1970 John Deere 110

So I guess I should start a thread on this thing again.  
Old thread
Going in Unique Tractors because it's reasonably fast, but because of the vari-drive it's geared extremely low, and it has a pull behind attachments, I use it as a puller and a workhorse, and it can go through some pretty deep mud, so it doesn't exactly belong anywhere because it fits in about every category.

So for those who don't know, this is my 1970 (thanks to @AllisKidD21 for figuring out the year) John Deere 110 square fender that I rescued from some weeds where it was parked for at least 11 years.  The Kohler K-181 decided it didn't want to live anymore and pitched it's rod.  Then, it was either at like 10k RPM or the genius who owned it decided to turn the engine over a bunch because chunks of the rod got stuck in the cam gears, and the inside of the block was marred up, and with the price of parts for what is almost a 50-year-old tractor, it just wasn't worth rebuilding.  So after persuing a couple other engine options, I went with a Predator 212 because everyone wanted me to be original, and I doubt there are many 212s in John Deere 110s.

The fronts are 18" ags on 8" rims with bearings (give or take, they're metric lol), the rears are 23x8.50x12, the stock tire size, only in ags.  Yes, it has a small Carolina squat, which I typically HATE but for some reason, I don't mind it on this rig.  It's also hard to notice.

Plans:
Electric start kit
Charging system
Light bar
Winch
Tac
Clear valve cover
Gas pedal
Linear actuated sleeve hitch
Exhaust (probably a stack)
Snorkel
Maybe carb upgrade

And whatever else I come up with.  I know a lot of people hate on me for using this engine, however, I love it.  Honestly, I see no difference in power between this and my 12.5 horse flathead.  It doesn't stall out, it actually has a higher RPM range than my 12.5 horse, and it's way more stock than it.  It gets awesome gas mileage too.  So go ahead and hate, I'll just keep laughing at you.

So yeah, lemme know of any other ideas.  This'll probably take years to get completed, but those are just the things I've always wanted.

I'm not going to hate on the engine.  Whatever works for you.

I run a Lifan in my Sears Suburban.

Thanks, haha.  Yeah, I've seen it.  It's sweet.

Took her out yesterday, got her pretty muddy.

Warshed her up today.

She's about the only rig I ever really wash, because she looks good both dirty and clean.

Got a set of antlers, 1x3, roadkill, thinking of attaching them to the grille. Cuz every Deere needs some antlers.

Nice! I bet that would look cool. Little redneck, but nothing wrong with that.

Very redneck, I love the idea!

MightyRaze wrote:

Nice!  I bet that would look cool.  Little redneck, but nothing wrong with that.

Thanks!  Haha, of course not!

Spoiler:

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

Very redneck, I love the idea!

Thanks!

Here are the horns BTW.



And all the animal lovers out there, I did not kill him...I wouldn't waste a tag on that small of a buck!  Lol, seriously though, he was a roadkill.  Kinda sad, this was his first rack I'm pretty sure, which means he had about 4 more racks before he reached his prime and started going downhill, meaning he would've been a real monster.

Hauled some sheep dooey with her today.





Did about 3 loads, she took it great.  I'm not sure how much weight, but it was quite a bit.

Looking good TJ! What's up with the recoil?

Wouldn't you love for there to be some tree huggers on here.

Yeah, what'd you do to the recoil? I know those cups have notches in them but the recoil is far more convenient.

MatthewD wrote:

Looking good TJ! What's up with the recoil?

Thanks!  The spring grenaded itself.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Wouldn't you love for there to be some tree huggers on here.

Yeah, what'd you do to the recoil? I know those cups have notches in them but the recoil is far more convenient.

Haha, actually I'm glad there aren't any tree huggers, because that's why I can say stuff like that!

Spring grenaded itself.  @AllisKidD21 had the idea of cutting a notch so I can pull start it the FearlessFront style.

Those springs are basically universal, and sometimes you can bend a new tab on the end. Why not fix it?

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Those springs are basically universal, and sometimes you can bend a new tab on the end. Why not fix it?

Cuz after I bent the spring back it pulled over about 15 times and broke again.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Those springs are basically universal, and sometimes you can bend a new tab on the end. Why not fix it?

Cuz after I bent the spring back it pulled over about 15 times and broke again.

Why then U always say how nice are Predators? LOL

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Those springs are basically universal, and sometimes you can bend a new tab on the end. Why not fix it?

Cuz after I bent the spring back it pulled over about 15 times and broke again.

Why then U always say how nice are Predators? LOL

Why do U always say how bad are Predators? LOL

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Those springs are basically universal, and sometimes you can bend a new tab on the end. Why not fix it?

Cuz after I bent the spring back it pulled over about 15 times and broke again.

I'm sure you are only pulling on the compression stroke?

You got to heat up the end of the recoil spring till red, then bend it. If you do it while it is cold then it will fatigue the metal and break.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Cuz after I bent the spring back it pulled over about 15 times and broke again.

Why then U always say how nice are Predators? LOL

Why do U always say how bad are Predators? LOL

Cuz they're bad quality and this is another example... Maybe the Engine itself is OK since it has a cast iron sleeve and ball bearings, but Everyday I see failure vids of them, so I still prefer BRIGGS before chinese stuff!

I don't think they are all bad.  They are mass produced and extremely available.  You see so many "bad" ones because there are so many out there.  I don't know the #'s but I don't think their failure rate is as bad as people think.  I bet if a Kohler or Briggs were as affordable, I think we would see the same stats there.  Another thing, people are abusing these engines because they are so "affordable".  I have had my clone for 5 years now and still runs and has the same power as it did from day one.  Only issue I have had was the pull rope breaking off on me once.  I do regular maintenance and valve adjustments per manual.  Works great.

@Double W Cross Ranch , I would try @prancstaman's advise on the spring if you still have enough left of it.  Make sure you get that puppy good and hot.

PS, when you getting those horns installed?

prancstaman wrote:

You got to heat up the end of the recoil spring till red, then bend it. If you do it while it is cold then it will fatigue the metal and break.

Thanks! Yeah, but I can't do that, there's not enough material left.

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

Why then U always say how nice are Predators? LOL

Why do U always say how bad are Predators? LOL

Cuz they're bad quality and this is another example... Maybe the Engine itself is OK since it has a cast iron sleeve and ball bearings, but Everyday I see failure vids of them, so I still prefer BRIGGS before chinese stuff!

Ya know, this is completely my fault so quit blaming the engine. Before the build off ended, I broke the string on the pull start because it was rubbing up against the frame, again, my fault. I took it apart, and I broke the end off of the spring putting it back together. So, I bent it back and it worked for a few weeks then broke again. Anywho, I don't give a that I have to wrap the string around the cup.

MightyRaze wrote:

I don't think they are all bad.  They are mass produced and extremely available.  You see so many "bad" ones because there are so many out there.  I don't know the #'s but I don't think their failure rate is as bad as people think.  I bet if a Kohler or Briggs were as affordable, I think we would see the same stats there.  Another thing, people are abusing these engines because they are so "affordable".  I have had my clone for 5 years now and still runs and has the same power as it did from day one.  Only issue I have had was the pull rope breaking off on me once.  I do regular maintenance and valve adjustments per manual.  Works great.

@Double W Cross Ranch , I would try @prancstaman's advise on the spring if you still have enough left of it.  Make sure you get that puppy good and hot.

PS, when you getting those horns installed?

Yep, the reviews on Harbor Freights website are 4.7 stars out of 1,757 reviews. Hard to get that good of a rating with a bad product.

Sadly there is not. Oh well.

I dunno, might try to do so today. Been a little busy between the end of deer season, some predators coming around, sheep starting to lamb, and losing our wether (neutered male ) to pneumonia on Saturday.

Thinking of buying a stage one kit for the 212, any opinions?  Seems like a good deal for what it is.

it's just a different air filter, and a straight pipe and a different Jet...

IMO not worth anything, wo'nt increase power or anything...

Make a stack or so and keep the stock intake, it's filter has mud Protection, the new 1 has nothing to protect it....

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Thinking of buying a stage one kit for the 212, any opinions?  Seems like a good deal for what it is.

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

it's just a different air filter, and a straight pipe and a different Jet...

IMO not worth anything, wo'nt increase power or anything...

Make a stack or so and keep the stock intake, it's filter has mud Protection, the new 1 has nothing to protect it....

I agree.... a stage 1 I would not think would be worth it in your application. It's your money and time ultimately, but that is my personal opinion.

Go stage two if you do anything, we have a little backyard go kart racing league and most of us run pretadors, stage one don’t get ya much but you can really tell the difference on the stage two, them little motors rip with a stage two kit in them. Minkuni swaps are truthfully the best way to go, but you lose the governer

Okay then, was just a thought.  I do plan to do some work to this engine in the future though.  Predators don't seem to hold up to high RPMs though, so, you won't get your wish @SebastianAlbrecht, I won't rip the engine at 9k RPM and blow it up.  I'm going to get a cheap tac and it won't go over 4k.

Got the antlers rigged up.



I think they look really sweet, personally. Adds uniqueness and character. Plus I didn't have anything else to do with them, LOL.

Since it's a HEMI 212, thinking of adding some lettering on the side of the hood, sorta making fun of all them dumb Dodges.

Would look something like this:



Lemme know what you think!

I dont think the Predator will blow up when U rip it to 9k only for short periods of time!

The lettering would be funny IMO