliable.... Like the DS. Nuff said.
Chevy has a supercharger Kit already set up for the 2.2 liter Ecotec and just bolts right up. You flash the stock computer and wahla!! Your in !! No BS or fancy crap that you have to screw with!! The stock 2.2 Im putting in will put out 170 HP without any fancy smachy stuff. Just bolt her up and go ( of course youll have to flash the computer for that too ) But solid none the less. \The supercharged version will be up there and NO RACE FUEL!!!

The tranny is a tough deal. I dont care what you spend on a tranny, you WILL destroy it in the sand. I have a buddy who drives the "Terminator" and he went through his 15,000 Fortin in one season. My Bus tranny will die Im sure of that, but that is the price I will have to pay. But I can buy two of these tranny for the cost of one Mendeola. Dont get me wrong, im not buying a junker tranny its just not as pricey as the "Spendeola". But you are right, that thing will die by my hands ... no doubt.

Pictures will hopefully come here soon , I want to go down to the shop this week and snap a few if I get the time.... New job keeps me waaaaayyyyy busy..

Ill post some info on my Pics page of my Scale drawing that I had to send to the builder.... youll get a kick out of it

Later Gents..

 

I blew out around 25 bus trannys in my day LOL gets spendy and old changing them out. I had a spot on the trailer to carry an extra for a long weekend but I never turned down a race[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] My next car will have a high dollar tranny with 930s and will save money in the long run IMO[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Hey Prozack, I did the same thing last year. My Dad got into sand rails back in the 70's and I had one until I found the DS. Last year I decided that I was going to build another sand car. I ended up with a two seat mid travel car from sandcars.net. I purchased the frame and suspension and built all the rest myself. I went with a 2276cc VW with an EFI turbo set up. It's not the fastest, but it's reliable, fun, faster than my DS and a whole lot less abusive on my bones. I still get on the DS and have a blast, but with the rail I can have a passanger and not have to worry about their ability to ride.

Any who.........good luck with the new cage. And if you see a sand car at Glamis that's named "just for fun" in red, yellow and black, it's me!

 

Ill Keep an eye out for ya when I make it to the "BIG" dunes!! Its been a while since I made it to Glamis! My Target date to make it to the dunes is Jan 2006.


SandBomber... I have NO DOUBT you have twisted up a few trannys .. But the real question is what kind of HP were you puttin to them?? But **** on it man , they are just toys and toys are ment to be used and abused!!!

 

My little porsche engine only put out 350hp LOL ran a few 2.3 ford pintos also with 250hp