Goblin AT Prototype - all terrain automatic base model

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
Edit 10-22-16: Thanks for all of the name suggestions. As Johvans suggested, we are going to stick with DF Goblin since the frame isn't changing much. As Silverback suggested, we are going to tack on AT to the end to denote All Terrain.

On to the build thread:

We get quite a few emails and comments about putting big tires on the Goblin and raising it up off the ground to go off road. It definitely makes sense to do this since the engine is over the rear tires and the car is so light. It could easily become a modern, more reliable version of the old VW based rail buggies.

Well, on Sunday we spent 2 hours assembling a little bit of the off road capable version of the Goblin. We aren't getting the frame coated yet because we will most definitely have to weld on tabs or make other mods to the frame. Everything is being installed temporarily so we aren't cleaning, painting or tidying up anything at this time.

There aren't many changes from the street Goblin frame to the off road frame. One major change is the radiator location. The radiator at the front is alright on the street but it would quickly be punctured or crushed if you went off the pavement. So we are moving it to the back like on most Baja 1000 vehicles.

(A quick side note while talking about the Baja 1000. We aren't designing or building the off road car to be an extreme Baja 1000 racer. We are shooting for a dual sport car: one that is comfortable on the street while still being capable of climbing the curb and going off road.)

Since we are moving the radiator to the back, we were able to chop off the tubes that normally go to the radiator mount. This greatly improves the front approach angle.

front modified for no radiator.jpg


We started assembling the car on the rotisserie. First we installed the pedals, brake booster, master cylinder and brake fluid reservoir. The reservoir will later be relocated like on the street Goblin but for testing, we can leave it like it is.

off road pedals and master cylinder.jpg


Then we installed the fuel tank and fuel filler.

off road fuel filler.jpg


Back at the front we installed the steering rack, power steering unit, ignition switch and gauge panel. We dropped in the wiring harness we made earlier this year and connected it to everything we had installed.

off road steering and ignition.jpg

off road wiring going in.jpg
 
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JSATX

Goblin Guru
Phantom? Banshee? if you're looking for similar type names. Though I guess Rolls Royce might not like that. OR Yamaha for that matter. Dang.
 

Johvans

Well-Known Member
Unless the chassis is going to be completely different I would stick with the DF Goblin and add something to the end of it.

Call the street one a DF Goblin R/GT/GTSS/GTS^2/etc based on the donor vehicle?

Call the off road one a DF Goblin 4X/2X/XSS/DS2/DS^4/DS^2

Etc.

Would 33" tall tires clear the stock radiator mount on the street Goblin?
 

IowaGoblin

Member
Vizcaino. Its part of the Baja Penninsula and has a VERY dry desert, but has plants near the ocean that get water from fog off the ocean. Like two separate things.
 

PHerder

Well-Known Member
Goblin C (for the city frame)
Goblin T (for the track frame)
Goblin A (for the All Terrain frame as Silverback suggested (minus the T in this case ;)))
 

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for all of the name suggestions. As Johvans suggested, we are going to stick with DF Goblin since the frame isn't changing much. As Silverback suggested, we are going to tack on AT to the end to denote All Terrain.

The engine and transmission were installed the same day we started assembling the car. I didn't get any photos until the next time we worked on it.

The fuel pump, fusebox, ECM and TCM went in after the powertrain.

fuel pump.jpg


engine installed.jpg


We built up the front and rear suspension and then stole my brother's tires from his Baja Bug for a mockup.

tires mocked up.jpg


The VW beetle bolt pattern is very wide compared to the Cobalt: 4 x 130 compared to 4 x 100. We CNC machined adapters to bolt the bug's tires on the Goblin AT prototype.

Right now we are working on mounting a radiator above the engine. We are using the standard Goblin radiator but will probably upgrade to a larger radiator in the future. When you are bogged down in the mud working your way out you won't have any air flow besides what the fan can deliver. Having a larger radiator will help in that situation.

We should be driving the car through our field very soon. I'll upload a video later today.
 

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
Some of the changes you will be able to make. Obviously you can put bigger tires on your street Goblin. We will be making a 1 inch lift front suspension upright that you could swap to. We'll be running a longer coilover in the front and a lower control arm with a deep shock mount. The rear suspension will need the top strut mount moved lower to allow for a little more droop.

The main change you can't make is the radiator location. Without serious modification, you will always have the radiator mount out in front of the car. If you are just taking dirt roads or other well developed paths you could be okay but if you start driving on rougher trails with more debris, you could end up hitting the mount or poking some debris up into your radiator. The Goblin AT will have a wider and shorter radiator mounted above the engine between the rear cage diagonal tubes (right now we are just using the street Goblin radiator on the prototype).
 

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
We did do a first drive on Saturday but our field is so overgrown at the moment that it didn't make for great videos. We are seeing about getting access to our neighbor's field where cattle have kept the weeds down. He also has a creek bed that we can climb on. I'll get some better videos then.

Until then, we've got this short video of the car sliding around the parking lot. Even with the base automatic transmission's open diff, it does a pretty good job of keeping both rear tires spinning.


And here are some photos:

front suspension.jpg

left front suspension.jpg

right rear suspension.jpg

mowed the grass.jpg

going in the pit.jpg
 

kalishek

Well-Known Member
Adam & Lonnie:
Suggest a rock crawler style removable/replaceable front bumper with option for a winch?
KAL
 

Johvans

Well-Known Member
I don't see any reason that a car couldn't be setup as both?!?! :eek::eek::eek::D:D:D

Make the front radiator mount quick attach and detach! Provide the mounting tabs/mounts for a large radiator in the rear?! :D:D:D :eek::eek::eek:
 

taz_va

Member
Reviving an old thread.. this is pretty neat. It seems like you could almost simply sell the hub adapters and allow someone to use larger wheels like shown here.

Have you seen the Ariel Nomad? I could see you guys doing something like that down the road, especially since you have the tube bender.

ariel-nomad.jpg
 
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