How far can you push "street legal?" (Pics of you have them.)

I realize that this is largely a regional question but there's no one to ask down here so I'll see what I get here.

I'm a buggy guy, always have been always will be. I've never had any sort of brand loyalty, body loyalty, or anything. Jeeps with removable tops are cool to me but so are Samurai. But nothing has ever turned me on like buggies and I don't have the patience to constantly repair body damage. The only thing that turns me on to even build is a buggy.

That being said, my days of extreme power / hills / make it or break it are gone. I'd rather spend my time with my daughter if she can't come wheeling with me and that means I probably just won't be wheeling as much in the future as I have in the past. A buggy probably isn't very practical as a result. I plan to sell my current rig soon and build something different.

My brother in law has a Jeep that I've been riding in a bit and I can definitely see the attraction of being able to ride down the street when you want, go on local rides that require a license plate and registration, etc. In addition, if I had a vehicle that was streetable I would use it more, have more fun more often, and be able to take my daughter on short day trips.

The recent Samurai thread got me to thinking of basically building something with minimal amount of body required to keep from being pulled over every time I drive down the street but otherwise a buggy. In FL there are no vehicle inspections unless you are cited for something that needs to be remedied. You go to the DMV, get your title and registration, and then never go there again for that vehicle unless there are issues. Used vehicles they will verify mileage on the initial title, so the vehicle has to be there for that. But it doesn't have to be running or even driveable. I recently titled a totaled Chevy Cobalt on a trailer that would obviously never drive again, they made me just sign a statement that I wouldn't drive it unless it was registered first. I've searched online high and low, asked police officers, and even consulted a lawyer about FL state vehicle requirements and no one has ever been able to produce a list that was beyond the basic stuff, like turn signals, etc. Nothing about tire size, fender clearance, bumper height, etc. In addition, I see sand rails driving around our highways out in the open pretty regularly without being harassed. They were probably initially registered as VW's before being torn down, built, and then never brought to the DMV again. The town I live in has been rated the nation's #1 speed trap for like 10 years running by AAA so its not like there is ever a lack of cops around that are just missing the rails by chance. They have to be seeing them and leaving them alone or they wouldn't be out like they are.

I was wondering if people with "street- legal" rigs might be able to post some pics and detail how extreme they have gone without getting in trouble with the law. Or if you have got in trouble what was it that triggered it? Is a buggy with a tub, hood, and turn signals good enough? I'm not wanting to do 80mph down I-10 with anything. I have a tow rig and trailer for that. I just want to be able to to 55 or so down state highways on a Sat. without too much worry.

Didn't MoFab build a street legal buggy a while back?


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I live in dyersburg tn and a buggy like what madram11 had or the highlighter/riddler buggys would have no problems around here.


I drive my jeep everywhere it has diy beadlocks swampers comp cut tube fenders and 5 point harnesses and u can tell by looking its a trail rig and I have no cop issues I don't have blinkers on it either.

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As long as you don't have full hydro steering, pinion brakes and fifty inches of lift, you are OK where I live. We have guys on 10 inch lifts with 44's cruising the streets pretty regularly.

I think the key is to keep it looking fairly stock as far as the body goes.....full tube will be fine, as long as you have full skins, signals, bumpers etc. Hydro assist is fine, links are fine, just keep the buggy on the low side as best you can and don't drive like an ass. Bling light bars or anything that makes you stick out should be avoided if you run a full tube/skinned buggy.

As well, consider checking with insurance/specialty insurance companies to make sure you are going to be covered in case of an at fault accident. Just because it is insured as a samurai/jeep, doesn't mean they will cover it as one. I would hate to know my insurance company bailed on me because the only stock part of the vehicle was a 10 inch section of frame and the outermost piece of sheet metal.

Pics of my turd

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lowbudgetjunk said:

As well, consider checking with insurance/specialty insurance companies to make sure you are going to be covered in case of an at fault accident. Just because it is insured as a samurai/jeep, doesn't mean they will cover it as one. I would hate to know my insurance company bailed on me because the only stock part of the vehicle was a 10 inch section of frame and the outermost piece of sheet metal.

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I don't know how one would go about this. If you asked an agent the answer would be non-binding and if they asked underwriting the answer would be no with just about any insurance company. So in that case no modified vehicle is insurable and therefore there should just be a bunch of 100% stock vehicles out on the streets. Even if you submitted a complete set of specs and had an inspection done by underwriting, if you were at fault for a large sum I'm sure they would still try to get out of it any way they could. And at that point they would have a list of modifications at their disposal to do it with.

In FL we don't have inspections but there are bumper and light height restrictions. I have tags for mine and drive it from time to time.

Im just a little bit east of you Pat, we have 4-5 rails running around without any issues. There is a ext cab Tacoma I have been seeing lately that has had the roof cut off from the dash up and a cage installed with nothing more then some sketchy 1/8th plexi for a "windshield". I haven't seen him getting hassled by any cops yet. Judging by some of the trucks down south, I'm thinking you can get away with more then you would care to.

Lurker said:

I'm thinking you can get away with more then you would care to.

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Kind of how I feel too. So I guess the answer to my question is "a lot."

patooyee said:

Kind of how I feel too. So I guess the answer to my question is "a lot."

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Keep your buggy, and throw that fiberglass JK hood/front clip deal that smurfy has for sale on here on it and rock out.

FL law does require "brakes at all 4 wheels." IE, no pinion brakes. Plus, I don't have an original vehicle to register it as and even if I did I would have have it present to go register it and I doubt any mildly-intelligent DMV employee would allow it to be registered even if it met all requirements. (Which, other than wheel brakes, it probably would.)

patooyee said:

FL law does require "brakes at all 4 wheels." IE, no pinion brakes. Plus, I don't have an original vehicle to register it as and even if I did I would have have it present to go register it and I doubt any mildly-intelligent DMV employee would allow it to be registered even if it met all requirements. (Which, other than wheel brakes, it probably would.)

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Around here, Bomquisha wouldn't care at all. Show em the VIN plate and go.

I drive this all the time. Shipped to Cali once and drove it 5 hrs up the coast to pismo beach and rode dunes for 4 days and then drove back.

Something kind of like this is what I wonder if I could get away with.



Obviously it would need a windshield, tail lights, head lights, and a few other minor things. But its basically a buggy with Sami skins.

I know around where I live in Alabama that wouldn't raise any eyebrows. This area is pretty lenient about vehicles


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Drove my last rig a couple times a week. Tagged and insured, good enough for me. Full hydro, spools front and rear, and no windshield FTW. :afro:

I don't think a sammy like that would be a problem. I drive mine with the windshield down most of the time.

Road driven regularly, no issues

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Some type of fender flare, mud flap is needed around here due to the State Trooper guys. A tubed rear end with no protection for other vehicles is/has been an issue in Northern Alabama in the past. Have seen some Registered Sandrails with detachable mud flaps because of this.

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In Florida you can get a builders title. The vehicle must inspected by DHSMV (FHP) once you pass the inspection your good to go. The only requirements are your basic ones you've talked about. Lights, turn signals, windshield, wipers and head lights under 54". No fenders or mud flaps are required unless it came from the factory that way. There are sum bumper requirements but they depend on you vehicle weight. You can find the answers you need in FS 316. Good luck with your build.

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