Venomous - It's smooth and slippery appearance may be attractive, but this buggy's bite is venomous
As seen in Sand Sports MagazineBy Michael Sommer
Living in Lakeside, CA, where he's
currently employed as a Field Engineer Supervisor for FAIC Corporation, it didn't take long for Tony Perez to develop an interest in sand cars and
custom built off-road vehicles when he was growing up. This is mainly due to the fact that he lives near El Cajon, which is considered the heart of
the "off-road capitol of California." The reason this area has the reputation that it does is because you can hardly drive more than a half mile in
any direction without finding another offroad/sand car related business. There's everything from specialized machine shops, chassis/frame builders,
hi-performance engine shops, wheel manufacturers, and many more businesses that do anything and everything to support the thriving off-road industry.
So, chances are that if you live in this area, just about everyone you meet has either enjoyed the sport of off-roading in some form or another for
many years, or the personally know somebody who does. With this high concentration of businesses, it goes without saying that there are some extremely
talented car builders and fabricators, and Tony is lucky enough to know many of them.
Tony's first buggy was a mid-engine style frame built by Fiber-Tech, which was modified slightly, and powered by a Corvair engine with a dual
carbureted blow-through turbo setup. Tony experienced some problems with this engine combination, so later on he decided to install a newer Corvair
engine that used an electronically controlled fuel injection package with computer (ECU), throttle bodies, injectors, fuel pump, and etc. To complete
the engine, Tony consulted with Jim McFarland, of Mech-Tech Motorsports, and also Garth Wilson, of Wilson's Machine Works. McFarland suggested that
Tony have custom intake ducts built for the turbo system, which were fabricated by Sal at Kearny Mesa Welding, and Garth Wilson ended up supplying
the nitrated and triple keyed crankshaft, along with the polished and shot peened connecting rods that now have stronger ARP bolts. The cylinder
heads were ported by Sal, and Pauter Machine did much of the remaining cylinder head work, including the valve job, and setting up the 48x37.5mm
steel valves and springs to the correct installed height.
With all the machine work completed, Tony got together with his good friend, Kirk Ficther, who performed the final engine assembly. Aside from installing TRW pistons with Total Seal rings, Crower cam and matching lifters, Otto Parts billet cam gear, Crower roller rockers and custom pushrods, Kirk also outfitted the engine with a modified stock distributor that's equipped with a Perlux Igniter, along with a MSD-6BTM electronic ignition system. The fuel injection package is controlled by a Haltech F9 system, which is reported to work great with the other electronic modules utilized on the engine. Although the engine has yet to be dyno tested, Tony and Kirk estimate this combination produces about 450 to 500hp. And it was for this reason that Tony decided to look into the prospect of building a new buggy frame that would be better suited for the stronger engine.
While shopping around for frames, Tony visited with Mike Mazzone, Emil Miller, and a few other chassis builders that have designed buggies similar to what he was looking for. But one evening, a friend of Tony's, Jimmy Zink, made the comment that they should build their own frame. That was all it took and, with the help of a fabricator named Gary at BFC, the 3/4-, 1 -, and 1-1/4-in. mild steel tubing was bent to meet their specifications. The tubing was then fitted and welded by Jimmy Zink, and the chassis wheelbase measures 124 inches. After the chassis was finished, it was powder coated deep purple by R.W. Little, in San Diego, CA, and after all the aluminum work was fitted, the side panels were decorated with graphics by Mark Brink, of Brink Designs, in El Cajon, California.
The overall appearance of this buggy, with its sleek styling, makes it well suited to being called "Venomous. "Engine is a 450+hp Corvair
with an electronic fuel injection system and Turbonetics T-04 turbocharger. Engine management is handled by a Haltech computer, which helps
make tuning adjustments more precise. Powder coat was applied by R.W. Little, Mark Brink gets credit for the wild graphic scheme, and chromed
items were done by Jon at Lemon Grove Plating. Upholstery was stitched together by Mark Luhr, and the "tough" transaxle was assembled by L.O. Williams.
The front suspension is an A-arm setup with chrome moly tie rods and rod ends, and it uses a Stiletto rack and pinion steering unit. Shocks are
Marvin Shaw 13-in. Cruisers, and the wheels are from Douglas which mount S.T.U. Smoothees. The rear suspension is based around a late model Type
I VW transaxle with long axles, and it is located in the frame with a pair of wishbone-style trailing arms. The unique aspect of the rear suspension
is the cantilever arms that position the shocks inboard of the frame rails. This design uses a custom built chrome moly rocker arm with chrome moly
Struts that connect to the trailing arm/axle end casting on one end, and Marvin Shaw 16-in. shocks at the other end. Rear tires are S.T.U 13.00xl5-in.
#3 and #4 combo that have been comp cut and mounted on Douglas aluminum wheels. Other items on the car worth noting are the pair of 100 watt 4-in. dia.
headlights from an aircraft landing gear, CNC rear disc brakes, hand formed aluminum bench seat with Deist 3-in. lap belts and 2-in. harnesses, custom
made pedal assembly, and a 12gallon aluminum wedge fuel tank. We should also note some of the transaxle modifications, which include an IFTC mainshaft
and 1st through 4th gear set, shot peened axles, Ramsey Performance shifter, Weddle billet side covers on both sides of the trans case, and a polished
Hi-Torque starter. As you can see, lots of time and ingenuity went into the construction of Tony's buggy. And with this being said, Tony would like to
pass along a note of thanks to friends, Jimmy and Jim Zink, Gary Brady, for all the aluminum work, Bob Butler, who built the exhaust system, and Greg
Grosset. It was their time and effort that helped Tony complete this "Venomous" buggy.
