G1 bumper and tow hitch

[rivertime]

First off........please don't laugh. I'm no fabricator or welder. My machine is one of those little crappy $100 Chinese flux core welders and I'm not that great a welder to boot. Put it this way. None of my welds would pass any kind of inspection. That being said.

When I got the cart some of the guys here pointed out to me that it had no rear bumper..............and so it begins. Trip to the local steel supplier and a little dumpster diving for scraps. Found $13 worth of stuff and enough to do my project. It's probably too light of gauge, but it's cross braced and has lots of attaching points. The speed in the RV park where I spend my summers is 5 mph so nothing catastrophic is ever going to happen. Worst case the tongue of the trailer will fall into the dirt road and stop.

I may make it out of some heavier material, but for this summer I think it'll do.

Before with no bumper.



With bumper. I know....pretty unimaginative. Couldn't figure out a way to do it and still be able to clear the bumper when tilting the body. The body only misses the bumper by 1/8" now when tilted up.

My girlfriend and I liked the aluminum diamond plate added by a previous owner and I worked around it. Not sure what I'm going to do with the back. More seats? Maybe some kind of truck box or bed to carry stuff in. Don't know yet. Hoping the future needs will reveal themselves.



With hitch. Wish they hadn't hacked off that 2" strip of fiberglass like that. Don't know what they were thinking there.



Pulled the boat around the block a couple times. These little carts have lots of power. I was amazed at how well it pulled it. The cart seems to sit nice and level with the tongue weight on it.





She sits a little tail high with nothing on it. I had to drop the front end a bit to get rid of some positive camber so it's not level when at rest, but for tow duty it works out great. Trailer has about 75 lbs of tongue weight.

[chuddly]

looks good to me

[0517murphy]

I really like the looks of this cart. real sharp

[1320n8]

Like 0517murphy said, like the looks of your cart. Paint graphics is like they did the late 60's cars and the stance is great. Back bumper is great and not allot money in it....that is the best way to do it....thanks for sharing....

[rivertime]

Thanks fellas. It was fun doing it. I do need to get a better welder some day though. I like making stuff and it would look better if made with better equipment. The paint was in pretty rough shape when I bought it, but I took a 4" buffing wheel and some compound to it and it came around pretty well. Fortunately you can't see all the blems in the pictures. Near as I can tell it's original paint (or gelcoat). I was gonna paint it, but girlfriend talked me into trying to save it. It'll never win any shows but will work for our needs.

[sho305]

Looks great! You could try to find something like a garage door seal/etc and run it around that bottom to the diamond plate to close it up. Just an idea. I built a dump box on mine for utility use it works great, I can ride a couple people on it but since they sit back a little more I have to take it easy the tires will rub. But I don't have much demand for people moving anyway. IIRC those were gelcoat. You also have to lock the body down if you put weight on the back.

[rivertime]

Thanks. They always look better in pictures though.

I was thinking along those same lines (garage door seal). I'd like to do a box or cage type deal on the back, but be able to take it off and put a seat on. Kind of make a convertible out of it and be able to change it up as the mood suits. Also want to do a gun rack and area to store ammo and other shooting accessories. I like to shoot sporting clays and it's nice to be able to carry all your crap around the course. Also plan to use it for quail hunting next fall.

[haus513]

I really like the stance of that. What are the chrome / medal things coming out the side? Ram air?

[rivertime]

Originally Posted by haus513

What are the chrome / medal things coming out the side? Ram air?

Yupper I guess so. According to the previous owner, the guy that owned it before him put em on there. Might not be such a bad idea since the motor is air cooled, I live in Arizona and for 4 months it's in the 100 degree range every day.............all day.

Originally Posted by sho305

IIRC those were gelcoat. You also have to lock the body down if you put weight on the back.

Figured it was gelcoat. If it was paint I probably would've burned through when buffing. It's laid on nice and thick which is why I decided to try and save it.

I've been making plans to lock the cowl/body down on it.

I never even noticed until seeing these pictures. It matches the motorhome colors. Wish they would have gelcoated the motorhome. All my stickers are cracking and peeling off because of our intense heat out here.