My tires are all dry as a bone. I have considered trying some fluid though.
The bushings in my steering (the part with the fan gear that I welded on a bunch) have loosened up some. I suppose they’re due after being around for almost 40 years.
Wow that was fast. I ordered these at like 5pm last night and they got here today. Gotta love McMaster-Carr. I will have to cut the length down on these a bit, I overestimated the length I need.
Got the bushings in the steering. I thought I would have to cut one or both of the bushings down to work, but both of them ended up being the exact length to fit the whole bore. Just had to drill a hole in one to let grease through the grease fitting.
Steering back in. Had to sand down the piece that the bushings ride on in order for everything to fit. Turns out those bushings were a little on the small side lol.
With the steering nice and buttery, the bit of slop in the front axle was really bothering me. Nothing wore out, it’s just that the original tube front axle was 1.562” wide while the bar one is 1.5”. So at some point, tightening the front axle bolt doesn’t help much.
Just one small thing I did notice…the front axle is bent. You can see the gap under this 12” long straightedge that shouldn’t be there.
Upon further investigation, I saw that most of the bend was right where the mounting hole is. I guess I thought that might wind up being a weak point. Anyway, here’s a little brace of 1” square stock I pulled from the scrap bin haha.
The brace welded on and some weld built up on one side that I later faced down on the Bridgeport mill to the right thickness. Fun fact, all the welding warped the axle even more. Not enough to be a problem, but to a keen eye it’s there. Steel really is just play dough you can weld to.
Anyway I again did not paint the front axle and just slapped it all together. Here’s two cows in their natural habitat.
Some rollovers ago, it came to my attention that I have no real reason to be using the factory dash mounts. The left one also kept being bent one way or the other by the hood when the tractor was sitting on it.
Here is one of the new mounts compared to the factory one on the far side. Going straight up like this also makes access to the battery and stuff easier.
Both of them done for tonight. Tomorrow I will add a few more pieces, to hold the hood up as well as provide mounting for a future engine cage.
And I’ll admit it; the wiring is the same birds nest it’s always been. I should really tear it out and start from scratch sooner or later.
Doing my best to have stuff turn out flat when I weld it
Gusset I welded on in the last photo supports a plate across the top, connecting the two mounts. You can see one of the dash side covers bolted on in this pic. Those had to be modified a bit, as well as the lever for the winch brake was moved inwards on the other side.
Painted. This is the messy corner of the shop (so are all of the other corners)
I think I could pick up the whole tractor by those mounts. There’s more holding them to the frame than there is holding the engine to the frame haha.
I think the installation of those dash mounts may conclude the upgrades before LCQ at Good Evening Ranch. Besides a new set of brake pads that should get here today, anyway. I will be bringing the GT6k as a backup rig and it definitely needs some work. Like, a whole transmission worth of work haha.
Unfortunately on the second lap of the race a stray tree took out my steering pinion roll pin during the race (I was booking it in 5th gear I think) and I did not complete the race. Mutt was one of the last out of the box and was the first around the track. I think I had a good quarter lap lead on everyone when my steering got deleted.
The steering was fixed with a quick trip to tractor supply for a new roll pin and I had tons of fun the rest of the weekend.
Morning of the first day, I was the only one there
Casualty of being towed back after busting my steering. Didn’t cause a leak, thank God.
In the “honey hole” Sunday morning with Richie Brown’s tube frame Sears (left) and George Irwin’s Riot (center), both tractors Generac V twin powered.
Over in Cripple creek later in the day, Creepycrawler out of frame leading.
No problem @Brianator, glad you enjoy it. I do usually have to drive 3.5 hours at a minimum to ride with people (GER is a 6 hour drive) but it's always worth it to me. Sometimes I worry that the trail pictures might clutter up what might should be a strictly "build thread", but then again what's the point in building if its not seen riding?
Just a couple things to mention, Cripple creek and the honey hole did a number on my tie rod. The whole 1/2" pipe tie rod has a good bend and it and the right tie rod end is about ready to snap off (i carry spares on the tractor or else it would have busted right off haha). I think I will go to a 3/4' solid tie rod as well as back to 1/2" heim joints on it. Also, after many years of use and abuse, the exhuast is developing a good few cracks. I suppose a new exhaust system is in order sooner or later. and maybe I'll finally get around to making that cutout!
Sometimes I worry that the trail pictures might clutter up what might should be a strictly "build thread", but then again what's the point in building if its not seen riding?
[adm]While I am around. NEVER worry about showing pictures of the build in action. It's kind of a "PROOF of BUILD".[/adm]
PROJECTS: Marshal ........................93 Craftsman GT6000 Red Bandit ...................72 Wheel Horse Raider 12 Dirty Rat........................77 Sears Suburban Bowser...........................01 Murray Widebody LT The Green Machine ....1990 Craftsman II GT18 Other projects
Just noticed that both parts of this thread are in the “most viewed” highlights on the forum. Oops! I guess that’s what you get when you have 6 years worth of build thread!
Banana tie rod! Apparently 1/2” pipe and 10mm ATV tie rod ends are NFG for my kind of riding.
This one was ready to come apart!
These scrape marks may or may not be related to the issue
Quick trip to the lathe with some 3/4” steel round bar
Drilled and tapped the ends 1/2-20 for my old 1/2” heim joints. Unfortunately this knocks out my 2 spare rod ends for my drag link, so I’ll have to go buy some more.
Interesting sidebar, the SunF A027s are wearing surprisingly fast, the rubber itself seems to be tearing apart. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised with such a cheap tire. For what you get the price is more than worth it.
The piece of aluminum angle that I made my brake caliper mount out of has cracked and is about ready to come apart. Need to remake that out of steel.
Well, most all of the frame is original besides where it’s been buried under reinforcement. Same way with the transmission mounts, original but reinforced. The steering wheel is original and the seat too, but not the seat mount as I broke that way back when. I think the only part that’s entirely untouched is the side shifter mechanism, I have never had a reason to pull it out of the frame, though I have broke a shifter linkage I think. There is a factory part I actually replaced a bit ago, the steering shaft support bushing, but that has since wore out again and I think I need to make one myself.
Mounted some 26x12-12 mudlites on the rims I got with the spare 633 for the GT6k.
Here’s the bighorns:
Here’s the mudlites:
These rims have an extra inch of offset! They’re 8.5” wide rims from an early GT6000. With these rims she’s 45” wide across the back, about too much to be practical. The extra width will be perfect for the GT6k though.
Oh don’t worry, I’ll find a way. I’ll take her out this afternoon and see how she handles but I’ll probably pull the wheels off and put them on the GT6k. I can already tell the mudlites are too old and stiff for my liking.
I found some carb mounting boots that use the same mounting spacing. Planning on switching to these so I can switch between the 34 and 28mm carbs easily. The maxxis sticker is for her too
Something else, I’ve been brainstorming on an auxiliary accelerator pump, with an injector over each intake port. We’ll see about that. Still very much in planning stages.
Subject: 
June 27th 2023, 7:55 pm
