[Finalist] [24] Mighty's Marshal

Here is a little teaser.  Something there hidden in plain sight.



I have been strugling with the ammeter.  I'm not a 100% fan of it, but nothing fits the square in the dash.  So I did a LOT of searching and found that these voltmeter ammeter combo's seem to fit in the factory ammeter frame.



Pic is upside down, but you get the gist without turning it over.



OH...

Since I am terrible at holding a secret.



And half the wiring is done.

Great work as always man! Love the engine choice too

So that little volt/ammeter is really annoying. Volts on it are exactamundo.   For the ammeter side, I would need to bring all the devices' grounds back to the ammeter to go through it (bottom thick red wire) and ground out the system (bottom thick black wire).  I'm going to run 4 led lights, and a dash led, so as I mentioned.  The ammeter is still pointless to me.  Although it does register .05 amps just going ahead and grounding the meter with the rear lights on.

Here is the silly wire hookup of this thing.



So, I tested grounding just black and just red, and running jumper wire to red grounding black, tying the two thicks together and all showed about 0.05-0.02 amps with the rear lights.

I got my Volts and I actually think the amps are working no matter the combo of the 2 thick wires to ground.  I am not sure unless I figure something that would cause a big draw.



EDIT:  I plugged in the headlights and it added a 0.01 draw to the system.  Maybe it is working?  It also pulled down the volts on my jumper box.

On a side note.... I have 2 paths for headlights..

A)  Keep what I have and get me new LED twist in lights.

B)  Ditch the twist in lights and the lens and replace with a lightbar.


A - keeps the original appearance of the tractor.  B - give the greatest amount of visable light possible.

I'm a little torn for what should be an easy decision.  Although.... if I go option A, I would definately be adding either a smaller light bar or pod lights to the tractor so visability when needed would be there, but if trailriding at night (should that happen) I could run just the lens lights where I do not blind my buddies. 


OK, thanks for chatting this up with me, option A with future pods will be the way I'll go.

@MightyRaze don't you just love it when you convince yourself on something

I see the 4 lugs in the front, is it going to be a 4x4 Craftsman?

In the FWIW category, $0.02, most cheap volt amp meters offered on Amazon (and the like) are so badly constructed they either show under what the true voltage is by > .2 volts, or they draw excessive power when on. The absolute worse ones are the lighter based ones that get permanently stuck in the 12v outlet

Twice my daughter made the mistake of leaving her 12v lighter based volt meter plugged into her car when going on vacation, that it killed the battery within 7-10 days. I had to go through the whole thing about how they are constructed and why you should not use the included USB port to charge your I-Phone and the phishing - data attack through the USB it opens up. Now when she goes on vacation I take her keys and double check to make sure she unplugged the power hogs.

I just order these, because of the no 1 and 2 star ratings.

Linkstyle 2 Pack DC 12V 24V Car Voltmeter with LED Digital Display Panel, Waterproof Voltage Gauge Meter with Terminals for Boat Marine Vehicle Motorcycle Truck ATV UTV Car with Green Light

https://www.amazon.com/Linkstyle-Voltmeter-Waterproof-Terminals-Motorcycle/dp/B09XB1Z7J6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

If they do not work out, I will probably end up spending 2x-3x as much for marine ones or something.

MightyRaze wrote:

OH...

Since I am terrible at holding a secret.



And half the wiring is done.

This thing is starting to look awesome, really digging those gloss black rims and the red striped body panels, well done!

@JB_4x4 I think if @MightyRaze hooks up the voltmeter/ammeter combo to only work when the key or master switch is on he'll be fine.

I agree with mighty, I'm not a fan of ammeters especially in this age where LEDs draw very little.

JB_4x4 wrote:

I see the 4 lugs in the front, is it going to be a 4x4 Craftsman?

No, I just like to put 4on4 hubs on the front of my tractors so I can "cleanly" change wheel/tire combos without getting all greasy.

JB_4x4 wrote:

In the FWIW category, $0.02, most cheap volt amp meters offered on Amazon (and the like)  are so badly constructed they either show under what the true voltage is by > .2 volts, or they draw excessive power when on. The absolute worse ones are the lighter based ones that get permanently stuck in the 12v outlet

Twice my daughter made the mistake of leaving her 12v lighter based volt meter plugged into her car when going on vacation, that it killed the battery within 7-10 days.  I  had to go through the whole thing about how they are constructed and why you should not use the included USB port to charge your I-Phone and the phishing - data attack through the USB it opens up.  Now when she goes on vacation I take her keys and double check to make sure she unplugged the power hogs.

I just order these, because of the no 1 and 2 star ratings.

Linkstyle 2 Pack DC 12V 24V Car Voltmeter with LED Digital Display Panel, Waterproof Voltage Gauge Meter with Terminals for Boat Marine Vehicle Motorcycle Truck ATV UTV Car with Green Light

https://www.amazon.com/Linkstyle-Voltmeter-Waterproof-Terminals-Motorcycle/dp/B09XB1Z7J6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

If they do not work out, I will probably end up spending 2x-3x as much for marine ones or something.

How far apart are the screw holes on that one.  I was considering it, but could not find any info on that, just the hole size.  I wanted to fill the existing hole in the dash.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

@JB_4x4 I think if @MightyRaze hooks up the voltmeter/ammeter combo to only work when the key or master switch is on he'll be fine.

I agree with mighty, I'm not a fan of ammeters especially in this age where LEDs draw very little.

Yes, it is on keyed power.

Getting close to finishing phase 1.  Updating the tractor and get it rule complete.  My goal is to have that by March 1.  

I need to throw on one of my other tire sets on the rear so I can remove the tires from the rims and paint them.  Get them ready for new tires.  So you may see a set I had on Li'l Red or the Duro's from Patriot phase of The Green Machine.

Then phase 2 begins with mods and accessories, and break tests.  (not brake)

It's looking nice @MightyRaze I like those stripes, they really give it depth in the visual department! By the pace you're setting your tractor will probably done before the rest us are even testing! Lol. With that said I can't help but admire your dedication!

Brianator wrote:

It's looking nice @MightyRaze I like those stripes, they really give it depth in the visual department! By the pace you're setting your tractor will probably done before the rest us are even testing! Lol. With that said I can't help but admire your dedication!

Haven't taken any pics yet but I did test drive my bo mower lol. TheMightyRaze is doing it right the first time tho and I am not.

SUPER NICE day here today.  Got the tires removed from the wheels.  Cleaned the wheels and repainted.  These wheels were Perfect inside.  Had a March 2, 1993 stamping inside.



Got my seat today!  Yay!  I also got a belt that seems the right size.  88inch



Got my new headlight bulbs today as well.

#MarshalChecklist

OK, just about the end of phase 1.

Things I still need.

• Rear tires, my last and biggest expense  (ordered)
  
• Possible starter for the engine.  This one quit again.
  
• Make a couple belt guides.
  
  

PHASE 1 COMPLETE!!!

Then I need to get to driving it around!

At that point I will probably call it B/O complete, but I still have Phase 2 to go.

Phase 2 plans: (no secrets here)

• Front bumper
  
• Winch (not sure I need lights, the LED replacements in the hood are GREAT)
  
• Tree Kickers.
  
• Rear trunk of sorts. (ammobox)
  
• Skid plate?  Something to think about.
  
• Tether Kill - REQUIRED
  
• as @Doc Sprocket  use to say, Wrench, wreck, Repeat
  

I'm hoping to have phase 2 done July 1.  Like with Dirty Rat, I was done at this time, but did a lot of "fine tuning" in those last months.

> I just like to put 4on4 hubs on the front of my tractors

Same here, so, I can quickly change flats. I went to plug a front 15x6-6 rim in the middle of a job, and discovered I had tubed the tire. That did not work so well ... So, now I am converting all my stuff to all the same size lug pattern 4 on 4 for all wheels, so, I can quickly swap wheels.

> How far apart are the screw holes on that one.

Should be here Thursday, I will let you know.

> the LED replacements in the hood are GREAT

Understatement! Those look great.

JB_4x4 wrote:

>

> How far apart are the screw holes on that one.

Should be here Thursday, I will let you know.

Thanks!


Also on the screw holes. I did find another listing after some time that had the distance between holes!

I finally had to call it with the starter. Just too worn out. New one purchased. Hopefully it's the last new part needed.

Sitting tonight thinking about the tractor, I am wondering If I can also upgrade the bell-crank bushing. I need to find the one from TGM and use it as a base for doing that. I found the bracket part, just haven't found the bushing part.

Dug in all my parts piles.... could not find it. :-(

OK, new starter installed and working great!

I have made some belt guides so I was hoping, just hoping to maybe start it up today and ride it.

Well, I did get it started today, but only on some oil and starting fluid. I have determined the fuel pump is shot. I do think I will pull the guts out of it, plug one side and use a briggs style pulse pump on it. Seems like the easiest thing to do and be more serviceable.

Half way done with the pump conversion. The old fuel pump is now the pulse port.



I'll get the briggs style pump tomorrow.

Well, the jungle people delivered really early today and so this happened at lunch today!



Pulse pump update complete!



Oh Yeah.... I also got to do this around the yard.




Definately need to work on the belt guides.

Engine belt guild created.  Made one out of some 3/16 rod.  Appears to be just right.  That belt should not fall off.  Now I need to create one for the rear.  I should have the rear tires off tomorrow, so I'll look into creating that guide then.



Side note, i had a pretty good oil leak at the drain pipe.  I tipped the tractor on the side so I could take it off.  I seen no cracks or issues, so I decided to use some thread tape for propane fittings.  See how that works out.  Hoping it has some better oil/gas resistance than normal tape.  I know gas will dissolve plumbers tape fairly quickly.

Rear tires are delayed for the 4th time.  Yee haw.