Ford LT 110 Off-Road Build

Had the little Ford out this weekend. Hadn't been started in weeks so it was a grumpy thing for a little bit, but she finally came around after some driving around and a splash of fresh gas in the tank. Pretty much the only thing around here this time if year is mud,  so that's what we ended up playing in.

Couple screenshots from a video I was trying to make:







Then I got a little rammy and slammed across a big rut at full speed, so I ended up breaking a steering rod:



Whoops, hahaha.

Had to play tow-truck with the GT and got 'er back to the barn to be fixed up.



I just cleaned up and welded the rod back together and it held up fine for the rest of the day.





I think I'd like to beef up the linkages some now that I've had it break on me, use some nicer rod ends and what not. I've also been thinking about a front skidplate to protect the steering linkage and suspension components. Maybe make the skidplate come up into a neat looking bumper even? We'll have to see, haha. I've got a few Ideas so hopefully I'll be able to make something happen!

I like the idea of a pre runner bumper or something like that but I would think it would be more practical as a skid plate if it was mounted to the suspension in some way that it moved with the flex. How do those little front tires manage in the mud? They look pretty small.

Video you were trying to make..... hope you make it!  Looks like loads of fun!

muckmudd wrote:

I like the idea of a pre runner bumper or something like that but I would think it would be more practical as a skid plate if it was mounted to the suspension in some way that it moved with the flex. How do those little front tires manage in the mud? They look pretty small.

Yeah that's a neat idea, it might be slightly difficult being that it's an independent setup, but I might be able to make something work. The tires aren't too bad, just not fantastic for steering being that they're only turfs. I have front tires in mind that I'd like for it I just gotta find some, haha.

MightyRaze wrote:

Video you were trying to make..... hope you make it!  Looks like loads of fun!

Haha, yeah I'm probably gonna edit some clips together to make a 10 minute or so video. It definitely was fun!

Well lately I've been having a bit of what I thought were electrical troubles with the little Ford, where the starter never wanted to spin the engine over without a boost, even if the battery had a good full charge. I had been checking the whole wiring system, all the connections on the solenoid, all the safety switches, etc. All checked out....



I was messing around with it today, and found out the engine itself doesn't want to turn over! The only way I could get it to turn was by putting a breaker bar on the flywheel nut and really cranking on it, which is obviously not good... I'm not really sure what is causing that. I had the clutch locked in, there's nothing stopping the pulley underneath, nothing caught in the flywheel, the starter's not caught in the ring gear, and the oil level is fine. Doesn't really make sense..... anyone have any ideas?

Still do it with plugs out?  Any chance any rodents or bugs could have gotten in there up the exhaust?  I had a dirt dobber go up the pipe on one of my Sears.  Compressing garbage is hard.

Sticky valve? Hope nothing worse.

Hmm, I actually didn't think to try it with the plugs out. Might as well try that tomorrow.

pull the flywheel and see if a mouse or somthing else got caught up underneath the flywheel where the magneto goes ?

Yeah I suppose something could be jamming it up underneath the flywheel. Maybe I'll see if it wants to pop off easy sometime.

Oh, I did pull the plugs today and try to turn it over which, unfortunately, made no difference. Figures, haha. Also just so you fellas know how stiff exactly it is; I installed a pull start pulley on it the other day, (since I hadn't noticed the stiffness yet) and if I stand on one side of the tractor and try to pull it over with the rope, I can just barely pick the wheels off the ground on the other side. Yikes Can't turn it by the drive pulley either...

I'll mess with it at some point, I'd like to know what the heck is up.

Does it make any weird squeaky noises when you get it to turn? That would point to a seize. I had one oppy do it. It didn't actually lock up til i was turning it over. I sprayed oil into the cylinders and gave the flywheel a bit of a turn and she loosened back up pretty easily. She hasn't locked up since but does burn a bit of oil.

I'll add to it any clicking?

It does make a bit of a noise when I turn it that sounds like it's coming from inside the cylinder. The upper one too, so I wonder if that cylinder was starved of oil or something.

Really though this engine is pretty tired, it has been burning quite a bit of oil for some time now and seems to be really easy to stall. I was actually thinking that if I could figure out the issue with my 16hp pressure lube opposed, it would be a good replacement for this engine.

Do I see a future parts engine.

Yep! Always good to have a couple, haha. The carb, intake manifold, governor linkage, heads, muffler, etc. are all good, so it might be pretty handy

Well it would appear that the little Ford has become a bit of a back burner project ever since the engine locked up, but today I finally got around to doing some work on the ol' girl today.

First time she's seen the sun in a while!



Got it up on the jack stands to start taking the belt off and what not:



Then here we are, one Ford with engine on the side!





Unfortunately I wasn't gonna have enough time to swap the new engine in or anything, so I just gave the engine bay area a good cleaning:



Pretty good now. Also in case I didn't mention it, the engine that will be going in is my pressure lube model 40 that came out of the MTD a while back:



Has an issue with not wanting to start, but I think I can get it figured out. Better than a siezed enging anyways, haha.

Hopefully I can get some more work done on 'er soon!

Tiny bit more progress over the weekend, I got the pressure lube model 40 dropped in the engine bay:





I decided to put the blue cylinder head tins on this engine cuz I thought it'd be an interesting contrast to the bright red blower shroud. Looks pretty good to me!

So anyways, next I gotta get some exhaust made, put a carb on it, and hook up all the wiring and cables, then I can try and get it started. Hopefully I'll get to that soon.

So I got the exhaust knocked off the list yesterday.

I've been thinking about a different exhaust setup for the MTD, so instead of throwing the old pipes away, I figured I'd try and use them on the Ford!

I tried bolting them up and seeing how things looked, but unfortunately the pipes conflicted with the clutch pedal when it was locked down all the way:





So after some notching, bending, welding, and a little magic from a sanding disk, this is what we have!





Little paint:





Little bit closer to getting 'er running again, let me know what ya think!

It'll be nice to see the ford ripping through the fields again!  Nice job on the pipes.

Thanks Mighty! Yeah I'm really looking forward to ripping 'er around again.

So in case you haven't noticed, the poor little Ford has been hiding for some time now! Unfortunately the model 40 pressure lube opposed was still being stubborn, so she's been sitting in the corner of the shed covered in dust for far too long.

I got some motivation to work on 'er today though, and by golly, I made out pretty good!



She lives!! First thing I did was put some fresh fuel in the tank, and swap a coil and plugs off of a running engine, because it didn't have any spark. Still had no luck after a ton of cranking, but after a bit I started spraying carb clean down the carb, which it started reacting to. Then basically after feeding it some carb clean a few times to keep it running, it finally caught and started running on it's own!



I let it sit and run for a really long time, added a bit of Seafoam engine treatment too.  Then after that I took 'er out for some riding!









Boy did she ever run good. I let it cool and started it up a couple times after I got busy doing other stuff too, and each time it cranked right up just like it used to.



I'm quite happy, it ran perfect all day. I have a bit of belt work to do soon though and a couple other things, but the fact that it seems to be starting and running reliably now is a big step in the right direction.

Either way, I'm quite happy!

cool to see it back on the trails, man them oppys love to loose spark lol

Thanks! Yeah it's been far too long, definitely felt great. Looking forward to working on it further now!

Well I had 'er out again today. Put a good battery in it so I didn't have to boost it, then I did some adjusting with the steering linkages to get the turning even and the steering wheel straight.

Then it was out to the front pasture for some mild wheeling:





Went out to another spot after that and made real mess:



Got it out, but shortly after she snapped the belt on me:



Bugger, haha. Oh well, I had some fun up 'til that point!

Now I gotta get a new belt and also make a couple retainers, cuz it could use a few by the engine pulley. I have plans for new front wheels too, but I'll have to modify the spindles first.

It's great seeing the Ford out!  Sux you busted a belt.  I always agree, if you bust something, it's best it be a belt!

Can't wait to see more of it.

MightyRaze wrote:

Sux you busted a belt.  I always agree, if you bust something, it's best it be a belt!

Yep. As long as you remember what size it was... If you don't, well, you're just kinda screwed y'know.

Thanks a lot Mighty, I'm real happy to see it out and about too. Nothing bothers me more than to have a non-working tractor sitting in the shed for so long, haha.

I have lots of plans for it now so hopefully there'll be lot more to come!