Quadcart 300

So what happens when two mechanics get bored at work? They build things that are dangerous, crazy, and awesome.

What we used

1988 EZGO Marathon 36v Electric Cart



1994 Honda TRX300FW



First we just stripped everything off down to the bare frame. We cut, chopped, and welded the pieces of the frame such as the entirety of the front end, and the engine cradle.







For the steering (I will get a picture later) we took the idler arm off of a Toyota 4 runner (94), and mounted it to the arm so it could be manipulated by the "throw" arm on the steering box which is then pushed and pulled the rod attached to the stock steering yoke of the ATV.



Brakes were easier to figure out, we got a master cylinder from the junkyard ($30) and after about 100 trips to Napa and advanced, figured out which adapters and lines to use to make the system work.
Note: The ATV we bought did not have front brakes so we had to rebuild the front cylinders and modify existing parts laying around the shop. But hell it works



We had to scrap the Fourtraxx rear axle since it was bent, but with some research we settled on a 1995 Honda foreman rear axle since it had axle tubes to prevent any tangling on the trails.
Note: In order for this axle to work with this engine you have to flip the differential and modify the axle so it spins the right way, unless you intend to have 5 reverse gears and one forward gear. This also requires modifying the swingarm plate where the differential bolts to the swing arm, and having to bend in the swing arm mounting points on the frame since the foreman swingarm is narrower






The shifter was the biggest pain in the arse during this whole process, we used inspiration from another build thread but modified the design so everything was solid instead of adjustable.



And my favorite part, the gas tank. Instead of dropping 200 bucks on an EZGO Marathon fuel tank from a gas version of the cart, we grabbed an old R134A refrigerant tank, beat the sides in using a hammer, and drilled out two holes (one for fill and the other to feed the engine) and inserted a petcock in one, and a bung in the other and then painted it.

Capacity: 3 gallons



And that is where we are so far.



Things left to do:

1) Oil Cooler
2) Cooling fan
3) Relocate Muffler
4) Dashboard
5) Paint
6) Steering wheel (We had to encourage the steering wheel to come off with a hammer, the plastic lost)

Originally Posted by mcdave71 Is the tank going to be able to vent if needed? looks like be dangerous if too much pressure is built up.

Oil Cooler Complete! Still figuring out if we are going to put the cooling fan on it, might be a good idea for when we are just cruising around the neighborhood and not slinging mud, blood, dirt, and rock on the trails. Thoughts and opinions appreciated.

Now onto the pictures!

Part List (All from Napa):
5ft 1/4in Cloth Braided hydraulic line
2x 40inch Brake Line 1/4in Diameter with 7/16 threaded fittings inverted flare
6x 1/4in hose barb with female 7/16 threaded fitting
2x 1/4in, 7/16 threaded inverted flare fittings
1/4 to 3/8 hose adapter
5ft 3/8 hydraulic line (Came with Kit)
1x Transmission Oil Cooler Kit (Advanced Auto parts)

Recommend tools:
Brake Line bender
Flaring tool
Silicone Spray



The first step in all this is to lay out everything in the manner you want it ran on the cart; before bending, cutting, breaking and cussing at anything.

Once you are satisfied cut the exterior oil line that runs from the oil filter to the head and cut it.
(Note: Ensure you have enough line on either side for the flaring process.)
After you need to flare the ends of these two lines so they have an inverted flare on the ends. And make sure you slide the fittings onto the line BEFORE you start flaring. You can typically rent a loaner kit from Advanced Auto for cheap, the entire process takes about 30 minutes.

Bolt the lines back onto the block and adjust the bend, be very careful just like brake lines they can kink if you try to bend to tight so make slight adjustments as you see fit. Attach a hose barb fitting to each line.

I am sure someone is wondering why you would need to run a short section of rubber line from the engine to the brake line instead of just coupling them together. In short the engine gives off "harmonic vibrations" which can cause the brake lines to crack after a while. However the rubber line acts as a shock absorber of sorts.





Now you run your brake lines under the cart, you don't HAVE to have a brake line bender, it just makes the job easier. You can make the smaller tweak bends by hand easy enough.



I didn't take a picture of the underside where the lines went, but I used plumbers tape and self tapping screws to hold the lines in place so they did not hang down waiting to get snatched by something.

Pretty much all you have to do from here is run your hydraulic lines an mount the cooler to the front.



Now I am sure someone has figured out that no one makes a hose adapter/splicer(or at least that I have seen). What i had to do was find two hose barbs with threaded fittings for 3/8 and one for 1/4 that could fit together and voila, a home made adapter. (I found the fittings at WW Lumber.)


THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. ENSURE YOU PRIME/PRE-FILL THE LINES AND COOLER AS THIS MODIFICATION WILL ADD SOME OIL CAPACITY TO THE ENGINE. IF YOU FORGET THIS STEP YOU COULD WIND UP WITH A FRICTION LOCKED MOTOR. WHICH IS VERY, VERY, VERY BAD.