Volkswagen Bean Buggy

Volkswagen Bean Buggy CROPS Weed Control 19-4-7 Charles Sorensen, Corwith, Iowa, used the drive train and gutted-out engine from an old Volkswagen to build a nifty "bean buggy". He bolted the car's rear axle, engine, transmission, and driveshaft (which is manufactured as a single, integrated unit) onto a frame that he built from 4-in. sq. steel tubing. He removed the pistons from the engine and closed off the cylinders with rubber plugs so the crankshaft stays bathed in oil. He bolted steel plates over the holes to keep the plugs from ever blowing out. He bolted a big pulley off an old combine directly onto the engine crankshaft and mounted a Briggs & Stratton gas engine next to it on back of the frame. The engine belt-drives the pulley which turns the crankshaft and drives the transmission. Sprockets on either end of the axle chain-drive the buggy's rear wheels, each of which Sorensen fitted with a drive sprocket. A single wheel mounts on front con-trolled by the VW's steering wheel. The car's gearshift mounts behind the seat. A hand-operated clutch lever mounts on one side of the seat and is connected by cable to a clutch off an old combine. "It cost less than $100 to build and works as well as any commercial rig," says Sorensen. "All I bought were a couple of sprockets which came off old combines. The frame is from an old field cultivator. I plan to fit it with extra seats so three operators can cover six rows at a time. It has three speeds forward and one reverse. The big pulley really gears the Briggs & Stratton engine down." The sprayer's pump is powered by a battery-powered electric motor that mounts on a plywood platform behind the seat. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles Sorensen, 1401 250th Ave., Corwith, Iowa 50430 (ph 515 583-2171).

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