All-Terrain Tractor "Muskrat"

Looks great, bet that big ass diifernetial is stealing about 10-15 hp alone, the rest is for speed. also consider a big heavy flywheel with good momentum for builds like this.

i like your build (considering its very similar to mine).
please take notice, that the 1.6L prbably still wont have enough power for you. if you can fit a V6 in there you'd be better off. or an inline 4 but with an automatic. unless you have a super low geared rearend in there.
my rear is a 4.10 ratio and my first gear is 3.56 ratio with a 12 inch drive sprocket. 4.10 X 3.56 = 14.56 final drive at the sprocket. the bombardiers have a minimum of 22.0 final drive ratio bysing a first gear of 3.8 and a rearend ratio of 5.8 (approximate numbers). if your drive sprocket is more thn 12 inches, you loose even more power. i believe a diesel engine would do the trick if you want to stay with a standard transmission. what you really need to turn them tracks is torque, not hp.
torque gets you moving, hp gets you to the top speed.
if you need to purchase the engine/transmission, please think long and hard, and do a lot of research before the purchase.
i hope my insight helps you, so as not to make the same costly mistakes as i have made.

Thanks Jeapers for the insight.

Here's a couple of videos from several weeks ago.  Currently the Muskrat is an empty shell with the transaxle and engine components removed.  The 820 still works well so I'll be putting it on the Poulan.


Doing some turning, can' wait to have brake boosters from automotive engine vacuum!


Doing a track throwing test.
Apologies for the long videos, I don't have any video editing software .

what are you going to do for a drivetrain now?

I cant believe I forgot about this. Thats friggin awesome!

Im with Murray, whats going into it next?

me three, are you still looking for a 1.6L?

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

me three, are you still looking for a 1.6L?

Looking? No... the junkman wants $200 for the powerpack components off the Geo. In honesty that price isn't bad at all considering I get an operating rad, tranny, engine, T-case and all the other junk that comes off of EFI engines. The problem is I don't have that type of cash so I'll have to wait after next summer when I have $$ to buy it. Believe me, that Geo ain't going anywhere. This thread might be vacant for awhile... hehe  

for entertainment purposes and to show my project which is very similar.....

Hats off dude. Im sure you've heard this many times but i want one! I dont think id have the patience to build one, at least not right now. looks fairly simple, well not really, but its still sweet.

thanks man. it has been a long and difficult road. many trials and tribulations, and still working on it. it wont be finished anytime soon. i plan on eventually building a front end loader for it and as well adapt a snowblower for the front. these are just the beginnings.
please feel free to check out my thread on MBN here http://kramerville.net/mbn/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=9586
i do believe you can view the whole thread as a guest, no need to sign up.

to frostypaws, i wish you all the best of luck, and most of all have fun on the build. we all learn from mistakes, dont be afraid to make some.

Dude... that's awesome!!! So glad you got your Beast running. Are you running open headers off that Nissan? It sounds sweet.

no, i am running a fully muffled exhaust system. the cell phone camera picks up sound really good. she is actually very quiet running. standing beside it at high idle you can talk normally and hardly hear the thing. i believe without muffler i would have way less power.
over the holidays i am going to install a chain drive gear reduction of 2.5:1 between the tranny and the diff to get more power. the vids where driven in 1st gear only... way too fast and too easy to stall out. may evenually go hydrostatic drive, but thatsa lot of money for pumps and motors, so its gotta wait.

Thread necro time!  Opened the 820 to find what I think is the cause of it popping out of gear.


Still saving $$ currently for a 4 banger and trans!

Interesting, but I question it.

The way these things work (sequential shift) in order for it to pop out of gear, something has to push the shift collar and keys one way or the other. The gears are straight cut and do not slide like a conventional transmission.

Unless... Just spitballing here- does it "pop out of gear" or more like shifting itself from one gear into the next? I suppose if the "bevel" (damage) on the keys is just right, it could happen. Never seen it though.

Can we have some more detail on the problem?

That is very much the reason for popping out of gear.  The shift key gets rounded on the tip, then the key gets pushed down into the key slot by the gear, causing the gear to slip.

New shift keys time. If it has 4 keys, only use two. Sounds goofy, but the keys last much longer on just 2 keys. Check the notches in the gears, make sure they have a nice sharp edge to them. Use a file to sharpen them up if needed. Most of the gears are harden, and don't wear like the keys do.

Also, 2 different keys, collars,and shafts were used in 820's. The other style has a more rounded tip, and bigger shaft it rides in. They last longer, more metal in the area that wears. You will need a shaft, collar, and keys to switch to those keys.

Not a big deal at all, we service our 820's once a year, usually have to replace keys.

Wow- Learn something new every day! The theory started to add up in my head, but I've never actually had it happen.I've had chewed keys and broken keys, but- possibly dumb luck- never experienced one that would self-shift, or pop thru gears due to it.

Back at it this weekend!  I bailed on getting the automotive drivetrain due to cost and weight issues, so in the true nature of ATLT builds I just cobbled together beefier tractor parts!  The transaxle is a 2 speed hydro I got from a friend and it is locked on one side like the previous setup, no more finnicky shift keys or clutching .  The new engine is a 13hp china clone and is very nice compared to the old stinky inefficient oppys I'm used to.  The planetary you see is to give me some overdrive with the gear ratios, without it I'd be going 3mph max.  Only thing I have to finish now is the jackshaft on the hydro, since this came off a shaft drive tractor and probably not designed to take side loads from belt drives.  Better safe than sorry .  I'll probably finish that in the next couple of weeks and it should be ready for another test drive.

Glad to see you back in action, ready to see this thing run!

So the muskrat finally comes out of limbo.  Swapping in a Toyota 20R engine & trans in her that I picked up yesterday.  Should've just done this sooner lol.  



Btw the 13hp setup wasn't enough power for me, too slow and would stall turning in mud and sod.

This is an absolutly amazing build

So I got the yoda "running", however it likes to backfire up through the carb when you return it to idle.  Me thinks either ignition timing or a vacuum leak, probably both lol.  Revs up good though!

Yoda was being finnicky, so I just got some cheap 'murican cog iron to slap in.  I just need to get a radiator and brake cylinders.  Its got too much power now...

Ja

That thing runs pretty good, see you got a cooling system on there. Got a gauge to see if its overheating? Great work, im sure you got more tricks for it.

That's got to be scary fast, idle is moving.