Craftsman LT1000 "NellyBelle"

Iv'e seen them before at my local Rona. They are for wheelbarrows I think.

Yeah they are.

Okay, so, since the engine was going to sit for a while, I drained the oil.  It had a grey streak in it, the rest was so black I could see my reflection in it.  It also wasn't like oil, it was way more watery.  It also smelled like gas....
Strange thing is the right amount of oil drained out.  Don't know where the rest went.  Hopefully this isn't a real issue, I'm probably gonna just run it the way it is.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Okay, so, since the engine was going to sit for a while, I drained the oil.  It had a grey streak in it, the rest was so black I could see my reflection in it.  It also wasn't like oil, it was way more watery.  It also smelled like gas....
Strange thing is the right amount of oil drained out.  Don't know where the rest went.  Hopefully this isn't a real issue, I'm probably gonna just run it the way it is.

Do you have a fuel shut off on it? If not sometimes the gas drains from the carb into the cyl, flooding it out, getting into the crank case.

Yeah I did, because I don't have a carb on it anyway.  It might have happened before that though, when it was working fine.

Okay, so this is the original thread for NellyBelle and I'm starting it back up again because I now have a power plan for it. The plan is just to get it running and driving, at about 15-20 mph. I have 22" mud lites for the back and 16" skinny ags for the front. I now have an OEM Craftsman bumper I'm going to use. I'm swapping the fenders for squarebody fenders, keeping the original frame, and keeping the original hood.
The engine I picked up last night:

18.5 hp Briggs oppy. Spins freely, but I haven't tried starting it yet. It's in an MTD with vari drive, so I'm going to put it in the Belle.
Lemme know what you think and if you have any suggestions!

W!  I was thinking you moved on. Carb clean and I bet it fires up.

MightyRaze wrote:

W!  I was thinking you moved on. Carb clean and I bet it fires up.

More like 3 or 4 carb cleans.

Not if you do it right the first time. 

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

Haha, that's right!

Looking forward to seeing the engine swap TJ! That opposed will give 'er some grunt for sure.

AllisKidD21 wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

Haha, that's right!

Looking forward to seeing the engine swap TJ! That opposed will give 'er some grunt for sure.

Maybe I should learn how to do it right... LOL.

Yes it sure will. They can be a little temperamental at times, but when you get 'er going, let's just put it this way... If you can bog it, it ain't runnin' right!

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

'We do it right, because we do it twice!"

Hahaha....

TheBeal wrote:

'We do it right, because we do it twice!"

Story of my life....

MightyRaze wrote:

W!  I was thinking you moved on. Carb clean and I bet it fires up.

No, I haven't moved on.  I've just got a lot of crap going on in my life.  I now kinda have a part time job, I've been getting mowers and power equipment over the last 3-4 weeks and flipping them.  It's definitely worth it, I've been making 6-700 a week, but it's pretty time consuming.  It's my first opportunity in life to make money, other than "Hay come mow my yard for $20 once."  Also in the last year or so I lost all interest in my hobbies, and I wasn't sure why.  As of March I've been officially diagnosed with depression, so that's fun.  I'm trying to get back into my hobbies to help with that.  And now with flipping power equipment I can pretty much get whatever parts I want if I wait long enough, that's where the bumper and the oppy came from.

Murraymountain wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

W!  I was thinking you moved on. Carb clean and I bet it fires up.

More like 3 or 4 carb cleans.

haha yeah.  Well I tried turning it over and I think the starter might be dragging. I'm going to try to pull the engine out soon.

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

AllisKidD21 wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

Haha, that's right!

Looking forward to seeing the engine swap TJ! That opposed will give 'er some grunt for sure.

Thanks, yeah.  I've always wanted an oppy in her but I've never been able to find one in my area for some reason.

Murraymountain wrote:

AllisKidD21 wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

Haha, that's right!

Looking forward to seeing the engine swap TJ! That opposed will give 'er some grunt for sure.

Maybe I should learn how to do it right... LOL.

Yes it sure will. They can be a little temperamental at times, but when you get 'er going, let's just put it this way... If you can bog it, it ain't runnin' right!

Yep!

TheBeal wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Not if you do it right the first time. 

'We do it right, because we do it twice!"

MightyRaze wrote:

Hahaha....

Murraymountain wrote:

TheBeal wrote:

'We do it right, because we do it twice!"

Story of my life....

Hehehe me too

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

No, I haven't moved on.  I've just got a lot of crap going on in my life.  I now kinda have a part time job, I've been getting mowers and power equipment over the last 3-4 weeks and flipping them.  It's definitely worth it, I've been making 6-700 a week, but it's pretty time consuming.  It's my first opportunity in life to make money, other than "Hay come mow my yard for $20 once."  Also in the last year or so I lost all interest in my hobbies, and I wasn't sure why.  As of March I've been officially diagnosed with depression, so that's fun.  I'm trying to get back into my hobbies to help with that.  And now with flipping power equipment I can pretty much get whatever parts I want if I wait long enough, that's where the bumper and the oppy came from.

Take care of yourself. I understand the depression. Covid and lots of this other junk does not help. As for that dragging starter.. Might check out: https://www.atltf.com/t5959-prancstaman-s-awesome-starter-rebuild

MightyRaze wrote:

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Stoof

Take care of yourself.  I understand the depression.  Covid and lots of this other junk does not help.  As for that dragging starter..  Might check out:  https://www.atltf.com/t5959-prancstaman-s-awesome-starter-rebuild

Thanks! Yeah I'll definitely check it out. Am I mistaken or did I hear that on an oppy the flywheel has to come off to get the starter off?

Yeah pretty sure the flywheel has to come off

Can't say I understand the depression part of life, but yeah flipping the mowers, super worth it. I'm sell one about once a month. I'm almost at $1200 in profit alone this year. That's a good chunk for me.

Now as for the starter, no you shouldn't need to pull the flywheel. You can get the bolt that's underneath the flywheel with a box wrench. The hardest part will be breaking it loose. If you can't get it loose, well then yeah you'll need to pull the flywheel.

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

Yeah pretty sure the flywheel has to come off

Murraymountain wrote:

Can't say I understand the depression part of life, but yeah flipping the mowers, super worth it. I'm sell one about once a month. I'm almost at $1200 in profit alone this year. That's a good chunk for me.

Now as for the starter, no you shouldn't need to pull the flywheel. You can get the bolt that's underneath the flywheel with a box wrench. The hardest part will be breaking it loose. If you can't get it loose, well then yeah you'll need to pull the flywheel.

Ah okay, thanks guys.  I guess we'll see.

I did try to pull the engine out a couple days back but 2 of the 4 mounting bolts were pretty darn stuck, and I've been there, broken those before, so I'm waiting on penetrating oil to work it's magic for now.

Easier to pull the flywheel if it comes off easy. Otherwise, Yes you can get the starter off with the flywheel on. The dimples under the flywheel will allow for the inner screw to lift and pull it out. Skinny fingers are best.

MightyRaze wrote:

Easier to pull the flywheel if it comes off easy. Otherwise, Yes you can get the starter off with the flywheel on.  The dimples under the flywheel will allow for the inner screw to lift and pull it out.  Skinny fingers are best.

Okay, cool, thanks for the info.

Okay so I was going to wait til tomorrow but I got too excited and so TODAYS THE DAY to see if Belle will accept her new power plan.



The 18.5 Oppy stuck in a pretty messed up MTD with vari drive.



It's liberated from it's captivation!



Now to liberate NellyBelle from the corner of the barn.



Now to pull the old engine out. This engine I never actually got to move Belle. It was doing some funky stuff, it would make weird noises, randomly lock up, and smoked a bit. That was the last time I tried to get this thing to move, and I just gave up and said someday I'll have an oppy.





Yeah. She's been sitting a while. I am going to paint the fenders to match, don't worry.



Engine is gone!






Bumper is on. So the bolt pattern didn't match. The rear two bolts bolted in where they were supposed to, but the fronts were off by like half an inch. So I was going to drill, tap, and bolt the front on, but then I remembered you can't take the hood off with the bumper on. So instead I drilled one hole in one side and pinned it. Now whenever I want to pull the hood off, I can just pull that pin and push the bumper down.







And...drumroll...OPPY IS IN!!



It fits just fine, but it sure fills up the engine bay. And it was super heavy. After I got it in, I just stood back and said holy , there's an oppy in NellyBelle. I've wanted an oppy in this tractor pretty much as long as I've had her. For those who don't know, she was my first tractor. I drove her everywhere for the longest time. And then she sat for like 2 years. I'm not a very good owner to her lately.

My dream for her is to have an oppy, a peerless 600, mud lites in the back, ags in the front, and front suspension. I don't know if suspension is going to happen, and I don't know if a 600 is going to happen, in fact, I've never seen one down here for sale. But if I do, you better know I'm going to grab it!

I haven't been the best to Blue the past year. Tore it apart and let it sit for 6 months. Then I pieced it back together, then it sat for 3 more months, then recently I mildly built the motor and trans, and now it's sitting again. I haven't been the best either, LOL.

If you don't go ahead with the suspension, are you gonna swap the front axle for a cast iron one? The one that's on it is literally the worst riding mower axle on the face of the earth.

But if you do go with suspension, are you gonna do an IFS setup?

Murraymountain wrote:

I haven't been the best to Blue the past year. Tore it apart and let it sit for 6 months. Then I pieced it back together, then it sat for 3 more months, then recently I mildly built the motor and trans, and now it's sitting again. I haven't been the best either, LOL.

If you don't go ahead with the suspension, are you gonna swap the front axle for a cast iron one? The one that's on it is literally the worst riding mower axle on the face of the earth.

But if you do go with suspension, are you gonna do an IFS setup?

I'm not sure. I don't have a cast axle laying around. I may make one, I may be able to swap one from one of the various mower I have sitting around. We'll see.

I really haven't thought much about it, and if I do it's going to be down the road, not just yet.

Okay so I drained the oil. It was pretty black. Usually I'd just send it with the old oil but this is the oppy I've wanted for the last like 3 years so I'm going to treat her right.



Then I got the shroud pulled off.



No mice, but we do have a dirt daubers nest. For those who don't have dirt daubers, they're basically small wasps (shaped like wasps, sting like wasps, etc) that build this little annoying homes everywhere out of clay, then lay an egg in each hole. I pulled it out and sprayed it out with an air compressor to get rid of 'er.



Pulled the starter off (wasn't too bad, I was able to get it without the flywheel coming off), and well... .



With the advice of @AllisKidD21 I took a cylinder and magnets out of a 12.5 hp starter, and it worked!

Dripped some gas down the intake, and away she went!



I'll probably clean the carb tomorrow. We'll see.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

No, I haven't moved on.  I've just got a lot of crap going on in my life.  I now kinda have a part time job, I've been getting mowers and power equipment over the last 3-4 weeks and flipping them.  It's definitely worth it, I've been making 6-700 a week, but it's pretty time consuming.  It's my first opportunity in life to make money, other than "Hay come mow my yard for $20 once."  Also in the last year or so I lost all interest in my hobbies, and I wasn't sure why.  As of March I've been officially diagnosed with depression, so that's fun.  I'm trying to get back into my hobbies to help with that.  And now with flipping power equipment I can pretty much get whatever parts I want if I wait long enough, that's where the bumper and the oppy came from.

Hey man I missed some of this I have been bummed out allot lately with the covid nonsense, you are in a good spot though, you are a young young guy you have everything in front of you...

Both of my brothers suffer from depression, unfortunately one is no longer with us because it got that bad... Reach out to your friends and family, hell send me a PM if you feel like it... It doens't just go away but it is manageable.  I wish when I was 16 I was doing some of the cool stuff you are, but I cant change 25 years ago haha....My advice is to get back to any hobby you like, spend some time with family, write some stuff down maybe...Don't bottle up too much, I know as men we do that allot, but stay positive...  If you were closer id give you some tractors and make you fix them hhaha...

mrshaft696 wrote:

Hey man I missed some of this I have been bummed out allot lately with the covid nonsense, you are in a good spot though, you are a young young guy you have everything in front of you...

Both of my brothers suffer from depression, unfortunately one is no longer with us because it got that bad... Reach out to your friends and family, hell send me a PM if you feel like it... It doens't just go away but it is manageable.  I wish when I was 16 I was doing some of the cool stuff you are, but I cant change 25 years ago haha....My advice is to get back to any hobby you like, spend some time with family, write some stuff down maybe...Don't bottle up too much, I know as men we do that allot, but stay positive...  If you were closer id give you some tractors and make you fix them hhaha...

Thanks I really appreciate it.  I've had it for about a year, and I didn't do anything about it or tell anyone until late February, which I regret.  I'm really sorry about your brother.  It did get close to that bad a few times for me but obviously never did.  Thanks for the offer, and I will if I need to.  The fact of the matter and what I've been told by counselors the reason for it in me is actually exactly that, lack of friends and family.  My parents are fortunately still together and very strong, and I have a sister who I'm very close with, other than that I'm on my own with family.  They have all turned me and my sister away.  None of my grandparents ever invite me over or talk to me, hell they won't even accept my friend requests on Facebook.  On top of that I live in the middle of nowhere, no houses for 2 miles, and am home schooled. As you can imagine I really have 0 friends.
I'm not trying to derail this thread or turn this into a pity party for myself but the main reason I'm saying all of this is that I wanted to thank everyone here who has ever replied to my threads, or those of you who are on Facebook who talk to me on Facebook or like my posts and stuff, it really means a lot to me.  It really really does.  So thanks to everyone here, this forum is the biggest group of friends I've ever had and I shouldn't have left it for so long.