Brianator's "Mud Duck"- Tractor Recovery Rig/Mudder

It's hard to believe it could generate spark with so much corrosion on the magnet! The coil wasn't so bad though.




So I cleaned it all (plus all the contact points and wire connections)



A little something I like to do is put a thin layer of dielectric grease on everything, more of a film really so I have done that as well and expect the old beast to run even better than it did today!

That is a sweet engine.

Nevadablue wrote:

That is a sweet engine.

I agree! I'm very fortunate to have got such a great deal on it!


Well this explains it... should help hold the front wheels down! Lol

Wow, that say 143?  That's crazy.  Can't beat old iron!

MightyRaze wrote:

Wow, that say 143?  That's crazy.  Can't beat old iron!

Especially when it's all old cast iron! The only aluminum on it is the cylinder head, carburetor, coil mount, magnet mount, front plate and booster fan! Lol. I don't even have to use a compression tester to know it's got plenty, it bounces hard off it when it's shut down so she seems to have tons of life left! It even already has the double belt pulley to match the tractor AND its the exact same size as stock but I will have to source a new slighter smaller double pulley to run the PTO and there just happens to be plenty of room on the shaft to do so! I've gotten very lucky, it's almost like it was destined to be!



Well I guess it's time to remove that little test motor and start mocking this thing up!

I'll pray for your back as you start to mock it up.  Maybe a hoist could help.

There is a single cylinder engine sitting in a lot in this subdivision. I guess I better ask about it. Could be a treasure. 
Fun to watch this develop. Buy a crane.

Thanks @MightyRaze and I wish @Nevadablue, even if I had one it would be completely useless to me here unless it was attached to a machine with wheels, I can only work on it outdoors as you can see in the first photo. What I've done is put a bench beside the tractor so I can more or less slide and quick lift it back and forth and then one big heave at the end of the day to get it back on the workbench. Yes it's heavy but it's also awkward! Lol.

I did make some decent progress today! I pulled the test motor out and plopped the big guy in to get an idea, looks pretty good in there!



No I won't be using that wood as the motor plate, that was just to get the test motor in there, I'm going to use the motor plate out of the Line Ward, it's 1/4" thick and the mounting holes are already there so that's a bonus



Even when it's sitting on it's proper mounting plate which is lower than that chunk of wood I'm sure I'll still need to work on the hood to make clearance for the the head/spark plug and will definitely need to relocate the fuel tank and do something about the exhaust.



This large angled support had to be cut off but I wanted to get a move on and figure out belt(s) length so I set it on a piece of 1/2" plywood (no picture), used some rope, came up with 32" and headed into town to grab some cheap belts (31" & 32") for $10 each, an idler pulley and some grade 8 hardware. I feel the cheap belts will be perfect for testing, polishing the pulley grooves and to keep as spares,  I'll buy quality ones when the time comes. I cut the angled piece off after I got home.




I still need to trim the ends off but I wanted to do some more alignment and figuring, Houston we may have a problem...  Here's my dilemma, the plate actually sits beautifully on the frame, and I can slide the pulley back for belt alignment plus it lets the motor sit as low as possible so that's all good but with the motor sitting in that location there won't be room for another set of pulleys on the engine to drive the PTO. Look at how nice the plate sits as is, let's call this this "option A"




"Option B" would be to slide the plate back, partially on top of the front clamps (which are 1/8" off height wise from one side to the other for some reason? so that adds another needed solution) and then have to add a spacer on the other end of the plate. This not only raises the center of gravity but also puts more weight forward and onto the front tires. I'm not liking "option B", seems sketchy and a pain in the arse!

"Option C" is to figure out exactly how much I need to move the front clamps forward and extend the (tube) frame that amount, that comes with yet another issue... the front PTO is attached to the front end! If I tried to space it backwards then the universal joint for the front attachments would either not reach or just barely reach... neither of which are good.

"Option D" is to "Keep It Simple Stupid!" Yknow, the KISS principle?! Lol. Go with "option A", keep options B and C in mind when altering the hood, relocating the fuel tank and reworking the exhaust. I know it sounds silly to care about the front PTO for a recovery rig/mudder but I've been secretly excited to be able to put the Snowcaster on it! My G10 runs it but struggles sometimes, it was never designed to run a 38" unit.

What would you do if you were me? Keep in mind I'm also working on stuff for The Warhorse in the background and plan on getting back into the actual build very soon, if I only had this one on the go no problem! Lol

Sorry for the novel guys! I still have a couple hours worth of motor work to post but I need a break, this post took forever! Lol.

@Brianator WOW ! i thought i had it bad here in Indiana WITH a heated work shop !! i feel for you man it can't be easy working in those conditions.

It was beauty out today, around 16F and sunny! Last week was a little tougher hovering around -5F but I'm so used to it from working outdoors most of my life, the key is to dress for it! Wear many layers and stay hydrated! I do have a small electric heater to warm my hands and a propane heater for when I close myself in the workshed, don't worry it's not well sealed so there's plenty of ventilation! Lol

Once it started to get too dark outside to work I turned my attention on getting more engine work done in the workshed.

I figured I should get the pulley free so I can clean up the shaft and it will make it easier for pulley relocation/add another set behind it. To my surprise it didn't put up much of a fight, not even the hub!





Then again I did start sprinkling it yesterday with my favorite penetrating oil, if you haven't seen or heard of this stuff trust me when I say you want to find it! It's the best I've ever used and it's really hard for me to come by, my first can lasted me almost 10 years I used it so sparingly and only when I knew I needed it! I didn't use very much at all and you can see in the above photos how well it penetrated. It's an American company (I'm pretty sure) and they had sponsored a Nascar team at some point so you have a better chance than me at getting some... if you do please let me know I want another can! Lol. But seriously...



Once I had the pulley and belt guard off I cleaned the front plate and noticed all these hairline fractures... I hope they won't be a problem! I think it's best for me to start poking around and see if there's any new(ish) plates to be found! Hope you can see them in the pic



I decided to have a look inside the voltage regulator, almost wish I hadn't that's nasty! Once the motor is mounted in the tractor I'll test it out but by the looks of this, it's only fit to be a spare IF it does still work!



Then I started replacing shotty wire ends, cleaning up and (dielectric) greasing all the connections.



This was about the time I realized my beer was almost empty so I shut 'er down for the night! Lol. It's been an eventful one, hopefully tomorrow is as well!

I can’t work (by choice, if I don’t have to) in the cold these days. Glad you can handle it, this is fun to watch. 
You will need dual tires or those tracks on the front. 

Taper lock hubs are nice for removal. Expensive to buy, but positive lock.

Nevadablue wrote:

I can’t work (by choice, if I don’t have to) in the cold these days. Glad you can handle it, this is fun to watch. 
You will need dual tires or those tracks on the front. 

I'm glad too or I'd get nothing done for 4 months of the year! Lol. Feel bad for you, you must be going stir crazy!?
Tracks you say... hmm.... nah not on this. That's an idea I've been tossing around for the derelict Cub Cadet, maybe next years build if I can find the parts over the summer!

No they're cheap as I learned today... look! I had to take a picture because I didn't believe it!




Now the idler pulley on the other hand....FOURTY freaking dollars for a 3" flat idler... not happy and shopping for another but I did grab it just in case I can't find another.

Brainator wrote:

Now the idler pulley on the other hand....FOURTY freaking dollars for a 3" flat idler... not happy and shopping for another but I did grab it just in case I can't find another.

GOOD LORD! That’s ridiculous! I payed under $15 for one at TSC about a year ago.

Brianator wrote:

No they're cheap as I learned today... look! I had to take a picture because I didn't believe it!


Now the idler pulley on the other hand....FOURTY freaking dollars for a 3" flat idler... not happy and shopping for another but I did grab it just in case I can't find another.

ha ha ha...
That's me everyy time I go to PP mart (Don't ask, it's what they renamed TSC) 4ft of fuel line is $30 bucks, I went to a local parts store the next time I needed some, IT WAS 3 BUCKS. Anyway, I feel you...

Those "fractures" could just be casting marks.  If they were fractures, I'd think they would be weeping.

I sleep a lot. 

Your junkyard isn’t deep enough. I have flat pulleys in the pile. But postage would be more than the pulley probably. Plus the pulley would have to be vaccinated… 

Nevadablue wrote:

I sleep a lot. 

Your junkyard isn’t deep enough. I have flat pulleys in the pile. But postage would be more than the pulley probably. Plus the pulley would have to be vaccinated… 

Lol, I guess not but I already have 2 working ATVs plus 2 ATV frames, 5 tractors plus implements, a working walk behind snowblower plus a scrap one, 3 loose motors, 2 generators, the Line Ward, various bins of car parts ect ect... I don't need anything else I have a hard enough time keeping my yard looking decent with all this stuff! Lol. Oh ya postage from there to here isn't cheap these days or I would've ordered the proper pulley from Bolens Parts and Supplies, might still as he has a couple little parts I could use for my G10 but this pulley should work, it's a touch smaller than the original but is JUST the right width for the double belt system and I like the lips on the sides just not happy with the price, I hope it lasts a long time then it was worth it!

It's snowing like crazy but fairly warm today @30F, glad I have dry areas to work in!

I already knew I'd have to repair this hole in the frame but never noticed the hairline crack in it until today



A little trick I picked up along the way is to drill a hole ahead of the crack to prevent it from spreading any further so I center punched it, drilled a pilot hole then opened it up with a 3/16" drill bit.





I'll tackle it in the future before I paint the frame but for now I need to get the motor in and tractor moving, it's all still in the proof of concept stage!

@Brianator lucky duck 30 degrees sounds really nice right now! currently in mn shes a brisk 3 degrees. what color you planning on painting er, black?

My snowblower junkyard has flat pulleys. 

Well it appears the frame on the other side of the hole is also fractured so that settles it, gotta fix it now before that behemoth of a motor is installed!

I gave it the same treatment as the other side...



...cleaned it all up, v notched it...



...and burned it in quick! I must've caught the power grid at a good time because the welder did it's thing like it's supposed to! Lol



Then I hit it with a quick shot of black lacquer to protect it for now.



I also trimmed the motor plate and it's ready to be mounted, when I was test fitting it I noticed the fracture on the other side and thought I better just deal with it right away.



I also have the motor mostly reassembled, the pulley is cleaned up, painted and sitting on the shaft loosely ready to align the belts/pulleys!

MN mudder wrote:

@Brianator lucky duck 30 degrees sounds really nice right now! currently in mn shes a brisk 3 degrees. what color you planning on painting er, black?

Very lucky but there's a bad storm blowing in! I don't know what I'm doing for paint yet except the frame itself, front end and transaxle will be black. Lacquer on the transaxle (will shed heat better than), bedliner everywhere else I mentioned.

Bed liner, I like that. 
I really would like to finish a rig in plain, clear coated steel. If I had a running sandblaster available, I would. The whole thing bare steel looking, ALA DeLorean look. 

So, with both sides of the frame cracked, IMO… make a saddle for those cracked areas and weld it all around. Looks like the flex is causing the area with the hole to ‘stretch’. Counteract that somehow.