Stretching, and re-shocking my cart

[E-Z-RIDER]

Howdy folks,

I went through an awful time with my computer in the last two days, only to end up re-installing all new drivers, and getting rid of intrusive programs and popups that took the thinking ability of the puter away.
All seems well with it now and I'm back to normal thanks to a few people and this wonderful site.

Hats off to the program here.

In a few previous threads I got to know a few people and their projects and learned some things that I am now applying to my own cart.

Yesterday I installed two longer front shocks to accommodate the 3-1/2 inch lift I put on a while ago, and today the extension via two heavy duty springs from another model is going to be installed along with the new rear shocks (which may not work out, but we'll think of something that will if it wont )

I should have some pics to upload later that will hopefully help some of you if you want to install similar changes to your carts.

For me the object is to modify without too much cutting and re-building of bodies or frames but still make a cool looking cart.

Take care, E.Z.

[E-Z-RIDER]

Ok, here we go,

20151223_142824_resized.jpg

For the 2-3" front axle stretch, I bought two heavy duty extended springs that will fit late 80's to early 90's EZ-GO Marathon and probably more, but that's all I know.
EZ-GO P/N 709889G03. (thanks for the info ironmonkey.)

You can see that they are just a bit longer than the stock ones, the picture just makes it look longer than it is.
My cart also has a 3-1/2" lift kit on it, so I wanted buy the longer shocks to match instead of using the lift bracket.
That decision also left me with two lift kit brackets that will come in handy later. I'll use them to make bottom shock mounts out of.
You can see the longer shocks mounted also.

20151223_143010_resized.jpg

Dismounting the old springs amounts to simply removing the 14 bolts that hold them in, drop the axle and re-install the longer ones, then reverse your brain and re-install the axle.
Took me an hour and one beer.

20151223_150617_resized.jpg

Axle bolted back on, and the lift brackets will be bent so they can be welded on the rear outside against the hub bracket and the axle.
The old original shock mounts, which I bent forward, will mount a bush bumper later.
The bumper will move up and down with the axle just so people can ask questions.

The shocks can be mounted in such a way as to help a bit against bump steer and will have a wider reach so they won't hit the sharp corners on the spring mounting plate, and also making the shock action a touch smoother.

Well that's it for now, it's time for a beer, I'll be back.

Take care, E.Z.

[ironmonkey17]

Looking pretty good..( I'm just wondering what you would of accomplished with 2 beers) glad to see you got your computer up and running..

[E-Z-RIDER]

Originally Posted by ironmonkey17

Looking pretty good..( I'm just wondering what you would of accomplished with 2 beers) glad to see you got your computer up and running..

ironmonkey,

Lol, two beers would have built me a 100 mile an hour rocket

I have no idea why I got so interested in doing the cart, but the beer helps.

These carts are more fun than a bucket full of oiled monkeys, but I do not like 4 wheelers, funny huh?
I got lucky with the shocks, the folks at *** quest were really good and interested to find me exactly what I needed. and the ones they came up with were almost an exact fit for what I had in mind.

The only thing I had to do the rear ones was to hammer out the steel bushings at the top eyelet so as to fit the mounting stud they go on, but in the process I destroyed my thumb and that stopped me dead in my tracks.

Turns out that the gory bloody mess wasn't as bad as it looked, so I should be back at it today or tomorrow.

The nice thing came when I loaded the cart to take to buddy's place to do some mutual gawking and discussing what all needs to be done yet. I took it for a spin with everything still unfinished, and the buggy took off and performed amazingly well even without the new carb put on it.
it is faster than I remember from about 3 years ago, as it scooted along at what I thought was around 25-30 mph!

Mind you, I may be wrong on that, but I'm not easily impressed, and this thing made me feel pretty happy. I wonder what the factory speed is? I guess I'll look for that info to get a better idea.

Again, thanks for the kind replies, it helped to get the interest up to do the work and mess with it.

Regards, E.Z.

[E-Z-RIDER]

Just quickly,

The complete stretch looks like this in the picture below as compared to the stock axle placement.

The reason I wanted the stretch was that I wanted to put more aggressive and fatter tires on it, simulating the military look, but I'm not sure if I can find tires that will reflect what's in my mind.

The tires I have on it now are not too bad, but I will be looking for 10-12" mags to put on in the spring, but the tire pattern I am looking for seems hard to find.
In any case, here are two pictures of the difference with just the bolt on springs and nothing else done yet.

hmm, pics are not where they should be, back in a bit.

[E-Z-RIDER]

Originally Posted by E-Z-RIDER

Just quickly,

The complete stretch looks like this in the picture below as compared to the stock axle placement.

The reason I wanted the stretch was that I wanted to put more aggressive and fatter tires on it, simulating the military look, but I'm not sure if I can find tires that will reflect what's in my mind.

The tires I have on it now are not too bad, but I will be looking for 10-12" mags to put on in the spring, but the tire pattern I am looking for seems hard to find.
In any case, here are two pictures of the difference with just the bolt on springs and nothing else done yet.

hmm, pics are not where they should be, back in a bit.

Ok, got them,

20151223_150412_resized.jpg

As you can see, the extra couple of inches on the springs makes a big difference, so I should now be able to play with wheel and tire sizes a bit better.

CIMG1320.jpg

The stock axle placement is too tight for what I had in mind.

E.Z.

[ironmonkey17]

I know what you mean on these carts they are very addicting and once you do something and enjoy your upgrade, you start looking for the next upgrade you can do..definitely a big difference in that frontend, by the way did you have to full around with the linkage at all or was it ok, also you mentioned about the speed of your cart I got mine doing 26 mph, I downloaded an app on my phone to check the speed, did you adjust the governor any and use a smaller belt for torque... 25/30 is pretty good for stock motor.
I'll be looking for the next upgrade. catch you later, Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

[E-Z-RIDER]

The same wish to you ironmonkey,

MERRY CHRISTMAS and good beer!

After the stretch, I found that the steering arm on the right hub faces down just a tad, and since the fix for that would be to bend the front of the springs downward enough to make it come level (something I don't want to get into) I will make the center steering arm fit the angle by increasing the dip a bit steeper to lower the steering link.
That should allow things to move with more freedom and no binding.

You were right about the addiction to look for things to do next after finishing a mod, I'm not even done yet and already I'm looking for the next fix lol.
First things first though, if I'm going to spend money, I better do things with a lot of fore-thought so I don't do them twice.

Regards and take care, cheers, E.Z.

[E-Z-RIDER]

Hello folks,
I am presently working on getting all the parts together to increase the rear lift.
Shocks and riser fittings to accommodate longer shocks are being worked on, and with that, I'm looking for heavier and higher coil springs to get an inch or two more height.
I found two 12 inch Polaris 4wheeler wheels with tires (still trying to get the owner to sell them,) and want to get two more so I can play with installing those, probably having to use spacers on the hubs.

Pics will come when I get all parts sorted out and when I carry on with the fitting and mounting stuff.

Happy new year everyone,
Take care, E.Z.

[ironmonkey17]

E-Z-RIDER I used wooden washers that I made for my first lift, , I used them on top so they wouldn't get wet, they worked for a while until I needed to go higher then I used the pipe, a total of 3 inches, one on top and one on the bottom, just dropped them on an the weight of the cart and the springs and shocks held them in place...if you would like, PM me your address and I'll send you the pipe, use all 3 inches or you can just put one on for 1 1/2 inch lift..let me know..