This all started several years ago... My then 83-year-old dad was complaining that the walk to his hunting blind at our ranch was getting to be a bit rough on his knees. It was then that I began the search for a suitable cart that he could use for his trip to the blind. I was first searching for an electric cart but I ended up purchasing this nice used ST350.
This cart was bone stock at the time...and this was good enough for a year or so. After using it for a while he mentioned he did not like the pedal start (nor did I) and we REALLY did not like the rough ride of the stock leaf spring/shock setup. The ST350 has heavy-duty springs and you can really feel it!
Right after last years hunting season was over I hauled the cart back to my house and began the BIG transformation of the cart. It took me several months to complete, but that was mostly do to the amount of time I could work on it.
EzGo ST350 Redux-overall plan
There were two main complaints about the stock cart. First being the pedal start and second the lack of any “real” suspension. In addition to not caring for the pedal start...the stock Robin 350cc didn't really have enough power. This cart was intended to be a ranch cart...not just a hunting cart, so part of the Redux plan was to do a big block conversion to increase the power.
For the big block power plant I went with a Predator 670. I was able to pick up a slightly used 670 off of FB Marketplace (it was practically brand new) for less $350 back in the summer of 2019. The big block would solve the power issues, but there was still the suspension to deal with. The stock leaf spring/shock setup, both front and back, had to go!
For the front end my first thought was to fab up an A-Arm suspension using ATV components. For the rear suspension I really wanted to go with a 4-link setup with coil over shocks. I researched both of these ideas and found several folks who had done both of these exact things...so I started the design and planning for my cart.
As I got further into the designs, it became apparent that my desire for a 4-link rear suspension wasn't going to work out. Given the space needed for the engine cradle there just wasn't going to be enough space for a properly fitted 4-link...the engine cradle would be in the way of the triangulated links. The builds I had seen from others who had done a 4-link were using electric carts...so no issue with an engine cradle being in the way. Additionally after estimating my time & effort, cost of the ATV components as well as all of the material needed to build the support structures for the front end, it just didn't make economic sense to for me to build it myself. Due to these realizations I went back to the drawing board for the whole suspension.
I ended up deciding to go with a RHOX BMF 7” A-Arm front end.... which worked out great (with a few modifications needed to fit my cart)! For the rear end I ended up designing a 3-link setup with coil over shocks that incorporate a pan-hard bar to control lateral movement of the axle.
I will post separate threads for each of the main build groupings as well as several other custom designs that went into the overall build.
Hope you folks enjoy the build story...and maybe get a few ideas of your own from it... also jumping to the finished project so y'all can see the end result.
This cart was bone stock at the time...and this was good enough for a year or so. After using it for a while he mentioned he did not like the pedal start (nor did I) and we REALLY did not like the rough ride of the stock leaf spring/shock setup. The ST350 has heavy-duty springs and you can really feel it!
Right after last years hunting season was over I hauled the cart back to my house and began the BIG transformation of the cart. It took me several months to complete, but that was mostly do to the amount of time I could work on it.
EzGo ST350 Redux-overall plan
There were two main complaints about the stock cart. First being the pedal start and second the lack of any “real” suspension. In addition to not caring for the pedal start...the stock Robin 350cc didn't really have enough power. This cart was intended to be a ranch cart...not just a hunting cart, so part of the Redux plan was to do a big block conversion to increase the power.
For the big block power plant I went with a Predator 670. I was able to pick up a slightly used 670 off of FB Marketplace (it was practically brand new) for less $350 back in the summer of 2019. The big block would solve the power issues, but there was still the suspension to deal with. The stock leaf spring/shock setup, both front and back, had to go!
For the front end my first thought was to fab up an A-Arm suspension using ATV components. For the rear suspension I really wanted to go with a 4-link setup with coil over shocks. I researched both of these ideas and found several folks who had done both of these exact things...so I started the design and planning for my cart.
As I got further into the designs, it became apparent that my desire for a 4-link rear suspension wasn't going to work out. Given the space needed for the engine cradle there just wasn't going to be enough space for a properly fitted 4-link...the engine cradle would be in the way of the triangulated links. The builds I had seen from others who had done a 4-link were using electric carts...so no issue with an engine cradle being in the way. Additionally after estimating my time & effort, cost of the ATV components as well as all of the material needed to build the support structures for the front end, it just didn't make economic sense to for me to build it myself. Due to these realizations I went back to the drawing board for the whole suspension.
I ended up deciding to go with a RHOX BMF 7” A-Arm front end.... which worked out great (with a few modifications needed to fit my cart)! For the rear end I ended up designing a 3-link setup with coil over shocks that incorporate a pan-hard bar to control lateral movement of the axle.
I will post separate threads for each of the main build groupings as well as several other custom designs that went into the overall build.
Hope you folks enjoy the build story...and maybe get a few ideas of your own from it... also jumping to the finished project so y'all can see the end result.