Lawnmower frankenbuggy

This is an extension of the centrifugal clutch discussion. Or rather the reason I wanted to know. Nothing being built yet but I will be testing the cent. clutch idea on my murray soon. I am in the parts gathering stage of this scratch build of a buggy. I already have a 17hp B&S opposed twin, 5-speed manual mower transaxle, centrifugal clutch, and a 1" gocart solid axle. I've built roll cages, bumpers, and even redesigned suspension on lifted trucks, so a chassis shouldn't be out of my ability. The front suspension will probably be off an old ATV, I have a few options(friends ATV parts) so not sure on the exact model. Plumbing pipe chassis, 2-seat, and rear suspension will be dual swingarm. Shooting for 25" tires and hopefully bump the motor up a few ponies.

I got the idea from a guy who started building, or at least posted in 2005. Here's a link to all his pics and a couple to give you an idea of what I'm looking to do.
http://www.sadik.net/gokart/pictures/




He used a MTD variable pulley transaxle. I plan to use a 5-speed manual transaxle. I do have the pulley setup from an MTD though, I wonder if it could be incorporated into my design with the 5-speed and cent. clutch? If so I might add it later.

I plan to use 2 3/4" heim joints at the frame end of each swingarm and space the pillow blocks out farther, into the wheel as far as possible. I'm also planning on running the mower transaxle at a slower speed, then gearing after it to increase the speed. The slower it spins the longer it should live.

I know it's hard to comment on something that isn't built yet, but if you see any problems with my plans please let me know. Thanks for looking.

In his case , hed of had limited range of speed from the MTD transaxle - specially since its a single speed unit , unless hed of put the variable pulley somewhere in the drivetrain.

Youre looking at using your 5 speed as a sort of RAGB - meaning youre mounting sprockets on the axle ends instead of wheels - only issue would be the straight rear axle - or the trans would need to be locked .

Trans will be locked, though if it wasn't you would have differential action at the wheels also since the left wheel/swingarm runs off the left transaxle shaft, and the right off the right. My concern is the chain, keeping it straight, and the swingarm being strong enough. I plan on making shorter swingarms, 2ft maybe, and using 2x2 1/4" box steel. I guess if it proved to be a problem I could tie both swingarms in together. I'd loose the independent suspension but it would be stronger. Here's a store bought version of the same setup.

For some odd reason not having a whole axle under the back bothers me - you could still do a flex suspension, but youd need hiem joints at the chassis. Looks like they did it that way to get a differential action from the trans instead of a diff in the actual axle. The other thing is the two chains - sometimes its bad enough with one - if one chain breaks- then most likely youd need to be towed home.

Unless you were rock crawling with the go kart- i really cant see why youd need that much suspension. Not to mention needing brakes for all 4 corners either.

Ok, so after a lot of second guessing myself, here's another plan of attack. I can find a peerless 700 for about $150 on ebay. I can mount the engine, 700, and chain to a solid 1" axle. I can make that either a standard swingarm or an articulated swingarm. It would be much simpler and probably end up costing less, fewer sprockets and components. I also have a question about the peerless 700. The ones on ebay have splines outputs. Where would you find a sprocket to fit that? I may also be able to get one locally. Guy I know has an old gravely that doesn't run. I think he wants to fix it up, but he's been carrying the carb in his truck for a year, so it may never happen, haha.

About the spline output - well probably be a trial and error finding something to fit right - the peerless i have has a splined output as well - i have the sprocket somewhere for it that i could weld a larger sprocket to- im sure at any tractor parts place can match one up- or check TSC.

The RAGB i have uses 2 keyed shafts - IF i can ever get the pulley off the one side ( probably have to cut it off) when i get around to it.

Not much of an update but I am getting a free ATV frame to work with for front suspension. It's a 93 Yamaha Timberwolf 2wd. It's complete except for hubs and brakes, but has the shocks, spindles, steering, control arms, and the rest of the frame back to the swingarm mount. Not sure how much hubs will be, but you can't argue with free.

Well, here's some pics of that atv frame. I still need to figure something out for hubs. I'm also getting a peerless 700 for free out of a gravely walk behind. At least I think what type of transmission should be in it. If not, I won't be out anything, it'll be a freebie too. The only downside to free stuff is that the givers aren't in any rush to deliver, can't complain with the price though.

I have these 10" tires on bearings that I got for cheap. Do you guys think that the bearing unit could be used as hubs for the front of this buggy? They fit 5/8" bolts and I could make a plate to adapt to a 4x4 bolt pattern.

Nice score on the freebies- yeah ive had that happen a couple times - i had an ad for free tractors wanted- some guy called , sed he wanted one gone - i sed i can be out tomm- he kept jerking me around so i sed " hell with it" - was like he changed his mind or something.


I have a similar set of those type hubs for my wizard - i figure if they let go ( seem like a cheeper bering) - i can just get another set from the autoparts store. Im sure itll work fine- plus theyre greaseable too.

Yeah, these don't have grease fittings, but I'll definitely drill and add them. One thing that might help these is a sleeve inside between the bearings. The only spacing is on the outside, on the hub part. Spacing the center part of the bearing might reduce the side loading. And like you said, if they burn out, I'll replace them with better ones. I posted the same question on a buggy site and they had doubts but said try it out as well. Waiting and collecting parts is the hardest part of this build. Seems like each part is dependent on some other part. Can't start building or make final decisions without having most of the parts in hand.

those dont look like quality bearings from here. adding grease would help but the sheild has a big gap for water and dirt to get in. that will crap up all the grease. you will have to add new grease after almost every ride and flush out the old stuff.
they look like a 6203zz, if you upgrade, get a 6203rs and take out the inner seal and grease. cutting a short piece of tubing that fits over the axle and between the wheels will keep it from being so messy when you take the wheels off.

Good thoughts to consider. I have come up with a couple other options. I can try and find a used trailer to steal the spindles/hubs off(or buy new), or I could get the spindle/hub and maybe brakes off of something in the junkyard. I'm guessing to get a 4x4" bolt pattern, it would have to be a small FWD car. The car option would probably have to be from the rear. In case anyone wonders, there's a few reasons I want to stay away from the stock yamaha hubs. There apparently were a couple different designs, so finding he right ones off ebay is risky. They would no doubt need new bearings, which are probably a dealer item. Some of the hubs are a larger 4bolt pattern, which may cause a problem with wheel fitment. Maybe I'm thinking too hard on it all though.

Or I could just get these.
http://www.bmikarts.com/item/4x4-Wheel-Hub--5-8-Bearings-260055-761

those look better. I would still pack em. dont want water getting in there

Definitely, grease is life and water is death, haha. Just want to get started building, gathering parts and planning is boring.

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

Nice score on the freebies- yeah ive had that happen a couple times - i had an ad for free tractors wanted- some guy called , said he wanted one gone - i said i can be out town- he kept jerking me around so i said " hell with it" - was like he changed his mind or something.

Oh if i had a dime for every time that has happened to me.That ticks me off every time someone does that.

Well, that 700 is a done deal, I'd trust the guy with my life. The when, however, is the question, haha. He works a lot and has a short memory.

"I got it one piece at a time..."

The next bit of puzzle found me today. I was in a Good Samaritan store today and found some atv tires under a sink. Asked the lady how much and she had no clue. She called the guy who does pricing and he says $10 a tire. So $40 and they came home with me. 25x8 fronts and 25x10 rears on 12" rims, which I now need to look for. The tread seems pretty good too. Good enough for me anyways.

You can find some of the best screaming deals at thrift stores and flea markets- flea markets you can haggle some- i bot a set of 4 golf kart rims with tires for $40 - went to another one and paid $20 for 2 - hoping to come across 2 more sometime then can have 2 complete sets- one will have slicks- the other knarly tread.

That was a great deal - the 8" can use a set of rear rims off a tractor - 10" ones might have to come off a GT tractor or atv.

They look like dunlop tires. From new they didn't have much tread on them. Looks like you got a good deal.

Yup, dunlops. The fronts look almost brand new actually. Either they cleaned them or the front tires were off the ground most of the time, haha. 12" rims for these tires with a 4" bolt pattern should be common right? I know 4x4" is roughly the same as 4x100mm, but have seen a lot about newer ATVs running a 4x110mm bolt pattern.

As soon as I can get money in the bank I'm ording front and rear hubs, both with 4x4" bolt pattern. I'm also getting a gocart style bearing/flange kit for the solid axle, and they have 8" disc rotors for cheap so 3 of them. I'm hoping I can figure out a way to run one brake per front hub, and the final one on the solid axle. I plan to run hydraulic calipers, either from motorcycle/atv, or from a small car. Car parts seem more available and cheaper, but sometimes are too big.

Got some parts in from BMI Karts today. Front and rear hubs, axle bearing kit, and some cheap disc rotors. No real update, but I like new parts. One problem I see though is with the rear width. With these hubs on, it's 32.5" wide at the mating points. I'm going to need some deep offset rims or spacers to get into the 50" wide range I'm wanting.

Started to put the new parts to use today. I welded some 5/8" grade 8 bolts to the spindles to accommodate the new front hubs I bought. That went pretty smooth, lots of heat in the welding. While I was out in the garage I also set the tires up at the width and wheelbase I think I'm shooting for, 50" wide and 70" wheelbase.

Those are similar to my tapered bering hubs from northern tools - cept mine were a whole lot more Id drill and tap the hub for a zerk fitting anyway- cant hurt it.

Thats what i want to do to my tractors- custom make new lowered spindles from 3/4" bolts - i bot some and pop was generous to donate some from his bins back north - so i have enough to build a few sets of custom spindles.