1969 Sears Suburban 12 "Putt Putt'

Decided as while I was working on it I would make a post about it!

This is my 69 Sears Suburban 12. I have had her or quite a while. Only started building it last winter as my atv blew a tranny and I needed one to haul firewood cause it gets cold here! So I thought why not build this out? It was only used for fun little jobs, So why not let it do every fun job!


For a pulley swap she is running a 3.5 on the rear and the factory front which i think is a 8. She also has the original HH120 and 633a

I made a bicycle brake handle gas pedal which I would like to rebuild soon.


But today I was working on the fuel system. I talked to MightyRaze and he mentioned going with a briggs style pump. I just so happened to have a spare to I decided I would try it.


Also had a spare clone hh120 carb that wouldnt work with the E-Pump but it should work with this pump.

So this is what my fuel setup looked like before:
Working yet worn out e-pump
blue VACUUM line as fuel line. Yea it was pretty eaten up by the fuel but its what I had at the time.
In my opinion not that good looking which for an open sided tractor that's important in my book.


After tearing it apart I decided the best spot the mount the pump with out modifying anything would be on the grill where the cut out is for front attachments that are driven. I don't have any for this tractor so I mounted it there. If i find some I will relocate.


Here is what the final product was.


The only prob was with this clone carb it didnt fit real well. So I need to modify it some more to give my wrench more wiggle room as I cant quite get it tight enough, it does run just has a vacuum leak so cant tune it yet.

Also if anyone knows, what is normal compression rating for this HH120?
Mine hits around 105?!?


My future plans for this rig have many versions... lol, as of right now I would like to put all new bearings in the rear end, but it doesnt NEED it I would just like to, maybe lock it? I could see where in my riding it would be great.
An exhaust is on the very soon list, something that dumps either in front of or behind the floor board with like a little hotdog or atv muffler. Also a new gas pedal and maybe independent brake/clutch?

Please let me know what you think! This was my first ever build and I plan to keep using it and working on it for a long time to come!

Man, I do love a nice Sears Suburban! Nice rig! Can't wait to see this play out!

Yea I cant wait either! Since this tractors is used nearly daily for work(Also didnt think about it then but if you want to move this to the UTV section that would be fine as this is a do it all build but its main job is to work.) it doesnt get a lot of shop time for big stuff in the summer, but I can do small stuff.

Slipperz wrote:

Yea I cant wait either! Since this tractors is used nearly daily for work(Also didnt think about it then but if you want to move this to the UTV section that would be fine as this is a do it all build but its main job is to work.) it doesnt get a lot of shop time for big stuff in the summer, but I can do small stuff.

I'll let it hang out here for now. Many of our off-road and rally tractors do work too.

105psi is good compression in my books, I'd bet it boucnes off compression when you shut it down which is always a good sign! If you want an idea of internal bore and piston ring wear put a 1/4 teaspoon of motor oil down the spark plug hole and redo the test, I'd imagine you won't pick up much psi with the wet test which is a good thing.

Sorry for the lack of updates.
The cheap clone carb just runs too rich, and it won't do anything but idle and has a lot less power than the 8hp Kohler carb did?
I have a good reviewed 12hp hh120 carb on the way plus an air filter I found that fit this. Also I had an idea that I would like to do but I cant quite get it to click in my head how to do it so please help me!
I want to build a truck/dump bed but not one that hangs of the back as I have a 3 point there.
Something like this would be sweet.


This is an Artic Cat Grass Cat. It has a small but deep bed under and behind the seat. Dynamark also had a similar machine. Look up more photos to get a better idea.
But I want it dumping similar to my old 2003 Polaris Sportsman 6x6 I had with a hydraulic dump bed.
Not mine but same model.


But not sure how to do this with out extending the frame which I am not to opposed to do but I dont want to mess with this frame to much.
Any ideas?
Sorry I know... that's a lot of engineering questions to ask yall! LOL
I have only thought about this for a few hours now but I can only come up with making the frame longer. So just thought I'd ask!

Sears actually made a dumping tote box that if you had all the hardware was mountable in the front via a quick hitch or the back 3pt.





Only thing, it is kind of hard to find.

Also, sometimes those briggs style carbs deliver a lot of gas and may need a return built into the line. I had to do that with my 13hp 389 clone engine. I installed a T on the fuel out that one branch went to carb, the other back to tank. I did have to install a shutoff on the return to help regulate the return flow.

Where that is really cool and if i could find one that would be just fine, I would like if i build one to be able to use my hitch and I just like the idea of it being a part of the tractor not an attachment. Not sure how or if I can do it without frame mods and I have an idea that if this trans blows maybe do a custom live/golf cart like axle may be in the future then would be the time to stretch the frame out. But that time may never come as I have some leads on other 633s or this trans may last till the end of time! lol

I understand. Also, it appears I updated my post about fuel when you posted too.

Sorry not trying to imply you didn't understand.
And if the new carb has probs like that I will do that. The only reason I didn't think about that is my e-pump which also flooded this carb worked great on my Kohler carb. I would assume this Briggs pump would push less fuel at idle, but I might be wrong.

Slipperz wrote:

Sorry not trying to imply you didn't understand.
And if the new carb has probs like that I will do that. The only reason I didn't think about that is my e-pump which also flooded this carb worked great on my Kohler carb. I would assume this Briggs pump would push less fuel at idle, but I might be wrong.

OH, I didn't take it that way! All cool!

Yeah, my clone engine would piss gas all over the place at idle. About the only time it didn't was wide open throttle. I think the pump is a little strong for the needle and seat.

The Briggs pump pushes alot of fuel, I add a fuel shutoff valve on the pulse line to control the flow so the engine gets exactly what it needs without over fuelling.

The hitch plate on the back of your tractor is very robust, I don't see why you couldn't make your own bolt on unit!

Brianator wrote:

The Briggs pump pushes alot of fuel, I add a fuel shutoff valve on the pulse line to control the flow so the engine gets exactly what it needs without over fuelling.

I like that idea! @Brianator
I think I will do that. But do engines make more crankcase pressure at idle? If so why?

I'd say they make more off idle but because they're vented they can only build up so much anyhow. Are you having issues at idle and why you're asking?

Just trying to learn!

I figured it was due to demand for fuel from the carb. Was the carb designed for a fuel pump? At idle the engine needs very little gas and if the fuel pump delivers more than it can use, and if it is too powerful for the needle and seat. It tends to go everywhere.

MightyRaze wrote:

I figured it was due to demand for fuel from the carb. Was the carb designed for a fuel pump?  At idle the engine needs very little gas and if the fuel pump delivers more than it can use, and if it is too powerful for the needle and seat.  It tends to go everywhere.

If that's so, why will it only idle? It actually idles really well, maybe even better then it used to!

Sorry, I got off on a tangent and was telling what was happening with mine. I realize now yours works well at idle but not throttled up I see. It's been a long weekend and it is only Sat evening. I'll read a little more carefully next time.

@MightyRaze No problem I am sure you're swamped

I got the new carb, air filter, and belt on and it runs better but I need to do @Brianator idea of fuel shutoff switch on the vacuum side so I can pump a little less fuel. Also, I have a question on my belt.
On my engine pulley the belt sticks so I got a inch bigger belt as my old was worn out and it helped but still does it so maybe I need a bigger, but I threw some lube on the pulley, and it helped, and I can't tighten my belt anymore so do I need a bigger belt or what? I think one problem is the belt doesnt release quite enough so if it doesn't work out I wanna just clearance it a little. Thanks for looking!

Do you have belt keepers? If the belt is flopping around when you release the clutch it won’t release from the pulley right. If the belt is slack then you push the clutch in then it is the right size. It’s just a matter of getting that slack off of the pulley instead of in belt droop.

Got er to run and drive great! Just one thing... I am not using my new carb. I had to go back to my Kohler K81 carb as Putt Putt just wouldnt run no matter what we did. We think that my valvetrain my be too worn out for it as it would run amazing until WOT then it just falls flat on its face big time. so just went back to the old carb for now. Just got to tighten my belt up and I should be golden!
Off of my friends big MTD with the 2300 as I stated in my Scrappy thread, I bought a little drawbar of him so now I have a drawbar!

I'll assume you tried to tune the new carb to no avail? To get it to run right you might have to swap the jet(s) from your old carb, clone carbs are built and marketed to run on a variety of horsepower levels so the jetting won't usully be perfect unless it happens to be a perfect match. I've had to do it more often than not.

Just some food for thought!

No pics of the drawbar!? What a tease you are! Lol

Sorry I forgot! And yea we tuned it for quite a bit. I don't have to original Tecumseh carb anymore and my normal carb is a Kohler. I will grab some pics of the drawbar soon!

Here are your pics! @Brianator
Not sure if its a homemade one or if its MTD built.
I showed the welds so idk if that would show if its a factory one or not.




Sorry my Samsung phone doesn't take very good pics in low light... lol