Chaparral 6x6 Restoration Project Questions

[RancherX]

I recently purchased this Chaparral 6x6 I am planning on restoring. The motor is missing, but the T-20 appears to be in good shape. It had been sitting in a field for years, so I don't know how the bearings will hold up, but they un-seized pretty easily. The chains were rusted in place, but un-seized also, and the drivetrain seems to be in good condition. I have a few questions:

1. The tires are all far gone. What's my cheapest route route to go as far as tires?

2. The body is cracked up pretty badly in the back, (see pictures), how should I repair that? It seems brittle also.

3. Do you think this is worth putting more money in, or is it too far gone?

[amphibious drew]

1. Where are you located. Buying tires is the most expensive part of a build and getting some used rubbers from a member can be a good way to go.

2. Melt some white lego's or other ABS plastic like your body is made out of with acetone. It makes ABS GOO, look it up using the search tool for more details, but essentially you can use it as an extreme body filler and it dry's back to abs. Just make sure the surface is nice and clean before you start patching. Also, member Racerone3 made some thin GOO and soaked fiberglass in it to put reinforcement layers on the inside of a tub or 2.

3. Absolutely its worth it. The joy you will get the first time you do a doughnut and the first time you drive right into the water is priceless. Those machines were made of thin ABS so it could use the reinforcement and they are very cool looking. The tranny and engine could also be switched over to any number of machines if at some time you decide to go another route.

[kadookid]

Hello after looking at your pix I honestly think you would have more money in it, than just buying one ready to go. unfortunatly its easy to get a pile of money in a machine and then get burnt out working on the thing.

[amphibious drew]

Hello after looking at your pix I honestly think you would have more money in it, than just buying one ready to go. unfortunatly its easy to get a pile of money in a machine and then get burnt out working on the thing.

Respectfully disagree. With help here you can get her going and cheap. I started my racer with a far worse condition machine, well at least as bad but no frame or sprockets. People on this site helped me out and found me what I needed. My build is almost done with frame painting and final assembly left, and thanks to some good people and great friends, I probably only have $700 or so into it, and I bought all new chains, bearings, and fuel line as well as a very nice looking roll cage.

[kadookid]

I can see your point also drew, mike

[amphibious drew]

I can see your point also drew, mike

and to your point. It can get expensive, especially if you try to buy all your parts on a certain website.

[jpswift1]

and to your point. It can get expensive, especially if you try to buy all your parts on a certain website.

That's right, Drew. Avoid Richard's Relics and you won't break the bank and you'll have a good, reliable AATV.

[racerone3]

Worth rebuilding is a rather subjective question... It depends a lot on your own level of ingenuity, mechanical ability, resourcefulness, and past record of seeing projects through. Tons of rebuilds get started and then people see how much work really goes into one... next thing you know it's 3 years later, the machine has been sitting torn down for 2 1/2 years and the wife is sick of looking at it. To me it is very much worth the effort but I'm the sicko that put 100+ hours into repairing a (very special) Attex body. You don't see a lot of "Chaps" running around, and I for one would love the chance to fix one up!

[hydromike]

The Chaparrals are a bit of a mishmosh of being overbuilt and underbuilt, in my opinion. I dragged an old Chap out of a fencerow several years ago, since it had a T-20 that appeared to be in really good shape. Overall, the machine was probably in the same sort of condition as yours; perhaps a bit worse. After mulling over a rebuild or simply scavenging parts off the machine, I came away with these opinions....

* The frame, axles, motor mount, T-20 mount, etc. all seem to be just about completely bombproof.

* The bodies really seem to take abuse poorly. Like you concluded, the plastic is quite thin and seems to be a bit more brittle than what i've come across in other ABS machines. This is the real bummer of it all. The bodies seem to crack at a lot of different stress points, not just succumbing to impacts.

You could always fabricate a polyethylene skid-plate to reinforce the lower tub and protect it from further damage, but you still have to formulate a plan for the back-half of the body. Piecing it back together with ABS goo/fiberglass mat reinforcement is a great option. From a custom design standpoint, it's tough to deviate from the original sweeping lines of the Chap and have it look like it's supposed to be that way.

I wouldn't try to steer anybody away from a big project like this, largely because they're just not making these machines anymore. There will come a day when you can't tow Chap's out of back fields. I've had to carefully wade through different potential projects to decide what I really want to take on. Some times you get halfway through a rebuild and wonder how the heck you're ever going to get it done. The key, like 'Race says, is understanding what it will take (financially, mechanically, and the imagination you can put into it...) to see the project through. I say 'Shoestring it. Strip it down and see what you've got, and put it back together using more imagination and resourcefullness than money.

[RancherX]

Hey guys!

Thanks for all the responses. I took a couple more pictures of the Chaparral so you can better see the condition it is in. As for the motor (it's is totally gone), I'm thinking of buying a cheap snowmobile motor. Is that a good option? How hard is it to rig up a motor mount, and will the snowmobile clutch work? I also noticed the seats are gone. My idea for the seats is to put a something across where the seats should be, (wood or metal), and screw boats seats in it, is that I good idea? As far as the floor pan, (I think that is what it's called on a 6x6, I am referring to the plastic cover over the chains), what is the best way to fabricate one of those? My biggest concern is finding tires. I am located in Columbus Ohio, does anyone know of any used tires for sale in my area?

Although I'll probably have a lot more than amphibious drew has in his, (I already have almost half that in it ), I'm going to do my best to get this ole' Chaparral going again. It sure is a sweet machine!
The ABS goo sounds like a good idea, but would
n't it be easier (and stronger since it's so far gone) just to do some fiberglass mesh repair?