Re: Yard Truck Conversion Project -Update
Time for a little update, however there’s not much progress to report. It seems like I take three steps forward and two backwards.
I put fuel in the donor JD and attempted to start it. The starter would not crank the engine over, too much compression. I did get it to fire a few times with hand assist to the flywheel but suspect the complete fuel system will have to be flushed and cleaned before it will run, more work. Bob had warned me that the compression release was not working correctly. Knowing nothing about how this worked, I got on line and found a service manual for the Kohler engine used on the JD. I learned that there were “flyweights” on the cam shaft with little tabs that, at crank speeds, would lift one of the valves a little to reduce the compression. The weights swung outward at run speeds clearing the valves. I never got to see if that part worked.:rofl: The manual also indicated that there was an early design with non-hardened tabs and a later design with hardened tabs. Both versions would probably require a new cam shaft to correct the problem. I decided to put off getting the engine running until I finalized final tire size and established the final ground clearance.
I figured that since I would be building a new sub-frame and suspension for the rear of the truck I should start with putting the final tire size under the front. First I moved the front axle from the top of the leaf spring to the bottom thinking it would make it easier to get the larger tires and wheels under the front end without major body modification. Big mistake as it raised the truck too much and did not really give the look I wanted. Photo below shows the truck with the front axle at the new 23 inch wheel center height and the larger wheel setting next to it.
The larger wheel shown is a very wide one from the rear of a lawn tractor and I don’t think it will clear everything under the frame on turns. Moved the axle back to the original position and looked for a different tire and wheel.
I got a couple of 12x6 tires and wheels off Craigslist that I thought would fit under and look better on the front. The wheels had the correct bolt circle but the bolt holes were small. Did not have the correct size drill that could provide the bolt clearance so I drilled to the bolt size and using a taper reamer from each side achieved the needed bolt clearance. They almost fit and looked good (even with the agricultural tread pattern) but did almost hit the outside of the wheel well on turns, see photo below. A little trim should take care of this.
Took a break and when I returned one of the new (old) front tires had blown out.
So much for being cheap, should have bought new tires. Now I need to find replacements.
Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes