well it should only be different under the skin  the aim is to make it look just like any other buggy except with 150hp power steering abs etc etc ,  rear end might be a challenge  but i have some ideas

i find myself trawling the internet for pictures of buggys and looking at side pods and front over hang



i particularly like the side pods on this  the opening could be just black paint in my case
and looking at the front bonnet overhang i might get away with the  grand vitara chassis rails
time will tell

i can be quite pedantic about how things look and in my experience if you get a line a little off it changes the whole thing, for example on the orange buggy  the front wheel arch has a flat on the top, my liking is for the arch to follow the wheel to make it look symmetrical, is that the right word 




i would need to remodel that something like this




which is why i bought the second hand body so i can chop it up and play around with shapes

last picture should be the second picture but you get my drift

The front wheel arch may end up essentially symmetrically framing the wheel or I think better described as you want the front wheel arch to echo or match or compliment the round tyre shape...

I can describe things but not so sure I could cut the fibre glass such that it remotely enhanced the wheel shape !

Those spoked wheels look so good I hadn't really taken in what the wheel arch was doing....

Quote from: Hugh on January 08, 2024, 06:08:54 PM
The front wheel arch may end up essentially symmetrically framing the wheel or I think better described as you want the front wheel arch to echo or match or compliment the round tyre shape...

those spoked wheels look so good I hadn't really taken in what the wheel arch was doing....

hi Hugh
  yep that sounds right  to me

Hi i have always loved Suzuki jeeps I have had 3 convertible ones great fun and reliable, if you are selling Suzuki things I am looking for a spare wheel for my Suzuki 2020 version ( no longer doing convertible vehicles which is a shame).  Full size or space saver if you have one for sale. Cheers Deb

Quote from: Dipsy Deb on January 09, 2024, 10:54:28 AM
Hi i have always loved Suzuki jeeps I have had 3 convertible ones great fun and reliable, if you are selling Suzuki things I am looking for a spare wheel for my Suzuki 2020 version ( no longer doing convertible vehicles which is a shame).  Full size or space saver if you have one for sale. Cheers Deb

Hi
   everything im selling is suzuki sj based which uses a wheel with a stud Patten  of 5x139.7  your 2020 is to new for me lol it uses 5x114.3 wheels,  if any of mine fitted you could have one for free,  there is a suzuki breaker down Gloucester way im sure he would have one, can find you the details if you want

thanks Andy

he is in evesham not Gloucester 
never bought off him but he is always advertising suzuki stuff

Thanks very much I will give them a shout.  Good luck with the build. 👍

well i did a little tinkering as i had a free hour yesterday,  i was fiddling with the lwb bodyshell and the grand vitara chassis  the front over hang on the chassis which i thought was going to be the problem wasent after all




i end up with around 2" of the chassis sticking out which is fine, i can roll a 2" tube into a curve and make a neat front bumper and attach to this 

its the back end which is an issue it has far more over hang on the chassis than the mk 1 vitara does, in one way it  would be good to use as is as it houses the fuel tank  which means i could make the rolling chassis drivable before the body gets  fitted,   but i would need to either extend the back of the body a bit or disguise it some how maybe with a fg bumper
its this giving me issues



its not a lot to long but enough




mk 1 vitara has far less rear over hang, but i guess thats what happens to vehicles as new versions come out they get longer bigger wider and heavier , 

i think i will be building this on the mk1 chassis so i dont have to alter the chassis at all, wanted to use the mk2 so i had a power steering rack instead of a box but hey hoe

body sits down on the chassis fine and dandy, i know its a lwb but will shorten it down  once i get into it





mk1 chassis rear over hang is 6" less

There was a supercar released not that long ago (cannot for the life of me remember what it was - possibly Ferrari?) that had a set of rear engine fins that almost looked like a set of old 1980's rear window plastic louvres, but upside down - it actually looked pretty cool

It was the first thing I thought about when seeing your rear end before you commented about wondering how to disguise it

Just a thought

Quote from: Dave DND on January 11, 2024, 01:40:51 PM
There was a supercar released not that long ago (cannot for the life of me remember what it was - possibly Ferrari?) that had a set of rear engine fins that almost looked like a set of old 1980's rear window plastic louvres, but upside down - it actually looked pretty cool

It was the first thing I thought about when seeing your rear end before you commented about wondering how to disguise it

Just a thought

any and all suggestions gratefully received, if you find any pictures even better

i found these pic mooching around on youtube, seems to be an engine cover but the shape is quite nice and quite a few buggys have them so i guess commercially made,

i was thinking something like this but wider with the rear lights and number plate built in might buy me 3 or 4" which is probably all i need




and to make one  i was just looking at a vitara front bumper like this





it would need narrowing a touch by taking a bit out of the middle,  then cut the centre lower section out and replace with a diffuser, and the recesses for the front fogs would become the position for round rear fog light
once its chopped and fettled i would take a mould off it  and make a glassfibre one