'97 48v Club Car

[CCFanatic]

Originally Posted by MarioD.

All very interesting guys. Thank yall very much!

I'm out for the night. Talk at yall tomorrow.

when you can look for ID tag

[MarioD.]

Here you go budd.

I'm thinking of doing a vinyl wrap now instead of trying to paint it. Sounds like a lot more work and experience needed to mess with the armorflex.

Goodnight for real this time!

[jakesnake27]

Looks like a great start Mario! Can't wait to see where you go with it.

[joesam]

Modern Regen controller - good for you!

As a Regen 1 owner, (I'm gonna talk your ear off) here's my thoughts:

1) Your newer GE controller is 300amp vs 225amp original - more tolerant and will definitely benefit by changing to 4ga.battery & motor cables (don't forget the ones leading to the motor). That particular controller is still sold today.

2) My speed with 4ga. is between low 14 to 15mph - with original controller! Faster than most golf course carts for some reason. Your mileage may vary.

3) I noticed your battery hold-downs and J-bolts are gone. They're cheap enough at CC dealers and probably elsewhere. Buy a full set.

4) This next step is *critcal* in my opinion. The connectors on Regen 1 are "less industrial" than in later years. And you have extra ones because your controller has a conversion adapter (see photo below). Buy a bottle of isopropyl alcohol at the drug store and put it in a small spray bottle. Squirt alcohol into the female/socket connectors and plug them in and out a few times. Then assemble them wet. The alcohol will evaporate within an hour or so leaving clean metal to metal connections. Don't do this with batteries connected! I have helped a few Regen 1 owners solve what they thought were serious problems, with this little tip alone! Good idea to do this with the accelerator connection, also (under side passenger floor - assuming yours is pot-box like mine).

5) Yes, you can get a performance motor rebuild from Plum Quick (Mr Golf with his Regen 2 can advise his new speed) - but for now, I think stay with the stock motor and make sure it gets up & running smoothly, first.

Body & finish

I removed my body and wet-prepped with 240-then-400 wet/dry sandpaper and took it to an auto painter for standard primer and black-cherry metallic/clear coat finish. At the time, I didn't know about adhesion promoter which I would use if doing it today - but no matter. 13 years of golf later it still looks like a million bucks. I bought and replaced the front adhesive Club Car badge, but you can also get custom printed ones if you like that kind of thing.

I replaced my seats with bolster (semi bucket-like) seats - but there are very nice stretch and staple-on covers available today. Remove & toss the old vinyl covers, maybe add a sheet of 1/4" foam on top before re-covering to smooth the stretch finish.

The roof on our older carts are a bit lame with a very unfinished looking bottom edge. I dressed the bottom edge of mine with plastic chrome car-door-edge protector stuff you can buy at auto places. Mine happen to be gold/chrome, but I have gold & chrome spoke wheels - so it "goes".

Whew...your job-jar is a bit full, but a very fun & rewarding adventure. Go for it!

[MarioD.]

You are a Regen encyclopedia Joe! Thanks for everything man. I'm gonna put pen to paper today and total up what this project is gonna cost me. Probably not gonna make the wife happy but when I'm done with it, she'll love it too.

I have a good family friend that does auto body work but he still charges us to do work for us. After all he is a business man. I'm still thinking of going the way of vinyl cause I may want to change the color in a couple of years. Maybe not. I don't know.

As for the motor and all that, nothing is in the plans for changing any of it. Why fix what isn't broken? I'll probably upgrade the cables to 4ga but other than that nothing much else.

So vinyl job, pinstripe, wheels (which I'm still not sure if which ones I want to go with), rebuild battery box, upgrade battery cables, and it's all for not without the batteries (Looking at US batteries).

Your right Joe, that is alot!

[joesam]

I replaced my wheels with stock 8" size, but I'm not sure I'd do that again - I think you can get low profile 10" rims/tires that won't rub (don't quote me - I haven't done it). But its what I'd do today, if I had a do-over. I think lifted carts look absolutely great on the road and off-road; but a bit goofy on the golf course...but that's just me. I'm old, so I prefer the low rider stock appearance.

As for W.A.F. (wife acceptance factor) - most of us have mastered mis-reporting (round down 25% on all items, and ignore any items under $75). Better for all concerned. Did you download your manual? Since your doing fairly big rework - I'd suggest removing the body. Allows for serious cleaning and familiarizing yourself with your new toy. Don't be impatient with your work - you'll be happier in the end. Body removal is not hard. Check the manual re: the sliding screw holder things surrounding the front dash band. Also, you'll need a couple (cheap) replacement "plastic rivets" used to hold the body - behind the front bumper.

[MarioD.]

so this evening I am across an add for batteries. The place is selling 6 8v Trojan T875's for $600. Seem like a good deal to yall? I ha e to drive 3 hrs there to get them but might be able to get my boss to take me so the gas will be on the company we work for. Just wandering what yall thought about that.

Also, we (my wife and I, mainly my wife) decided we were gonna do a larkspur blue and white color scheme on her. Soooooooooooooo ya...

sounds good ,, bosses gas sounds great ..lol

[mrgolf]

Don't know how much it hurts, but the date they were made may be several months old. Or when the acid was put in them.