Mutant turtle

Some more bushing swapping
New v idler set to guide it past the steering shaft

I didn't put it on the lift so this will have to do.

So yeah the belt was too long now but I actually managed to get three idlers in crucial areas and thatll reduce most of the floppy belt syndrome and keep it where I want it.

I actually already changed my mind on that pulley I made the first time and whent with one that was about a half inch larger.

Most time was spent on figuring out how to route the belt around the transaxle pulley.
I decided that the best way would be to route it through an idler before and after.
So I made a plate to hold those pulleys and now iam off to the beach

I just made a little doodle, the 3 arrows are the pulleys that get added.

Could always use some opinions but I won't work until Sunday so speak now or forever hold your silence

Also, finally found the perfect suspension setup, minimal effort and really compact.
If I could simply cut it out of the frame in one piece I should be able to simply weld it on to the frame minus the hydraulic motor.

Just need to get permission to cut one up

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

I just made a little doodle, the 3 arrows are the pulleys that get added.

Could always use some opinions but I won't work until Sunday so speak now or forever hold your silence

Also, finally found the perfect suspension setup, minimal effort and really compact.
If I could simply cut it out of the frame in one piece I should be able to simply weld it on to the frame minus the hydraulic motor.

Just need to get permission to cut one up

Id Subjest something like this, that way there's not so much force being pulled on that pulling side of the idler pulley, the larger rectangle around the belt is a belt gard to keep the belt from falling off , you can put them around your pulleys for extra insurance, granted it would have to be made of c channel or angle iron. And dont use any pulley smaller than a 5in or 12.7cm if you do a 1:1 pulley ratio which it looks like you will do. Also you can fit another idler pulley on the “loose” (clutch) side of the belt near the transaxle, just don't want to put any on the pulling side cus they will go through bearings like no other

No, the rear pulley is 3.75 I know that this is on the small side but there's little I could have done about this.
But keep in mind that there is no rain or mud here 6 months a year.

Secondly on these ones the belt needs to pass through the steering bracket and alongside the steering shaft.

The pulling side needs a pulley anyway because the original transaxle had the pulley in the centre and the new transaxle has it offset.
Without a pulley I would run into all sorts of issues there with the controls. And the steering shaft
I could run an idler with a larger size to mitigate the problem there.

Thanks for the ideas though because there are some things I will have to keep in mind.
Also most of these pulleys will be replaced with better ones after I can get it driving

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

No, the rear pulley is 3.75 I know that this is on the small side but there's little I could have done about this.
But keep in mind that there is no rain or mud here 6 months a year.

Secondly on these ones the belt needs to pass through the steering bracket and alongside the steering shaft.

The pulling side needs a pulley anyway because the original transaxle had the pulley in the centre and the new transaxle has it offset.
Without a pulley I would run into all sorts of issues there with the controls. And the steering shaft
I could run an idler with a larger size to mitigate the problem there.

Thanks for the ideas though because there are some things I will have to keep in mind.
Also most of these pulleys will be replaced with better ones after I can get it driving

Oh thats right I completely forgot that your in Israel, so your belt routing would probably be best if you need to move the belt that much, just make shure that your belt is supported a bunch considering your running that small of a pulley, also whats the terrain like over there because that will play a factor in belt work and pulley size aswhell. If i knew what terrain you plan to drive across/through i might be able to aid you some more.

That's a final mock up.
I'll be driving very hard packed mud

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

That's a final mock up.
I'll be driving very hard packed mud

Looks pretty good, have you gotten a chance to test it yet? Or top speed?

Not yet, theres still a lot of little ends to be tied up.

Engine is waiting on the carb.
Controls need to be made and/or modified.
Transaxle subframe is waiting on parts.
Pulleys need to be finished up and some paintwork on the parts.

So, amazon is late again for the second time this month so iam stuck.
Getting parts here is just a bloody nightmare.
There are some parts here but I don't speak the language that well to be bothered with that.

That being said iam just focusing on the little things and reusing whatever I can.
Luckily we have piles of nos parts.

So on this episode of the little things in life, we are repurposing a cable adjuster.

Second times a charm, needed to use some more heat to take the crimp out.

Clean and annealed and ready for when my parts arrive

Got the gear selector figured out.
I used the old deck left mechanism and adapted it.
Took a couple of tries to get the handle shortened and the spring to work properly.

Also managed to chisel out the old brake pad, can't believe it was that stuck.

And that's the brake finished

Also welded some stand offs for the idler pulleys and gave the plate a quick spray so that's all done

Close up of the spring on the gear selector.
Took it out today to figure out how to connect it to the gear.
I'll weld a tab tomorrow morning and then just figure out the linkage.

Then I still have the brake to be connected and can call this finished

Mail time.


Just did a sh*t unboxing, lovely bit of kit so far

Received most of the parts I need to get it running now and am focussing on the carb and the gas pedal.

So this one kicked my ass a bit
I found the perfect gas cable with a 3/8 eye but the other end did not come with a cable end.
I tried my hand at casting them on for a few hours and while almost successful I didn't like it
I ended up disassembling a coax plug and removing the innards and soldered that one the cable

Intake was also a bit of a pain but one of our suppliers came through and provided me with a good piece of hose. Just need to cut that to the right length

Well, that's in.

Made a bracket for the gas cable , just need to drill some holes tomorrow


Aaaand, she runs again.
First try



Oh and yes that hose is ridiculous, will weld some 90 mandrel bent aluminium in there

Received some parts today, absolutely love this exhaust by the way.
Searched high and low for something compact that wasn't a mower muffler or motorcycle muffler

It's a 1-1/4 patriot mini style (checks notes) h3121 and is a flow through with baffles and is probably loud as Frick.
Iam not the guy for loud pipes but I'll take that for the form factor

I read that and immediately thought of this

The birth of a wild exhaust



Edit: and then I screwed it up by trying to weld some really thin walled pipe up.
So I'll just order some proper mandrel bent pipe and do this again.

So after that screw up I will have to make a second flange tomorrow.
Ordered some 16 gauge mandrel bent tubing on Amazon which should do the trick and will flow alot better.
Just one of those times where I simply should have had some restraint.

Anyway there's some loose ends that need tying up in the meantime that I have been putting off for a while.

I also ordered some relays and a fuse box from dorman and new wiring sleeves.
Horn, lights, and switches are also on its way.
So I will redo all the wiring.

Every bolt will be replaced with new original bolts.

I have a new stainless hood scoop for an xj lying around which I will use on the hood as soon as the stainless rivets arrive.

So I've been away for a while, had some stuff on order and received most of it in the meantime.

So I got a list and a box of parts.


Most of today's time was spent on making these fit as spacers however. They had to be precise and I also had to cut the bolts exactly to size.




I also tried another belt and now it's too short again even with removing one of the pulleys.
Also replaced all bolts holding the pulleys with stainless

Those are some of the crappy jobs I was putting off so with that out of the way we can focus on some other stuff.

-Intake is marked to be sent off to welding
-Wiring will be one of the next big jobs.
I replaced the pto switch with a horn button and have a good horn that needs to go on
-skid plate needs to go on

And that's mainly what's in the works right now

Looks good man nice work!

Belt is finally the way I want it
Also managed to sort out the shift linkage.
It's a bit touchy so I will fine tune it some more later.


Electrics ripped out, I will sort that out next

That trans pulley is tiny, she ought to fly! Good looking job you did!

The pulley is 3.75 inch I was actually shooting for 4 or 4.25 but this one had double grub screws including one on the shaft key which was far superior.

Also the bolts for the pulleys have been left long so I can simply put guides on the bottom.
Something that I have found to be far superior as a mechanic. Some mower models tend to have this standard so you can replace a belt without loosening pulleys.
I even cut away the old guides because of this.

This is partially the reason why it's taking so long to do some simple tasks.
As a mechanic I know what works and what doesn't work but more importantly sometimes we receive attachment or upgrade kits without any instructions and you will be forced to engineer it so that it Will last a lifetime.

Iam trying to apply the same to this machine
Actually the shift linkage is not really to my liking as I find the throw too short and I have other plans but will leave it until I find a way to make something that has 0 play in the linkage.