A WIDE RIDE

BY TROY MERRIFIELD

Much as anything we are into, when we see something that excites us, it is a great catharsis for many. When I first saw this cart on the Extreme Golf Carting Facebook group, I contacted the owner right away in hopes to feature the cart in the magazine. I love anything on wheels low, lifted or just plain unique. This cart pushed two of my vehicle “love” buttons.

This unique masterpiece is the creation of Matt Townsend from Murrieta, CA. Matt cut his teeth in the ‘90s building mini trucks that were all the rage

in that era. He developed his knowledge of building air suspension for lowered trucks, fabbed custom chassis and would also dabble in custom lift kits. Even though the mini truck scene is heating up again as of recently, Matt decided that golf carts would be a cheaper alternative than the rare and expensive trucks of the past.

Most vintage carts -- such as Matt’s 1978 E-Z-GO Marathon -- have bodies that are mainly built out of metal as well as the chassis. For older carts such as this, finding aftermarket bodies to upgrade the look is impossible. Spraying some color on the classic sheet metal freshens up the cart in a big way, but it has been done a cornucopia of different flavors. Aftermarket accessories are as rare as a wild Chupacabra, leaving any added style benefit mostly to wheels, tires and upholstery.

For a creative soul such as Matt, these options where not on the agenda. Instead, he would venture on a 10-month journey sculpting his vision into a reality. Starting with a 2020 E-Z-GO body provided by Prestige Golf Cars in Murrieta, CA, he sectioned the body down the middle, adding 4” to the total width of the cart. Why, you ask? This would give Matt the ability to lower the cart without the need to narrow the rear-end or modify the front suspension. This modification is typical of carts that have a custom fabricated suspension with the use of air bags to raise and lower the cart. The idea is to provide the cart’s body enough room so that the wheels tuck in. A body that is 4” wider will provide the same outcome without extensive metal customization.

But the benefits don’t stop there. With additional width, a console could be incorporated into the center of the cart

without encroaching on the driver or passenger’s limited side-to-side seat space. The console would flow from the seat and move upward to the custom dash housing cup holders, a Kicker head unit, 6-1/2” Kicker speakers and Kicker tweeters. A 1,200-watt amp would give his favorite playlist crisp sound and the Kicker Freeair Marine Subwoofer would bark out the base.

The front seat bottom would be custom built to accommodate the extra width. A set of seatbacks were also custom built by Cezar Reza and everything was wrapped with a double stitch diamond pattern to finish off the upholstery.

Moving to the rear of the cart, Matt was able to showcase some of his creativity and metal fabrication skills. He went with a cantilever-style suspension which offers a plusher ride and saves space, which is perfect for compact areas on golf carts. By introducing pivot points between the airbag, axle and chassis, you can gain suspension travel and mount the suspension components almost anywhere you like. For the E-Z-LOW, space is tight in front of the axle, so moving it behind the axle (reverse) gave him the available space he needed. This also was perfect to show off the suspension and upped the cool factor of the overall look of the cart.

This is a one-off 3-link reverse cantilever air ride suspension that we have yet to see on a bagged cart. Matt cut out some stylized metal fins that would be the supports for the upper shocks and the top of the air bags. A 450 Viair compressor would provide more than ample pressure to a fill 3-gallon on-board tank for quick bag inflation. Routed through 8 Airslamit solenoids/valves breathed life to the chassis’ ground and sky movement with engineered prowess. Cleaning up the rear of the cart, a rolled sheet metal cover introduced some style and contrast to the color scheme.

The front suspension was a lighter modification that reined in easier than the rear suspension. A few custom metal supports attached to the front side chassis hanging down, and a few on the top of the front axle, with the air bags sandwiched in between the front setup was near completion. Routing air lines and mounting the solenoids/valves would finish off the front air-ride suspension.

For rolling mass, Matt went with 14” MODS Assault wheels on all 4 corners wrapped with 205/30-14 Arisun Cruze 4-ply tires. This tire and wheel combo is the perfect height and

width for this cart’s application, in my opinion. It allows the cart to be dropped low enough and keeps that tucked-in look that I personally love. The black wheels work perfectly for the current putty grey paint color trend.

For lighting, a basic OEM light kit was chosen. It has just the essentials – LED head lights & taillights. After these photos were taken, Matt added some FAR Mudding halo lights (www. farmudding.com). This should add some additional color interest, and some underbody lights would really finish this cart off nicely.

Overall, the E-Z-LOW cart is a one-of-a-kind and is something that Matt enjoyed building. Taking modifications that he would normally do on a vehicle and adapting them to work on a golf cart makes it all worthwhile.