G1 build-Why not, right?

cjpowell

Hi, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment and some great information from all the good folks who contribute to this site. I figured I should put some stuff up too.
I just picked up my first gas cart-a Yamaha G1. 81' I'm told. I'll confirm that once I bring her home. I have some really cool ideas for it. I'm not a planner nor a perfectionist (speller,ect...). Sometimes I just try stuff to see what happens. I'd like to post some pics and thoughts as I go though and make some changes. I don't know how involved I'm going to get. I'll probably just start taking stuff off and see where she takes me. I do know that I want to do a 6" lift. That should lead to some other things I'm sure. I famously start projects with VERY little knowledge or research. I kinda feel like if I truly knew what I was getting into, I just wouldn't. So here I am-dumb and doin' it! This has worked for me through a 71 Toyota FJ40 rebuild and a 81 Toyota FJ60. This did NOT work for me with a 59 Land Rover Series 1. That one beat me up bad. Luckily I got such a good deal when I bought it, that I was able to off load her for a pretty penny more than I paid. Long story short, I'm done with trucks, on to carts!
A little background on me-I live in Central Florida with my very understanding wife and two children-10/5. Camping brought us to golf carts. I also have a G2 battery cart. I let my son drive it around the yard and now it looks the part. Maybe someday soon I'll redo the G2.
Without further a due I present you with my soon to be new obsession. I got her for $600.00. She runs so it seemed reasonable to me. Bringing her home soon, so please check back often!
Oh yeah, I'm "cart poor". I had to make some concessions with wifey. I can not out build my wallet. I'll be doing a lot of things on the cheap. No big purchases until I've put the money in my "cart account" after all the family expenses. She keeps me in check. Luckily, I've got $300.00 with Jake's name on it sitting there already for the lift!
Thanks-Chris

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BGW

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slonomo

Welcome aboard! Well if it runs and drives you are doing good already. A little spit and polish and she'll be good as new....well, maybe not new, but good enough to cruise the backyard and campground!

I like the utility bed!

cjpowell

Thanks a lot! I'm pretty excited about it. I see her with 12" rims and 23" tires, and a modified cowling. Maybe even a wrap. I will also be outfitting the cart with additional seating. It will be unique, that's for sure. I should have some more photos to post in the next couple of days. I'm definitely going to dive right in.

cjpowell

I got the cart home and started tearing her down. So far, no unpleasant surprises aside from realizing that a lot of the nuts and bolts will need replacing. I cleaned and sanded the frame up front and got a coat of primer on board. For as old as this G1 is, it looked very good under the hood. Virtually no rust.
Can anyone help decipher this serial number? It really doesn't match up to the web sites I've tried to use to reference. 131-162683.
I ordered a orange sheet of urban camouflage from a company on Ebay called metro styling. It's a wrap. It was $22.00. If it works, I'll be psyched. I had a pretty good experience decaling my motorhome, so I'll give this a go for the cowling. I'm going to trim it down pretty significantly. I want a little newer look. (Sorry purists).
I've started to rob from my G2. With the price of parts, I'm thinking it's probably not a bad idea to take here and there. The G2 is just about worth the price of the batteries, so... The first things to go where the wheels. The existing tires would not even inflate. I had to swap all wheels to get her on the trailer. Once I get the lift done I'll be beefing up the tires. The G2 will get her bling back then. I also swapped the steering wheels. The G1 had a bend to it. Now it has a nice aluminum wheel.
The frame will be getting a few coats of gloss black in a few days.
The headlights where shot and the wiring was fried. I was going to run new stuff anyway. My son has a real obsession with vehicle lights of all types. I knew the existing ones weren't going to fly, even if they did work. I picked up some 4" Harbor Freight LED reds and some Halogen headlights. I don't know if the reds are going to work. I'm still trying to figure out how the rear seats are going in. I'm leaning toward a flip bench seat in the bed. It will be backward facing. When riding four people, the tail gate will be down. I might put my red lights on the inside of the tailgate so when it's down, you will be able to see them. I'm going with a step bumper type hitch to help the people in the rear get in. Again, still in the conceptual phase with all that.
More to come in a couple of days.

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yamarancher

The 1 might be a J, J31 would be an 84. I see it has the boost bottle like mine also. but the drive clutch looks to be a later model. hope this helps .

cjpowell

Yeah, I can see that the 1 probably is a J. Thank you! The clutch cover is huge, and it didn't look like others that I've seen on BGW.
With that being said, I'm trying to anticipate the frame/clutch issue when lifting the cart. If I can't modify the cover then I think I will just remove it. I'm not a good welder/fabricator so I'm going to leave the frame alone for now in that regard. I'll just have to keep it clean.

cjpowell

Lets see, where are things?
So I've trimmed the cowling down. I think with some nice fender flairs it will look good.
Amazing what a pressure wash can do to! Engine looks great. I'm thinking of painting the muffler.
Lift kit has arrived and is installing nicely. I took the shocks that came with her and gave them some paint. Gloss black and the coils yellow.
I've been thinking about a front bumper. The original is shot. All dented up. I'm thinking about using 1" conduit bolted to the bumper mounts. I'm not a welder, and I think this will be plenty rigid for what I want to do. I'm thinking a tubular "frame" of some sort over the cowling to support a windshield. This will give me a sturdy place to anchor to and give the cart a mean, rugged look. Even if it is all window dressing. The fact is I'm in Florida. I'd have to travel 100 miles to find even a 10 degree incline. If I was out west, or up north I would be much more interested in getting real structural support from my "roll bars" for lack of a better term. Maybe WAY down the road I'll upgrade to some real bars. For now however, I'm ok with the conduit idea.
Oh yeah, I pulled the seats and looked into getting them recovered. Of the places I tried, I couldn't even get a return phone call. I decided to pull the bench seat from the G2 and use it.
I haven't hit any snags yet. (fingers crossed)

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mrtbone49

wise makes boat seats that are perfect for G1...fyi...lookin good

cjpowell

Thanks for the tip on Wise boat seats. I have a G2 that I'm kind of dismantling piece by piece for use on the G1. I went ahead and used the bench seat from it. I wanted to go with a bench so we could go three wide up front in we wanted. I am using boat seats in the back for passengers though. When I get the G1 done and refill the coffers, I'll start the rebuild on my G2. I grabbed a couple of shots from the web of other carts that kind of pointed me in the bench seat direction. The last shot is close to where she is now. I'm still figuring out how the rear seats will work best.

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cjpowell

Status update-I've been hard at it!
I cut the cowling down, and am configuring a roof mount system using 1" emt conduit. I like the conduit to design with because it is like playing with Tinker Toys. You can just try different things with the turn of a screw.
I ordered a small "wrap" piece from Ebay the other day. I did the cowling. I bought the smallest size 12x48 for $22.00. The job would have been a lot easier with a bigger sheet. As long as you are not right up on the cart, it looks OK.
From where it is now, I'm going to make some changes. I plan on changing the light placement and adding a windshield. Since there isn't much to anchor to, I'm going to work from the front bumper mounts. The windshield "structure" will wrap the cowling and then up. It should look like a combo bull bar/windshield mount. It looks sweet in my head! lol
Oh, also ordered the fender flairs. I want to buy some 23" tires and some nice off set 12" rims to complete the look. I am selling a motorcycle to raise some capital. Until then, I have the G2 low profile wheels on her. I think it looks a little silly, but it is temporary.
I get to mess with it today, so we shall see what we come up with. I'll try to post progress pics tonight or tomorrow. I think it's starting to turn into a Buggie Gone Wild!

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