Hey Tyler. I'm 15 going on 16 and want build a baja bug for the year to come. I have a rough idea of what I going for. I totally agree with the a arm setup u have. The thing I'm most worried about is should I do Chevy 350 or ls engine. Another question is would you recommend the radiator to be in the engine cage. Love the setup keep it on all fours.
Hi Oscar it really all depends on your budget, you also have to keep weight in mind too. The 350 is going to be heavier than an ls engine but a 350 is also in the long run is gonna be a little cheaper to build. If your set on Chevy v8s look at the 5.3l vortec they are cheaper than a ls engine but you still get all the same features besides an aluminum block. One thing to keep in mind with a 350 is the distributor is in the back of the engine and that means cutting out part of the fire wall. With the radiator you could put it in the cage just make sure it gets plenty of a flow! Use radiator fans too they are a must. Just research as much as you can on this stuff I wish I had. If you have any other questions just let me know, good luck with you build man
How well does the cooling work with the radiator in that position? Any major breakdowns on any part of the setup? Pretty much how I want to setup a baja when I build one again.
+Jon Steel (AltxF4) I've had the car driving for about 6 years now and haven't had any problems with the cooling. the radiator gets a lot of air flow to it coming off the roof and around the side of the car. i always keep the fans on and it never gets above 210 degrees even sitting in traffic or out in 100+ desert heat. If i were to make a new car i would try and mount it under the hood just so it's a little more protected. With the radiator i have never had a break down or failure in the cooling system, as long as i don't crash and roll the car lol but i would recommend it mounted the way i did it or fit it under the hood if theirs room.
Tony Michel Thank you yes I did make a jig. When I built my arms I search every forum I could find and saved tons of pics of different arm designs. I choose the easiest one I had the skill to make at the time. So what I did was got the wheels, tires, brakes and spindles all bolted together then placed them at the track width that I wanted the front to be. Then made the center mount with mounts for tabs. I bolted the hemis then centered the bungs on the threads and then I measured how long the arms needed to be, then made a jig off of that. When you have everything made and welded together cycle the suspension and adjust the hemis so you get the least amount of camber change possible throughout the travel. For shock mounts when the arm is at full bump the shock needs to be 90 degrees to the arm and wherever the upper shock hemi ends up at that's where your upper shock mount needs to be. As for shock lengths I guess and went with 2.5 10" coilovers if I were to do it again I would prolly get 8" instead. If you have the budget I would get better quality hemis, at the time I could only afford cheap ones and they bent over time. I've changed to the more expensive ones and don't have any more issues. I hope this all helps and you understand it all. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask good luck with your build
Tyler.. thanks for the reply. I been doing a lot of research on a- arm mod. Do U still have the Baja?. How about the jig u used to make the a-arms? If so i would like to know if u would rent me the jig or help with setting up at a-arm set up. I live 5-10miles from Burbank.. thanks..
+DuneFreaksUnlimited yes i can i have a few old videos of the car, in November I'm taking the car out a few times so i can get some new videos of it in its current setup
+J Sams So far i have about 18k into the car. I've built it a few different times so i ended up putting more money into it. if i were to build a new car you could probably build the same car for around 12k.
Bad ass car!!
Sick set up!
Awesome build
+ThJ Clz thank you
Nice bug. Very similar to mine but mine has a turbocgarged 2276cc engine in it
yup!! that's sexy!! nice build brew!
Hey Tyler. I'm 15 going on 16 and want build a baja bug for the year to come. I have a rough idea of what I going for. I totally agree with the a arm setup u have. The thing I'm most worried about is should I do Chevy 350 or ls engine. Another question is would you recommend the radiator to be in the engine cage. Love the setup keep it on all fours.
Hi Oscar it really all depends on your budget, you also have to keep weight in mind too. The 350 is going to be heavier than an ls engine but a 350 is also in the long run is gonna be a little cheaper to build. If your set on Chevy v8s look at the 5.3l vortec they are cheaper than a ls engine but you still get all the same features besides an aluminum block. One thing to keep in mind with a 350 is the distributor is in the back of the engine and that means cutting out part of the fire wall. With the radiator you could put it in the cage just make sure it gets plenty of a flow! Use radiator fans too they are a must. Just research as much as you can on this stuff I wish I had. If you have any other questions just let me know, good luck with you build man
How well does the cooling work with the radiator in that position? Any major breakdowns on any part of the setup? Pretty much how I want to setup a baja when I build one again.
+Jon Steel (AltxF4) I've had the car driving for about 6 years now and haven't had any problems with the cooling. the radiator gets a lot of air flow to it coming off the roof and around the side of the car. i always keep the fans on and it never gets above 210 degrees even sitting in traffic or out in 100+ desert heat. If i were to make a new car i would try and mount it under the hood just so it's a little more protected. With the radiator i have never had a break down or failure in the cooling system, as long as i don't crash and roll the car lol but i would recommend it mounted the way i did it or fit it under the hood if theirs room.
This is nice and I bet it is fun.
Hi did u buy that a arm conversion kit or made your self sorry new to this I have couple quads but want to take on a Baja bug project
How much did this cost??? I definitely want a baja bug in the future and im just curious as to how huge of a hole this would burn in my pocket.
Nice a-arm Baja. Any pointers ? I would like to do something like what u have on mine. Did u make a jig for the a-arms?
Tony Michel Thank you yes I did make a jig. When I built my arms I search every forum I could find and saved tons of pics of different arm designs. I choose the easiest one I had the skill to make at the time. So what I did was got the wheels, tires, brakes and spindles all bolted together then placed them at the track width that I wanted the front to be. Then made the center mount with mounts for tabs. I bolted the hemis then centered the bungs on the threads and then I measured how long the arms needed to be, then made a jig off of that. When you have everything made and welded together cycle the suspension and adjust the hemis so you get the least amount of camber change possible throughout the travel. For shock mounts when the arm is at full bump the shock needs to be 90 degrees to the arm and wherever the upper shock hemi ends up at that's where your upper shock mount needs to be. As for shock lengths I guess and went with 2.5 10" coilovers if I were to do it again I would prolly get 8" instead. If you have the budget I would get better quality hemis, at the time I could only afford cheap ones and they bent over time. I've changed to the more expensive ones and don't have any more issues. I hope this all helps and you understand it all. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask good luck with your build
Tyler.. thanks for the reply. I been doing a lot of research on a- arm mod. Do U still have the Baja?. How about the jig u used to make the a-arms? If so i would like to know if u would rent me the jig or help with setting up at a-arm set up. I live 5-10miles from Burbank.. thanks..
How much cash do you have in this baja and did you build your self or did you buy already build? And how long did it take to build?
do you think you can make an off road vid. i would like to see how it does or even make a pull on the engine ? .... i would like to do the same set up
+DuneFreaksUnlimited yes i can i have a few old videos of the car, in November I'm taking the car out a few times so i can get some new videos of it in its current setup
If you don't mind me asking, how much total would it cost to make something like this?
+J Sams So far i have about 18k into the car. I've built it a few different times so i ended up putting more money into it. if i were to build a new car you could probably build the same car for around 12k.
Nice build. Where are you located? If your close id like to take a look at your A-arm setup. Id like to do that myself.
+jesse sadler i'm located in Burbank CA
Cool. Just saw your comment. I'm in El Centro.
Tyler Smith hello, do want to sell it??
Who or where did you get your suspension from
I built the front suspension myself.
I'll be getting a 69 baja bug here soon I gotta go to my uncle's and get it
@@danamedellin2842 very cool enjoy your new build
I have a bug but it needs a motor and where I live no one work on them can anyone help me
Badass