[Complete] MrShaft696 Stretched CraftsmanPlicity [2018 Build-Off Entry]

mrshaft696 wrote:

muckmudd wrote:

Looks good, what welder are you using? looks like flux core.

yeah i am the flux splatter master...

Muahahaha, me too.

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

What if you put the seat at the stock distance from the dash, and where the fenders would normally go put some big ammo cans on either side, almost like saddle bags

Well what I meant was I am using the "Running Boards" (under feet) from a simplicity 4212, the piece that goes from the foot pedal to the shifter.  The seat I will have to figure out but its just placed there in the picture.  I might put it on the tube frame or modify the 4212 seat thing to work. I need to put the battery under the seat, I think that is the best place.

There will be no fenders over the rear tires as I believe the bed will be covering them.

But since the back tires will be well behind the seat, put the ammo cans to either side of the seat, in front of or maybe slightly under the bed

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

But since the back tires will be well behind the seat, put the ammo cans to either side of the seat, in front of or maybe slightly under the bed

yeah I could do something like that, there will be allot of real estate there. My plan this weekend is to get it back running again & deal with the shroud around the steering wheel, because that is gonna take some serious work to look good with the hood.

Starting to get things moving here as the deadline is winding down. I am using a simplicity hood obviously & I welded the hood brackets on today, then in these pics I am adapting a simplicity shroud onto the craftsman shroud. So what I did was cut some thing gauge metal & screw it down & use some fiberglass to create the structure I needed...

Hopefully tomorrow it is nice and dry & I can put a "thin" coat of bondo on and smooth it all out & I can move on to other stuff with the quickness..

glass on..

kind of time consuming but I wanted to do it so it looked factory...

Hey that looks pretty good so far! Should look like it was meant to be once it's all painted up.

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Hey that looks pretty good so far! Should look like it was meant to be once it's all painted up.

I hope so, its one of those things you do that nobody notices unless you really point it out, but I had to do it so the hood would lock down like a simplicity. I need to get my running boards mounted , & get the engine wired to run again, then I can make my trip to start getting tube and angle....I spent all summer working on other stuff so Im trying to spend some time here because I need to use this thing before it gets cold.

That hood to dash transition is a lot sleeker than what I have planned for my John Deere

Hopefully you get this done to use for fall chores around you property.  Should come in really handy in the springtime.

got my running boards pulled and ready, bondo on the shroud and started working on the seat & shifter, allot to do...

Crazy_Carl wrote:

That hood to dash transition is a lot sleeker than what I have planned for my John Deere

Hopefully you get this done to use for fall chores around you property.  Should come in really handy in the springtime.

Hah when i pulled the hood at the junk yard i took the whole dash too because I knew it was way different than the craftsman..

Sweet job!  Are you going to cut out the whole part of the rear frame where the shifter went and the seat rested upon?

I started sketching up what I am going to do, but basically instead of making and elaborate tube frame I am going to cut two pieces of 11ga plate & bolt/weld it to the side of the frame, then just put crossbars where I need them to mount the seat etc.

It will tie in the front and back half of the frame allot better because there is a good bit of flex right now.

looking something like this....

got some sanding done, gonna need one more coat of filler before I can start painting it....

The sheet metal thing you make will look a lot nicer than tube or angle iron in my opinion.  It will look more factory.

Got my shifter mounted up, its from a simplicity hydro, im just gonna bolt it up and for now, weld a tab over the trans axle and use the flat stock to get it all working right, then make something fancier and adjustable...

Dash is about ready to paint...

got my shifter done, some wiring, and did a maiden voyage, made it about 20 feet and it died... coil is fried, no spark, kill switch on or off.  So will have to wait for another coil till I try to drive it again. Pretty hard to drive with no seat, but I have my spot for the battery too.

Maiden voyage! How exciting!

At least you have time to fabricate your tunnel and maybe your bed until the coil arrives or are you going to scavenge one from a parts tractor?

Crazy_Carl wrote:

Maiden voyage! How exciting!

At least you have time to fabricate your tunnel and maybe your bed until the coil arrives or are you going to scavenge one from a parts tractor?

haha it was for like 10 sec. I am glad all the wiring worked out I basically yanked all the safety switches & tied all the wires back up...

I have allot of spare parts but no kohler engine coils, tons of briggs stuff, and I will amazon prime the coil! There didn't seem to be any crazy belt slap or anything like that. So I still have tons to do, but at least I know it is ready to run.

got the dash painted up, gonna clean up the frame tomorrow....

That looks great!

That dash is mint!  Excellent work making it!

Yeah that dash cowl turned out super slick looking, pretty much just looks like it's factory. Great work!

Thanks all, I took today and tomorrow off, so getting some more stuff done....

Got the frame all painted up...I lengthened the brake rod thing with some all thread & small angle iron...






Then I just mocked up some parts for fun to see where I am at.... I think im gonna paint the bed orange and do black bedliner on the inside.

Wow, that dash looks fantastic! Worth all the effort. Looks pretty good with the bed on it.

MatthewD wrote:

Wow, that dash looks fantastic! Worth all the effort. Looks pretty good with the bed on it.

Thanks man its coming together...

I put in a new coil today, I ordered a chinese one from amazon and it ran for about 10 seconds and quit and no spark so I should have just gone with the kohler...bummer

I am gonna try and order up some metal, in the meantime I think I am gonna paint the bed orange & do black bedliner on the inside. The tractor frame will be all black and the running boards are gonna stay orange.

I am going to have a removable seat in the bed as well so two people can ride on it. At this point I think I will have something running and driving in two weeks or so. Then start taking care of all the little details.