[Finalist][2020 Build-Off Entry] darkside's hot rod pick up

Oh yes. Do you have the stock double pulley clutch? That bar would normally go underneath the backside of the clutch where the raised part is and then a piece of curved steel bolts to the other side keeping it in place.... That's why I didn't do the hydro swap on The Green Machine. Needed too many parts to make the hydro work.

i've got the whole system we used the donor murray as a grass cutter for a couple yrs, it had the double pulley clutch, i took it off, you don't need a clutch on a hydro and i'm just going to run the belt directly from the engine to the transaxle if i use the clutch it will just be as a tensioner with good spring

well illinois is on lock down, the governor has issued a stay at home order, no non essential travel allowed, you can go to the grocery store, the gas station and for medical needs, but all non essential businesses are to be shut down until at least april 7th, this really sucks, i won't be able to get anything i need for the build until these places reopen, but i believe i have the material for the stacks, my brother brought home part of an old swingset the other day and i think i can cut the tubing from it to make my stacks instead of buying the conduit, i will still need some but not as much as i did

i mounted up the 2nd of the tires i planned to use, and no matter what it wouldn't take a bead, i was hoping i made a mistake and grabbed the wrong tire since this one has weather cracking, but my hopes are dashed, this is the tire i needed to use, but no matter what it will not take air and bead up, so i'll have to buy a tube, $15 vs $50 for a new tire, i found it wasn't the weather cracking that caused the issue, it's a chunk taken out of the sealing surface of the bead, i must have fouled up when mounting the tire and ripped the inch long gash in it, fortunately it doesn't hurt the tire at all, just makes it where it won't hold air, anyway here's a pic with the tires mounted although the left one is un-inflated atm


i am having to take about a half inch or so out of the floor to fit them, the one on the right is done, but the one on the left isn't because i don't have any more cut off disks for the angle grinder, and i messed up, i forgot to tell my brother i wanted the swing set pole for this, he had a friend help him load the truck and they took the scrap metal to the scrap yard and it went with it, i still need to measure for the belt, mount the pedal and get the control set up done for the hydro, then i can flip it and start on the top side

well i can't say i've gotten anything done at all since the last post, my brother and i do small engine repair on the side to earn extra money and we were suddenly swamped with repair work, 4 riders 2 pushers and a tiller, and that has taken precedence over personal projects, so basically i'm updating to keep within the rules, hopefully i'll be able to get something done soon, but i've got plenty of time so no big deal if i don't get make any progress in the next couple weeks

Thanks for the update.

You mentioned a couple weeks ago with things shut down you may not be able to proceed for a while?  Let me know if this becomes true.  I can tag your build so you do not have to do updates until this has passed.

@MightyRaze if it comes to it i'll let you know, as it stands now i'm able to work on the build, mostly getting things mocked up at this stage anyway and i've got 90% of the parts for that.

i decided i was taking a break from working on other peoples junk and work on my own so i looked around and was able to find a cutoff wheel in good shape to cut a small section out of the bed for tire clearance, of course now that wheel is done for, those cheap HF wheels just don't last long, i still need to cut the rod for the hydro control pedal, once i get that mounted up and make a simple tensioner pulley i'll be done underneath until it's time to get a belt, i also ordered a tube for the tire that i screwed up and gashed the bead on, it should be here by friday, i've decided i'm going to cut a slot for the u shaped bracket that transfers the pedal control from right to left and just mount it in the bed, if i must i'll make a simple cover so nothing jams it, and finally i found the 2nd hood hinge bracket, now i don't have to try and make one, i just have to figure out what i did with the hood, i have a feeling it's buried in the back of the garage

minor update, did a little more today, the pedal for the hydro is now mounted, had to make a notch in the edge of the floorboard for the shaft, and i used a pair of bolt cutters to cut the rod going back to the trans, couldn't believe how hard it was to cut, not the best way to do it but i still don't have any cut off wheels for the angle grinder, i'll need to extend the shaft by at least 2 maybe 2 1/2 ft, i'm going to have to cut a couple junk belts and put them together to get the length for the drive belt,i have a bunch of belts but none are long enough, and i found the hood, but as i feared it's buried

i have been waiting for a tube for the rear tire for nearly a week past when it said guaranteed delivery by friday the 10th, if it's not here in the next few days i'm going to just pull the tube out of another tire we're not using so i can get a tire on it, flip it over and begin mocking up the engine and that bracket for the transaxle drive

I usually get my tubes from TSC. Paying a little extra is sometimes better than the wait.

the closest tsc near me is an hrs drive, and it seems like noone carries them except the honda shop up town, but i'm not paying more than double for a tube from them, i don't mind waiting when i have to, but i'm not even sure i'll be able to finish this with the information i received a short time ago, it seems our roommate has decided to move in with her grand parents to help care for them and that will leave my brother and i in a tight spot financially for awhile, at least until we find someone reliable to help pay the bills again

i have been lazy, and other than putting my tube in the tire i haven't really done anything, i am going to do what i can despite the tight finances from the loss of our roommate, but i may have to change or forget about a few things i'd planned to do like the stacks, lights, and the baby moon hub caps i wanted to get it'll really depend on just how tight things get for us

well i got off my butt and was able to find the needed rods to get the transaxle control rod extended and welded up, unfortunately i also screwed up and accidently put a hole in the brand new tube i bought for the rear tire when i mounted it, didn't realise it until yesterday when i found it was flat, the good news is i found a tire in our stash that has a good tube in it, as long as i can get it out without pinching it i'll be good to go, but i'll still take and have the one i pinched a hole in patched, just in case i end up needing it,

I've messed up installing at least 3 tubes that I can remember. Now I always double checked when I'm working the bead back over the rim that I'm not pinching the tube between the tire spoon and rim.

talk about frustrating, i found the tire that had a good tube in it, broke it down and started pulling the tube out and nearly had it out when it split at what looks like a seem, so all that trouble breaking the tire off the bead and being extra careful to not pinch the tube when pulling one side off the rim was for nothing, i guess i'll toss my 22x11 knobbies on it for now so i can at least make it a roller, i'll have to pull the other tube and take it to be fixed later on

I wouldn't even bother with tubes. All you need to do is find a mower junkyard if there's any around. They're bound to have a good tire.

@Murraymountain the only place around is owned by a crotchety old man who may or may not be willing to sell the tire i need at inflated prices, but i might just have to talk to him as much as i hate to, and hope he's in a good mood and i can get a tire in decent shape and get it off whatever junk tractor it's on

mock up of the body is coming along nicely and the drive control is done, sorry forgot to get a pic of the hydro drive control, but i just welded the rear bracket in the rear to the frame and ran my rods, still some adjusting to do, but that will have to wait till it's actually running, here's pics of the body so far though

Nice! Now you need to take it out and pressure wash it. It will make building it a whole lot easier.

it will have to go to a car wash for that, i don't have a pressure washer, there's still a lot of things needing done, i have to decide which of the 2 12hp flatheads i'm going to use, and decide what color i want it, i'll likely just do black with red, i also still need to see about that tire, those atv tires don't look right on there, and i need to figure out what to do about that big hole in the body, weather i should cover it or make it a storage area, but before i can do any of that i need to pull it out of the spot it's in and move it to the front of the garage to work on it, which means moving a bunch of stuff behind it including my brothers 70s wheel horse,

i've done a little more to the rig, i cut the hole for the hydro control bracket and mounted the bed i should have taken the bed back about an inch further, as it sits i'll have a minor issue with the seat, but nothing i'm worried about much, i also realised the bed is about an 8th in to the left in front, i'll have to open the mounting holes a little and move it over slightly, if i want it to be perfectly aligned that is, it's one of those things i'll do if i get to it, i've not had much time to work on it recently so things are going a little slower than i would like, but every little bit i get done is a little closer to being finished

i almost had a set of mini kegs that would have fit in the section between the foot boards and the bed, and looked really cool on this, one i planned to make a gas tank out of and the other would have just been mounted to be symmetrical, i think it would have looked pretty cool like the dual tanks on a big rig, but as is my luck they guy sold them before i could buy them, but that's just how things go sometimes, other wise i've not done anything to this lately, been busy with my truck which fought me for 2 weeks with a front end repair, ball joints and steering tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm, and doing a electric to gas conversion on a golf cart for a friend of mine

finally got around to deciding on the engine, i have 2 12hp flatheads to choose from, i didn't realize one was virtually complete except the starter so i chose it, i know it runs, or it did when i took it off my old murray, so i pulled it out and sat it in place,



also got a set of rear tires, i did some swapping with my brother and he gave me the 20x10-8 tires he's been running on his murray, otherwise been doing small stuff, like making clearance for the seat pan in the front of the bed,

and remember when i said my hood was buried, well it's still there


still have the wiring actually mounting the engine and a few other things before i can take it on it's maiden run, but it's actually not all that far away, i might not get to the finer details i wanted, like the taillights and the stacks but it will be a running driving machine before the deadline of the build off

been having to do some repairs on my house, all to keep the insurance company happy, as well as dealing with the heat, i suffered a heat stroke sunday that has left me completely exhausted since, so haven't been able to work on the build lately, but as per the rules i'm reporting that much at least,

Thanks for the update.  Take care of yourself.  You'll be more susceptible to the heat for a while.