Gen. Mayhem- Racing Tractor

[matman55]

They are also not always the best looking either.....

theres a few... I tend to stay away from them.

make ether a traditional hood scoop or maybe even a Ram air design!

that would be bada**
Does it state in the rules that you have to have a hood?
i run my mower without the hood and it help to keep it cooler,but it does hell to the air filter...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yes- Rules state that the tractor must start and finish race with bodywork intact.

The top of the hood has louvers (well, slots, anyway). I'm going to have to make a new engine mount plate to locate it full forward- with the air cleaner basically touching the inside of the grille. From there, I think I can jockey the fuel tank around a little, and I'll have to do something freaky with the steering column- likely involving a U-Joint or two.

 

[matman55]

I'll have to do something freaky with the steering column- likely involving a U-Joint or two.

Welcome to Racing lawnmower building.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i misread the post in the last page about fitting the engine, i thought you had decided to fit a V8 into it!

now that would be too much. i had thought about trying to build a tractor with that 4 cylinder i found in the woods.. but the engine needed almost every single part replaced to get running so i scrapped it

the tractor i had was similar to yours too.. it was a '83 sears LT10-36

 

[Doc Sprocket]

LOL! No V8 for me!

I had to take my wife to a doctor's appointment after work. While sitting there holding down the chair, I was doing some brainstorming. I think I have a plan... or two...

Dang good thing this engine comes oem with a carb-mounted fuel pump, I think I'm going to do a "remote mount".

 

[OzFab]

While sitting there holding down the chair

You crack me up

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I'm slowly hacking apart the TT for anything useable, including steel. Now, when I say "hacking", I mean, "cutting". Unlike the "hacking" involved in the assembly... Yeesh!

There is a pair of outriggers to support the axle, and you can really tell it was outsourced. That, and the exhaust header/collector. See pic.

I guess this guy didn't own a rivet gun, or was too lazy. I probably pulled five dozen self-drilling sheetmetal screws out last night!

In other annoying news, the pillow block used as the lower steering column support is boogerwelded to the crossmember it sits on! AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH! Cast iron, too.

Man, I'm telling you- I'm gonna have those rules memorized by the end of the week. I've had to refer to them so many times, it's disgusting!

 

[jonboy]

Keep posting the progress. Looks like a cool build.

 

[OzFab]

I'm slowly hacking apart the TT for anything useable, including steel. Now, when I say "hacking", I mean, "cutting". Unlike the "hacking" involved in the assembly... Yeesh!

There is a pair of outriggers to support the axle, and you can really tell it was outsourced. That, and the exhaust header/collector. See pic.

I guess this guy didn't own a rivet gun, or was too lazy. I probably pulled five dozen self-drilling sheetmetal screws out last night!

In other annoying news, the pillow block used as the lower steering column support is boogerwelded to the crossmember it sits on! AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH! Cast iron, too.

Pfft, amateurs...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Boy, this is an exercise in patience. I'm waiting for some responses from the tech folks over there on what I can and cannot get away with on a couple of aspects of the build. Unlike here, the forum over there is sparsely populated and none too active.

I did find out that I am allowed to use the fibreglass kart seat, which is cool- but probably the very last thing I'm concerned about right now. I can also use the axle support brackets, too. Trouble is, I have questions about some modifications to the frame, and obviously, I have to see to the frame concerns before I can do anything else, really...

Well, almost anything else. In order to fit the engine, I'm going to have to cut out the engine mount plate and move it forward. I can do that without affecting my frame questions. Actually, the footprint on the new engine is different than the old one, so I think I'm going to cut the engine mount off the TT and mount it in this chassis. That will give me a simple weld-on solution to the engine location rather than trying to locate and drill new holes (which isn't a problem). But since I'mm cutting out the plate anyway...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Couldn't stand the wait... I cut the front pan out around the engine mount. I then cut a similar chunk out of the TT, and mocked the engine into place. After that, I dealt with the hood fitment issue. The engine height wouldn't allow the hood to sit down, and the width was a problem, too. No problem any more. I also had to kill the hood hinge mechanisms, so now I have to solve that. Here are my choices-

1) Affix the hood to the grille, and have the whole thing pivot forward- much like a tilt frontend on a custom car, or-

2) Firmly set the grille in place, and use hood pins (4) to set the hood in place. Thoughts?

The last pic- My Redneck Engine Dolly (or is it the baddest Lawn Boy around?!?!)

 

[bighead]

This would be sick. Amagine to looks you would get?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Heh, heh! I though it was funny. Stole the idea though- In my research I saw a pic of somebody else using a mower deck as a portable engine dolly for a big vertical shaft engine like this one (actually, I think it was the same engine). Since I had this mower deck and needed a safe place to put my engine while I was messing with the mounts, well... You know...

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i thought about putting a 13.5hp briggs with a stack into a push mower and use it for heavy duty mulching but never did it

doesnt the grille bolt on with 4 bolts? i would leave it as is in case you need to work on the engine its not too hard to get off.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yeah- The grille bolts to the front framerails- I have no intention of changing that. I was looking for hood solutions. I ended up doing a pivot mechanism on the hood itself so it flips forward (similar to the stock method) and although the factory rear latches still work, I'm going to replace them with rubber hold-downs.

 

[anderkart]

Boy, this is an exercise in patience. I'm waiting for some responses from the tech folks over there on what I can and cannot get away with on a couple of aspects of the build. Unlike here, the forum over there is sparsely populated and none too active.

I'd be calling/emailing your tracks tech-inspector/race-director to ask questions.
If your track has a website, they usually have contact info posted.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

They do post that info, and welcome the calls. I'm *kinda* used to using a forum for this purpose, so it's what I've been doing. I have ended up making an "executive" decision on my rear framing question that I know will be legal.

Bear in mind that they are based maybe 3 or so hours away from me, so when I get this thing teched, I'm doing it ONCE. That's a spitload of driving to fail tech on a stupid thing.

 

[OzFab]

What do you intend to do about the void in the side of the hood; is that legal? Just a suggestion: expanding mesh could be used. The beauty of it is you can easily shape it around the protrusion & it still looks ok; welding it is a pita though

 

[Doc Sprocket]

The hood cutout is legal. I would have liked to have just notched around the cylinder head, but there was a flare on the side of the hood (see earlier pics) that would have looked really bad if I left half of it. The expanded mesh isn't a bad idea- I believe I will be using some in the grille- there are fake louvers there, and I think I will cut them out for airflow.

After I fudged around with engine position for awhile, I tacked in the mount plate. Now that it's in and I think I now now what I'm doing in the rearend, I can proceed to reinforce the frame. I will be using 1" SHS for this. Turns out the frame flexes quite a lot- I checked it today.

 

[OzFab]

That massive hole could've been avoided & could still be fixed. I can give you a few tips if you like; I do this stuff for a living. What type of welder are you using, MIG or stick?