LawnBoy UTLTV aka MULE

UTLTV? Utility Lawn Tractor... Vehicle... Thing. LOL

I recently picked up this '89 Lawn Boy LT12 for a song. 12hp Briggs L-Head, Peerless 900 series. Fixed the mangled starter, tore out the BS safety switches and wiring, new battery, and it lit right up. Have a slight bit of carb tweaking to do, but nothing out of the ordinary. I plan to make this thing fairly utilitarian. Cargo-carrying capacity, ATV tires, winch, lighting, a canopy (keep the rain off the wife) maybe a windshield. Bumpers, towing frame, couple gauges, toolbox, jerry can rack, etc. I'll post a pic of it as I got it, to begin with. It won't take much to bring you up to speed, I'm just at the beginning of this project.

looks like a good start man, ive got alot of tinted plexiglass, ive been debating on building a cab for the winter

richie thomas wrote:

looks like a good start man, ive got alot of tinted plexiglass, ive been debating on building a cab for the winter

Yeah iv always wanted to build a cab or somsort of thing for my mower.

A cab would be cool. Buy when I say "canopy", picture a bimini top for a boat, or something like it. I plan on bending up a couple hoops from 3/4" EMT and the wife's got some of the neat waterproof camo fabris stuff.

Sparing all the little details, this is where I'm at as of last night. I've installed an automotive volt meter and temp gauge, 145/70-6 ATV style front tires, and Kenda Scorpion 22x11-8 rears. I took it for a romp throught the mud and scrub and I was pretty impressed with the traction even with the open differential.



I decided I wanted a box or trunk or try or something. I hacked off the fenders flush with the back of the frame, and tossed together a box out of 16ga sheet steel. To extend and compete the fenders, I cut up a steel trailer fender and narrowed the pieces. here's what it looks like as of last night.

Doc Sprocket wrote:

A cab would be cool. Buy when I say "canopy", picture a bimini top for a boat, or something like it. I plan on bending up a couple hoops from 3/4" EMT and the wife's got some of the neat waterproof camo fabris stuff.

Sparing all the little details, this is where I'm at as of last night. I've installed an automotive volt meter and temp gauge, 145/70-6 ATV style front tires, and Kenda Scorpion 22x11-8 rears. I took it for a romp throught the mud and scrub and I was pretty impressed with the traction even with the open differential.



I decided I wanted a box or trunk or try or something. I hacked off the fenders flush with the back of the frame, and tossed together a box out of 16ga sheet steel. To extend and compete the fenders, I cut up a steel trailer fender and narrowed the pieces. here's what it looks like as of last night.

Looks good i like the rear box and rear tires.

Some nice fab work there. Those fenders look like they belong there.

Fill it full of ice and add bottles of beer...I mean...soda!!

Nice metal work, You should build a custom chassis, like the lots.

Yeah mabe front and rear bumbers too.

Thanks fellas- I appreciate the props! Funny you should mention the cooler- My wife's best friend came over today while I was at work, and the first thing she said was "Can he make that into a cooler?" LOL

Bumpers are definitely going to happen. The rear is a cakewalk, but I'm having a rough time figuring out the front. When you tilt the hood, the whole grille shell rotates forward and down. This creates a serious problem. If I put the bumper where it should go, I wouldn't be able to open the hood.

In my mind, I have 3 options- 1) Change the hood pivots so that they attach to the bumper directly so instead of hitting it, the hood pivots over it. 2) Fix the hood to the bumper, and make the bumper pivot, so the whole thing will roll forward. 3)Cut the grille shell away from the hood, and solidly mount it. Then, I can either hinge the hood where it meets the grille shell, or to heck with the hinges- pop a couple pins, and the hood lifts off... Thoughts?

Nice Fab Work,

myself, i'd go with whatever looked the best.

nice job

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

Yeah or mabe hood pins.

Really dig the fender metalwork! Looks unique

My group has 3 rally tractors that are the same, and we did the hoods like this.

We dumped the original hinge mechanism, pinned the grille with bolts so it no longer flips down, cut down the hood to make it so you won't snag your leg on it, and capped the raw steel with cheap windscreen trim.

Yellow - Added hinges from hood to steering tower
Red - Bolted Short Bungee straps (less than $1 apiece at the local discount store) to the hood.
Green - Cut a slot in the grille side for the hook

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

Yeah or mabe hood pins.

I guess. I think they'd be to loose tho

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

Yeah or mabe hood pins.

I guess. I think they'd be to loose tho

Yeah they might be iv never used em so i dont know.

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

Yeah or mabe hood pins.

I guess. I think they'd be to loose tho

Yeah they might be iv never used em so i dont know.

Then whyd you suggest it?

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

truckin42 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I'm trying to make a hinge for my hood, so that I can have it detachable. I'll have a pin on the dash to the grill and the such. Look around, some one made something. Or make it yourself I guess.

Yeah or mabe hood pins.

I guess. I think they'd be to loose tho

Yeah they might be iv never used em so i dont know.

Then whyd you suggest it?

Because some peaple use em for the hood to hold em down.

really like the look of them fenders and box man, good work

richie thomas wrote:

really like the look of them fenders and box man, good work

Cant agree more. Those fenders were ment to be, it just, something about it looks so right. Great fab work!

Some good ideas with the hoods, guys, keep 'em coming! I'm really going to have to put some thought into it. Between the bumper/winch plans, and what I have in mind for the windshield/canopy front uprights, I really don't know...

im using pins on mine, im going to build a bracket in the front for hood pins and put some rubber washers under it to keep it tight, and doing the same aft the back

Rubber washers are a good idea. Foam weatherstripping tape would work well, too. You could make an adjustable pin by cutting the head off a shoulder bolt. On the pin mounting surface, you could drill the hole and tack weld a nut on the back side. Thread the pin in as far as you need to, and use a jam nut to keep it in place.