The Gilsonator!!!!

Picked up this Gilson on ebay from a local guy last weekend.... Hell it was 40 bucks not running...It is a GT14E, 14hp, garden tractor, 14hp opposed with a peerless 2300 4sp..  It had a big mowing deck that I scrapped, finally got it running and rewired today, still havent driven it out of the garage... Have some 25" tires I am going to pick up and get this going...it has a draw bar 3 point hitch thingy, so I am not sure what I am gonna do there since i usually just put a class II receiver on everything...


I just wanted something a little more heavy duty than these lawn tractors to pull some wood around etc.  So plans are big tires etc...  

That is in very nice shape!  That a 2300 series in that!

Sweet rig! Some Executioners would look absolutely mint under the rear of that thing

Nice buy! Are those 10" rims?

@MightyRaze wrote:

That is in very nice shape!  That a 2300 series in that!

yes it is...


I finally drove it  out of the garage tonight & the issues I have now are sometimes it stalls going into gear, and there is some kind of major oil leak off the back of the engine, it looks like right behind/below the starter? looks like there is a plate or something on the back of the engine ? i dont know need to get a manual...


looks like the crankcase gasket.......?

Yeah that plate is there on the verticals. That's where the base goes on horizontals. I wouldn't doubt that needs a gasket, but maybe try making sure all the bolts are snug first.

Pretty nice, good clean paint and some cool graphics that not too many other people are going to have. It's nice to have something different than anyone else.

Put some other rims on with a different offset, I like the wider stance & the more stable ride... Got a bunch of atv tires this weekend mostly 25x10-12..

Also looked at my other opposed engines and the only thing I can imagine leaking that is behind the starter is that crank case gasket, no way it is the head gasket I assume that would be making a smoke show etc. But the oil leaks real steady right behind the starter down that cover....

Got my oil leak fixed, the crank case gasket was missing a bolt.... got the tires mounted up and here we are.... this thing is awesome, and has a nice creeper 1st gear....

got some LED headlights, worked out pretty good... still pretty annoying it doesn't offroad as good as my little tractors, crafstmans and MTDs that are smaller and lighter... I think I have to lock the transaxle to make it work good, because when it gets stuck its annoying its too heavy to pick up and move...

It runs smooth and the 1st gear creeper gear is awesome on the rocks....

got allot of use out of this thing so far...fun to drive, its a little wide for the tight trails in my woods but it works.....

Nice to see it put to use. How do the flush mounted lights work for seeing directly in front of your rig at night?

@Crazy_Carl wrote:

Nice to see it put to use.  How do the flush mounted lights work for seeing directly in front of your rig at night?

Best 18bucks I ever spent.........on a tractor. Super bright white light & not allot of battery draw.

I am thinking hard about locking the rear end on this, since its heavier it just doesn't wheel as good as the smaller lighter tractors, but it pulls pretty much anything...

@mrshaft696 wrote:

I am thinking hard about locking the rear end on this, since its heavier it just doesn't wheel as good as the smaller lighter tractors, but it pulls pretty much anything...

Sounds like a good idea, it would pull even more anything!

Cool!

got a drag & the wife is driving it all around....

tried out some Deestone 26x12's and they are awesome, game changer for tractor..

Oooo boy! Those sure look good!

What does the wife think of them though?

@AllisKidD21 wrote:

Oooo boy! Those sure look good!

What does the wife think of them though?

Haha she loves the tractor actually, she says she only likes tractors that are yellow or green, but this one is an exception. I paid 160 for the pair, pretty tough ones for me to mount since the wider tire on the narrower rim.

Yeah it's a total pain mounting wide tires on narrow rims but they look so good when mounted. These look great on this tractor. Is this one of your main "go to" tractors for riding around your property and pulling things?

@Crazy_Carl wrote:

Yeah it's a total pain mounting wide tires on narrow rims but they look so good when mounted.  These look great on this tractor.  Is this one of your main "go to" tractors for riding around your property and pulling things?

Yeah it was the best 40 bucks I ever spent I think. I am trying on getting two other tractors into use, a cub 1450 and picked up a 17GTH simplicity the other day, the garden tractors are just allot more useful than the smaller ones (other than gas).

But Yeah i have no problem using it all the time without babying it, & the creeper gear is really useful. I just need to figure out a hitch design for it. I cant find the parts to make the original one work.

Do you mean 3-point hitch? I see a place to mount the two lower links and the top link.

Making it lift...that's another story. I have seen someone successfully use a power steering pump to actuate a hydraulic cylinder. Where to mount it...I have no idea lol. Have you found any diagram or sales brochure on implements?

@Crazy_Carl wrote:

Do you mean 3-point hitch?  I see a place to mount the two lower links and the top link.  

Making it lift...that's another story.  I have seen someone successfully use a power steering pump to actuate a hydraulic cylinder.  Where to mount it...I have no idea lol.  Have you found any diagram or sales brochure on implements?

the original one was electric, you can see the plug on the back of the tractor. I just need to get a class II receiver mounted up for what I need.