If you were gonna build a tube buggy for all around wheeling would you put in a v-6 or a v-8? and why?

I'm considering a 4.3l v-6 or a small block chevy v-8.

I would have to go with a V-8. I would have to haul my wife and kid plus all of the extra gear for them as well as my self, parts so on. So my buggy would be built wide (think Sniper) and beefy (think full width 60's, 14 bolt, Rockwell's etc.) Overkill? maybe for some, but after all the weight and rotational mass (44's?), a V-8 in theroy would be more efficent. Yes you can gear down with a smaller engine, theres no problem with that, but when you really need to push the throttle to the floor for what ever reason, either getting out of the way or trying to help keep from rolling over, playing in mud, snow etc. a healthy V-8 is hard to beat. Plus on pyscological side of things, how does your brain or body feel when a rumbley V-8 pulls up? Ya kinda get tingly all over don't you? Thats the way you feel when you climb into your rig to go wheelin' right? I kind of look at as spare money in the bank (which I don't have because I own a Jeep and have a family), anyway who cares, when you have spare change (compare to spare power a V-8 offers to a V-6), you are not really as stressed out about situations and things because they are covered. In the end though it is really to satisfy your own taste and just go enjoy yourself.

PS. your "Ultimate Avalanche Goes Home" article was great. Very amusing and something a regular human can relate to.   

Thanks

I've been considering the v-6 for it's lighter weight, but when the plan also includes Dana 60's and 37 to 42 inch tall tires then the 4.3 seems a bit wimpy.  I want to keep it as light and nimble as possible, but I'm starting to believe that the V-6 may not cut the mustard outside of the rocks.  Even more important though, is what would you and the other readers find the most interesting, and want to see?

I WOULD GO WITH THE V8 FOR THE POWER WHEN YOU NEED IT AND THE LOW END TORQUE  

What do you think about a possible aluminum tube buggy? Considering the weight saving advantage and the strength compared to the cost? Is the cost ratio compared to steel; double, triple etc? I think also a good idea would be a removable skin (fiberglass or sheetmetal) and for the vehicle to look good with it off or on. For example, I know alot of buggys have removable side panels and some even are almost fully covered, But what do you think about a buggy that has a complete removable body for say, street legality purposes or mild trailrides, snowruns (have a heater and a way to keep the heat in also), or mud runs (keeping the gunk on the outside)? And then on very difficult trail runs or competitions where body damage and rollovers are likely, the body could be removed before the event. The buggy would have to be designed to look just as complete with or without a body. It would almost be like having 2 vehicles in one. Kinda like your Avalanche that turns into a truck from a SUV.

Is your buggy project themed at all? Competition? All purpose? Ultimate? Just curious because you guys always seem to come up with fresh neat ideas. I like the idea of all purpose along with ultimate, its hard enough to afford one built vehicle let alone a few for different purposes. Maybe a tube frame off road trailer would be cool too.        THANKS, DAN   

I am thinking that if a reader could follow along on the build up of an all around buggy it could be pretty cool.  What if it was mostly used junkyard stuff, with some newer parts here and there, and it was built to rock crawl, mud bog, camp out of, dune jump, and still keep you warm in the snow.  If we were lucky maybe it could even be street legal through certain kit car law loopholes.

sound interesting?

Yep, it sounds interesting, So what is your plan? Is this project of yours going to be a series of articles in the mag that readers follow along with, or are you going to build it with what readers vote on for build up parts for example? I think that would be very cool. Have a list of different junkyard, new parts or both available to you, post them, and then the readers could vote on it (with a possible short reason why) and basicly build the vehicle. They could also post the how to's on a specific idea. You could have a list of different vehicle styles to start with, and readers could express what they would pick, and you could build it based on that information.  You kinda already are on a roll with the the engine question. Other possibilities or ideas in mind?  

Definatly a 6 lung. I ran a SBC V8 in a very well modified mid engine invader chassis with a VW frontend and GM 12-bolt in the rear. The speed and the attention this thing got were top notch. While this was great at the sand drags and in the river bottom. I found there much to be desired at the sand dunes, in loose sand, and on tight trails. It was a steel chassis and weighed 1800 lbs. with me in it. This made it extremely hard to turn in loose terrain and any terrain at high speeds, even with the aid of turning brakes. The torsion spring frontend and coil spring rear was no where near addiquite for rough terrain or getting air off the dunes.

There is no substitute for the V8 when it comes to attention and horsepower. However, I ran with alot off 4 and 6 cylinder buggies and outside of a full blown drag race, they were alot more fun. Hope this helps.

                                                                                     Catfish

Right on Fred! I like the idea ofbuilding with  junkyard parts. The buggy should be cheap to build and repair. We need a rig that uses parts we can buy a smalltown Autozone or Checker.

The kit car concept of using one doner truck to provide the complete drivetrain , axles and stearing makes sense. I am sure most of your readers know about that Chevy/Ford/Mopar/Toyota/ etc. that is sitting in the alley  or trailer park with a wore out engine, busted frame or wrecked and rusted body that is crawling with great parts .The owner could use some Christmas money right about now and his or her neighbors will be glad to see it go.

I hope I don't get myself banned from my local yards and I must say that I am grateful for the service that the auto recycling industry provides for our hobby  but the truth is  a complete non running vehicle can be bought for the price of a few used components. For a reality check call your local wrecking yard and ask what they would pay four your present rig if it was not running.It is a fact that they have to pay a lot of overhead and they sometimes buy vehicles that take years to break even on.This is the cost of doing business and they must pass it on to there customers.

My point is we should support our local wrecking yard when we can but if we can buy a non runner and turn it into the rig we want we will be ahead in money and time.

                            Toyotafreak.

how about a big cube small block, like a 406 or 427.  more compact than a big block, but lots more torque than a V6!  I think the big power a V8 makes up for the heavier weight, compared to a V6.  

I would use...

A.) 258 I6- smmmmoooth power delivery, monster torque and all out reliable.

B.)350 V-8- Parts very easy to find, easy to build and can be build to dish the torque out

C.)427-454-502 V-8 Bigblock- you did say if I built it... Look, more money true... you are however making much more torque at lower RPMs that a 350 could make anywhere through its powerband... Long Stroke. It's all about stump rippin, rock crushin' torque.

4.3 is the most common used motor in tube trucks now mainly for weight reasons i have seen a few of the 4.3s run and they go really good i have a 4.3 in a 89 and it runs better than my moms Enovy  

what about a northstar V-8 from a Cadilac?  

What if you built said buggy to be light?  You use a lightweight aluminum 4 banger with a few performance mods, a lightweight tranny/t-case combo and some Toyota axles.  You could easily toss on some 35-37's without worrying about breakage.  If you were really concerned you could pay the extra bucks for hardened shafts and CTM u-joints.  Just an idea.