1989 Craftsman II

Update. got my front bumper on. i love it. lol
didn't have time to get pics of it. will sometime this weekend.

Love it! that thing looks mean. There so much more fun to ride when you've got bigger tires on the front. It climbs over more stuff, and usally it's smoother on the bumps.... Espically if you take the tire pressure down to about 5-8 psi.

FearlessFront wrote:

Love it! that thing looks mean. There so much more fun to ride when you've got bigger tires on the front. It climbs over more stuff, and usally it's smoother on the bumps.... Espically if you take the tire pressure down to about 5-8 psi.

Thanks. yea i did alittle crawling yesterday. lol. i'll try and get some pics today(too dark last night to take some when i got home)
yea, one of the students in my school's machine trades class put 21 psi in each tire!! it was like a basketball. lol

my cuts aren't perfect(was using an electric sawz all) but i like it.
what you guys think?

great job man! a lil paint and itll be perfect. the bolting idea was great. Looks like it will hold up. Can you stand on it?

Should work pretty good .

arild365 wrote:

great job man! a lil paint and itll be perfect. the bolting idea was great. Looks like it will hold up. Can you stand on it?

well i haven't stood on it yet. but i have used it to move the mower around with and lift it up off the ground with. no slop, the bumper moves and the mower goes with it.

i'm trying to think of what i'll do for a rear bumper. i still have quite a bit of that galvenized angle metal. but none of the green box stuff. but that can hold off for awhile i guess. the front was more important to me right now.

oh also i'm thinking of changing the rear pulley to a 6 inch pulley. then i'd have 6's on the front and back. i'm wanting more torque and less belt slippage. would this be a good ratio for crawling? and what about my top end speed?

Love the bumper!, I wished i had thought of that.

MSteele wrote:

Love the bumper!, I wished i had thought of that.

thanks!
and i bet you can think of something even better than i did. i'm a newbie. lol

very small update. i put some more bracing on that bumper i made. now i can stand on it and it has no problem holding me (200 pound me). sorry no pics of it. i'll save some pics of that for when i do something alittle bigger.

what do you guys think about a 6 inch pulley on the motor and a 6 inch on the back?
good for crawling? what would top speed be? (i have a five speed)

Chunk wrote:

6 in the front and back is what I'm running. Lots of belt grip on bigger pulleys, so it'll work better under water etc.
As for top speed, Ive not measured mine yet, I'd say its about 15/20mph or somewhere around that. Plenty speed, and you sitll have a good crwaling gear in 1st and 2nd. Mines a 6 speed though.
cant wait to see pics!

sounds like this is what i'd want. i mean now with a 6 in front and a 3 in back i even have alittle belt slippage in first gear. also, 26 mph is just alittle to fast for a mostly stock tractor.(atleast for me anyway) i'm tired of getting that oh crap feeling when i try to turn just a fuzz and i go on three wheels! lol
i'll get pics sometime

My murray had a 6 and 3" pulley, also with a 6 speed- thing was too fast to handle safely , which is why i took it apart to eventually rebuild someday.

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

My murray had a 6 and 3" pulley, also with a 6 speed- thing was too fast to handle safely , which is why i took it apart to eventually rebuild someday.

How fast did it go? There is a certain Craftsman LT 2000 Vtwin i want a rematch with without using the foot throttle.
Ok back to topic.

I never had it wide open and in 6th - or GPS speed checked it before i took it apart . Id say at LEAST 40 plus mph - i have a video of a test run back in 2007 tho.

hey guys. i'm planning on slowing it down to a 1 to 1 ratio and then i'm gonna add new rear tires. what i have now are 18 tall, 9.50 wide and on 8 inch rims. handles them no problem. how big of tire you guys think i can go without exploding my transaxle?

yea i have a crappy yardmachines that has 20's on it stock. i'm thinkin 22's would be good

I now have 22' on TORQUE and finally GETTIN THE HUBS ON THURDAY!!! ive gone too long with out a romp and im growing weak and impatient then i have 18's on the front! hat a monster she is XD 22's and 18's can you imagine the stuff i could go thru XD XD XD

hey guys. small update. got some bracing on top of the front bumper and i put a different seat on it. also i went to an auction yesterday and got some goodies.

i know my cuts suck really bad, tryin to use a sawz all



these will hopefully go on the back if i can get some hubs made they are 23x8.50x12



these came off a tiller i got (it was missing one of the tines and the motor, and was a junk chain driven one) these wheels are 15x4.50x8


this is the handle off the tiller, may use the main bar part minus all the crap on it for a rear bumper.

so what are your guys's thoughts on those wheels for the front? will they be too much of a strain on the transaxle? oh and those tiller wheels may not go on my mower, might go on a tiller my dad has that needs better tires.
oh and i've been wondering what is the best place to get a pulley for my transaxle. any ideas?
well sorry for the rambling and all the pics lol. any and all comments welcome

what you guys think?

Chunk wrote:

So waht, are you planning to put the old rears on the front, and those garden tractor wheels on the back? It should hold up fine to be honest. And you'd gain alot of ground clearance too!

i plan on leaving the rear wheels i put on the front a few weeks ago and these new garden tractor wheels on the back. my concern was if the trans could hold up to having those big of tires

I like those tiller tires!

FearlessFront wrote:

I like those tiller tires!

thanks! lol
but idk if i'll use them or not. might be needed more for my dad's tiller he has than my mower. plus i'd hate to switch them after having a buddy take the time to mill them down.

idk if its an update but i did tinker a bit today. took the transaxle out to measure the pulley shaft size (i already forget, lol will have to look again) i hope to get a pulley tomorrow

hmm.... i notice you have the same rims that i am using, the 13" rim with 23" tire. You know if you want to, like i did, get some old tractor rims like the ones you were comparing size to the bigger tire, cause instead of making a hub thats what ive done, if you want a better pic or view just look at my project on craftsman offroad tractor, by motorhead45102.

but those tires look pretty good, i wish i had alittle bit more agressive tire that mud wont get built up in the tread and become slicks.