Hey all! I'm new to the forum, so I figured the best way to introduce myself was to show you my project. I started late last summer and it's been a little slow going since I don't have any kind of shed or garage to work in and it tends to be somewhat wet here in the Pacific Northwest.
This is earlier on in the build after I installed two 6" light bars in place of the original bulbs. I think I already had the pulley swap done at this point as well. I replaced the rear 9" pulley with a 3.5". (The front is also 3.5", so now the ratio is 1:1.) I hope to upgrade the clutch to a double-pulley setup at some point to make room for a larger pulley up front.
This is pretty much where the project is now. I installed bigger, more aggressive wheels on the back and swapped the fenders out for some that had more clearance since the wheels rubbed the original fenders and I didn't like the idea of cutting them to make room. I'm currently in the process of making a battery tray so I can have the battery up front. (The new fenders are designed to have a gas tank under them, rather than a battery.)
Here's what I have done so far:
Rear pulley swap
Engine swap (15hp Kohler Command)
Bigger rear wheels (Thinking I may want to get some that are just a bit smaller. Maybe 23" or 22" instead of 25".)
Fender swap
My to-do list:
Finish fabrication and painting of the battery tray
Figure out a foot throttle (I don't want to use the bicycle break-lever solution)
Larger wheels for the front
Repair cracks in frame next to the front axle (both left and right sides)
Front pulley swap?
Double-pulley clutch?
Paint (thinking maybe Cub Cadet yellow and black)
And finally, my "wish" list:
Find someone to help me fabricate some mounting hardware to install the suspension, a-arms and hubs (basically the front end) from a parts ATV
Replace the steering assembly with the handlebars and stem from my parts ATV (also considering using the thumb-throttle that's on it?)
Strengthen the frame
Make it street legal (I think it'd be fun to drive it around town on errands. )
One of the things I want to avoid doing is making permanent changes to the frame or body, as I'd like to be able to easily revert any changes if I don't like something or I want to make a modification.
I recently got a Briggs 18hp opposed twin that I want to put in it, but I'll need to find a way to raise the hood so that it'll clear the larger engine.
Last edited by PlasticMechanic on Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:22 pm; edited 2 times in total
AllisKidD21 Moderator
Age : 21 Join date : 2016-07-10 Posts : 4870 Forum Rep : 239 Location : Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Craftsman rally project Thu May 23, 2019 7:14 am
Welcome to ATLTF!! Looks like you got a great project going on here!
_______________________________________________ "This'll either wake you up or put you to sleep forever!"- Red Green "Whatever you do you should do right, even if it's something wrong." - Hank Hill
Got a bit of progress to share with y'all. Since my last post I've swapped in an opposed twin and just yesterday I finished putting together and installing my custom-made battery tray. No paint on it yet (other than what was already on there), but it was kind of quick and dirty to begin with so I may just leave it as is.
I took it out for a quick top speed run and got about 15 mph, but it got a bit too tippy for my tastes so I think I'm going to get some smaller tires for the back and use the larger ones for another project. (I have a red '89 MTD that I want to start on.) I want to lower the seat as well, but that would mean switching to a smaller gas tank and relocating it. Just gotta figure out what I can do with the resources I have.
RichieRichOverdrive Seasoned Veteran
Age : 17 Join date : 2016-10-29 Posts : 2592 Forum Rep : 92 Location : Lewisburg, KY
Looks good! Took me a while to realize you swapped the fenders before I read your post, lol. Maybe you could go with a lower height rally type build, those usually turn out pretty well. How much of the hood do you have to cut to make it fit?
The current plan is to find some metal that I can make a riser bracket out of to raise the front of the hood about 2", then I need to make some kind of spacer to lift the back. I also plan to cut out a hood scoop at some point. (I know I'd be permanently modifying it, but I think it'd be worth it in this case.)
Craftsman actually made a modified version of the hood that's meant to fit a twin under it. Woulda made things a lot easier if I had been able to find one of these and just start out with it...
But yeah, as far as ride height, something closer to stock wheel size would be preferable. I've been looking at tires on Amazon, but I'm having a bit of trouble deciding which one would be best for a rally-style build. Here's what I'm looking at:
Also, I just realized that I failed to mention that this is my first time building a mower. Been watching lots of YouTube vids by folks like Doc Sprocket and chud327 (just to name a couple) and wanted to get in on the action.
MightyRaze Administrator
Age : 44 Join date : 2016-09-06 Posts : 6206 Forum Rep : 449 Location : Shawnee, OK
It's a fun hobby, but can get costly. It will teach you patience waiting on that right part to show up. It will teach you frustration when you decided to go a different direction with the build and the parts show up after you have reached the point of no return. Just remember to have fun with it, be patient, and the first one will have some nostalgic vibes to it, but it will give way to many more projects.
It's a fun hobby, but can get costly. It will teach you patience waiting on that right part to show up. It will teach you frustration when you decided to go a different direction with the build and the parts show up after you have reached the point of no return. Just remember to have fun with it, be patient, and the first one will have some nostalgic vibes to it, but it will give way to many more projects.
Well said!
Pretty neat build you got going on here! I've seen the modified version of your hood, but they never really looked right.
Pretty neat build you got going on here! I've seen the modified version of your hood, but they never really looked right.
Yeah, I kinda worry that it may look a bit too weird and I won't like it. I've seen vids where people have a v-twin under the style of hood that I have without any apparent fitment issues. It's part of why I wanted to make the riser bracket bolt-on instead of welding it so that if I get a hold of a v-twin somewhere down the road I can easily take it back down to stock hood height. (It'd be a win-win too, since I'd be able to swap the oppy onto the MTD.)
RichieRichOverdrive Seasoned Veteran
Age : 17 Join date : 2016-10-29 Posts : 2592 Forum Rep : 92 Location : Lewisburg, KY
Those 19.5s might be a bit on the big side, could interfere with the hood. Although I bought a set of 18x6.5-8 carlisle snow hogs once and they were only like 16.5" tall. So maybe the 19s would work just fine with the hood riser.
Those 19.5s might be a bit on the big side, could interfere with the hood. Although I bought a set of 18x6.5-8 carlisle snow hogs once and they were only like 16.5" tall. So maybe the 19s would work just fine with the hood riser.
Oh! I thought you were talking about cutting the hood to make the engine fit! I'm waiting on buying front tires 'til I can find some 8" rims since the ones on it now are only 6". The tires I linked are ones I'm considering for the rear.
RichieRichOverdrive Seasoned Veteran
Age : 17 Join date : 2016-10-29 Posts : 2592 Forum Rep : 92 Location : Lewisburg, KY
Oh alright, lol. Yeah, 8" front rims seem hard to come by til you get a set and don't need any more, then they're everywhere. I think 20s on the back and 16s on the front would come out not much taller than stock height. I had a Murray widebody set up like that, it was alright to run around on trails and stuff. Would've been better with a locked diff though.
mrshaft696 Master
Join date : 2016-07-10 Posts : 803 Forum Rep : 83 Location : Phillydelphia
Pretty neat build you got going on here! I've seen the modified version of your hood, but they never really looked right.
Yeah, I kinda worry that it may look a bit too weird and I won't like it. I've seen vids where people have a v-twin under the style of hood that I have without any apparent fitment issues. It's part of why I wanted to make the riser bracket bolt-on instead of welding it so that if I get a hold of a v-twin somewhere down the road I can easily take it back down to stock hood height. (It'd be a win-win too, since I'd be able to swap the oppy onto the MTD.)
The grey ones I have had (w/opposed engine), use the same hood as yours, the the hinge brackets or mounting is just longer & the hood sits up about 2.5" higher, there is a plastic panel that fills in the gap.
CraftsmanQuad19 Seasoned Veteran
Age : 19 Join date : 2016-04-12 Posts : 2238 Forum Rep : 124 Location : Indiana
A hammer makes everything fit! Or nah maybe not...
Making it street legal would be cool. It depends on the state your in and if you can register it for the road too easy. In a lot of states, people register mini bikes and stuff like that no problem. You'd have to do some research on that and see what the best way would be to go about it. I know that in upstate new york for example, ATV's/UTV's can be used on back roads if registered. (I think)
Front suspension makes a huge difference too. Even with the back end still solid, the front suspension keeps the machine from hopping all over the place as much. When I did mine, I was surprised at how much better it handled. I just did a mono-link setup though with a straight front axle. Independent would be even better.
Pretty neat build you got going on here! I've seen the modified version of your hood, but they never really looked right.
Yeah, I kinda worry that it may look a bit too weird and I won't like it. I've seen vids where people have a v-twin under the style of hood that I have without any apparent fitment issues. It's part of why I wanted to make the riser bracket bolt-on instead of welding it so that if I get a hold of a v-twin somewhere down the road I can easily take it back down to stock hood height. (It'd be a win-win too, since I'd be able to swap the oppy onto the MTD.)
The grey ones I have had (w/opposed engine), use the same hood as yours, the the hinge brackets or mounting is just longer & the hood sits up about 2.5" higher, there is a plastic panel that fills in the gap.
Subject: Craftsman rally project 
Thu May 23, 2019 3:05 am
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