Bolens Build

MoWheeler wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

Cool glass pack.  i hope it works out for you. i saw someone take a screwdriver to each of those holes and bend the screw drivder over, so the holes had little holes to pick up the air flow better, like little scoops

Yeah thats what i meant when i said i bent the holes to trap the exhaust flow. it works great.

Oh, I didn't notice my bad lol.

Might have to build myself a glass pack

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

MoWheeler wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

Cool glass pack.  i hope it works out for you. i saw someone take a screwdriver to each of those holes and bend the screw drivder over, so the holes had little holes to pick up the air flow better, like little scoops

Yeah thats what i meant when i said i bent the holes to trap the exhaust flow. it works great.

Oh, I didn't notice my bad lol.

Its all good red. My trans is pretty much junk now.

MoWheeler wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

MoWheeler wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

Cool glass pack.  i hope it works out for you. i saw someone take a screwdriver to each of those holes and bend the screw drivder over, so the holes had little holes to pick up the air flow better, like little scoops

Yeah thats what i meant when i said i bent the holes to trap the exhaust flow. it works great.

Oh, I didn't notice my bad lol.

Its all good red. My trans is pretty much junk now.

Ouch, what is it?

peerless 842. 5 speed with bearings on the axles. Im gonna tear it down for the billionth time and just completely clean everything. I put new grease but im gonna do it again I think there may be a weld bouncing around and messing with it..

Nice, I saw one of those for sale near me a few months back. Cool muffler.

There you can see it with the muffler installed and painted and the wheels done.

that looks awsome! love the glass.... i mean, wool-pack! might have to build one for me

Well guys. My tranny is pooched. She gone. Im gonna swap in a foote i have and see if it works and then Stretch and I are going to build one possibly this weekend for my tractor. I did get an ammo can yesterday though. I cant decide where to mount it. What do you guys think?


Under the steering wheel/ seat area?


Or on the hitch? It fits perfectly against the fuel tank and I plan on building bumpers so it would be protected. Im leaning more towards this direction.


This was her last feat. Tranny still moves but it just grinds and hops and makes all kinds of noises. I could probably renew it with an input shaft but Id rather just get a new trans..

Don't put it on the back without some protection... I've had toolboxs in the rear, they get smashed pretty quick.

Good meeting you guys, maybe I'll see you this weekend. Supposed to be warmer, 37 degrees, and some sun.

That muffler is pretty sweet.

If youre gonna build a bumper for it id go ahead and put it on the back.

Swapped in the foote. Its only a 3 speed and the brake is on the wrong side so no brakes. I welded the diff back when i didnt know how to weld so the weld popped before i even got out of the garage but no damage. I like the gear ratios of the foot alot more that the peerless honestly. I just need to tear it down again and lock it. Maybe try the fozzy locker.

Well i had mu uncle weld the foote dif with a better welder with nice hot welds..

And they broke too.. Im just going to leave it an open dif for now. Maybe fozzy lock it later.

Hey guys i Did some work on the BBB ( Big Bad Bolens ) today. I made a new muffler just beacause i have always wanted to make a flowmasters type muffler. It works! Its even more quiet than the glasspack style and i think it looks a little better too.

  Just made out of sheet metal and put in arrestor at one end." Then i welded it onto my exhaust but i made it so it doesnt stuck out so far. Gave it a coat of paint and called it a day.

Nice fab work Mo !  I had kicked around the idea of making my own muffler to a while... was definitely thinking flow master style.... great minds and all that.

I did share this on the ATLTF.com facebook page last night.

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I did share this on the ATLTF.com facebook page last night.

  Yeah i saw that and shared it. Makes you feel good knowing others appriciate your hard work. Thanks guys

Well this is a first for me. Blew the case of the Foote trans apart. Of course it was just putting around the yard with a trailer full of kids..

Yikes! Time for that peerless... You're kind of rough on the transaxles, but I have a solution for that!

Nice muffler, took some time to build that.

Hung out at Stretch's with Stretch, Mowheeler, and his buddy...

Stretch welded up an axle for him and helped reassemble... after a few failed attempts, it ran pretty good. Then one of the axles snapped while his buddy tried to pull some wheelies... oh well... time to upgrade. Fun night anyway.

That muffler IS pretty cool. I've done a few, and the one I'm most proud of is my Cherry Bomb. I have a much of 16ga sheet kicking around, I might have to try something like this!

Sounds like you guys had a great time. Good on ya!

Pretty busy day on Mowheeler's bolens yesterday. Therainbowboxer, Mowheeler, and his friend chris came over. We got out the rally mowers for a little racing, driving, then got to work on his Bolens. It had a busted foote transaxle, and plenty of tranny parts. He traded a 5.5 briggs sideshaft for a peerless 801, that I locked and prepped. Swapped axle bearings and countershaft in the transaxle, so the brakes were on the correct side. Ran a gear oil/grease mix. Lots of tearing apart, cleaning, welding, etc. Also pulley swapped it a little better, and put a different belt on.

Did a welded locker on it, and I went full bore on the welding, lots of heat, and lots of weld. With the 23in tires, the locker was going to be stressed hard.

First test drive, we heard a ding, then nothing, as he was going down the road. Turned out engine pulley fell off, found it, and put it back together.

Second drive, it made all kinds of horrible crunching, banging, screeching noises. Sounded like a dead transaxle for sure. Nope, key fell out of engine pulley.

Third try was the charm, GPS said 21mph. Shifted smooth, and everything sounded good, even the brakes worked.

Then like a dummy, someone told his friend Chris to do some wheelies. 5 min later, axle shaft snapped.

So now to tear it back down, and fix the axle shaft. Not too big of a deal. Thinking of boring out the diff and transaxle case, and installing a 1in go kart axle. 23 in tires are just too much for a 3/4 axle.

Here's a bunch of pics.



Busted foote.







Started welding the diff.



Finished diff welding.



Hard at work installing new transaxle.



Broken axle.

looks like its keeping you busy

I know Strech posted a bunch if pictures but here are the two i took. I was pretty devastated when the axle broke But Strech said its an easy fix so hey, let the man do his work!  

Well sonovacigrit. That thing has broke pretty damn well, two times! LOL

If your keeping it slow. Weld the damn axle back together really hot. It works. Believe me.