MTD off-road build (Mobile Terrain Dominator) "1"

I think you missed a spot there.

Well... I know Rich is gonna laugh at me for this one haha. But, the old steering box is out. There's nothing wrong with it, I didnt break it I just found something better. The old one has too much play in it anyway.

So, check out this baby!



I took the steering box out of a '65 GMC pickup thats been sitting in the woods since the 70's. It's in great shape, I just had to free it up a bit and it turns perfect! Should be an improvement over the old one.





So far it looks to be a pretty straight forward swap. Hopefully more to come later today!

Awesome stuff. Sometimes I wish I had a gearbox to mess with.

nice, I just went double a arm front suspension and direct link quad steering, around 1/4 turn lock to lock and no play, way better than original.

WTF MAN THIS HAS GOTTA BE AGAINST SOME RULE

Thanks guys, it'll defintely be a sturdy setup.

Anyway I got it all done!! I didnt get any pictures along the way cuz I was kind of on a roll haha.

Here's the box all mounted up and the new greaseable pitman arm.








I had to flip my spindles to the opposite sides so the steering arm was on the right side, steering would'va been backwards otherwise.



Steering is fantastic now! Steers like butter, in a good way hahaha. But it is really easy to turn now, feels like nothing's hooked up. I couldnt be happier with this new setup!

Also found a nice set of coilovers and a neat GMC badge next to the ol' '65.





So overall it was a pretty good day!! Hahaha, let me know what ya think!

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

WTF MAN THIS HAS GOTTA BE AGAINST SOME RULE

Sorry, dont think so Rich hahaha.

Nice man! Much better than the stock MTD set-up.

Thanks Matt! Yeah, this is waaaayyy better than stock, hahaha.

Those GMC badges look perfect for the ratrod!!

Yeah I thought about putting it on there, it would probably look pretty cool in the right spot!

Front and center right on the hood. Like it would be on a car. And the 910 badge on the back of the fender like a model badge

Well it's one piece actually, so I would have to find a spot for the whole thing. I'll figure that out someday maybe, right now I'm just gonna keep working on the ol' MTD haha.
I still need to dial in the drag link cuz my steering isnt quite even, I also need to make new steering stops now that the tie rod is on the front. Holefully I can get that done on Saturday!

Looks great! Cool finds too!

Thanks mighty! Yeah haha, I really made out like a bandit back there.

BTW, I see you are now a top 10 poster now.

Yeah, I just checked that out. Didn't realize I posted that much, haha.

You're a spammer.  LOL

That's OK, I'm slowly catching you. So I guess I am the spammer.

Yeah haha. Well today I wanna finish up the little things with the new steering setup like a couple of simple steering stops, and getting the drag link adjusted properly. I also need to install a new choke cable and knob because while I was welding the new steering box mounts the electrode started arcing on the cable sleeve and quickly burnt the whole cable right in half.
I was kinda sad about that, but I bought another one yesterday so I just gotta install the new one and we should be good to go!

Well I havent got any steering stops made, that might be a job for another day haha. But I did get my drag link adjusted a bit better so my steering is actually even now, and I changes the pitman arm end to a slighty shorter one.



Works a bit better and lowered the ratio a hair.

I also put my new choke cable in and I modified my tie rod to make it adjustable, as it was solid bedore and I had a bit of toe-in.




Been meaning to do that with the tie rod for a long time hahaha.

I'm still jealous and probably will never forgive you for this.

Lol jk but I'm definitely jealous.

Looks good! The tie rod in Mutt's original front axle wasn't adjustable, but it lasted longer than the axle itself! I think it's actually the front hanger for the skidplate now haha, can't remember

Edit: What are those two holes in your dash that look like a pokey-bit pixie receptacle?

I'll take your jealously as a compliment, so thanks Rich! Hahaha, but yeah, it is a nice setup for sure. Not sure what that outlet looking plug thing is on my dash, it's wierd though.

Anyway I had one minor breakage today, I broke a weld for my pitman arm in the middle of a mud hole.





You can see it hanging down in the first picture, you can also see the Jake waiting to pull me out hahaha. But it was a quick fix and I was back to messing around in no time!







Definitely loving the new steering setup! I might add a steering dampener using a screen door cylinder sometime in the future though, we'll see. Let me know what ya think!

Man, lots of info and progress. Man I am slow going today. Good job!

Haha, thanks mighty.

Kewl! How many turns of steering wheel lock to lock?

Not sure haha, gonna have to check sometime.