Hello from NH / ME

Hi everyone. I recently found out about this forum from doc sprocket's youtube channel. This whole off-road/mud mower thing is new to me but I really love the idea.

2 years ago I bought an old (1980?) Craftsman LT10 for $25 off craigslist. At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I'm somewhat of a gear head so I figured I'd make it into something fun. It had no engine, but the guy I bought it from included a seperate 12hp briggs flathead that he thought would run with a good carb cleaning/rebuild. The steering was all rusted solid, the front tires he put on were too wide, but just barely fit, and the rear wheels had no keys so they just spun freely on the rear axle (and I didn't know if the transaxle was any good)... Long story short - that summer I mounted the engine and got it running good, freed up the steering, keyed the rear wheels and found the transaxle to spin freely and shift good (although I haven't opened it up yet). It was looking pretty good then I hit a roadblock when I couldn't get the vari-drive pulley assembly to move at all no matter how hard I tried. I figured I'd have to cut/grind the thing apart to move forward, but pretty much lost interest in the project as other things took priority and it's been sitting under a tarp collecting mouse turds since then.

I also have a newer Craftsman T3000 that I use for mowing, plowing, hauling and yard work. That machine is my general work horse and (at least right now) I don't plan on modding that machine beyond what it's already doing)

Watching many youtube videos lately and discovering this forum has me wanting to pull the old LT10 back out and start working on it again once the weather gets a bit warmer. I hope to use this forum to find ideas, get help when it's needed, and help others where I can. Thanks, -Chris (FuFa)

Welcome FuFa. Check out the rules link on the right as well as join in on the discussion! Build-off starts in a day when we get our password! If you need any help posting images, check out the how-to in the bottom of my signature.

Again Welcome!

Welcome!

Wait....craftsman, varidrive, keyed shafts....something doesn’t add up

I think Craftsman did a weird Vari drive thing for a short bit.

Welcome!

Thanks for the welcome guys.

My LT10 is a very old machine. After researching and from pictures I could find online after I bought it I was estimating it to be around a 1980-1981 model. Those models were made by MTD and had the vari-drive setup.

@FuFa wrote:

Hi everyone. I recently found out about this forum from doc sprocket's youtube channel. This whole off-road/mud mower thing is new to me but I really love the idea.

Welcome to the forum Chris!

That must be older than the style MTD I’m used to. Usually MTD have flat spots ground into the axles and the rim has the same flat spots in the hole that goes over the axle. No keyway needed. Good thought really, but a pain that they’re the only ones that do it

Well to be honest I don't know if the transaxle is original, but I know the one that's installed is a peerless with keyed shafts.

Hmm....peerless AND varidrive? Sounds like someone was in there before you lol

The only MTD I’ve ever seen with a factory peerless is my friends ranch king. Peerless 801 5 speed with no varidrive. His was specific to an MTD though. Flat spots in the axles and 1/2 inch input shaft.

Thanks for the info. I know I said transaxle, but that is the probably the wrong word for it. It's been well over a year since I've looked at it last, but I'm pretty sure the peerless unit is mounted up high under the seat and is connected by a chain to a seperate axle (not solid, it has a differential).

I just assumed it was a factory setup, but it sounds like it may have been somebody else's custom mod?

If it is an inline shift (1 2 3 4 5 R) gearbox to chain to live axle, it’s a peerless 700. If it is an H pattern shift but otherwise the same, it’s a Foote. Neither one was offered by MTD that I’m aware of so sounds like a custom rig

Actually Peerless did make an H-shift pattern 700 variant called the 700H, but I think they're pretty rare so you probably wouldn't find one in a tractor very easily, haha.