Need Advice on Painting

patroutbum

New guy with a basic question.

Have a 2001 G16 gas that I want to turn into something flashy for my 14 year old granddaughter. She can drive it on the streets where she lives so I'm going to leave the drive train alone pretty much - 13 mph is plenty fast enough. I have steering wheel, aluminum wheels, bumpers and a bunch of other shiny stuff ready to go.

I want to paint it or have it painted and therein lies my question. Without knowing better I had planned to disassemble the body and take it to a friend who has a body shop. Then I read a couple threads here that showed carts being painted while the body is in place. It looks fairly simple to get the body off but having never done it, maybe it's more work than it seems. So before I commence to begin is it easier to just paint it while it's together?

Thanks.....

BGW

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smallblock450sl

Welcome. My 2 cents worth...Take the bodies off for painting. You painter can do a better job. It's not really hard to do. If you question how, we'll be happy to lead you thru it. Good Luck Dave PS-lets see before/during and after pictures.

patroutbum

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm gonna' start the disassembly in a few minutes with the front end. Doesn't look like I can get in too much trouble there. The back may be a different story. Is there anything specific that will make it easier or keep me out of trouble? I will take some pictures.

Thanks again.....

smallblock450sl

Once your top assy is off, take the acsess panel off so you can get to the 4 12mm head bolts that hold the seat back/bag rack assy to the frame. Then you have the seat hinge bolts, then the hex head bolts on the side of the body then the choke cable, the "clip" for the f/r handle and the 10mm bolts that go thru the "bag well" plastic. Once the rear body is off..Take the rubber stips and push pins (where the seat bottom rests on), the retainers for the bagwell (some are screw type,some are push pin type) and use a small "punch" to drive out the push rivets that hold on the "spike gaurds" . Remember to keep all the "push pins" they are reusable. Good luck Dave What...no pictures?

rusty

Welcome to the forum patroutbum.....................

patroutbum

Pictures. Before and before + 1. Front end came right off.

In the first front end shot you can see that the right front wheel had a mind of its own and while driving, the cart had a burning desire to make a right turn. In the last pic I had "aligned" the front end which not only convinced it to go straight but most of the tire was touching the driveway.







I'd take the rear body off today but the weather's really nice and it's great fun to bounce this thing through the fields behind the house. Will probably have to wait until Wednesday.

DOOmsman

Patroutbum. what was wrong on your front end? Something bent or loose? The pic of your nose with the cowl off helps me a lot, someone changed the nose on my cart and cut a lot of supports and brackets off, but like you I am waiting for nastier weather
before tearing into it. Keep the pictures coming. GOOD LUCK.

patroutbum

There doesn't appear to be any obvious damage and I didn't find anything loose.

All it took was a few turns on the tie rod to get the right wheel kind of lined up. I don't have a maintenance manual so I'm not sure how much, if any, toe in is appropriate. Unless someone tells me differently I plan on using just a bit of positive toe for better straight-line stability.

patroutbum

The thing has changed a little. Notice the only one smiling is the one I built it for. She wasn't cold at all......

craig tn

Cart looks great!