Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Afternoon all - not sure if this is the right forum for this question, so if it's not could someone please shunt this over? Anywho. I was recently challenged to build, of all things, a Warthog: http://www.1pstart.com/wp-content/uploads/.../07/warthog.jpg http://blogs.technet.com/blogfiles/jameson...thog-splash.jpg I've already noted the two major differences between LRs and the Warthog, namely the four-wheel steering and the difference in the chassis. Not really much I can do about all this - if I were to press ahead, it would be 4x4 with only front wheel steering and the chassis would have to remain the same - building a new chassis isn't really an option at this time taking into account funds. But ignoring all this, do you think a very similar vehicle could be built on the chassis of an abused LR110 (the closest fit for the Warthog's general size), with an outer shell of hammered metal and so on? What do you guys reckon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 anything is possible if you have the knowledge. why not use a front axle on the rear for the rear steer? have a look at telehandlers, they have 4 wheel selectable steering, hydraulic admittedly, but don't see why it can't be adapted. good luck if it goes ahead, would like to see a real one about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Doesn't look a million miles off a Dakar, and a V8 rangie would give a cheap and plentiful range of donor vehicles. I wouldn't worry about 4WS, it would be major extra hassle. If it were me, I'd strip a RRC down, stick some sort of cage on and a couple of seats and then find a fibreglass guru like Miketomcat to make the bodywork. I think Jez has an appropriate set of tyres for sale too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 Hi guys, I agree the steering is probably too much hassle, though if there was a 'cheap' way of simply fitting a rear axle on and routing steering through, I'd be very interested to hear! I hadn't considered a Range Rover. I was primarily looking at Defenders and other ex-military stock. I was also originally musing on ust building the cage then hammering out panels from thin steel to get the outer body. Fibreglassing was, however, also considered, since that was the method used on the 'original'. You think glassing it would get a better result? Those Dakars look great - hadn't seen one until today. I'm feeling like I'm on the right track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 What's the vehicle actually going to be used for? You can pick up a range rover for peanuts. You will generally pay a premium for 'ex military stock'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 What's the vehicle actually going to be used for?You can pick up a range rover for peanuts. You will generally pay a premium for 'ex military stock'. I will probably use it in one or two film shorts, otherwise it will probably simply be a display vehicle - take it to shows and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Road legal, or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 Road legal, or not? Road legal would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 You'll pay a lot more and get a lot less with a Defender base vehicle, a rusty V8 Range Rover or Disco will cost you next to nothing, as long as the chassis is OK you can ditch the bodywork and be sat with a nice V8 engine and autobox and discs all round. MPG won't be of concern to you, and the noise will be right B) Likewise, silly size tyres won't matter unless you really intend to spank it about the place off-road. If you *do* intent to spank it about, either limit your tyre choice to less than 35" high (all depends on the scale you go for I spose), prepare to invest in some uprated or spare bits, or start with a different base vehicle. I'd use glass simply because it's much easier to make weird shapes out of, panelling in a cage is going to mean making a lot more of the cage in the first place, and then spending a lot of time trying to make 3D bendy shapes out of flat bits of ali. I'd just make a basic rollover hoop braced well to protect the occupants and give something to join the windscreen & bodywork to, and then do the rest as basically non-structural. Glass still takes some serious skill, don't get me wrong on that one, but the beauty is if you can make it out of cardboard & sellotape, it can be turned into a strong, uniform panel. I'd still get someone with experience to do the glass, and I'd try to make sure that someone is Mike If you intend to drive it on the road, there's a few extra bits to consider - would be daaamn cool though B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Incase you don't know, a stripped down RR chassis looks like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 I apologise for slow responses - all my posts need authorisation before they get published, being a noob and all. Fair enough - cheap Range Rover seems to be the better option. There seem to be plenty of great ones for under £500 and I would imagine a lot of that money could be recouped by selling the body off. From what I can see, the height of the tyres isn't so much of a problem so much as a width, if trying to keep in scale with the 'real thing'. Would wider tyres be a problem/difficulty? What do you think the considerations would be for a vehicle in regards road legality? I plan on including indicators and brake lights etc. What others would there be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 You'll pay a lot more and get a lot less with a Defender base vehicle, a rusty V8 Range Rover or Disco will cost you next to nothing, as long as the chassis is OK you can ditch the bodywork and be sat with a nice V8 engine and autobox and discs all round. MPG won't be of concern to you, and the noise will be right B) I'd agree with that. Also, if you want a wheelbase longer than 100" you could go and use an LSE - this gives you a 108" chassis and, as a bonus, a 4.2l V8. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I would imagine a lot of that money could be recouped by selling the body off. You might need to re-imagine that, the body is almost always rusty and there are so many cheap ones out there the bits aren't worth much. Still a cheap donor though. I've got a RR here you can have for £500 From what I can see, the height of the tyres isn't so much of a problem so much as a width, if trying to keep in scale with the 'real thing'. Would wider tyres be a problem/difficulty? It all depends, wider tyres means wider wheels (but then I'd assumed you'd be buying new wheels & tyres anyway) and can cause the tyres to run the radius arms on full lock, but it's easily adjusted. What do you think the considerations would be for a vehicle in regards road legality? I plan on including indicators and brake lights etc. What others would there be? I'd start with the SVA manual as a worst-case, although if you're not cutting the chassis about or swapping engine/box/axles/steering you will actually only be doing a re-body which means you should be down to basic MOT requirements and the issue of just how usable something like that would be on the road, details like visibility, driving position, and working windscreen wipers are more likely to affect you than the actual legality of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 I would imagine a lot of that money could be recouped by selling the body off. You might need to re-imagine that, the body is almost always rusty and there are so many cheap ones out there the bits aren't worth much. Still a cheap donor though. I've got a RR here you can have for £500 From what I can see, the height of the tyres isn't so much of a problem so much as a width, if trying to keep in scale with the 'real thing'. Would wider tyres be a problem/difficulty? It all depends, wider tyres means wider wheels (but then I'd assumed you'd be buying new wheels & tyres anyway) and can cause the tyres to run the radius arms on full lock, but it's easily adjusted. What do you think the considerations would be for a vehicle in regards road legality? I plan on including indicators and brake lights etc. What others would there be? I'd start with the SVA manual as a worst-case, although if you're not cutting the chassis about or swapping engine/box/axles/steering you will actually only be doing a re-body which means you should be down to basic MOT requirements and the issue of just how usable something like that would be on the road, details like visibility, driving position, and working windscreen wipers are more likely to affect you than the actual legality of it. I dunno, I like the idea of selling off the seats, metalwork and wheels and recouping say, 20-40% of what I paid for the vehicle! Especially if I were to pay only £500 or less! I was literally only planning a rebody, as messing with the chassis just seems like too much overcomplication. The only other issue aside from the wheels being mentioned before would be just how high the thing could be raised. With the gun turret, the vehicle is supposed to hit 3 metres! I'll consider the RR. First things first is finding a place to do the work, which I'm trying to look into now... I think I know someone near Reading who could help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Incase you don't know, a stripped down RR chassis looks like this. Except a rr chassis has a bit more behind the back wheels. I dunno, I like the idea of selling off the seats, metalwork and wheels and recouping say, 20-40% of what I paid for the vehicle! Especially if I were to pay only £500 or less! You would be very lucky to find someone to buy those bits for £200! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Except a rr chassis has a bit more behind the back wheels. Indeed it has, mine had an interview with an angle grinder. The body mounts/outriggers are all 75mm higher in that picture too, but that's beside the point. I paid £165 for the range rover. I have raised £170 from scrapping the back body, chassis sections and selling various components i do not require. Obviously the total build cost is/will be far higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 Thanks for all the replies guys - much appreciated, and a lot to think about! I'm talking it over with my buddy who is helping on the engineering side. We're still torn over which chassis to use. We'll see how things develop on that front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_d Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 When considering the chassis and your build you should think about the front bulkhead. As has been said, the beast looks very similar to a Dakar (I should know I'm building one) so you could follow similar lines by leaving in place the front bulkhead, dash, steering/brake controls, transmission tunnel carrying gear shifts and handbrake and finally the floor pans back to and including the cross member behind the front seats. If you leave all this in place the project fits more easily into the 'rebody' description thereby avoiding SVA. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizla 1 Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I'll consider the RR. First things first is finding a place to do the work, which I'm trying to look into now... I think I know someone near Reading who could help with that. If you need a place near south Reading maybe i can point you in the right direction - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 If you need a place near south Reading maybe i can point you in the right direction - Tell me more! Steve, thanks for the details. I'll pass them on to my engineer and see what we come up with in the sketch design process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizla 1 Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Pm - sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 Pm - sent And replied! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 as will said it's a lots easyer to for funky shapes with fibreglass and filler sticks better than on metal i may be able to asist in the bodywork if you want by all means give me a shout if you want help mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Cooper Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 And a PM to you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 The australian blzzard kit car aint far away from the pic http://www.rhinobuggies.com.au/models.asp It would be a lot easier to mod this than start from scratch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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