Aaron Von Frankenstein

I decided to actually bolt things up and see what real affect I would have by stretching it as far as I can.

Here is how I stretched it by bolting.


So far, that is just bolted together with a couple pieces of unistrut. Before I am finished, I will cut some flat stock, and weld in the sides and some around the top, to make it one solid piece.


I don't have any pics that compare the difference very well. Here is the best I have been able to put together.



It's actually 10-1/2".

I don't like it. I wanted those wheels even farther back. But I am going to accept it because this at least gets the wheels back as far as they are on the ATVs that I have seen the last couple of days.

I need to get on with this. Not wait around for a longer belt.


Next up, getting the wheels off so I can get to welding and strengtheing this.

Removing the wheels is probably more trouble than I wanted. They are completely rusted on. Worse, someone has beat the heck out of the axles, mushrooming them.

If I want to use this trans, I'll have to cut the wheels off. Then dress up the axles so that I can put other wheels on. I don't want to do that.

I'm just glad that I didn't actually get started on the welding. I can just unbolt what I have done, and get started on a different idea.


To whit:

My backup idea for stretching it, is... Use the entire back half of the frame from the whams.

The frame from the whams is in two halfs. As is the frame on the beast. I am thinking of unbolting the back half of the whams frame, and then see what it will take to marry that to the frame of the ariens.

And probably go ahead and use the vari-drive system. Since it pretty much makes the perfect jackshaft, if nothing else.

But I'll probably have to go ahead and buy a belt, at the very least.

That would give me variable speeds.

Although I think the varidrive pulley system pretty much amounts to using the clutch to vary the speed.

I know that the conclusion in the other thread was that using the clutch to control your speed would burn up your belts more quickly.

Well, I did notice a burning belt smell every time that I drove it. And if I go over that system in my head... It really does amount to the same interface between the variable pully and the belts... As the interface between the clutch pulleys and single belt, as that clutch is moved.

It's no wonder varidrives go through belts so quickly.

~~~~~~~

Ok, the choices were...

1.) The hydro from the ariens.
*a. I'd have to cut the wheels off. Then use the wheels off the beast on that trans.
*b. I don't know if the hydro even works at all.
*c. I'd have to rebuild the hydro, at the very least. yet another expense and even more time. (Probably end up costing at least as much as having to buy another belt.)
*d. Might be cool to experiment with a hydro.

2.) Use the peerless 930 from the beast.
*a. The same drawback to both of these trans... they have 3/4" axles. Widening them would take more than I'd rather have to go into. And I simply do not trust a tiny little 3/4" axle sticking way out there, to stand up to the abuse I'll be giving to it.
*b. It would charge up that hill without hesitation. Ok, just a bit of hesitation at the most steep parts. But it would just keep going, and at a rapid pace. (Maybe not a good thing if you think about the use I have for this tractor from this point forward.) It also carried a lot of weight up the hill, and did better than the whams on that count.

3.) The FNR from the whams.
*a. Ok, so it didn't charge up the hill. But I noticed that even at a very slow crawl, it just kept going.
*b. It has those huge axles. And cast iron axle tubes/supports.
*c. Easily widened. And I'll trust it more after widening, than I would trust the others.
*d. When it popped out of gear, it was the shifter that moved. So I'll have to do something to solidify that. Lock it in place, once in gear.


I have already determined that I'd be putting the tires and chains off the beast, onto this one. Since the first step to widening this one, is to flip the wheels, the first thing I'll do is to drill new stem holes on the rim, and install the tubes I already have for those tires. That gets the stem back on the outside of the wheel. And gives me some more life from those tires.

I think I should be able to make some spacers for those, as well.


I've got some other things to get done tomorrow and maybe the next few days. But I'll get started at this again, by the end of the week.

Sounds like the 3rd option is the best, unless there is a downside you missed...?