[ausev] Sandrails/dune buggies as the basis of regular use street-legal & highway-ready vehicles?

[bncjr]

Greetings:

A general question to the group...

I've been thinking about building a barebones
street-legal vehicle with electric or
[bio]diesel-based propulsion, and have been thinking
about what sort of donor vehicle to use as a basis for
it.  One of my choices is a 2 person sandrail.  

One of the major reasons for the sandrail is the
weight of the vehicle--typically ~1100lbs from what
I've seen, versus ~1700lbs for something like a Geo
Metro [assuming typical ICE design for both
vehicles].  I have no problem with the fact the driver
will be exposed to the elements [I'm willing to dress
for the cold or rain as needed], lack of amenities
[power steering, A/C, internal lights], or modest
cargo capacity [I've noticed from my own driving
habits that my existing ICE Saturn SL1 is overkill for
my needs; I can do just fine with enough capacity
for myself and one adult passenger (or cargo weight
and bulk equal to one) in most cases, and if heavier
capacity is needed, I can bring the Saturn out of
storage or rent a heavier cargo hauler ].  

However, I am concerned about air drag, especially if
I were to propel the vehicle at highway speeds
[55MPH+].  I understand that I can add a fiberglass or
sheetmetal skin to the sandrail, but I can still
foresee substantial airdrag from air coming in from
the exposed sides of the passenger compartment.

Are my concerns valid, or can proper planning/vehicle
body layout and the light weight design compensate for
those penalties?

While we're at it, could a stripped down [toss the
rear seats, upholstery, A/C, and nonessentials] but
still functional lightweight donor vehicle [such as a
Geo Metro, VW Beetle or Golf] be light enough and
streamlined enough to counter the sandrail's weight
advantage?  

Feel free to pass this on to anyone you think can
help, especially those with sandrail/dunebuggy
experience.  The only ones that immediately come to
mind are mentioned in https://www.dm3electrics.com/,
which refers to the Voltbuggy, an electric sandrail
built with road races in mind.

And any pointers at to what other mailing lists I
could use for EV/biodiesel conversion advice would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
RCamama


 
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