[FINALIST] - AK's LT-08 Rat Rod Tractor Build [2019 Build-Off Entry]

Still tinkering away on the Build-Off rig. I decided to take a shot at dropping the seat down a bit:



I didn't wanna drop it too low, but just a couple inches or so.

Marked out and made the first cut:



End result:



Then I made up some bracketry to support the seat:




All bolted up!



Not a crazy difference, but I think it looks better than before for sure.

After that I took the fenders off again to start working out some brakes.



Didn't get a whole lot done in that area, but that'll be a project for the weekend, haha.

Let me know what ya think!

Show-off....  LOL

AllisKid wrote:

After that I took the fenders off again to start working out some brakes.

Brakes are over rated anyways.

Looking cool! I have seen a few of those seats on people's builds here and there. Is it fairly light weight?
Also I didn't know this had a driveshaft setup. Nice!

Thanks! Yeah it's a nice seat for sure. The steel underneath isn't very thick so it doesn't have a lot of weight to it I suppose, probably pretty comparable to a regular tractor seat.

Finally got some time to tinker with this tractor at the end of the day. I didn't get a whole lot done, but what I did get done is rather important!



So the final idea for brakes was to use the stock rotor in the stock location, but with a mechanical go-kart style caliper:



Basically to mount it up I just used one of the axle housing bolt holes to hold it at the bottom, and welded a little mount to the frame to support the top:





Worked out very well! Won't be a break-neck stop I know, but I imagine it will still work pretty good. All I have to do now is make up the brake handle and the linkage to the caliper, which I have a solid plan for but unfortunately I didn't have time to finish.

She's getting close I tell ya, let me know what ya think!

That’s crazy I was just looking up mtb calipers a few days ago trying to see if they might work for my amf, super excited to see how they work for you, definitely gonna copy it if you like it

Thanks! Yeah I'll be sure to let you know!

Alrighty, a lot of work today! First off, I really wasn't digging the seat even after I lowered it. Just didn't fit the build to me.

I had this seat pan however that I thought would look cool just mounted flat on the fenders:



I like it! Time to do some cutting!



I just welded it right down to the fenders, worked out pretty good.





Looks much better in my opinion! Pretty comfortable feel being that it's down nice and low.

Now on to the final major item. Brakes! Obviously I had the brake setup done on the trans, so all I had to do was the handle and linkage.

Ended up pillaging the original deck from this tractor for a neat looking handle:



Once I found a place for the handle on the side of the dash I holed sawed a spot and welded in a bushing for the pivot shaft of the handle to slide into. Then I crossed drilled the shaft for a bolt to hold the brake rod sleeve and drilled and tapped a hole in the end for a bolt to hold it all in the bushing:



Handle installed and brake rod sleeve bolted on:



Made up the brake rod, pretty simple obviously. Made
it adjustable on the one end:





And here's the handle:



Added a return spring so the brakes wouldn't drag or anything.



The test drive went great, the brakes work perfect! You just put a little bit of pressure on the handle and the tractor comes to a nice smooth stop!

Did a little bit of cruising down the road. It's super fun to drive, haha.







Everything is working excellent, I'm very pleased with this build!

Let me know what you fellas think!

Looks good! Looks to fit right in! I agree with the seat too. Lots of cool touches and a little wheel in the rear to boot!

How much longer? LOL! I think the problem with the old seat is that it was shiny and black, whereas everything on the build is some rusty crusty piece of metal. It does look better like that. What are you gonna do for padding?


I like that "spare" wheel on the back!

Thanks fellas. Haha, yeah I was wondering if someone would mention the "spare". Gotta be prepared y'know!

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Thanks fellas. Haha, yeah I was wondering if someone would mention the "spare". Gotta be prepared y'know!

LOL, you even have a handy hole in the seat for those "Oh Crap" moments.

Hahahaha. Yep, you got 'er!

Definitely agree the seat looks better!!

build looks awesome, glad the brake worked out for ya, guess ill have to give it a try. Nice job on the brake handle, all that drilling and tapping is alot of work but its really nice to have stuff be removable if necessary. Its cool to watch how your building keeps evolving, getting better and better each thing you build. keep it up man

MightyRaze wrote:

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Thanks fellas. Haha, yeah I was wondering if someone would mention the "spare". Gotta be prepared y'know!

LOL, you even have a handy hole in the seat for those "Oh Crap" moments.  

Hahahahaha, you're prepared for just about anything!

TheCollector wrote:

Definitely agree the seat looks better!!

Thanks! Yeah I like the look for sure!

Creepycrawler wrote:

build looks awesome, glad the brake worked out for ya, guess ill have to give it a try.  Nice job on the brake handle, all that drilling and tapping is alot of work but its really nice to have stuff be removable if necessary. Its cool to watch how your building keeps evolving, getting better and better each thing you build. keep it up man  

Thanks a bunch man! That means a lot!

Now that you have your last major item done, any plans on wrapping up your build? I bet you have lots of "Rat" details in order?

Yeah I'm pretty much gonna tinker with the decorative stuff 'til the end of the competition. It qualifies as it sits now, so I can make my final video and stuff once I finish messing with it.

Hmmm.... Somethin's tellin' me this thing's gonna finish in the top three.

Well thanks! That'd definitely be cool, haha.

Did a little messing around with another minor item tonight. I've been thinking about the boring looking fuel tank I had on this thing, and that I needed to make it fit the rat rod theme a bit more.

Here's what the tank looked like originally:



Then after the super rat-tank transformation!





Didn't turn out too bad! Definitely looks better than before, haha.

Let me know what ya think!

Nice job... I had to double-take to make sure you didn't slip in a different tank.

Haha, thanks Mighty.

Dude that paint on the tank is killer

Thanks CC! Yeah I was rather pleased with how it turned out.

It was kinda fun to do it too!