Craftsman 2 build A.K.A No.9

Slowly cobbling some more to it. Got the side shifter figured out better, also need to cut out more as of now as my limit from the frame is 4th gear. Got the fender cut out to fit the shifter, planning on covering it with a rubber covering since its a big hole right now. Will get photos tomorrow when i have time.

Took me long enough to get photos lol, anyways,
Got it tore down on the rear. Pulled off the rear fender, and the dash, and some other stuff that felt necessary (front bumper)

Did brakes. Pins were seized and bolt that holds the brake lever on stripped on my set, so i yanked a set off of another trans. The pins were seized, but i got them working like new. Cleaned up a rotor and threw them in. On the left Is the old set, right is the set i put in.

Got a lot of painting done. Did the dash, rear fender, bumper, and shifter

Got a new belt on and rigged up two keepers for the trans pulley and two keepers between the idlers and trans to keep the belt from jarring from side to side

Are you gonna reinforce the frame around the shifter?

Probably. More concerned about the driveline though. I Have three more of these frames so i'm not to concerned.

Nice looking bumper, sort of like a dirt track car bumper.

Ya, its sort of like a dirt track car bumper. Got the mower running. Had an issue with the belt coming off, but i fixed that. After that it ran like a dream. Goes about 20kph, or 12 mph. (This is a rough estimate) just fast enough to keep things interesting.

Making good progress! That hole in the fender is really quite big. Does it take that much to shift from Reverse to top gear?

Yes and no, I'm just really bad at estimates lol, going to cover it up with a piece of rubber eventually.

A couple of days ago i destroyed the front axle coming down one of my local trails, had to drive to the end of the main trail (lead to a road) and got the mower loaded up on e truck and took it home.

Got it fixed the same day though, and the next day hit some mud. Didnt get covered, but the mower did

Wow how did you manage to rip that?
I suppose the hole isn't too bad, but a bit of rubber would help.

I think rust got the welds pretty bad and i never noticed it and the welds broke and from me driving like a mad man on a bumpy woods road

Ah right. Must have been pretty rough to drive her like that.

Been driving it for a few days now. Havent had major issues yet. But as of now here are the small things ive done
Pulley swap to a 4" on rear (was a 5" wasnt making enough speed for me)
Put the rubber shift mat thingy on
Tuned it (couldnt stand it surging)
Modified the shifter so i dont destroy the clutch pulley when the belt stretches.
I think thats everything so far lol

And heres a video of me and my buddy abusing our mowers.

How'd you fix the axle where the spindle is, just put it back together and weld it up? What's the big hole in the side of the hood?

I had a spare front axle so i swapped them. Going to get the one thats on it now welded up solid so it dont break. And there used to be a muffler that stuck out there. Going to mount a fourwheeler muffler on it eventually when i get time.

Keep up Mr.Mod haha!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Rockinator wrote:

Ya, the previous guy went at her pretty good. It was for a muffler

As some of you may have noticed in the video, i didnt make it up the hill as easily as my buddys mower did. This is because of two reasons:
Pretty much bald tires
No locker (my buddy doesnt have one either)
So i have been plotting, and this thing needs a overhaul (if you would call it that) but it isnt going to happen overnight. I am going to keep it in running condition all the way throughout the overhaul. So as i get parts, i will throw them on. List of what i will need to do:
Tires (got some carlisle knobbies to put on)
Transmission (want to swap in a peerless mst-206 and lock it)
Back rack (got one from an ATV)
Exhaust (different muffler)
Foot throttle
Electrical (want to go heat shrink and waterproof everything for romping)
Pulley swap (want to put a 4" pulley on the motor instead of the 3.5")
Storage box (somewhere to put tools and a chain)
Gopro mount
New floorboards
I have already comenced the overhaul, starting with getting the tires on. Also had to add another retainer for the belt since sometimes it would launch itself off the trans pulley while speed shifting.

Yeah those rear tyres look in bad shape, those scorpions should do you better. I honestly don't see the point in locking those gearboxes. I've taken mine unlocked with Carlisle Chevrons places where our Quad can't go at all. And as well the straight axle effect wont help steering very much.

Ive been taking this thing out for a while now Matthew, and i cannot get anywhere without a locker or wheel weights. It just cant seem to get good enough traction to get through any amount of mud or snow. Even with the different tires.but im not concerned about the poor steering. I just want to be able to get No.9 almost anything if theres a need to be.

Ah right interesting. I'm running Ag style tyres so maybe they are better than knobbies.

MatthewD wrote:

Ah right interesting. I'm running Ag style tyres so maybe they are better than knobbies.

Ags are good in soft dirt and mud. The tires he has are better for rocks and hard trails with some loose gravel

Been driving this thing a little bit more, and realized that the transmission is on its way out. Needs bearings all around. Its a foote six speed. Planning on getting either a peerless 930 (which is the six speed i think) or peerless a mst-206. Going to lock whichever i get, but ive been thinking that i have another foote six speed that only needs axles. Would it live any length of time being locked, or am i just wasting my time? Sort of curious since it could be a little while until i get the trans that i want.

I think it should. Fearless front ran a Foote 4 spd locked on his craftsman crawler.

Fearlessfront wasnt going very fast with the craftsman crawler, and he never used it much. Want to see if anyone has abused the living daylights out of it for long periods of time. Might actually try building the trans that needs axles as a spare though, and use it until i can get something better.

Cant believe it took me three months of beating the ansolute life out of this thing to finally make some progress on this hunk of junk. Got a foot throttle hooked up, got the better tires on, and about two weeks ago i painted the thing cause i couldnt stand the white any longer.
Best photo i have as of now. The murray is a project i will post up here tomorrow or monday if i have time. But anyways, just today i noticed i had lost reverse. Didnt think much of it since its happened before. But i was getting ready to pull in the garage for the day when i noticed the shifter seemed to have a lot of play before it would shift, and thought the bolt the held the shifter on had loosened. But it turns out the shifter broke, so now i need to get that all welded up along with front fenders, a hood pin, a rear rack and possibly a military can will be welded on to carry basic junk like tools.

Looks good in black. Murray looks nice as well, what did you do to it? Break the spindle? Could you do me a favor and measure the height of the frame?