Funco SS2 Baja buggy project....

Actually picked it up on 4/18, but picked it up knowing I wouldn't even be able to get to really looking at it before now. Was thinking about getting a Yamaha WR450F to replace a KLX300R am about to sell, but decided would rather get a 2 seat & 4 wheel project offroad vehicle instead of a project motorcycle. Perusing the Race-Dezert.com classifieds came across a few things that were cool and ACTUALLY affordable. Really wanted a lightweight race buggy that would fit in my small UTV trailer and ended up finding a very decent condition vintage 70's Funco SS2 two seater project. It was an ex-racer and the guy I got it from was building it up for his dad but personal things came up and he can't pursue it anymore.

Main reasons I got it:

- Frame is in very nice shape, only really need to weld up the seam where the original cockpit brace bars were removed.

- Race spec 1776cc engine is in decent shape

- Bus 002 Transmission rebuilt with close ratio gears, top speed good for mid 80'ish mph.

- upgraded driveshafts and tubular race rear IRS arms (3x3 setup I believe) with rear shock setup with 18 different mounting options per side (2 rows of 3 upper mounting hole locations, and a row of 3 lower arm mount positions) - I've mapped out the full extension measurements eye-to-eye just need to map the fully compressed dimensions. So lot's of shock options for running in the rear

- Selling the KLX300R will more than recoup the cost of getting this Funco SS2 Buggy

And the whole buggy only weighs ~ 1200lbs, super easy to roll

Picture from the ad:

Some from when just got it home before I put it in the shop:

I transported the hood/nose in my truck bed just to be safe as it needs work to secure it back to the frame.

So what it needs:

Brake system not currently working, no leaks but no pressure....

Shifter is way beyond worn out...needs refurbishment/replacement

The battery is beyond dead... actually just measured it today at -0.45volts.... so had reversed polarity...

Shocks will need to be refreshed/replaced.

Tires are worn/old... will do for now until it's truly ready to run.

All front race wheel lips (including the two spares) are bent... hold air but bent. Looking at affordable options.

Some of the body Dzus mounting plates are missing, have new ones that it came with which need to be welded on.

needs harnesses for the seats and if keeping seats would need to make helmet rest/supports - but will be replacing the seats (have some new custom PRP suspension seats that I had made for the Yahama Wolverine but didn't work out as their fitment were really for the Yamaha YXZ 1000R and they are barely too wide to fit - base can be modded/adapted to fit this Funco SS2)

And need to finish/verify the electrical.

The general overall plan:

Phase I

1. Upgrade rear brakes to disc setup/keep the drum fronts... looking into the Gray Area Offroad rear stub axle kit and a Tilton screw type adjustable proportioning bias valve to reduce front drum pressure.

2. Get the shifter/seating/steering wheel how it should be

3. redo dash and chassis electrical -  add in horn, proper lighting, and the Lowrance FS-7 Elite GPS unit that was going to mount on the Kove 450 Rally bike... will be inifinitly easier and make more sense to mount on a Baja Buggy.

4a. Fabricate custom rear sail panels, roof panel, easily removable cockpit braces, front skid plate, nerf bars, and spare tire carriers

4b. Paint the body panels.

5. Figure out the basic suspension setup...

6. Fab a new front bumper

And finally down the line...

Phase II

Transmission upgrade... at least a 5 speed, and a little bit beefier because...

Honda K20A3 motor swap... just looking for reliable EFI running... not a built race motor.

Selling off the original transmission and motor should offset much of the cost...

Needs:

That looks like Fun!

Yeah that's a pile of fun there. 

It needs this paint job and aluminum wheels.

In reply to preach :

Iconic... but more for the fun dune buggies/sandrails. This is kind of my inspiration/benchmark for a Baja Race buggy type build:

https://www.motortrend.com/features/1501-1974-funco-ss-ii-that-70s-race-car/

dculberson said:

Yeah that's a pile of fun there. 

TurboFource & dculberson... yeah, have been thinking for a while of a fun and non-complicated/more simple offroad two-seater project car to play with... and maybe make streetable... Can't do the sportscar thing anymore... too much of a chore when you live offroad and are miles from any pavement.

Always wanted one of these as a kid ....

You have the adult kid version!

In reply to Appleseed :

Associated RC10 brings back memories...

Still undecided on how I'd want to paint it, but would like to keep it simple.

Here's spreadsheet I've made for the Funco SS2 two-seater which will keep track of things on - when get time will compress the suspension and take the measurements so can figure out shock envelopes. Green filled cell is where the rear Fox shocks on it are positioned.

I am in unfamilar territory with this buggy - zero experience with air-cooled VWs and torsion suspension setups. Will be researching quite a bit for this project. I have ordered all new shifter bushings/components and the new battery though.

I'm interested in your experience with this, as I'm also a non-vw non-buggy person with a strong interest in someday making a budget attempt at desert racing and always eyeing the inexpensive 1600 buggies.

My dad raced a single seat version in the 70's and in the late 80's, he and I both drove one after his short retirement from racing. Lots of fun! Hope you have a blast! 

This is freakin sweet!

Appleseed said:

It needs this paint job and aluminum wheels.

Yessss!

Actually, before the RC10 era of real suspension, my first RC  car was a Tamiya Sand Scorcher with authentic swing arm snap oversteer rollover action.  I kind of vaguely remember a whole cottage industry of cool parts, most of which seem to be on this car:

Looking forward to this build!!

Super cool rail. Love that it has body work. I used to hate turning the wheel and getting a lap full of sand.

1776 with a 002 will be a nice midpoint on power and gearing.

I don't need another car, especially ACVW, but a rail like this would give me the tingle.

Between previous post and today I had installed pre-filters for the air-filters and Solex and a new, functional battery:

As of today now have a working shifter... got in an EMPI 13.5" short shifter and the bushing and other parts this morning and installed the shifter this afternoon. Took a little while as to get access to the shift rod pin in transmission nose needed to drop the floor, pull the side pods, and a seat.  Actually thinking of just making all new flat body panels from aluminum right off the frame, no need for extra bulk/width of side pods - so much easier to get in/out without the extra width of the side pods. I'm sure another person could use the stock body panels. The shifter will do for now, but there's a bit of flex in the welded in housing for the shifter, metal is a bit thin. Do plan on upgrading to the racing shifter box you weld onto the frame...as it gets rid of the horrible bushing system that deteriorates for a nice rod on bearings & bushings. Shift rod will need to be upgraded as well but will be much more direct with female spline end for the transmission nose which replaces the stock poly-bushing'd U-joint design.

Last night I ordered a QuickCar 6 switch panel with indicators and ignition & starter (#50-866)... besides the ignition, the other 5 switches will be rear lighting, chase bar setup, a DiodeDynamic Series Stage 30" light bar, a pair of Diode Dynamic SS3 PRO fog lights, and power to the Lowrance GPS. Next up is brake system... still trying to decide how to go with it  - which is what I hope to figure out tonight. Also need to order all the lighting and associated bracketry/wiring but can wait a bit on that, not critical for getting it operational right now. More important than electrical updates is the fuel system - when put the new battery in and verified electrical was working (warning lights come on, rear lights work, starter is nice and strong when blipped) couldn't really drain the fuel tank as the fuel flow petcock is stuck in the shut-off position. Will need to get it off and hopefully clean it to free it along with going into the carbs and cleaning if needed. Overall though am pleased with the progress today...

And to end some close up pictures of the rear suspension mounting points, for cataloging/hsitorical purposes...

Left top mounting plate locations (6 positions, last one on lower row behind shock):

Left lower arm bottom mounting locations (3 positions):

Right top mounting plate locations (6 positions, last one on lower row behind shock):

Right lower arm bottom mounting locations (3 positions):

Well this is what I decided on right now for the brake system:

Tilton Racing 600 series 2-pedal floor mount base with two 73 Series 7/8" master cylinders for the brakes and a 74 series 3/4" master cylinder for the clutch. Not quite fully together as missing two of the serrated tooth nuts for securing the clutch master cylinder, the brakes master cylinders are fully mounted and ready though. So jam nut just temporarily holding the clutch master cylinder in place. Unmounted the stock clutch and brake pedals to move them out of the pedal mounting area and did a quick positional test fit of the Tilton setup - will work way better plus will actually have enough space left of the clutch for a foot rest now. Original setup on the buggy had absolutely no space left of the clutch pedal and the clutch and brake pedals were nearly 6" ahead of the throttle pedal with no room anywhere at all to place left foot comfortably somewhere.

Want to try keeping the drums for now... having extremely difficult time finding disc brake setup for Porsche 930 CV fitment with 28 splines (which is what it has) -  28 splines is the problem... plenty of 33 spline disc brake conversion kits. Need to do a lot of research on what it needed for going to rear disc.

For now want to reroute hard lines from drivers side to down the center and need to look at the drums to see what condition they are in.

And for the fuel system think I've decided to change to an RCI 10 gallon fuel cell, should fit between rear support tubes that form an 18" x 18" inside wall rectangle under the current cylindrical tank since the RCI 10 gallon fuel cell dimensions ares 17 x 17 x 9, plus will have foam to minimize fuel sloshing.  Will just need to build a box to support it and drop it down as low as possible without interfering with the transmission. Will gain about 2.5 gallons capacity and drop height a bit from how it is now. Will also make transition to a fuel injected motor easier. Need to take the cylindrical tank out to work on the fuel petcock and allow me to verify the RCI tank will work (want to mock up a 17x17x9 tank and verify before ordering, main concern being slope of rear bulkhead eats into the space some on the front side and rear side has mounting tabs for transmission mounts which take up a little space.)

I did up ordering all the Diode Dynamic lighting + other electrical and got it all in yesterday and today. 30" Stage Series light bar, SS3 Pro SAE wide fogs, Stage Series Rock lights with red lens to replace current rears, 25" Xprite chase bar, and Blue Sea battery disconnect/4-circuit fuse panel/5-point bus bar. Plan to mount the front SS3 fogs on the shock upright, just simply drill a hole in it for the bracket - wider stance than would be anywhere on the front fender and much more protected and a bit higher. Many pictures of the vintage buggies have them installed there too and it is an iconic look...

wasnt there some kind of SEAL/delta force/spec ops version of these built for desert storm?

In reply to metty :

There have been several versions going back to the 80's: Fast Attack Vehicle, Desert Patrol Vehicle, Light Strike Vehicle, Advanced Light Strike Vehicle...