Found an 85 EZ-GO Marathon gasser

[rjc799]

Sorry OP, thread jack over.

[Plato_99]

Wow, just got home from work and read all the posts since this morning, a bunch. Here I go....

Brew..I really appreciated the Monroe shock thing. I read your reply about using Monroe shocks on the way home from work and stopped into an Auto Zone parts store. They don't carry Monroe shocks but we cross referenced the Monroe Part number you listed and found the identical Gabriel shocks. Price was $19 each. Figured it wasn't worth the time and gas to hit the other parts stores so I ordered them. Will be in tomorrow afternoon, I will return the EZ-GO shocks I bought yesterday. Thanks for the tip!!

My pile of parts is growing, ready to be installed hopefully over the long weekend.

Also stopped into the EZ-GO store up the road from my house and looked into the leaf spring upgrade you mentioned. Something isn't right. They had pre and post 88 leaf springs both in normal and heavy duty. The leafs on my 85 Marathon measure 19", the later model leafs you mention are all shorter measuring 17". I measured them in the store. I looked at the catalog and 19" leafs are the longest, later models are all shorter. Am I missing something???

This got me thinking...There is a leaf spring shop about 10 miles from me. Do you think it would be worth it to remove my stock leaf springs, take them there and have them make me up a set of 1" or 2" longer springs? Maybe use heavier duty springs or add a helper (3rd spring) while they are at it?

I hear you guys on the overspends and miss spends! Seems like by the time I get done with this buggy I will have replaced almost everything but the brakes (haven't removed the drums yet so maybe them too). I enjoy doing this, I get a sense of accomplishment from taking an old piece of machinery or vehicle and bringing it back to life...I don't get that from buying new. You should see some of the projects I have waiting for attention!

What I intend to do with this buggy is get everything replaced and done and everything working. Once everything is welded, banged out, ground down, drilled, fitting right and working I'll strip the whole thing down to the bare frame, sandblast it, paint it flat black, then reassemble. I'm going to spray paint the body military flat olive drab with a military woodland cammo pattern (similar to military vehicles). Maybe I'll even stencil some military vehicle numbers on the sides. I've done this in the past and they look really cool. Wonder how a gun mount swivel on the rear rack would work for mounting a gun for popping woodchucks??

I don't care if I can't hit 25mph with this buggy, that's not it's purpose, it's going to be used solely for hauling tools, pulling farm carts, and pulling orchard spray tanks between fruit trees.

I have another question...do you think I will have any trouble with rubbing with 12" tires and 2" spacers? Should the wheel spacers be different lenghts front & back?

RJC799: you can do a mini-thread jack of my thread anytime! LOL It wasn't bad, I'm learning a lot from you guys.

[jcgonzal]

Any updates on the cart? I'm excited to see how she's progressing!

[Plato_99]

Cart is pretty much done except for rebuilding the motor, have a complete rebuild kit waiting all I need is the time. It runs but not good, usable though. This weekend I need the cart to haul logs so the rebuild is going to be put off again.

Here's what I did so far.

1. disassembled pretty much everything, cleaned it up, oiled, greased and painted anything underneath flat black.

2. Replaced front wheel bearings and seals on both sides.

3. replaced both king pin bushings.

4. Disassembled the rear brakes, cleaned everything, oiled all the moving parts and put it back together & adjusted. Brake shoes are like new so i reused them.

5. Reapolstered the seat and two seat back cushions with black granite marine grade vinyl from Joann's Fabrics.

6. Bought 4 12-22x8 Kenda Bear Claw tires mounted on 3" offset rims.

7. Added 2.5" wheel spacers

8. Replaced original front leafs with new HD leafs that are 1" longer .

9. Didn't like the shock extensions that came with the 5" lift kit so I replaced the shocks with Gabriel car shocks that are the correct length.

10. Installed a 5" lift.

11. Painted the body with Rustoleum Cammo spray paint flat army green.

12. Painted the white rims flat black.

13. Build a rear cargo box and painted it army flat green.

14. Painted the entire undercarriage flat black.

15. Fabricated and mounted a trailer hitch with a 5" drop.

16. Disconnected the governor & rear beeper.

17. Pulled the pumpkin cover, checked it out..everything looked good, replaced the cover and refilled with oil.

18. Installed a small winch under the cargo box in the golf club bag cutout. The winch is a really useful accessory.

19. Mounted ATV rotatable spotlights on the front and rear. Really usefull!!

Next on the list:
rebuilding the motor

tearing both clutches apart and rebuilding or replacing with a 28 degree unit

Other than this stuff there isn't much left to do. I think I have about $1,500 invested, this is just an estimate. I saved every invoice but haven't added them up yet. The cart looks really cool painted flat army green and flat black, looks just like a military vehicle. I've had lots of people driving past the garage, stopping and asking if I want to sell it. I've been saying no but I'm starting to reconsider, I might ask $3,000 and take $2,500, not bad for something I got for free. If nobody wants it I'll keep it and use it, my problem is lack of garage space....too many toys, not enough room.

These golf carts are super easy and fun! Time for my next project....thinking about looking for a used 4 wheel drive type vehicle like the Polaris 4x4. Carts are great but a 4 wheel drive toy might be better suited for my needs.

[islandguy]

So I came across this thread during my regular BGW check, and I was wondering how you faired out? How about some pics of the project