Craftsman 2 (YT16) romper "Basic B#$ch" build attempt

I am pretty sure that I posted this once already but it is not showing up anywhere. I dont know if moderators have to approve it first or what the deal is but I am retrying it.

~anyway~

I have a Craftsman 2 YT16 body "cube" tractor that I am attempting to make into a beater/romper/mess around tractor. The original 16hp oppie was traded out of it a while ago and it has a 5 speed Foote tranny that i am going to pulley swap by cutting the original pulley to a small circle then bolting a Murray deck spindle pulley on top of that. Its going to be running that and a original engine pulley so nothing to crazy.
I am working on making a separate brake pedal and gas pedal and either doing the MTD12hpTurbo style left hand shifter or making the deck height lever the shifter. I might eventually get some used tires for the back but till then I will to use the original Turf Savers. The steering is staying original and not being changed in any way and there is no electrical system (as of now anyway that might change eventually). I hope to use a 8 hp pull start flat head or a 12 hp pull start flat head, either ungoverened on it. also keeping the stock clutch

so in short, I have stripped down a stock tractor, will be adding a brake pedal, gas pedal, different shifter, slightly pulley swapping and running an ungoverened engine.
as the name implies, it will be a very basic project. i dont want to put in a lot of money into this thing. I'll only be on farm land with some very shallow water crossing and/or mud and i know how tough a craftsman is so i shouldnt need anything extravagant.

wish me luck!

Sounds cool man, can't wait to see some pictures!

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Sounds cool man, can't wait to see some pictures!

thanks! I'll try to get some pics once i get a little farther along with it to show what i did then once i am finished but dont hold me to it lol
im liable to just abandon this but idk yet, ive got a great frame to work with. all it needs is the engine really in order to be usable but engines are always my downfall
i always get one that needs a coil that i dont have or a carb that just wont work. tis why i hate Briggs and Stratton

pictures of what I have so far. not much lol

got my pulley cut off and I'm ready to bolt on my other pulley. I am doing it this way because i figured it would be easier than trying to pull the original off and buying a new one to put on there. so once i get it bolted on all i will have to do is put my transmission back in and work on making a side shifter then i can put it together and work on the engine. I am putting the 12hp pull start on there instead of the 8 because i think i will have less trouble with the 12. i'm going to mount it backwards so it will be easier to put on a side exhaust too

Looking good! Anymore progress?

MatthewD wrote:

Looking good! Anymore progress?

yea i got it put back together all i need to do is TRY to get the engine running. i got that 12 hp on there now and wire up the kill switch and get a belt for it and belt guides
and fix the back tires
nothing major but bleh lol
aggravating really

reviving a long lost thread. it is getting close to winter time so my tinkering side is starting to itch a bit.
I still have the YT16 body and may still try to build it into something. but what i have an idea for now is a little different. ive gotten a chain driven differential (like what you find on a lot of RERs that have a Peerless 700 or similar gear box in them) that i would like to mount into the rear of the frame in a way that will lower it to the ground a lot, then put in a predator engine with a centrivical (i cant spell lol) clutch. what i wonder is, would it be ok to run that long of a chain?
i will provide some pictures at a later date to show what i mean. the Peerless 700 i have is being used in a different project

Might need some guides to take the slop out. Chris, with the Tracta cooler in the build-off is having a little bit of issue with chain slop due to distance. Good to see you posting again!

mightyraze wrote:

Might need some guides to take the slop out.  Chris, with the Tracta cooler in the build-off is having a little bit of issue with chain slop due to distance.  Good to see you posting again!

yea i planned to make some spring loaded tensioners and maybe some guides if need be. now that i have a welder i may be able to actually make some stuff lol
and thanks
i hope to keep up with this site. i would really like to try to build some things in due time.
the 214 project tractor listed in my sig has been engine swapped. ill make a post about how i did that sometime

I have desided and started on making this craftsman into a lifted machine.
*so far i swapped out the plastic dash for a metal one
*started getting the rear raised up.
*going to swap out the original front axle for one out of a John Deere LT155 that comes factory with steering stops and grease fittings. it uses two steering rods whereas the craftsman steering uses one arm and a tie rod. ill figure it out. unfortunately i dont have any shocks so it will be solid mounted but hopefully will still flex.
*Still has the original Foote trans but im not sure how well it works yet. plan to extend the input shaft and use a murray deck spindle to provide the support for it.
*stock pulley sizes.
*spindle extensions if needed on the front so i can run larger tires
*briggs vtwin amongst other engine options. probably ungoverned
*straight pipe obviously
*replacing the seat with a metal pan seat but will have a seat back from a metal chair
*if i can get it all to work, i will buy the biggest used tires i can get for it
seriously thinking about running no brakes on this rig. ive used a LT1000 craftsman to mow with on steep hills for years with no breaks and no problems at all. one less linkage and thing to worry about
i have a couple other transaxles to use on this if the Foote isnt any count, ive got a MTD parts tractor if i need an axle and transaxle, ive got some c channel, angle iron, and tube steel
ive pretty much got everything i need if i can just make it work so hopefully that will be enough motivation to help me finish it

Been a while since someone made a lifted machine. Looks like you got some good plans there. We'd enjoy to be taken along for the ride on your build! Excellent!

this is all ive gotten done so far.. havent had much time to work on it and when i do i dont feel like working on much of anything lol
the rear wheels aren't mounted, just slid on to make it a little easier to move around. i believe i will try to get a rolling chassy (cant spell lol) before i make the extended input shaft. unless i can find some shocks or big springs im going to mount the front axle solid with no flex. hate to but for it to be as strong as ill need it ill have to. thinking about some sorts of skid plates at some point as well possibly.
in reality this project will probably eventually just end up scrapped until i get a really good murray or craftsman tractor. this tractor was just a little to gone in multiple ways. and i just dont have the time/patients/skill to make it what i want. i also have somewhat higher expectations than i really need lol
i dont know
may end up a build off winner yet

Nice! Some sort of suspension setup would be cool if you could find the stuff for it. Like a real heavy duty radius arm setup or something.