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Old 06-27-2012, 10:28 AM   #1
Furyous
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Default The official Cougar Scooter build thread

Now that I have finally "begun" the restoration of my unique, stretched, lifted, limo style, Mercedes bodied Melex 512 of an unknown year, I decided to start a thread. Those build threads I have read of others' rides have inspired me to really get moving and I have learned a ton.





I picked this up on Craigslist for $300. The body is rough, the frame was rusty (all except for the main frame rails), and it had languished outside of a trailer park in Florida for who knows how many years. The story was that there was a Saudi prince that had a house in Boca Raton, and he gave the cart to a shop to have it completely custom made for him. This is where the stretching, lifting, and Mercedes body came from. Apparently the prince went back to Saudi and never paid for the work, so the guy that did the work on it took it to his trailer and parked it in the yard, expecting to finish it one day.

They recently legalized golf carts in my town, and a few of my friends went the new route by ordering custom golf carts brand new. One friend spent over $10k for his cart! My challenge was to fix up an older cart and turn it into something cooler looking and better performing for less than $2500. The Craigslist search had three requirements- it had to be less than $500, seat my wife and three kids comfortably, and be unlike any other cart on the street. Mission accomplished.





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Old 06-27-2012, 10:35 AM   #2
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It took a while to get started on this project. I had just bought a new house that we were renovating, so that took priority while the cart waited.


When I finally got around to it, the first thing I had to do was get new tires in it so I could at least wheel this thing around. I found that the new tires rubbed the frame, so I had to get some wheel spacers in the back.




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Old 06-27-2012, 10:38 AM   #3
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Next, I had to tear this thing apart. The body came off, then the floor, then I began to cut away all the rotten metal.




I put together a concept for the final outcome, the "Cougar Scooter".




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Old 06-27-2012, 10:40 AM   #4
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I cut the rear window of the fiberglass roof to be more rectangular and less Flintstones. I then sent it off to be covered in bright white vinyl. Came back looking great.





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Old 06-27-2012, 10:47 AM   #5
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Picked up some goodies to go in the cart- a CH7-4001 Advanced motor, a NOCO genius 48v 4 40 amp bank onboard charger, 2 gauge power wire, a bitchin' aircraft style steering wheel, and an Alltrax 500 amp controller.


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Old 06-27-2012, 11:27 AM   #6
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To date I have $1,840.67 in this cart. I still need a heavy duty solenoid and forward/reverse switch, key switch, more metal for the frame, wood for the seat bottoms, filler for the fiberglass, paint, diamond plate for the floorboards, and batteries. Looks like I will probably be more at about $3,000 total for the project.

Last night a friend came over and we welded some new cross braces and front seat mounts onto the frame. I still have to weld in the new battery tray to handle the 8 6v batteries going in, the secondary frame rails ( I am using an old bed frame I found in the attic for this to cut costs), and some extra bracing for the front body and some additional metal to the main frame rails in back for stiffness. Then the areas with surface rust will be sanded and treated with a rust etching agent and POR -15 followed by dark grey sprayed on bed liner over the whole frame.

Had an excellent idea- I've been toying around with the idea of making the side pipes sound like a v8 is under the hood. I thought about maybe using an RC device from a company called RAM systems that makes RC electric planes, boats, and cars sound like they are gas powered. It would have been complicated to get it to work with the throttle position of the cart, but I found an awesome app for iPods and iPhones called "XLR8". It is free and uses the motion sensors in the device to "feel" acceleration and deceleration, and it makes a wicked race- bred v8 sound. It even makes tire squeal as you round corners. I tried it out in my car and it works great. So now I will build a little sound box that the pipes attach to, buy a cheapo old eq amp on eBay, and connect it to a secondary iPod just to run the motor noise.

For the stereo, I have a pair of Infiniti plate speakers, a JBL 10" subwoofer, and various amplifiers just sitting around. I only plan on my iPhone or iPad to be the music source, o I shouldn't have to spend anything additional for tunes. I even have a fairly new deep cycle marine battery laying around that I can charge up just for the 12v stuff.


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Old 07-02-2012, 10:19 AM   #7
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Took an hour this morning to do something I have longed to do since I owned the cart- make it so that I can actually sit in it. As you can see, the front seat bottoms wouldn't hold a mouse.

I pulled all 600 staples out- whoever did these seats actually used a desktop stapler to put these covers on! These were really nice at one time- beautiful pleats and piping, but ten years outside will make them brittle, ripped, and faded. To make matters worse, some ding dong put a pair of pliers on the and let them sit outside with the cart.

I first tried washing them with mild soap and a brush, but they only marginally improved. I cut out new seat bottoms and wrapped the foam and seat covers around it, then stapled it back on. Eventually I will get new seats, but my goal is to have this thing ugly and running in three weeks, then beautiful by halloween. I used Westleys blech white (used to brighten up white walls) and a brush, and they brightened right up. A couple of coats of spray vinyl dye where the rust stain was and they look quite presentable.




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Old 07-05-2012, 12:16 PM   #8
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Default Re: The official Cougar Scooter build thread

hmmm mr furious, got a comment about the seats, you have the templte to trace on new plywood. get you some 3/4inch outside grade plywood, cut it out of that, then paint the wood with extior grade to prevent any harsh miami weather from getting to it. ou dont forget air holes in the plywood, and paint all the surfaces! to include the sides!
there should be some nice forighners, or native miamians that can get you some seat work done cheap!
keep up the good job and keep us posted!
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Old 07-05-2012, 07:57 PM   #9
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Thanks for the tip! The cart will be garaged all the time, only out on nice weather days. The marine grade plywood covered in epoxy paint will definitely be in order with the new seats when stage 2 of purdy comes! I got another great suggestion from my father in law- stainless staples!

The same upholstery shop that did the roof said they would do the new seats for $500 total- I thought that was a bit high, but they do great work. I almost want to buy a good heavy duty sewing machine and try my own hand at it.


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Old 07-06-2012, 10:53 PM   #10
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Default Re: The official Cougar Scooter build thread

500 with new foam , marine grade vynyl, sounds a little high, but they have to make money too, after all they are doing what, 4 sections, 2 seat backs, and 2 seat cushions. work with them and make sure what your getting. pleated, not pleated, rolled and tucked, or flat. 2 tone, pr all standard one color. i would thinnk they would cut you a deal since you are a returning custumer! but if your not haitian, or cuban, it may be the american tax they have to charge you! (just kidding, not to be a racist on bgw!)
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