[dhawcash]

alright, ive bored everyone enough with my blabbering about how it was built. its time to see it in action.

in the following video, you'll see it driftin (a few more horses would have made them longer), an off road drive, and a high speed rally stage mimic.

In my next post , will elaborate on how it goes, the pros and cons.

YouTube - Movie landreaper

[dhawcash]

Originally Posted by jeepster

thanks for the pictures.
any points for overcoming the distortion due to thermal contraction? (will be help full for my project)

what equipments were used for the build? (welder, grinder ect.)

how did you notched the tubes? with Multi-Cutter Saw?

Attachment 527496

Attachment 527495

Attachment 527494

i am also buying some tools & equipments for my DIY workshop.

please go through Team-BHP - Announcements in Forum : 4x4 & Off-Roading
because Smilie usage is restricted to TWO per post only.

how we overcame the distortion-
1- got an idea of how much a weld bead would distort by constantly redoing them.
2- before final welding, created the sub structures with just 'tucks' of welding, so we could easily grind them off and restart.
3-while final welding, weld the opposite sides of the tube, while working quickly. the aim being to keep the contraction forces even at opposite corners to prevent bending. do small sections one at a time. do not weld the circumfrence at one go.
4- practice and experience after workin for a while would help.

the equipment used were
- a bosch grinder (670 watt) and the sticker is gone, so can't tell the model number)
-various attachments for the grinder (went through over a 100 cutting wheels, 30 grinding wheels, and 2 polishing brushes)
- a basic electric drill
-a single phase 250 amp welder.

We did not use any tube notcher. cut the tube ends at 45 degree angles (depending on the joint) and it was grinded till it fit perfectly. was the most time consuming and laborious part of the build.

PS: sorry about the smilies

Originally Posted by ashphil

Dhawcash, you are indeed a genius. Imagine building a four wheeler with locally available parts and your own makeshift jigs. Par excellence!
@Mr. Boss- Please take the trouble of posting a thread on the building of your Zero turning radius vehicle. I am sure it will generate a lot of interest with our fellow members
Regards,
Ashok

Thanks ashphil for your appriciation.

[dhawcash]

@ moderators- kindly change the home page link title to this thread, addressing the whole team.I alone do not deserve the credit.
Regards, Dhawal.

[pugram]

great work. Keep the information coming.

[maddy42]

Great work man. One friend of mine had done the same here with a 600 cc engine

Christopher John Warne Cacheris | Phoenix, AZ

Got videos in there too

[SRK]

@dhawcash: Thats a great looking buggy.
You've made good use of the resources available.
How much did the whole project cost you?

By the way is your college an SAEIndia Member?
If yes, you could have taken part in BAJA SAEIndia competition.

One reason for being in that competition would be the that you need to flow certain rules and have to provide reports on the project. Its basically a brief introduction about how things work in the real industry. Also the pressure due to deadlines and from the competition is something else.

Most of the things that you have done in this project have to be done for the event too. Its just that the project would have costed you a bit more.

[headers]

Good effort!

But you are restricted by 2WD and no low range GB. Using power / momentum alone, is not the key. However a commendable effort from final year engineering students!

Congratulations!

[dhawcash]

Apologies for my long absence from the forum.

Good effort!

But you are restricted by 2WD and no low range GB. Using power / momentum alone, is not the key. However a commendable effort from final year engineering students!

Congratulations!

You are absolutely right sir, glad you mentioned it. The present setup is good for softroad work and some highspeed trail driving only.

during offroading, even i felt the need for a crawler ratio, and a diff lock [especially while climbing steep slopes, where the present setup tends to cause wheelspin and the vehicle digs in]. and given the weight distribution of the vehicle, i believe addition of these two features alone without 4wd would do wonders to the vehicle's abilities. And a winch would ensure that you never get stuck.

Nevertheless, its quiet fun and challanging negotiating toughterrain using momentum and power and commonsense alone.

one plus point of the light weight was, that the vehicle's front end can be lifted by two people easily and the vehicle can be 'shuffled' to take a stuck wheel out of a rut.

emphasising more on the driving experience, the vehicle feels quiet peppy and agile. pulls away smartly in any gear, and there is very little wheelspin during a fullbore launch in 1st gear, as the knobbies dig in and grip pretty well.the gear ratios are taller than a stock maruti 800 (due to larger tyre diameter).
However, during fast offroad driving , it tends to run out of breath in 3rd and 4th gears. a shorter final drive should solve the issue, as will some old school power mods.

the front suspension is on the stiffer side, but the ride quality is descent as the driver is positioned almost in the centre of the wheelbase, reducing the amplitude of bumps effectively.

the steering's quiet light, and the handling would remind you of the early 'widowmaker' porsches. It understeers at first ( Ribbed front tyres would improve that) and then gently lets the tail out. Definitely not meant for the average joe drivers, and needs fast reflexes while driving fast. and also porsche driving rules apply (unless u want to have some fun). finish your braking before a corner, else be ready to go sideways.
Talking of brakes, the brake bias has been set towards the rear wheels, which have more traction by virtue of their tread design, and the weight distribution.
the long wheelbase makes the vehicle quiet stable in a straight line.
Although the vehicle is aggressive in nature, it is in no way uncontrollable.

Ive taken it for drives around my place, which includes terrains like loose-rocky mountains of the aravali range, some sand dunes, and some jungles with uneven patches of hard loose soil, plus a Dam. the vehicle negotiates the terrains with ease, although you have to keep some momentum for the tricky parts. have regularly taken 2 feet high jumps off a particular curb at speed . it comfortably climbed a 52 degree slope on the face of a dry dam using momentum (measured the angle using a gravitational angle finder)and was able to take a U-turn on the face of the slope. The only things missing are a Low range gear, a Diff lock , and a winch, addition of which would make it much more capable.

Another concern is the lack of articulation for the front wheels. Correct me if im wrong, but i think thats okay as articulation is required during off-roading to make sure the wheels stay in touch with ground and keep transferring the torque. But this being a Rwd vehicle, a wheel in the air during off-roading should't pose much of a problem ( except for steering traction maybe)

PS: fellow BHPians, please feel free to drop in for a drive


dhawcash: Thats a great looking buggy.
You've made good use of the resources available.
How much did the whole project cost you?


The whole project cost us almost 80,000 bucks (only parts and machinary rental, as no outside labour was involved)

[dhawcash]

I am late. as usual. thought of sharing some pics.





Tyndall Effect. as demonstrated by Landreaper






Blessings are important. First time it hit the road on its own power. Notice the LOUD exhaust.


was forced to do this by passionless college faculty who claimed a car is supposed to have bodywork. converted into a trackcar.yeah, Im no Giugiaro.
The low pros made the handling even sharper!

[muditgrover]

Saw your build at Auto Fair 2013, Jaipur.. Really nice work. Finishing can be better though..

Thanks

[dhawcash]

Originally Posted by muditgrover

Saw your build at Auto Fair 2013, Jaipur.. Really nice work. Finishing can be better though..

Thanks

Thanks Mr. Mudit.

I had no role in the displaying of the vehicle at the jaipur Auto fair, and the vehicle was displayed there without my consent.

Im sure the vehicle is in a pretty shoddy condition right now, as it is being held by my ex-college and worked upon by other - dare i say- incompetent students. they have managed to put on horrible seat covers, and the body work was stripped and put back on even more shoddily as the college uses it sometimes whenever they see an opportunity to promote themselves. rest of the time it just gathers dust, and many parts including the switchbox and wiring were manhandled and replaced shoddily. I came to know that they did not even bother to put back the timing belt's cover after getting the engine serviced by a local mechanic.

It horrifies me to imagine what bullshit they might have told you about the vehicle if you had a talk with the guys displaying the vehicle.

Attention to detail? these guys simply do not know what that means. rather unfortunately.