Honda HT 3813 Faster?!

I want to start my first projekt and i have the opportunity to buy "the holy grail" as some call it, honda ht 3813. Ive been looking at them for years and now i finally found one. However there is one downside to it and that is the fact that you cant make it fast because it is shaft driven.. or can you? My idea was to fit some kind of quad/ atv transaxle and i have been searching for hours on the internet for something that looks like it could work. with little success. I have seen Sprockets Garages videos of his build of this tractor and he also said in one video that for a normal guy it is pretty much impossible to get it fast. What are your thoughts on this? Did anyone do it before?

Thanks & Greetings.

Well, you can get the speed up a little bit by modifying/removing the governor and putting taller tires on, but outside of a major rear end modification, I don't think so.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Well, you can get the speed up a little bit by modifying/removing the governor and putting taller tires on, but outside of a major rear end modification, I don't think so.

Yes you are right i am searching for an quad shifter transaxle but the ones that i found are all chain or belt driven.

Well, something I have seen in the Go Kart world is a right angle gear box. Basically, you put a pulley on the engine shaft, down to a pulley on a gearbox which converts the energy to a shaft on the right of the box, from there you can run a sprocket drive to a live axle in the rear. Might be a little easier than a 4 wheeler's rear end. You would have to figure out something for a clutch, however.

OOOkay now i have a new idea. I take a transmission wich is used to power hydraulic pumps from PTO drive. It has a ratio of 1:3,8. This will make it go ~ 20 mph. (Standard 5,4 mph in 5th gear this information i got from tractordata.com)
But since this tranny will make the shaft spin reverse i need to add a reverse gear...
and this needs to be fitted right in front of the clutch so the drive shaft doesnt spin the crap out of the tractor.
In Theory this works  

What about a new final drive in the factory transaxle?

How about just getting a Sears or Wheel Horse?

I think I wont do this project. Sears and Weel horses are hard to find in germany. But I found something else, a gutbrod 1032 wich is kinda like a small garden tractor, not really a mower. It is 20 miles from my place but it is pretty much torn appart. Anyways, thank you for your advice!

I'm not so sure about that choice either.  It appears to also be shaft drive or hydro just glancing at some pictures.  Any Idea what the drive train is?

It is a shaft drive but it already goes a bit faster than a normal lawn tractor. it does 8-9 mph stock. the interresting thing about this tractor is that the setup is actually like a downsized tractor. It has a lockable rear diff and a very stable axle and frame. the engine is a gutbrod MAG 12 hp 1 cylinder i think id have to change it since it layed arround in parts for years. I did purchase this tractor and maybe i will do a thread on the build later. Although i dont know if i am going to do a "Mud Mower" build or just restore it properly and keep it as it is since it is a very nice little tractor.

That would be a hard one to "modify" for the offroad.  Maybe a mild modification like @SebastianAlbrecht did with his mtd rasentrac b10 garden and offroad mower.

Well it's your choice on what you do with it but it sounds like it would make a great light modifed workhorse build that you can work and play with.

Maybe you can gear swap the transaxle. Or if that doesn't work, build a Jackshaft , so the engine goes to a big pulley, the jackshaft has a small one, and in the transaxle input side you could put again big pulley on the jackshaft and small pulley on the trans, or 1:1 pulley. or you could put a CVT on the engine. Maybe you lose your ground clearance, or the stuff goes between your fender and the dashboard. IDK if you have enough clearance there, without cutting up the frame. Or you buy 2 90° gear boxes, 1 on the trans input, 1 on the engine output, big pulley on the 90° gearbox output on the engine, small on the input on the 90° gearbox that turns the trans. There should be also room for a CVT. CVT on the engine 90° gearbox, sprocket on the 90° gearbox on the trans.

Yes I know the original Pulley style would be the easiest to modify. But it seems hard to find a nice robust pulley driven tractor in germany that doesnt disappear under my a$$.
A sears or a wheel horse would be in the same range if it comes to size. At least i think so since i have never seen one IRL. This might not become a fast tractor but i like it anyway.

ErikTheGerman wrote:

Yes I know the original Pulley style would be the easiest to modify. But it seems hard to find a nice robust pulley driven tractor in germany that doesnt disappear under my a$$.
A sears or a wheel horse would be in the same range if it comes to size. At least i think so since i have never seen one IRL. This might not become a fast tractor but i like it anyway.

I knew that feeling, I fight long, and looked thousand years for my MTD and Murray and Dynamark. And the Stuff here is so expensive, if U build a quality mower, you come cheaper buying a ATV.

That Gutbrod sounds cool, definitely start a thread on it!