My Utility Build

Greetings from Norway folks. I have been threw this forum over and over again lookin for tips and trix. What to do and not to do. Lookin at yt vids to my back hurts and my eyes burns..

Soo..

My father had a Leo Rider 3 speed tractor, transaxle Chain on the drive axel and belt driven to the G.box. cute little tractor this was. Then engine gave up the ghost and he bought a new lawn mover that I do not want to "edit". So im thinkin of buildin my own. I do have @ hand a garden tractor that will be mine in a month or 2 that i can use. Im not sure what type it is, but it has 6 speed g.box. with the engine (B&S) @ the rear. it has 4" rear wheels and 2" front wheels. Its realy tiny, and I could flip it over with just one arm.. I have been gatherin some metal that i might be able to work with. here are some pictures of it :





I came across some pullys that i might be able to use :








This is what I have got @ hand right now..

So I have to make a frame first of all. But how long and how wide should it be?
Should I have a suspension setup or not. there are soo many options and questions that pops up now and under construction, of that Im sure of.

I do have a smal mig welder. but I havent used it much. So I might need some tips about welding too. I would like to use it to pull a trailer, pull timber, and drag my son and hees friends around the fields...

So guys.. What / Where should I start this project of mine..

Mr.P

Its been a while, so here comes an update.. I got the lawnmover.. It did fit in the back of my van. its so Tiny!!



Looking at the engine :

Its a 6,5Hp B&S engine..  5 speed gearbox :

It has an electrical starter and a smal 12v battery @ 7.5Ah. The owner said the starter did not work, So i had to investigate it. looking at the chargin system after "undressing" the engine covers i found this coil :



I have to get a new one to keep my battery charged. I just have to find the engine number and i can order a new one.

I have striped it all down, engine is out, exaust is gone, electrics are gone. it has a bit of rust on it here and there so I have to adress that too. Im goin to change the color of it, to Light green i think.

Update will follow..


Mr.P

Got some more work done.. The exaust..I had an old 50ccm scooter exaust that i wanted to use. And I found a perfect place to fit it.



I had to make a bracket and figure out where it sould sit


Found a good spot and it was time to do some weldin:



The bracket welded in place, i set the setting on 90Ah. thats max of my welder can do. and I monted the exaust.




Now I had to figure out how to get exaust side of the engine to my exaust system :



I have to cut the existing pipwork on the exaust and seal it up.

It looks like the exaust pipe from the engine is fitted to the exaust, but its not. I have to drill a hole in it and enter the exaust pipe and weld it all up.
I have started the drilling, but now I have to watch my son for a while until "swmbo" comes back later today.

Mr.P

Got the exaust welded in place :



I made a bracket for the gas tank and mounted it :



Damn, that fuel hose was a bit to short, So i have to sort one out..

A bit of rust converter added :




Next up is change the oil on the engine, mount a kill switch, add a new gas hose, fill the tank with some fuel, add the throttle lever and fire it up to see how much noice it makes.

On the silencer, I have a big hole from the original down pipe, I havent done anything with it yet, and there is a smal exaust outlet pipe on the other side of the silencer, Not sure what to do with yet. Ill have to listen to the engine to figure out if im goin to weld the big hole or not..

I havent figured out what pullys im goin to use on the transaxle and the engine yet.. I have something in mind but Ill have to wait and see what the results will be.

Thats what I had time for this weekend..

Ohnoes, Monday is approatching fast!!!  

Mr.P

Very interesting tractor, Spicer makes a weak transaxle, but that should do for how tiny the machine is. Never seen anything that small in the USA.

I also have never seen a tractor that small. What is the purpose of this build? Is it just to have fun building something or do you have specific plans for what you want to do with it? Plus if you need any tips for welding this guy makes some pretty good videos

I want to thank you for the youtube vid, I do not have any plans for it at the moment, I thought it would be fun to modify it, and get some welding experiense. Ill have to look at that youtube video a few times for all of it to sink in before trying it.

I thought the transaxle was weak, thats why i do not want to lock it.

this tiny Tractor got nothin to do in the big USA. It fits best here in little Norway. Where everything is smal and cosy.

I have plans to make a smal trailer for it when the tractor is done..

Mr.P

Been out fiddeling with it, the previus owner came by to look at it. He gasped and said awesome!!! I moved the gas tank a bit, so the fuel hose was long enough. I connected the battery to the starter and it did fire up. The custom exaust does sound like a 250ccm bike at idle. I did trie to block the big hole at the back of the silencer, so only the smal exaust outlet was the only way for the exaust to go. Damn, I havent heard any engine so quiet before... barly no noice what so ever.. I would say allmost female friendly noise..

My next move is to make an engine cover / enclosure like a firewall between the "engine compartment" and where I sit. perhaps I can make it a bit less mechanical noise, but the engine needs air to survive.. so I Have to keep that in mind..

Now.. Pullys.. by the looks of it, what size in pullys should I try to get hold of? perhaps someone here can sell me 2?

I didnt take any pictures today. Not much visible done to be honest..

Mr.P

I started with the "firewall" today.. I didnt have much time today. But here are some pictures of it.







Now I have to grind down the edges, and trim some here and there to be able to use the fixings.. But thats for another day..


Mr.P