Budgets Tractor Builds

i paid 100$ for a simplicty broadmoor hydrostatic with a 16hp vanguard vtwin because it overrevved and the transmission was being over driven causing it to not pull any weight or go up hills. perfect seat good battery good brand new tires ran fine but revved too high because a spring fell off the governor linkage. ran strong though and mowed great. turned out the transmission is low on fluid i put half a quart of 10w40 down it and it worked better, and then i went and used it around town picking free stuff up and across town it decided to break a valve spring retainer and started blowing gas out of the carb and backfire from the carb making it run weak. valve isnt damaged i hope it doesnt seem bent sso ill replace broken parts and use it.

i finnaly got the craftsman i want its a very nice tractor 12.5 flathead and a decent paint job and a spicer that wont shift what would make the shifter not move its really stiff and it will go into first if you try hard enough

whats the best place to find those 2nd gen craftsman parts i dont wanna buy em new but i need a steering box and cast front axle

hey ive been playing around with my old sears suburban and im just looking for ideas for the old gal. should i keep it old kool and crusty patina look or resto mod it? with resto mod i wanna make an aluminum or steel cowl to replace the busted fiberglass one, modern headlights,  plate steel bumpers and a tow bumper with an engine hoist tow arm or something like that. i might just rob my old jack for its hydralics or get a winch. which either way i wanna do these mods, patina it will be cleaned and shined for the "wet look" and still get the bumpers and tow etc. resto mod i think id do darkish mettalic blue (rustolem) over a black base.

when i get home im gonna possibly start cleaning the "patina" on the sears i think this thing is too cool the way it is and i made a manual tow arm on the back for moving engines and decks and mowers etc around

Well starter went out on the sears and got some work done on my mud dragster craftsman gt its going pretty slow.

neat I like your suburban does it still have the original 16 hp Tecumseh?

Yea the old girl does she needs a new motor soon i cant keep servicing this old motor im wanting a boxer twin or vtwin. Starters out i dont have money for a starter but i was offered a boxer side shaft motor. Also a bunch of time opened up for me so my tractors will get twice the attenion. My gf broke up with me so the john deere will be harvested of the vtwin and sold.

Sooo i double pully swapped my craftsman some of the belt keepers are rubbing but its okay ill fix those but anybody know how to solve the terrifying first gen steering without cutting the front half off my tractor and putting a new everything?

I would say you probably would need to replace everything anyway in my opinion, I would look for a lt 2000 cast front axle they are a lot stronger/ heavy duty than the stamped steel ones

There is something around.  I think Redneckcomputergeek ( @Maine Mud Mower )has something.

I think this is it...

Steering problem sorta solved for now but if i support the steering column with greased lock collars with a grease fitting replacing the set screw and welded to a bracket i think it should tighten the column up a little and hopefully save the steering box for a while and if it works i think ill replace the plastic part or the gear box with a better one its not super sloppy so ill be okay for now. Also moved the front axle a few inches forward so it looks better and rides better i have it a few degrees of caster and before the axle was bent back a little now the top of the axle leans back some

Forgot the pics lol
Before

After

I just went to a noice bog hole kinda chilly out so didnt do much but im going back with a full tank a gas and made a rear storage bumper with a supplies ammo can

Got some work done on my work horse made a dash and found a steering wheel that looks good and its getting a 16hp turbo cool

ive had issues with the singles breaking valve spring retainers from over revving is there a way i can fix that it happened at haspin and i plan to take a tractor with a single ohv next haspin event i wanna revv my motor more then stock and plan on a gy6 carb in the future but im worried about droping a valve again

It sure seems that it would be better to leave the governor intact. You should have plenty of power, the issue, I think, is gearing properly. 
Watching to see what others have done to resolve the issue. 

Nevadablue wrote:

It sure seems that it would be better to leave the governor intact. You should have plenty of power, the issue, I think, is gearing properly. 
Watching to see what others have done to resolve the issue. 

He's planning a motorcycle carb.  They work great, but nowhere to hook up the governor, better to remove than it grenade.

You can get titanium valve retainers for some small engines, not sure about yours but it's something to look into anyways. Are you sure you breaking retainers or are the valves floating enough to throw the retainers? Harmonics can do funny things! Lol. One of the absolute first things you need to do if you want to overrev your engine is to get stiffer valve springs but don't go crazy, you want springs that are just one step up so if your engine came with say 10lb stock 12-15 or the smallest increase should work great for your needs. You can get "cheater" springs for some engines that look and physically measure as stock but they have a little extra seat pressure, those would be a good option also. Hope this helps.

My motors only seem to break the valve spring retainer nothing else the cone shape breaks off. Also today its cold and windy and i wanna go out to the shed and wrench but ive got two options. One i could work on my wheel horse and finish installing the motor and mabye get it running or two i could pull in one of my mini bikes and mess around

Time to find upgraded parts for it! Lol. What kind of mini bike(s) you got? This past summer I scored a 1969 Honda Z50 for $200. $800 and 80 hours later all it needs now is paint and for me to finish with the custom wiring harness.


How I got it.


1 month later


Unfortunately I don't have a current pic with the new exhaust I built, the light controls, lights or the (new) mirror but what a difference from when I got it eh!? Thing rips I love taking it out on the trails.

Man, that's an awesome-looking z50! also if you got minibikes budget_gokart post em up I would like to see them!

Thanks! Believe it or not it's a "on road" motorcycle as per Honda and I have it registered (in Ontario) in my name as unfit/unplated! Lol.

Hey ive also got a z50 but its a china version its a great bike its fast too! I upgraded it to a bigger carb and did new wiring it revvs and has plenty of power for a 50 it does power wheelies!

That's sweet! Mine came with with a 70cc head/carb and a custom made intake, the bore was worn and it had broken piston rings so I ordered a new 70cc top end from Amazon for $110 and installed a pz19 carb. I don't know what the top end is (forgot to record via GPS on the last trip) but it's darn quick that's for sure! The thing is a blast, I don't see myself parting with it any time soon!