I want one: 454 small block, 4X4, four wheel steer, mountain buggy

[Elfear]

That thing is angry. Wonder how long parts last driving like that.

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

Its a big block not a small block. I don't think you can get 454 cubic inch out of a small block engine.

 

[Rifter]

Its a big block not a small block. I don't think you can get 454 cubic inch out of a small block engine.

You can get a 400 smallblock and bore it out.

 

[Occ]

So apparently rock bouncing is a thing now. Seems it's built to be driven that way.

The suspension design is another thing that’s different from the “norm”. Rock Bouncers are built to be firm and stable. No, they probably wouldn’t work very well in the whoops racing KOH, but a drag car probably wouldn’t place very well at the Talledega 500 either! The name “rock bounce” is very fitting actually; on many of the trails in the south east they are too steep and slick to find any traction on the ledges and rock faces, so often times the only approach is a full throttle attempt to jump or “bounce” to the top of the ledges. The double triangulated suspension front and rear is set up using 16” Fox emulsion coil overs with heavy spring rates and valving. Fox 4” airbumps are installed up front to soak up the nasty hits.

 

[Squisher]

Its a big block not a small block. I don't think you can get 454 cubic inch out of a small block engine.

Please Mr. Postman mail me an engine.

 

[Throckmorton]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or if you're serious.

If you're serious go take a look at other serious offroad buggies, jeeps, and rock crawlers. You won't find independent suspension on them. This is for three major reasons:

1. It's very hard to get an independent suspension with wheel travel that is measured in feet rather than inches. CV joints and universal joints can only take a certain amount of angle before they bind up. A solid axle design lets you keep smaller angles on those joints for a given amount of wheel travel.

2. STRENGTH. A big solid axle can take abuse that independent suspension can only dream about. Big hunks of steel can take big amounts of abuse.

3. Simplicity. A solid axle setup is much easier to design and fab. That's why you'll see people swapping from one solid axle to another in a jeep or truck without much work but you really won't see somebody swapping independent suspension setups from one vehicle to another.

For this kind of stuff independent suspension might be better. There are rock racers with IFS