Gen. Mayhem- Racing Tractor

[Doc Sprocket]

Thanks, fellas!

I had to go blow off some steam, so I went and sourced another bearing today. I had a zillion other errands to run, and frankly I'm exhausted. Haven't been sleeping well, little too stressed...

Anyway, having the second bearing breathes a bit more life into the project. I was able to position the axle support brackets and temporarily toss the axle in.

On the downside, I ran out of welding wire on my fourth tack of the second axle bracket, and all I had on hand was a half-pound of uber-crappy chinese wire I once made the huge mistake of purchasing. Actually, I thought I had thrown it away... I THINK I have the better part of a spool of .030 Lincoln Innersheild somewhere. I'll have to look for it later, and a contact tip to match. I usually use .035.

In other lovely news, I asked my wife to make some coffee- she came into the garage 5 minutes later to announce the coffee maker was dead.

 

[jonboy]

lookin pretty sweet!

 

[smallfry1227]

rip coffee maker.:Angel_anim:

 

[fowler]

No sleep, stress and no coffee
It may be rip toystory

 

[OzFab]

Man, you've had a he// of a fortnight; chasing bearings all over Canada, cars ceasing to operate, coffee machine dying (& that's just what you've told us about), no wonder you're stressed

Go take a nap

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yeah- And that doesn't even cover the crap I'm going through at work- bad scene, folks! the worst "office politics" you could possibly imagine. I've just about had my lot...

 

[fowler]

Sounds like its time for a holiday

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yes sir, it is! And in about a week, I'm off! Gonna drive way the he// up north, throw my gear in a bush plane, and get dropped off smack in the middle of absolutely nowhere for a week of fishin' fun! No phones, no computers, no wives, no work- just my dad and I out to get "the big one"!

EDIT- Found some "donor tubing" for the nerf bars!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Awww... FUDGE!!!!!

I've been picking away at this mower slowly as I gather parts and info. I suffered a setback today.

I have a front master cylinder/hose/caliper assembly from a chinese pitbike that I was planning on using. I had already welded the rotor to an 1 1/4" hub. When I got the caliper, the pads were missing... No big deal, right? Wrong-O!

On lunch break today, I drove clear across Toronto to Daymak, a place that retails such chinese stuff. I spent about 45 minutes at the parts counter with a parts clerk, and enough brake pads in a bin to slow the earth's rotation. Said and done, he could not find a suitable set of pads. Dammit!

I could have purchased a new complete caliper assembly, but I'm cheap. LOL

So- backup plan. Amongst all the crap I have laying around, is the rear braking components from a 1983 Honda VF750 Interceptor. While complete, I'm not convinced it will work with the snazzy, vented rotor I was planning on using. My rotor is probably half the thickness of the interceptor rotor, and a few inches smaller in diameter. In the next couple days, I'll yank it the caliper off the bike and get a better idea. I don't want to have to adapt the bike rotor, too much rotating mass- it'd be like having a second flywheel...

 

[souperman000]

That sucks....

On another note, I'm glad to see an update!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yeah- it's not dead, just on the back burner while I sort some stuff out. In the mean time, I purchased a 16hp Briggs twin for parts for my 18. I bought my 18 without governor externals, and the rules require the engine to be governed. The previous owner had been running ungoverned, with the internals still intact! Makes me wanna scream! Anyway- with a small trade, I paid $20 for the complete parts engine. I would have had to pay more than that for new governor goodies from a Briggs dealer, so I reckon I got a bargain!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

For every problem, there is a solution to be had. I just got back in from pulling the caliper, master, hoses and reservoir off the bike. The diameter of my intended rotor fits the caliper fairly well, with a potential of about 95% pad contact. It'll do. Okay- that's an understatement. This dual-piston caliper was meant to stop a 750cc, four-cylinder street bike! (1983 Honda Interceptor).

The rotor thickness is a concern, too- but I think I have an answer for that, too. I have two (almost identical) pitbike rotors- one is flat, one is offset from centre. I had chosen to use the offset one. If I cut the hub off the straight one and weld it to the offset one, I will then double the thickness...

That just leaves me trying to come up with a mounting solution, and extending the hose.

Getting dark here, I'll try to include some pics tomorrow.

 

[pfd27]

you should be ok with that brake setup. I run a 10" front rotor off a streetbike
with a caliper from a Artic Cat zr6 I think and a kart master. Works great and never fades.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I've pretty much got the braking sorted out. The Interceptor caliper, and a couple possible rotors. The only problem I have is that the hose is not long enough, and has banjo fittings on both ends. I prefer to cut and flare my own brake lines, but I don't know how to adapt to a banjo.

 

[DaiSan76]

I don't know how to adapt to a banjo.

 

[carter]

I don't know how to adapt to a banjo.

Its not that hard, just gotta adjust your playing position till you're hitting the same notes.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

A bloody helpful lot you two are!

(searching for facepalm smiley...)

Okay, I'll admit it was funny!

 

[carter]

On a more serious note, you could probably find something like

to screw your regular line into where the hollow screw usually goes.

Also, the title was a little misleading.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Slowly but surely...

Having networked with some tractor-racing-type folks, I have ordered a good used set of rear tires @ 16x8.50-8 and a set of 3-bolt go kart front hubs (which the rules require).

Inspired, I did some transmission work. My tranny is a Peerless 700, which came from the factory as a 3-speed. I also had a Peerless 800 5-speed transaxle. As we've seen so many times, manufacturers tend to re-use parts where possible to save costs. The 800 shares gearsets, shift keys, and some other miscellaneous bits with the 700. So-

Having counted all the teeth and crunched all the numbers, I regeared my 700. It is now a 4-speed. The 700 came factory as either a 3- 4- or 5- speed. Adding another gearset simply requires removal of a dummy spacer. But I didn't just add another gear, I handpicked all 4 ratios from what I had available, and regeared the whole shebang.

As it was:
1st- 9:1
2nd- 7:1
3rd- 3:1

Now-

1st- 9:1
2nd- 3:1
3rd- 2.4:1
4th- 2:1

I kept 1st nice and low for controlled transport. The remaining 3 ratios should give me a bit of wiggle room for varying tracks, and/or minor gearing miscalcs.

Now that I have hubs (on the way), that leaves me needing front tires and rims. I have not yet built my front axle, because I need all these parts to accurately calculate my axle length and drop height...

Progress is slow, but progressing.

 

[exenos]

Is there any way to cram a 5th ratio in there also? It looks like there might be.