Howdy! This is my first post, but I thought I’d jump right in and share my restoration/customization of a 1990 Club Car DS.
Phase One: Base Cart
For the past couple years I’ve been considering building up a golf cart as a hunting buggy and neighborhood cruiser. Some friends have a tired old EZ-Go at their place. After numerous trips cruising around on it over the years, I began to think that an electric cart might be ideal for our ranch. Slow as it was, it was quiet and didn’t disrupt things nearly as much as a truck or ATV. However, it would have to offer more power and range than the run-down EZ.
So, the research phase began. After learning a little here and there, I started liking the idea of a Club Car for the aluminum frame. Then, after more reading more it became clear that a Series motor would be a good fit for my needs. I also read plenty here on Buggies Gone Wild extolling the virtues of running a 36V motor on a 48V solid-state conversion, which I was planning. So, I began looking for an older Club Car DS. With all the modifications I was planning, it didn’t make sense to start with a nice cart. I was searching for an inexpensive “project car.”
After several weeks of trolling Craigslist, I found one. It was a 1990 Club Car DS that had been rode hard and put up wet. But, it supposedly had a mostly-good frame, motor, and transaxle so it sounded like a possibility. Best of all, the guy only wanted $300 for it. I loaded up the ramps and straps, jumped in the truck, and went to look at it. Later that day it came home with me.
It was indeed in rough shape. The body, seat, and roof were trashed. The F&R switch had been ripped out. The seat was town, moldy, and rotten. The frame was cracked in two spots (more on that later). Any steel parts were rusty. There was also considerable corrosion across the frame and battery tray.
But, the cart rolled easily and the steering box seemed to work fine so the big things seemed ok. First step was to get this dirty bird stripped down and cleaned up. Time to bust out the pressure washer.
The bath helped a lot. 23 years worth of dirt and grime started to come off.
Next it was time to remove the inefficient and outdated old 36V resistive coil/V-glide system
So long scrap. Now it was time to start the frame cleanup and polish.
A good rust removing wheel took care of most of the corrosion. For the real rough stuff the angle grinder with a wire wheel was called in.
Put the hurt on a couple rust removing wheels
Next up, a few frame repairs.