Best buggy skin material

collinmaune · Jan 4, 2021

I'm finishing up my build and coming down to the small details. Originally I was going to use .064 Al sheeting and get it wrapped, after digging some more it seems more people are getting away from Al skins and going to Polycarbonate/ Lexan. Do anyone have any real world experience on what skins hold up the best, I'm also not against to putting a thin steel skin on the buggy either as all of them will be wrapped.

jeff150 · Jan 4, 2021

collinmaune said:
I'm finishing up my build and coming down to the small details. Originally I was going to use .064 Al sheeting and get it wrapped, after digging some more it seems more people are getting away from Al skins and going to Polycarbonate/ Lexan. Do anyone have any real world experience on what skins hold up the best, I'm also not against to putting a thin steel skin on the buggy either as all of them will be wrapped.

We used this .100" plastic to put a roof and door skins on a buggy. It cuts great with a pair of air shears, you can form it with a heat gun or use a sheet metal brake also. It's pretty cheap so not much risk if you don't like it or need to change out a panel. https://www.jegs.com/p/Allstar-Performance/Allstar-4ft-x-8ft-Plastic-Sheets/3488818/10002/-1

collinmaune · Jan 4, 2021

jeff150 said:
We used this .100" plastic to put a roof and door skins on a buggy. It cuts great with a pair of air shears, you can form it with a heat gun or use a sheet metal brake also. It's pretty cheap so not much risk if you don't like it or need to change out a panel. https://www.jegs.com/p/Allstar-Performance/Allstar-4ft-x-8ft-Plastic-Sheets/3488818/10002/-1

I bought this to get my template, but it seems to flexible, I am running doors on the new buggy and I need something heavier to make it look better. I think I am leaning towards .08 Al it is only $110 per 4X10 sheet.

ridered3 · Jan 4, 2021

I'm not sure what thickness of aluminum @whiskeymakin used for my side panels and roof panel but I'm pleased with it. With how our juggy chassis/frame/body panels are set up, I don't have to see through them, so having aluminum isn't a problem.

If the juggy chassis/frame/body panels was setup in a way that I'd want/need to see through them, I'd go with see-through side panels though.

whiskeymakin · Jan 5, 2021

Local race shop gets 4x10 sheets of about any color .060 then...black and raw come in .080
Its been good so far for everything ive done.
I tried the plastic sheet stuff, i wouldn't recommend it. When the sun hits it it warps and looks like ****.

Lil ugly · Jan 5, 2021

I used .064 aluminum sheet for my skins and .125 aluminum for my roof and hood. Overall it worked out well, my only recommendation is to get unpainted aluminum. I used painted for the skins and they ended up with little scratches in them so I ended up painting over them anyways.

collinmaune · Jan 5, 2021

Lil ugly said:
I used .064 aluminum sheet for my skins and .125 aluminum for my roof and hood. Overall it worked out well, my only recommendation is to get unpainted aluminum. I used painted for the skins and they ended up with little scratches in them so I ended up painting over them anyways.

Ended up buying 1 4x8 .08 bare Aluminum sheet, hopefully it will be enough for my side skins, for the roof I'm running 16 gauge stainless or .125 Aluminum,

Waffle · Jan 5, 2021

Sometimes it's worth it to keep an eye on FB marketplace for stuff. I came across 5 sheets of .125x48×96 5052 for $150 cause it had some scratches on it. It's a little heavier, but has held up great! I took a random da sander to it to remove scratches & help with paint adhesion. Couldn't be happier!

collinmaune · Feb 2, 2021

Finally got a decent picture of most of the skins on the rig, I went with .1 Al on the sides due to the doors the .08 I used for a few other areas.

Dirt700 · Feb 4, 2021

collinmaune said:
Finally got a decent picture of most of the skins on the rig, I went with .1 Al on the sides due to the doors the .08 I used for a few other areas.

Looks good, who built the chassis?

collinmaune · Feb 4, 2021

Dirt700 said:
Looks good, who built the chassis?

Thank you, I built the chassis myself I wanted a cross between a WOD and Jimmy smith look, it has functioning doors 54'' wide.

Specs on the rig
4 tube 16'' King bypass shocks all the way around
2.0 king Coil carriers
9 inches up travel up front on the trailing arm I have around 24"
SCS case
TH400
LS stoker motor

Steering dana 80's with reid super kingpins the reason I went with 80's is I was able to get 2 47 spline spools for under 500 a piece and I got 2 dana 80's for 50 bucks locally. Then I ran a few numbers and realized I was able to run a drivers drop front and in the rear run the center section offset 2.125" while being able to use factory length rockwell inner shafts both front and rear. Whats cool about this is I had a company that makes a lot of mega truck and monster truck stuff make me 2 piece inners so its a double splined shaft and then a rockwell sized yoke that splines on like spidertrax. This way I have a spare yoke along with a spare short side and long side shaft which covers all of the inner shafts.

dwa2469 · Feb 4, 2021

I like the way you did these doors! At first glance, one would not think it had any!!

collinmaune · Feb 4, 2021

dwa2469 said:
I like the way you did these doors! At first glance, one would not think it had any!!

Thanks, they shouldn't break, the hinge point in 1.75x .125 then a piece of 1.375 of .250 wall inside of it. Each side has 2 8' bronze bushing in between the 1.375 and 1.75 outer tube you see . On the latch side it is the biggest spring pin I could fine the throw/ rod length is 1.25x .5". On the back side of the door and latch area I welded some .125' plate about 1.125" and 8 inches long in 2 spots one on the floor one by the latch as a stop just in case the latch comes lose it can only swing out it can't swing in.

I wanted something my dad who is in his early 60's can come with an enjoy the buggy, the skins are getting wrapped right now I'll update some more pictures when I get everything buttoned up.

Dirt700 · Feb 4, 2021

collinmaune said:
Thank you, I built the chassis myself I wanted a cross between a WOD and Jimmy smith look, it has functioning doors 54'' wide.

Specs on the rig
4 tube 16'' King bypass shocks all the way around
2.0 king Coil carriers
9 inches up travel up front on the trailing arm I have around 24"
SCS case
TH400
LS stoker motor

Steering dana 80's with reid super kingpins the reason I went with 80's is I was able to get 2 47 spline spools for under 500 a piece and I got 2 dana 80's for 50 bucks locally. Then I ran a few numbers and realized I was able to run a drivers drop front and in the rear run the center section offset 2.125" while being able to use factory length rockwell inner shafts both front and rear. Whats cool about this is I had a company that makes a lot of mega truck and monster truck stuff make me 2 piece inners so its a double splined shaft and then a rockwell sized yoke that splines on like spidertrax. This way I have a spare yoke along with a spare short side and long side shaft which covers all of the inner shafts.

Sounds like a solid setup, your going to have, and going to be pretty sharp.