Protouring....sandrail?

[DanCheet]

Well i'm thinking of selling my 1972 chevelle, for a nice daily driver, and then building a protouring sandrail. The sandrail would be used for the track and weekend driving. bigger brakes, 18" wheels and tires, stroker VW flat 4 or turbo'd. maybe even a inline 6, or ls1 if i can afford it. What do you think? somethin diffrent, somethin fast. anyways jsut seekin opinions or any information if it has been done. thanks.

[jp455]

I think what you're talking about sounds exactly like the Ariel Atom. The performance is un believeable!! Check it out at www.Brammo.com

manuel scettri

[DanCheet]

yea i know those are so sick, soo fast. thats sorta what i'm thinkin, ecxept with a sandrail frame, move the drivers posistion forward a little more, lower roll cage, big wheels...sorta the same but would look different. also thinking a bout taking the front clip from a fwd car and using it as the drive platform, just in the rear of the car.

[JoshStratton]

check out www.thesamba.com.

you could probably find a good starter vehicle there...unless you wanna start from scratch. My dad built a sandrail when I was a kid. I wish I had been more involved. I am more of a Ghia, Bug guy myself, but I would like to do a fiberglass one someday.

Not quite sure how you would put an LS1 in a sandrail though. Never seen it done.

Are you anywhere near Dayton, Ohio? There is an AWESOME shop called Larry's Offroad Center there. They specialize in VW Sandrails and equipment. They make their own frames and they are top of the line.

[BB69]

check out www.thesamba.com.

you could probably find a good starter vehicle there...unless you wanna start from scratch. My dad built a sandrail when I was a kid. I wish I had been more involved. I am more of a Ghia, Bug guy myself, but I would like to do a fiberglass one someday.

Not quite sure how you would put an LS1 in a sandrail though. Never seen it done.

Are you anywhere near Dayton, Ohio? There is an AWESOME shop called Larry's Offroad Center there. They specialize in VW Sandrails and equipment. They make their own frames and they are top of the line.

LSx engines are a large part of the current sand craze. The LSx engine, Subura engines, the Northstar, are all extremely popular for sandrails. I wouldn't even consider a VW aircooled engine anymore. There are so many better choices. I grew up in San Diego extremely involved in this sport. My parents are still there and going strong. My dad has a turbocharged Subura 6 cylinder from an XT6, and his buddy has a twin turbo Subura from a SVX. Sandrails have now become $50K to $100K offroad monsters. Spend some time searching, and you will see what I mean.

Here's a link to a good sand based magazine. http://www.sandsports.net/

I don't think you want to mix sandrail with what you are doing. It really sounds like you are after a space frame chassis car. I agree with you, and have been watering over the Atom. I think the drivetrain from a Neon SRT-4 would be a great choice. There are some people making over 400HP with that engine. Even at the stock 240HP, it would be scary fast in a light tube frame car.

Good luck.
Ken

[JoshStratton]

Dang dude. I had NO idea they had evolved that much. I have been an aircooled guy since birth and only in the past few years decided to venture elsewhere. I guess thats what happens when you live with your head in the sand. (Bah Dum....Tishhhhhh)

That is crazy stuff. Come to think of it, I seem to remember hearing they are using Nissan engines also.

Are they setup as a mid-engine then?

When I said fiberglass, I was actually thinking something more like a Manx
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/02/225989-1.jpg

[BB69]

I know what you mean. When I left for school in 1994, the hot buggies were still using turbocharged VW engines. At that time, my dad had a Corvair engine. It wasn't long after I left that it exploded. It has turned into a rich man's sport. My dad hand built his buggy more than 30 years ago. He has made so many changes to it over the years, you wouldn't recognize it, except it's made of square tubing.

Most of the buggies now are rear engine, with 4-5 seats. They have over 20" of travel front and rear, with shocks/springs costing a couple thousand. One of the main advances that made this possible was the Mendeola transmission. Mendeola makes cases, gears, etc loosely based on the VW layout, but much stronger. They now have sequential transmissions available. A good trans to go with a twin turbo LSx engine could run you $10K. It's all pretty mind blowing.

Ken

[DanCheet]

haha i know, theres seems to be endlesss posibilities if i had endless pockets. Ive rebuilt a few air cooled VW's. i'm thinking that i would shy away from another vw engine... although i do love how easy they can be assembled and built (you can reach in and remove block with your bare hands) making any sort of serious power becomes expensive and unstreetable. I was also looking at the older MR2 set up with the supercharged 4 banger. would be a cool engine to build around. the srt4 idea is also looking pretty solid....soo many choices. i'm probably gonna try to find a bare frame, and go from there. i'll probably set up the front end with a lotus 7 type set up since the VW/sandrail setup is pretty limited on brakes and such. should be a fun weekend/track ride.... if i kpet it under 2,000lbs with 300hp.....:smoke: the northstar setup out of a cadillac deville or seville has 300hp stock, and is cheap to fix....but theres no manual transmission option...damn

[BB69]

haha i know, theres seems to be endlesss posibilities if i had endless pockets. Ive rebuilt a few air cooled VW's. i'm thinking that i would shy away from another vw engine... although i do love how easy they can be assembled and built (you can reach in and remove block with your bare hands) making any sort of serious power becomes expensive and unstreetable. I was also looking at the older MR2 set up with the supercharged 4 banger. would be a cool engine to build around. the srt4 idea is also looking pretty solid....soo many choices. i'm probably gonna try to find a bare frame, and go from there. i'll probably set up the front end with a lotus 7 type set up since the VW/sandrail setup is pretty limited on brakes and such. should be a fun weekend/track ride.... if i kpet it under 2,000lbs with 300hp.....:smoke: the northstar setup out of a cadillac deville or seville has 300hp stock, and is cheap to fix....but theres no manual transmission option...damn

The problem with the VW's is the cost you mention, and the heat. Being air cooled, they have a hard time keeping cool. This problem gets worse the more HP you make. The Subura's are nice because they are flat engines, pretty light, and there are a couple variations. If you are going to stay on the track, you could probably still use a VW type transmission. Kennedy makes adaptor plates to put any engine in front of a VW trans. The only problem is the relatively short gear rations available. If you keep below 300HP, a modified bus trans would probably hold up OK. The Honda engine/trans combos are light, probably not too expensive, bulletproof, and plentiful.

Keep us updated. This is the kind of vehicle I designed for my senior project, and one day I will build one. I'd like to see what you do.

Ken

[Norwoodx55]

Those buggy guys are sick now. I recently went to Glamis CA. for some dunes riding on the motocross bike and I about freaked out. Talk about aluminum V8, turbo/super charged, long travel, 4 seater fun...OMG. Some of these guys were jumping dunes further than the bikes and quads...with 3 passengers on board. I HAVE to win the lottery before it's too late.