Club Car DS new build, will call it Pinkie

[Outty800]

I recently received a Club Car DS(? more on that later) for free through an estate. The car is in "good" condition but in need of a complete overhaul! The batteries are all split on the top (over charging, freezing?), I did get it to hold enough of a charge to drive it almost all of the way around the yard. The body is painted a horrible shade of pink that even my wife and daughter hate. I am not sure of the year, the fourth and fifth numbers in the VIN are 94 but the preceding letters are VZR which I cannot cross reference to anything. There is one other thing that confuses me about the cart. The rear fender flares are the same size as I see molded into a DS body but these are separate parts that are stuck or glued on. Pictures will describe. I have been lurking in the forum for a while and have figured out what I am going to do with the drivetrain and think I know what I am going to do with suspension. I plan on a 6" A-arm lift, have not yet selected tires and wheels but I do know they will be street radials as we will be using it as a neighborhood runabout and I do not want to listen to knobby tires!
Any input or suggestions are appreciated! Thanks

[Mooncarter]

Hello Outty. to BGW!

Couple things. Pretty sure that is an early 1980's DS. I think that is a fiberglass body and those fenders are stock. I think that cart probably came with the multi-solenoid setup and has been changed to a V-glide. I don't think that is the original vin. If so it was more than likely sold as a specialty vehicle.

Of course, that body could have been put on a newer chassis.

[jclark138]

Welcome!

[Outty800]

Originally Posted by Mooncarter

Hello Outty. to BGW!

Couple things. Pretty sure that is an early 1980's DS. I think that is a fiberglass body and those fenders are stock. I think that cart probably came with the multi-solenoid setup and has been changed to a V-glide. I don't think that is the original vin. If so it was more than likely sold as a specialty vehicle.

Of course, that body could have been put on a newer chassis.

The body appears to be plastic, not fiberglass.

[Outty800]

Is there any other place I can locate a VIN on the cart? I agree that it looks as if it has has a lot of work done to it over the years, at this point there is no way to know what I am actually working with but will just build up from where I am.

I noticed that there are suspension kits that look the same but are different from one year to another, what is the difference in DS suspension kits? They all look like they would work on this cart.

Thanks for any input.

[jakesnake27]

I kinda like the pink

The typical place on a DS for the serial number is under the dash behind the go pedal. Close to the middle of the dash. Do you have a metal tag riveted to the frame there?

[Jake_Daddy]

So mine is an 88 or 89 and had the identical fender flares, roof, cup holders, dash and drive system to that, it looked identical outside of that horrid color. It’s the vglide where all the high amps run through the pedal assembly. I can’t remember if the front was plastic or fiberglass but definitely the main body was fiberglass. That vin looks nothing like mine though, it’s under the dash near passenger side.

I ran that drive system for the first 3 years of ownership and while it’s not the most efficient it is super reliable and easy to fix. Have fun with it!

[fsu1tm]

Like Jake_Daddy, I have a 1990 that looks exactly the same too (except for pink). Mine had the VGlide and resistors but has since been upgraded to 500A Alltrax. If Outty is planning on a 6" lift, he needs to plan on getting rid of the VGlide and resistors. Moving to a 58V lithium setup with a 500A Alltrax would make that cart sweet.

[Outty800]

Yes, I am planning on a 500A Alltrax with a Shunt motor. I spoke to Chuck at Electric Motor Products and he convinced me that is the way to go. I had to agree once I read more about it. His prices are competitive and I am convinced he knows what he is talking about. I was planning on going with 48V Trojan batteries. What kind of cost would I look at for Lithium?

[Outty800]

Made some progress this weekend. Removed the body and the batteries. Scuffed the body down, went to apply a guide coat for and realized I do not have any reducer for the epoxy primer I have sitting in the cabinet. Just moved to a new area and with the COVID restrictions, it looks like I will need to order online. Here are pics of the progress, and one of my best helper doing her thing!

An additional note: This is a FrankenCart as suspected. The front body is plastic and the back is fiberglass.