Project "Yoder" Redzz02's Racer

hello ladys and gents, it was brought to my attention that i need to quit slacking and should post a build thread on my racing mower, i apologize that i do not have very many pictures during the build process(almost complete) and that ill take as many pictures and try and walk through what ive done

here the mower is flipped upside down when i was boxing in the frame


here it is on all 4s for the first time


half way put together


and some front axle action


right now this is all the pictures i have of it. a large list of parts was ordered from bmi karts, also a seal, and a quick change sprocket and sprocket hub was bought from ec carbs. the motor and tires were salvaged from the previous racing mower "Small Experiment" as you guys have probably seen in my race videos or my more popular videos "mower from hell" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjFEoqQCz5E or "racing mower screaming" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNeIOkemdOg

i run a 1 inch live axle set up with a race prepped peerless 700 series 5spd gearbox, 16x7.5x8 Carlisle  turf masters on 8x8 Douglass aluminum rims on the rear, 15x6x6 Carlisle turf masters on Douglass 6x7.25? aluminum rims on the front,  my brakes are a home made set up credited to wertheroriginal on the youtube tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1NkY-SMDUk (tell him i sent you) i will take lots of pictures and a video on how i built mine. My engine started out as a 14 hp briggs and stratton vanguard v-twin. later with a stock twin barrel carburetor off of a larger vanguard, ported and polished 18hp heads with dual valve springs build by ryker racing, also a twin barrel intake ported and polished by ryker, lapped and loctite the flywheel. advancing the time about 1/3 of the key way clock wise, and e3 spark plugs, 5w 30 royal purple(usually run 5w 30 quaker state) with a custom build intake with a cone style air filter. running a 6.75 in pulley on the motor to a single pulley clutch and a 4 inch pulley on the gearbox. then im running a 12t sprocket to a 54t? on the axle i believe it is a 54t, also running direct steering with a custom front axle built with hiem joints for adjusting camber. will have more pics and info soon

lol sorry for bringing it to your atention lol  , ive been meaning to ask, how do you lap you flywheel?

one of the guys i raced with told me to take valve lapping compound and put a healthy does on on y cran and the part of the flywheel that contacts it, and spin the flywheel on the crank for about 10 minutes and then clean it off with some acetone, take the high strength thread locker and put even more of a healthy dosing of that on the crank, set the flywheel where you want it whether you are *****, advancing, or just putting it in the normal location and crank down on the nut with an impact gun, then let it sit for a few days. ive been running my motor without a flywheel key for almost two years now without any problems

thanks, ive been meaning to ask that, i found a 25 hp v twin i might try and get, how much would i need to advance it?, and is it worth the trouble to remove the govenor?

i did mine 1/3 of the keyway turned clockwise, it is harder to start and wont idle as low, and i did not remove my governor i just run my throttle straight to the butterfly flap(the throttle hook up on the carb)

redzz02 wrote:

i did mine 1/3 of the keyway turned clockwise, it is harder to start and wont idle as low, and i did not remove my governor i just run my throttle straight to the butterfly flap(the throttle hook up on the carb)

doesn't that run the risk of messing up internals on the motor?, and does advancing the timing help enough to justify me doing it?

hasnt ruined anything on any of my motors yet knock on wood, and unless you plan on turning high rmps constantly and building the motor up somewhat i dont think its worth it

redzz02 wrote:

hasnt ruined anything on any of my motors yet knock on wood, and unless you plan on turning high rmps constantly and building the motor up somewhat i dont think its worth it

alright, i wont advance it then, thanks for the help, now i got to figure out a good way to do direct steer like i want lol

Did you do anything to your hood to make it sit like that. I'm building the same mower in my build.

Reds did you build the motor other then what you said? Dual valve springs means your gonna be doin some high ass rpms lol don't throw a rod

I's looking good Redzz, Bet you spent some dollah on the rims and tires.

Can you get the front ones a tad bit narrower?

Did you do anything to your hood to make it sit like that. I'm building the same mower in my build. wrote:

alls i had to do is cut where the lights are to fit over my air filter, other than that location is stock

Reds did you build the motor other then what you said? Dual valve springs means your gonna be doin some high ass rpms lol don't throw a rod wrote:

nope nothing other than what i said, havent yet and hopping i dont(but if i do then i get to build a bigger motor)

do they offer them in skinner size wrote:

^not the actual quote but they do, they make them in several different widths

well i found some more pictures on my laptop and took a bunch more


heres the gearbox and chain and sprockets

heres it halfway together


the motor with the fancy pants orange fuel line


here is the way i have my throttle hooked up, straight to the carb with two return springs


the front of the mower


and the back end


we will leave it at those for now

thing is sweet, i started puttin a suzuki 160 motor on my rear engine rider frame... was going to do a twin and peerless 700 but i literly had NO room. but really the sound of the twin is the only thing that wouldve been better (other than it still being a mower engine..) check it out Hot Rod Craftsman

Lookin' good man! Couple random points here:

*The flywheel key indexes the flywheel to the crank for timing purposes. A lot of racers don't use a key at all. However- you need a timing degree wheel to accurately set the timing without one.

*Many racers file the key's width down, in order to advance the timing and still have it indexed for accuracy. Every 0.006" you file off they key equates to 1° of timing advance.

*Lapping the flywheel is a common trick too, and a good one at that. But I'd like to point out that putting loctite on the joint is completely pointless. It is a tapered fit, and you've lapped it. It's doesn't get any better.

*The flywheel nut should be tightened to 150 ft/lbs.

(Not really related to this particular racer, but-)

I love (not) how people say "Oh, it only does 40, that's not very fast", or "Mine does 75, I'd beat you every time". I suppose the rules kinda go out the window when you're just building a fast ride and calling it a "racer" but... Anybody that makes statements like the above, clearly doesn't understand racing, or at least not on a track. You have to gear for the track. For example- on a very short oval, the racer that "only" does 40 will smoke Buddy Bragger and his 75MPH wonder beast. Acceleration. Fuel for thought.

i completely agree with you doc, when i raced with my last mower i built, its all about gearing especially when you have alot smaller motor than the other guys. and being in somewhat of an unlimited class with about no rules other than safety i was running with guys with alcohol burning twins (getting lapped.....) but i was having fun, i didnt have a license or a job back then, i didnt have the money to build a motor, and now that i do no one races at the track that i went to so theres no point in building a bigger one yet. i guess the point im trying to get at is buddy bragger might be able to do 75mph or atleast think he is, i could well gear this mower to do go those speeds, but then my racing gears 3rd and 4th would be all screwed up and i wouldnt be able to pull off the corners and be struggling to top out the rpms by time the turns come. and thanks to the info on the flywheel, with the loctite i was just following what the fellow racer told me, and i guess if i properly torqued my flywheels i wouldnt have to worry about the flywheel shifting if the key were to sheer

I was referring more to the fact that you have to gear for the track. A short course, calls for lower gearing- off the line and out of the corners faster, greater acceleration, at the cost of a lower top speed. On a short track, you can only go so fast, therefore gearing for a higher top speed results in a more sluggish machine that cannot realize it's full potenetial. On the other hand, a long course calls for higher gearing. On long straights, the lower geared (slower) machine would max out early, leaving the higher geared machine far ahead.

Soo- my comment was more like this- Buddy's machine might top out at 75MPH, but put us on a short track, and I'm gonna lap you faster than you can figure out why...

What doc said!!

That looks pretty awesome! Nice clean build you have going on red!

doc- thanks exactly what i was trying to sayy

doug- Thank you very much!

time for some more pictures!

here are some shots of my spindles, 1/4 flat stock with two 1/2 holes drilled in it for 1/2 hiem joints for adjustable steering geometry, spindles made out of 1/2 bolts and 5/8 bolts







also my brakes set up, check out wertheroriginal on youtube he is the one i got this design from

I wanna do that front axle setup, but I'm not sure where to find the sleeve that the main king pin goes thru, but other than that I could just get the hem joints off eBay

heres some pictures of the underside of her







aslo my headlight cover made out of a sheet of stainless steel

Is that a double pulley clutch or is it just one pulley for clutching and the other is just a idler?

the v belt one is the clutch, the flat idler puller is just an idler so its a single pulley clutch

I actually think most folks consider that a double pulley clutch, because both pulleys are acting upon the belt, altering the tension. That's if I'm seeing it right. Do both pulleys move with the clutch?

LOVE the light cover. Looks mean as hell... Terminator!