Mr.Modified's Simplicity Adventure Edition [2016 Build-Off Finalist]

New pulleys welded to hubs and primed.


Look at that super ground clearance!


Hood off to get to the jackshaft easier. First time the hood has been off since I bolted it on for haspin 2016.


Haspin dust from 2016 still on top of the engine.


Top of hood will get repainted. Hood rack removed for welding in more supports and shovel bracket.


Old jackshaft finally removed.


Had a clearance issue with the new pulleys. Old jackshaft in the vice to hold one of the new pulleys while I trim the hub down.


Cut most of the way around.


Cut finished, about 1/4" removed from the hub.


Pulley now lines up where it belongs and clears the side cover.


Testing out the anti mess oil drain for the first time.


Works perfect, no oil on the frame or anything else.


The oil had some aluminum sparkles and also some aluminum flecks in it. Engine still sounds good, so not sure where that came from. Looking for a spare engine to build anyway to have on hand for trips. Started the engine today and it still runs good after sitting for awhile. More updates soon.

Looks good! If the little Briggs gives out you can always find one of the big block 16hp singles!

Looking good mr. mod! It looks like the jackshaft fits in there pretty snug.

Thanks guys. The 10-11hp briggs flathead will fit the mounting bolts the same and I think the crank output is the same 1" size too. But the engine is a bit bigger and I don't know it it would clear the hood. The engine that's in it now has had a lot of use before I got it. Came off a walk behind mower, same guy owned it since new. Doesn't smoke much or anything though, so we'll see.

It could use more horsepower for sure, the alternator takes a lot to turn if the battery gets low for one thing. This won't stop you from getting home though since I can turn the alternator off and the engine will run without the battery. In some situations, such as when trying to get up a rock ledge or a log, you have dump the clutch to try to ram over it. With the jackshaft acting like a heavy flywheel, it's slow to get everything turning. That sort of limits you sometimes. Not sure a larger engine would help too much, maybe a little. The flywheel effect helps to keep the momentum up for going up hills and things with the smaller engine so it's a trade off. Over all I'm happy with it, gets the job done and I can always find engine parts easily. Also, bringing an entire spare engine somewhere is not as much of a big deal as it would be with an opposed or a v twin. The 8hp is smaller and easier to move around. I think easier to work on too. And anyway, my main goal was to cut back on fuel consumption when I first started building it.

I still need to take it on a long test run. I want to try to get from my house to the garage I work at via an abandoned rail road line. I've been through there a lot of times with a motorcycle so I know the route pretty good. The trip would be about 20 miles. The main issue is getting from my house to the start of the tracks, there's maybe a mile or two separation there that would be tough. Maybe I could just get dropped off at the tracks and be on my own from there.

that sounds like a fun adventure

Thats took some dedication to trim that hub... Looks like a miserable process. Im glad I have acess to lathes.

WOW, that sounds fun!

Actually beal, it wasn't as bad as it looks cutting the hub. Started with a good blade in the sawzall and it did take a while but not so bad.

New pulleys painted and all set screws tightened down. Might be best to switch to a shorter jackshaft to trans belt.


Opposite side of the jackshaft where the auxiliary brake will go. It will be activated by the clutch arm which I am pointing to. I'll probably put some sort of drum on the shaft, maybe just a pulley hub.


Started welding in the extra bars to the luggage rack. I might not put the shovel on it, Maybe just put the shovel back on the trailer instead.


Here's the oil I used when I changed it. Got a whole NOS case of Quaker State super blend. 10w-20w-30 (whatever that means)

I dunno, I think it needs a vw engine....

VW engine?! I could use more power but that's going a bit far, maybe half a VW engine.

Tomorrow there's a 4th of July parade I'll be running the simplicity in. Figured I could give the new jack shaft an easy test run and do a bit of advertising for atltf.com.
Put a couple american flags up front, got the winch grap strap thing on there, and I made a super cardboard sign so people watching the parade have something to look up on their phones while they're standing around. I still have a handful of atltf business cards on hand in case anyone asks me about it after the parade. ATLTF chevy race truck isn't done yet so, have to make due with a cardboard sign...

Looks good mr.mod. I've always thought t'd be cool to drive one of my tractors in a parade.

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Looks good mr.mod. I've always thought t'd be cool to drive one of my tractors in a parade.

I've thought the same thing.


Looks great mr.modified!

Thanks. Made it to the parade. The simplicity ran good with pretty much no issues. The key in the one jackshaft pulley worked itself loose and wore a small spot in the aluminum cover, but I didn't notice till afterwards. They put me in with the other tractors. I think I had the only air cooled tractor there.












Me and a fan!


This was at the beginning, there was solid people on both sides farther up the road


Loaded up at the end

Thats pretty awesome! The kid in the picture with you looks pretty darn happy haha. A couple of nice old John Deere's as well. The small one looks like an L or LA or something.

I still think the "Searplicity" looks so darn cool. It looks awesome there in with the big boys.

Thanks guys. Everything went pretty good. My right foot got a little bit hot from the exhaust. I guess when your moving real slow or just sitting in one spot, the head radiates off the pipe and muffler. I didn't notice it at all at hapsin. I think the breeze keeps things cool when your moving. Also, I got a chance to get up to high speed on the street after the parade. Still has a decent high gear with the slight pulley size change.

The clutch jumping issue is still there although maybe not quite as bad. I think it's just a problem with the flywheel effect the jack shaft pulleys have vs the engine. I'm going to make some sort of damper to take care of some of it. Not too long and i hope to be able to start on the off road trailer.

Fixed the pulley key issue I think and did some test running today along with stopping for some photos. The new slightly lower gearing does a nice job and works much better with the low horsepower engine. High gear is more usable and it doesn't bog as much on hills. The only time you might want higher gearing is if you were on pavement on the flat. If you were on a long run you might miss having that little bit extra, but how often are you in that situation? The gearing now makes more sense for what I normally do. 1st gear low range is also better for pulling heavy loads now. It's just all around more usable.

Hey Doug! I think you found your new header picture! mr.modified's first one above would look great up there.

Awesome pictures mr.modified! Just love that build!

She looks great! Yeah I seem to find myself using low gear when romping around in the woods or what have you. If I fly around at top speed I'm most likely gonna crash into something haha.

Scratch that... mr.modified posted a bunch of good ones over in the pix forum.

This one is nice!

Thanks. Next I'll get the brake for the jack shaft rigged up and then I should be able to shift while moving easier.

Hey there I snagged one of your images and made a header graphic.  OK for me to place it in the new header forum ?
Decorate your Forum [Banner submissions] :: 10/1/17 - 12/31/17

Oh nice, thanks a lot. No I don't mind at all.

Sweet!

Forum president Doug Fackler talked me into going to Haspin this year. So, with a bit less than 2 months to go, I've got some things to get ready and finish on the simplicity. A few minor changes will be or have already been made to fix some small issues that came up the last time. Here's a short video explaining a few things on the list.

I like that video mr.mod! Should be pretty cool to see some more clips of this rig at Haspin.