Task Force (MTD) Build

Ouch! That sucks! Mine needs a new hydraulic hose on it. I got to do that sometime very soon, but luckily I was able to bush hog the field before that happened.

Just got off the phone with tire shop...I have to wait one more day. They just started work on it and they still can't get the wheels off, so they will have to make a puller tool to pull it off. The bright said is they said it would not cost me any more. So even though I did pay for someone to mount the tires instead of doing it myself, they are having to deal with this headache and not me lol. So one more day of driving around with a trailer hooked up to my truck lol.

Yeah siezed rims can be a real bugger. On the trans I put in my MTD I had to have the rims cut off with an angle grinder. It was worth it once I got my new tries on though!

Got the new tires and got her back!  I should have taken a pic before I went in to the lake bed behind our house, but oh well.  

She looks great man! Same rears as the ones on my cousin's Jacobsen. I wonder how that F-N-R trans will hold up, it might surprise ya.

We will see! I'll run it and see if it holds up. I ran it through that creek about 5 times plus thick mud a few other times and I had no slippage...yet lol. But I really need to get this thing a little faster. I can't do a rear pulley swap because of FNR shifter. But a engine pulley swap is a bit much maybe. Anything else I could do?

An engine pulley swap is possible, but it can be a pain because of the Vari-Drive. Getting it to work properly after something like a pulley swap requires a lot of adjusting and making sure you have the right belt size. It might be worth a try though!

I'm pretty certain those are the only 2 options with what you have.

As AK said, the belt size is very important. Also, those vari-drive setups use a 5/8 belt rather than a 1/2, so you'll need a 5/8 pulley. Yet another thing, the pulley on the transaxle has a splined shaft. You would have to cut the center out of the old pulley and weld it into the new one if you go that route. This is why most people with MTDs just strip it out lol

Yeah...none of that sounds like something I'll tackle lol I will deal with it for now. Maybe gives me a reason to also build that other mower I have lol.

Alright, got to figure out the paint color I am going to go with it. I've already started removing the panels and I'll start prep work tonight.
The choices I've narrowed it down to are: Flat Gray, Gloss Cherry Red, Gloss Ford Blue, Flat Olive Drab Green with a white star on hood (mimic an old army jeep), or...???? Help! Lol

I think the flat grey would look good. Maybe try to mimic the ice charger from Fate of the Furious

Does it have good enough wheel speed to clean the mud out of those Ags? Also I would like to officially vote for the Gloss Ford Blue!! Would look great with white rims haha.

Oh yeah, it definitely does. It doesn't even try to clog up. It hasn't hesitated at all to push it through everything so far. It has great low end torque and if I am going to be hauling stuff with it, maybe I shouldn't push speed too much.

Yeah if it's fast enough to clean those treads out, I'd say it should be pretty good.

Hay there,
I  read your thread, and noticed that I have the same kind of riding mower as yours but the grill, dash, and hood are different. But the driveline, steering setups, and frames are the same. I also modified my vari drive setup on my ride a while ago, with a transaxle pulley swap and switched out the f/n/r for a 6 speed transaxle ending up with 30 forward gears and 6 reverse gears altogether. I'm not offroading mine, just wanting to cut my grass with it, I what to go really slow. But for what you described your plans for yours, will help you alot. I completely tore down mine to redo the frame and running gear. Probably will take a while. But plan to share the tech to do the mods with the vari drive and already started. I was even wanting to paint my frame black and yours gave me an idea on how it would look, definitely like the black semigloss frame of yours. Mine is red.  

Link to thread:
https://www.atltf.com/t5355-vari-drive-with-6-speed-transaxle

Awesome, looking forward to seeing what you do with it! Thanks for the clicky.

So, I decided to have a bit of fun with paint this morning..
maybe put a nice eagle in the front white panel along with "Est. 1776".

i'm cool with that. Wouldn't be the first to don stars and stripes. :-)

mightyraze wrote:

i'm cool with that.  Wouldn't be the first to don stars and stripes.  :-)

Haha, not too sure how serious I am about it, but thought it would be funny.

Man, those tires are meaty for being the size they are! Bet they're great offroad! The stars and stripes look cool, but i rather like the idea of that Ford Blue. I can see that hood fitting that blue.

Like those rear tires man! I have a set of 18x9.50-8 Carlisle Chevrons on the back of my Westwood mower and they do real well for deep mud.

The tires are great! They just pushed on through everything. I am excited to get it back out there. I have been neck deep in tearing that thing apart. Over the last few days I have taken all the panels off and sanded, primed, and started painting (color to be announced ). While I had everything off, I figured I may as well go ahead and remove the muffler to get it ready for my stack (that was chore - getting the lock nut off) and I figured I may as well go ahead and rebuild the carb since everything around it was off and it was leaking fuel around the bowl. So I just have to finish painting, reassemble the panels, install the new muffler, weld up bracket for the new muffler, and then I can turn my attention to welding a basket for the back to haul stuff.

Alright guys, got a few pics to upload later. Paint job is done (on the sheet metal surround for the engine). Got a new highback seat. Also stopped by northern tool to pick up my fog lights and I was browsing for a come along to store on the mower for when I get stuck. But instead, I found their brand 2000lb utility/ATV winch on sale for $25. So...guess I'm building a winch bumper now

Cool man! I look forward to seeing it. Have you given any thought to possibly locking the differential in the F-N-R transaxle?

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Cool man! I look forward to seeing it. Have you given any thought to possibly locking the differential in the F-N-R transaxle?

I had read through the "How to" on this forum and it seems fairly intensive. I've never messed around with differentials before, so that would be a new venture for me. From my understanding, when I turn, the tires would have to allow for enough slippage to compensate?

So here she is painted and with a new seat. I took her down to the pond bed again yesterday and I went in the deep stuff for the first time. Powered right through everything like a champ. No belt slippage either. Couldn't ask for a better outing by the Task Force.

Looks great! The blue looks awesome against the black.

Looks good! Like to blue as well! Also, looks like a fun place to play!