Do you have a picture of the buggy you built? Spending a lot of time in front of a computer makes me want to build physical things. I have no experience welding, and I'm always impressed with what people can build out of metal.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LTl1dfiFXXo/U4etdcKdRTI/AAAAAAAAAx...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--6qOASg5xts/U4exjAZ4TEI/AAAAAAAAAx...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4c8DArPQnO4/U4etHJaRrmI/AAAAAAAAAx...
I did about half of the welding on the buggy and I actually learned how to weld while we were building it. YouTube videos were enormously helpful and welding is really fun.
Technically this was for my university, but we raised funds for it without their help and built it not out of requirement, but out of interest.