GasketCase's SEARS Swamper LT [2018 Build-Off Entry]

Just throwing this out there.... If you turn your wheels around where the valve stem is on the inside would that widen the stance?

@MightyRaze idk .... That's really got me thinking though . . I wanna say no but then again those mower rims do have a bit of positive offset . I'll try it tonight and post an update.

If turning the rims around like Mighty said don't work, maybe just a different transaxle with a wider stance.

@prancstaman that is a good option . I still have the 930 peerless 6 speed that I did a write up on as my first step by step how to . But reverse chain is currently around my wrist . I was doing about 35 with that trans and is still good. Maybe I'll do a tear down on that thread some day cause I was not at all gentle with it . I could drop 3rd gear at 3/4 throttle and do wheelies all day .lol but now that I think about it the mounting would have to be custm like I did in the how to or possibly be going above beyond to make it happen . Also the body of the Sears is a "H" shift pattern . I would have to mutilate the perfect body for a trans that will have a bunch of useless gears . I was also think of cutting the center out And moving it to be negative offset but it would be hit or miss if it's perfectly center and level.

What makes me angry is I had a old Murray probably 80s or so . IDK never researched it . But it had a peerless 1200 , the heavy duty version of the 600 peerless I have now and I threw it out like. Dumb*** . Bolt on hubs on the trans but it was a side pulley so I thought I couldn't use. Knowing what I know now . I through away gold in my opinion even had a cast iron case . I have a hydro . I wonder if I the axle shafts are longer . I think I should check into that on longer axle shafts in the hydro and 6 speed 930 and compare hmmmm.

Also I could just grind the front of the rim where they weld on the center hub to the rst of the rim . Thats how I got those front big tires that are on the Sears now .

So yesterday afternoon , I decided to take a trip to good ole tractor supply co . Picked up a few odds and ends

  - cut off wheel
  - rusty Rust-Oleum primer and clear coat
  - Gas cap
  - 2 brand new spark plugs ( I just happened to see them
                                                      So I picked them up )
  - 5 qt jug of oil. Ill be good for the next few oil changes)
  - U bolt kit for transaxle ( original broke during
                                              disassembly)
  -  Bucket . (Because I had too much stuff to Carry  And didn't want to waste time so I wasted  Money) lol
  - more tape .



Today, I plan on fixing my rear tire fitment issues with the frame. I have no other axle shafts that longer than what I already have in the 600 . So I am going to grind off the hub on the front of the rim and I have sleeves that I will put behind the rims to keep them from sliding in more . Here's what I'm going to be grinding as soon as the sun comes up . Sucks that I'm going to ruin the paint.  But I have more lol



As everyone already knows Behind the E clip and spacer there's maybe a raised section little under a half inch . I'll grind those almost completely flush to the rim with out disturbing the factory welds. This maybe just give me that space im in need of to reinstall transaxle.

You only have a half inch to gain by doing this?  Looks like you need at least an inch.

@Crazy_Carl I apologize for I was incorrect on the dimension. It is a inch raise I have one rim done and I totally screwed up the paint cause it got hot when I was grinding it. So I wire wheeled it all off and primered it this time with the rust primer you referred me to . Covers really well . Im waiting on doing the frame though because I don't know what holes I'll drill and what not . And honestly I may be able tosqueeze by only taking a 1/2 inch off both sides. I'm about to grind the second rim now. Here's a picture , before you ask , it's just paper towel in the axle shaft hole .

So I had to grind it completely flush . No big deal both came out the same and I cut metal sleeve to accommodate for the extra space on the axle shaft now and installed the sleeves behind wheel of course. I was able to pull the tires out just shy under an inch on both sides with a estimated total of about 2 inches apart from each other now. next post will have the details if it worked . I screwed up on the green paint on the rims when I was grinding so this I'm using a primer since I got a lot of it. Here's pictures of one side . The other matches so didn't take pictures of the other .

I AM VICTORIOUS !! I have succeeded and it has a nice stance so far. . I'm just glad I didn't have to go back to the drawing board hah . Here's the picture of the transaxke installed .

Nice job! Looks pretty cool with those big knobbies on there. Gotta love those old school fenders too, haha.

@AllisKidD21 thanks man! And I was afraid there was going to be interference with the tire and fender support bar underneath but NOPE! I would love to throw some super lug tires under it but I can't seem to find any cheap ones. I know Carlisle and deestone have them but they want too much in my opinion. I found some trail wolf's at tractor supply yesterday and they were 144 a piiece but for some odd reason I found 2 that we're down to 65 a piece . I would of gotten them but they were not the rim sizes that I have

Great stance there.  It's great when a plan works out.

Decided I needed to change the grill Color once again! .... Since,  it did not match the rusty primer color.  Took a different cleaner approach and came out pretty good. Also it has been hard to get out there and get a visual with these monsoon-like rain storms that we keep having down here in Florida.  Getting a bit ridiculous but hey it happens every year to refill the aquifers.  Anyways here's a pic of the grill now.  Hopefully I stick with this one cause I'm tired of painting those vents repetitively without messing up. Lol

So today I prepared for rain by just wire wheeling the body and painted underside black,  painted tie rods , removed seized bearings from the front hubs and had spare bearings laying around. Removed rear bearing seal and packed bearings and hub with grease.... A lot.  Lol.  I did not reinstall the rear seals of the bearings so the grease that I packed into the hub will continue to grease for awhile.  And to sum it all up it didn't rain one bit and I screwed aroundwith things that I could of saved for another rainy day.  Can't complain though.  The tie rods came out very well.  And the hubs may need a big of tweaking. Also Im puzzled on a steering system for this.  I want to do direct from under the frame but it's a squeeze.  No wonder Sears put the steering from the top.  I mean I will be removing the stock belt clutch and install a new double pulley design for less slippage. So maybe I'll be able to run the steering under the frame.   

This build is coming on well. I like the colour scheme a lot.

Great work.  The effort you've put into painting things especially the grille really shows.  Sounds like you need to find some kind of steering from another mower and make it work in this one or use a steering box.

Currently doing a few details to the fenders and body but I saw this today went I went to reinstall the fenders. Found this here Sears to have 2 different fender adjustments which is pretty cool in my opinion.

So my LT 10/36 won't technically be a 10 HP / 36 inch cut. So I labeled it on the body as a LT 18 and got rid of 36 since it won't cut grass anymore. Only took one picture but both sides are same.

Haha, that looks awesome. Definitely loving the look of the bodywork so far!

Very nice... your tractor is going to look pretty sick!

Nice Decal!  I need to hire you to do some work on Ol Red.

Can you see any tooling marks or burrs on the second set of fender mounting holes?  I wonder if a previous owner put them there.

Thanks guys!  I assumed the same thing but no imperfections or burrs in either holes. So guessing from what I got , either the person did make extra set of holes and was really good at making it look like a machine did kg or it factory.  Im going to try the higher setting and see how it looks. Because on the lower you could see that the fenders were hugging those tires pretty close but fit well with the look.  Haven't updated in awhile so here's a little visual update . We been having enormous amounts of rain and pretty bad thunderstorms  Apparently the power went out this morning but it being my day off I slept right through it.  Haha.  

Dash and tunnel are looking good.  Is that a pull choke knob?

Looks like a light switch knob. This tractor is looking pretty sweet!

Just wanted to post real quick fellas . I should have done progress done tomorrow. We're still having torrential rain practically everyday.