SO, I finally have the itch to tinker on a tractor. I was hoping to score a good deal on a Sears SS12, but the buyer sold it to someone else after I was talking to him. Then I got to thinking. I need another tractor like I need a hole in the head.
I was thinking of maybe trying to make what I have better!
I think it is time to up my welding and redo Li'l Red one more time. Time to make it tougher and be able to truly tackle the trails of any place.
I think I will see If I can rebuild it from the ground up!
Plans are open, but I think I may take a stab at a custom frame. if it does not cost too much.
Put in the 21HP Vtwin
Better front suspension.
While the tires are good, maybe upgrade them. Put these on other tractors.
OK, starting a new thread for Li'l Red. I have decided not to take on any other projects at this time other than finishing up Patriot and now Li'l Red 2.0
Original topic: Li'l Red 1.0
The following is a list of improvements etc. to make it more sturdy and hopefully Haspin Ready for 2021. I don't expect it to take that long, but I will be headed the other direction in the country in 2020.
MUST HAVES!
Front Suspension (yes @AlliskidD21, I said it. I will probably take some queues from one of your rigs )
Some kind of Dash tower bracing, I don't want to bust another gas tank.
I HAVE to get rid of that gas pipe exhaust. Sounds nice though... LOL
Like to haves...
New tire package? At least change out the rear tires. They suck.
New front bumper of sorts to go with new front end.
Rear bumper? (Not a requirement at this time.
Separate brakes from clutch.
Matching hubs around the rig. For easier tire swapping.
Stronger bearings for the front hubs. (Don't need Kal's issue from Haspin)
Battery box is broken. Maybe a new setup or replace the one I have.
Other things that will be done during refresh...
Frame bracing, redo
Fresh paint, more than just plain Red!
TBD....
Right now Patriot has priority, but I will be tackling this a little along the way.
I shared my Utility build tractor project Sasquatch Here, but this is my Off-Road build.
Here is my current project, Li'l Red "Murray" build. I had been playing with tractors, modding some. The more I learned and more that I read in forums across the net, facebook groups, and YouTube videos, I decided to try my hand at a Muddin', Off-Road build. I toyed with converting Sasquatch into this, (still am), but an integral part of these builds seem to be the "locked" transmission. 1) I am not a "good" welder and 2) I wasn't sold on flipping gears to lock the Craftman's transmission.
I found on craigslist, nearly 3 miles from the house, this Murray. The PO purchased it for the engine and could not get it to run. Poor guy try to run diesel in it. Got it all cleaned up and it runs decent. Had some scary hiccups along the way like it puking a water/oily residue all over the garage door. The engine does not blow or burn oil now. I figured it was due to the Diesel or the guy I bought it from put oil in the chambers to prohibit rust? Thankfully a good soaking of purple power got that right off.
Here it is after I unloaded it off the pickup.
I decided to strip the thing completely down and start from the frame up.
Changed out the clutch single pulley for double pulleys
Doc Locked (Weldless 2.0) the transmission and pulley swapped and vented. (Could go smaller, but wasn't looking for speed, just faster)
Some shots of it coming back together...
Added some tail lights,
Created a gas petal from an older Murray hydro that was mangled. (work still in progress) I still have the dash throttle at this time.
More pix...
Things I still have in work:
Finish foot throttle. Having both, dash throttle and foot isn't working that well at this time. COMPLETE!
Mount new tires to rims. (can be seen in walk around video below) **COMPLETE
Fix an oil leak in transaxle. Appears COMPLETE!
Engine still needs some fine tuning (I think it is starving for fuel a bit *COMPLETE...Didn't have cut off all the way open
Build a bumper that I can mount my dad's old wench that I need to fix input post
Build a back basket? storage for tools, etc.
Exhaust!!!
From there it's whatever comes about! I figure this type of build is like an artist's painting. Never finished.
Current state of Li'l Red.
Enjoy!
Edits: Marked off Completed items in list. Added exhaust to list.
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