Dustin's 1986 Craftsman Woods Tractor - Full Suspension, Electric Conversion

I don't know if I have done this before but...


HAHA.

Lawren Wimberly wrote:

LOL, lost my virginity in a similar car... a LOOOOOOng time ago

LOOOOOOOOOL

I wish we had a kicking, rolling, and laughing emoji. Ive seen em on a couple other forums

Lawren Wimberly wrote:

LOL, lost my virginity in a similar car... a LOOOOOOng time ago

Whoa! Hahaha, I couldn't have seen that coming any less! But I guess the phrase "You learn something new every day" is pretty vague. Hahaha!

I really must apologize for pulling focus from the OP's post with my offhand comment... Lets get back on track

And the bonus points (no cash value) goes to....

Lawren Wimberly wrote:

chevy chevette

And honorable mention for getting the correct generation before the 1979 half refresh and the 1980 full refresh.

mightyraze wrote:

I agree with Lawren.  Maybe a 76 chevette?

Here it is, 1978 Chevrolet Chevette Scooter (which means it is below a base model-cardboard door panels, no back seat, etc.). 50,000 glorious miles on the clock. It is basically a tractor for the road. I bought this for $800 in 2004 right after high school. I wanted something rear wheel drive and manual and ended up with the Chevette. I was driving a beautiful fwd 1992 Park Avenue at the time that my mother ended up driving for another 10 years. Luckily, it stayed with me throughout college and was stored here and there. Now that I have a house, it resting place is back in my little barn with the Craftsman tractor!



I agree, lets get this thread back on track!

2016-05-08 Starter brush holder replacement.

Since I drug the Craftsman over from my neighbor, the starter would be somewhat intermittent. Once I finally took it apart, I found the brushes were barely connected. How to solve this without spending money? Use a starter from the other tractor out back!


It all started when I got the OK from my other neighbor to move this mostly scrap tractor into my yard back in November 2015. The wife was not happy that the tractors were multiplying.


Two words, nice seat. So sad a sledge hammer sat on it for a decade or so (yes, the old hammer came with the tractor as a free gift). Here it is awaiting its future seat-a-rectomy. Yeh sure gota purdy seat!


Tecumseh 10 horse with starter hiding under the gas tank.


For some reason I only took two pictures, neither of which were that good.


Long story short; the brush holder and starter bodies are almost the same, had to cut/file a groove on the Briggs starter body for some reason, used some combination of the bolts to hold it together, and managed to hold the brushes in (with tape I think) to slip over the commutator. The silver metal brush holder is from the Tecumseh and the Briggs starter is on the 2x4.


Thanks for the starter brush holder and the seat little buddy! It has been almost a year and that donor tractor is still not scrapped yet.


A quick romp through the woods to make sure it still works. Sure would be nice if I got around to putting the ATV tires on it, I bet the mud would be a little less of an issue.


Ever wonder what a lawn tractor starter can pull, 164.5 Amps! Nothing for RC batteries, the scheming begins.


Front ATV wheels and adapter hubs are up next. Also about time to start a cost list so I can keep track of the cost of this free tractor.

Nice post!

Looks like you drug a nice rider home, and a sledge to boot.

Dustin M. wrote:

And the bonus points (no cash value) goes to....

Lawren Wimberly wrote:

chevy chevette

And honorable mention for getting the correct generation before the 1979 half refresh and the 1980 full refresh.

mightyraze wrote:

I agree with Lawren.  Maybe a 76 chevette?

Here it is, 1978 Chevrolet Chevette Scooter (which means it is below a base model-cardboard door panels, no back seat, etc.). 50,000 glorious miles on the clock. It is basically a tractor for the road. I bought this for $800 in 2004 right after high school. I wanted something rear wheel drive and manual and ended up with the Chevette. I was driving a beautiful fwd 1992 Park Avenue at the time that my mother ended up driving for another 10 years. Luckily, it stayed with me throughout college and was stored here and there. Now that I have a house, it resting place is back in my little barn with the Craftsman tractor!



I agree, lets get this thread back on track!

As I mentioned, I have some pretty powerful memories of the lines of that car... it's an excellent utilitarian vehicle, and it looks like you have kept it in good shape.... as far as the cardboard door panels, my 92 mitsu mighty max is much the same... simple and reliable... like the old vw bug's