The Scat Rat

I am not building this yet, but, I think it can be another possibility for the 2020 Build Off.



All it is right now is a Ford hood, and a GT6000 body and floorboards. I'll be collecting parts all year and until the build starts. Why "Scat Rat"? Because this is a rat rod that better have some "scat" factor to it. This build won't be finished until it does burnouts and donuts on pavement. Plans...

-No paint, and uncover ALL the rust I can find on the GT6000 parts to go better with that hood.

-Either a 12 horse Briggs Flathead or an Oppy. I want torque and HP.

-No idea on a tranny, probably whatever I can get my hands on.

-Lower the stance.

-Hoping for a higher speed, at least 35MPH.

-Drag tires.

-And a bunch of stupid rat rod stuff like modified steering wheel, small uncomfortable seat, maybe even skirt blower exhaust.

This build better blow my hat off... Literally.

How's this one going? Do you have a frame?

I still only have what you see in the pic. That stripped down JD deck you see in the background, everything in the pic is sitting behind it in the weeds getting the body rusty as I collect parts lol. Whenever I see something that catches my eye at the scrapyard or the junkyard, I'll just pick it out and throw it back there with the rest of the parts.

I am going to the junkyard today actually and maybe the scrapyard so I'll have my eye out for a frame.

Not sure of the tools you may have, but you could build a frame?

Bah... what am I thinking.  With the price of metal, salvaging a frame would be cheaper! 

I mean you *could* do it bolt together, better to weld it though.

I wish i had the half motivation you guys do, I've the tooling to do about anything i want lol.

I'd LOVE to build a frame for it, but without a welder, it's just too much work. I mean my Murray's frame is complete, so when I strip it down I'm gonna get it welded. But I can't have someone else build one from scratch and then pay them, it'd be too much.

So, still no parts, but I'm still hoping to find an LT1000  to part out. That'd give this one some well needed parts. But anyway, I think I've come to a decision on the motor and trans. I, 'think', Ima go for a V-Twin. 20 HP and up. Trans is most likely gonna be the Peerless 820 of course. I just think it'll handle better on the road and constantly shifting gears. But, like always, I don't have the parts yet.

Well, got me a backbone...



The Craps-man is kindly donating parts to help others live on. I thought...



I guess the curse of the Craps-man always comes back to bite... Due to a "slight" navigation issue during transportation, and human brain error, the rear of the frame had an encounter with a trampoline causing major minor damage to the rear section ( did you understand any of that? ). Well I guess I planned on rebuilding the rear section anyway...


Meanwhile, in my brain...

I've decided to do a horizontal shaft in this one since this will be my only chance to go horizontal on something. I'm hoping for an 18 -20 HP horizontal shaft Vangaurd... And you guys have probably already concluded that a big ol' stupid GT trans is going in (2300, 633a, whatever works best). Vertical shaft trannies aren't gonna suite this build...

Alright guys, I'm looking at getting an oppy block. I need some advice from people who have a decent amount of experience in oppies/v-twins and horizontal shaft trannies.

This build needs to be capable of 60MPH+, doing burnouts, running twisting and winding roads, circle tracks, and definitely shifting on the fly, which means rev-matching.

Now, my main question is, is there any horizontal (GT) trans that is capable of doing all that? From what I know there is not, but if someone knows different please let me know.

Now, assuming I'm right, an 820 would have to be what I use. So, this is where I need your engine knowledge... Would an oppy, or a v-twin do the job better? I know a v-twin sounds sick, but an oppy is more responsive and bogs less. Either way, the motor is getting built with all billet parts. I just need to know which would suite these "needs" better. Thanks! (update on build coming as soon as I get an answer to these questions)

The fastest I've heard of someone running a 633 is 30mph.

Fastest I've seen someone run a Vanguard and 820?

....


You're gonna be spending a lot of money. Plus you'll need an aftermarket gearset for your 820.

honestly i think a solid axle with chain drive would suit your needs better, a cvt would eliminate shifting and you can get a reverse kit for a cvt for around $120 if you wanted reverse, the speed would be determined by the sprocket ratios and the solid axle is simply stronger than a transaxle in most cases with less parts than can go wrong at high speeds, just look at cars and cameras poulan build, 60+mph on a lowered poulan tractor using a solid axle, cvt, and predator 670

The live axle is a good idea, but i would use a peerless 700 rather than a CVT. That's what racers use usually. You can have a relatively mild pulley swap and just change around sprockets to get more speed. I think Doc Sprocket has a video on how to brace up a 700 for high stress stuff.

yeah he does, it's basically a lock collar ground on the inner surface to fit over the input shaft housing area because it has a taper, if i remember correctly the only other thing he did was remove the reverse chain and the same mods done to most high speed transaxles like a grease fitting for the input bearings vent tube and oil conversion, i don't remember him doing anything else to the case itself, but haven't watched the video in a few months

What tractor did he do that on?

I like the 700 idea. I was a little hesitant on the straight axle because I then am not quite following the line I want to follow on this build. I didn't want to do the 820 because those still aren't trusty enough for the speeds I want. But the 700 seems like a good option. But the main question is, can you rev match it and shift on the go with the 700? And can you use reverse?

he didn't show a tractor just race prepping a 700 transmission, and for safety sake the reverse chain has to be removed at the speeds you want to go, if it snaps it can cause you to wreck and possibly seriously hurt which is why it's a rule in most mower racing venues, as for rev matching the 700 uses the same internals as an 820 so the shifting would be the same

Ah okay. I should just be able to push it for reverse right? I guess I would have to put it in neutral though. I guess you can't have everything. So, I think I'm gonna go with the 700 idea. If I do, the Scat Rat has an engine!

@Murraymountain here's the video he talked where he talked about the 700
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6S24udqVYM

You can shift a 700 on the go, most in line shift transaxles you can.

I don't really think removing the reverse chain is necessary, although maybe don't use the stock one. Replace it with a new one.

@darkside0914 thanks! Looks like there's a whole lot more possibilities with the 700 than an actual transaxle.

I'm gonna use the 700 reverse or not. I'll look into a stronger chain or something to give me reverse. Thanks!

The Scat Rat is getting put outside for now:



I straightened the frame:



I cut the last deck piece off the frame. It must've broke off once because the whole thing was SUPER bugger welded.



AND, I'VE GOT AN ENGINE! 19 HP opposed twin block, valves, shrouds, and cooling fan. It's getting all billet parts. What was wrong with it? Well, heh, some idiot pulled the COMPRESSION RING!!! That's right, we we're running that thing without the freakin' compression ring! That explains all the compression coming out of the carb. When we pulled the piston today, it had no ring, then I realized we had never pulled that piston before. Once I realized that, I just laughed. Who knew, out of all the things it could've been, a missing piston ring. Anyways, the engine is too far parted out to put together again. Good news, the block already has had it's valves lapped. So this is the block we're gonna use.



Quite the array of colors I'll say. Rust, blue, red, black, green. Lol, maybe pink'll be next. Anyway, I actually like the color combination.

it's good you got your engine, and since you plan to build it with billet parts the stuff it came with doesn't matter much anyway as long as the block is good you're set, it's going to be expensive replacing all that stuff but should be a killer engine when done, the 700 is a good choice, play with the sprockets and you'll get some good speed out of it

I hope so. I had to go with the 700. It just means the best of both worlds ( the go kart and ATLT worlds that is).

Anyway, I rummaged through the scrap pile a little. Found my clutch for the belt, dash side panels, and the back of the dash. Funny that 80% of the parts are all Craftsman and all from different tractors. Body and foot boards are from the junk Craftsman we scrapped, the frame, clutch, and dash side panels are from the Craps-man, the motor is from some Craftsman in a junkyard, the hood is from a Ford and the back of the dash is from an MTD. Still gotta go through the scrap pile fully and see what all I can use. Pretty good start though!

Welp. Not gonna use that rear dash plate. I found the original. Also got my seat. It's the one off my brother's Craftsman. Also found what remains of the original body. I'm definitely gonna use it on something. Right now I'm thinking a battery tray.

When you gonna invest in a welder man, you won't regret it, trust me.

The very millisecond the oppy swapped Yard Machine sells.