Race Mower Project

[Billh51]

Great job on your grand daughters ride. Are there any rules regarding engine use and modification? Cheers, Mike

Hello Mike,
When this first started out 3 years ago, it was petty much run what you brung and hope it ran till the end of the race. Now things are progressing a little more and we are trying to go by the rules set forth by some of the racing organizations. The models we are building would be in the FX class. My Grand Daughters is a single cylinder 16 HP and my Grandsons will be an opposed twin cylinder 20HP. Surprisingly, they should compete with each other quit well.

 

[Joe in Oz]

Thanks Bill. I wonder if there is anyone here with automotive engineering background who can shine some light on the issue?
I'm sure there are good reasons why it may not make a difference to light weight vehicles where exactly the steeing axis is.
I look forward to your continuing efforts and your grandkids' successes!
My grandkids are only 9 and 11 - but both can ride motorcycles (REALLY well) and dirve our little "paddock bomb" Subaru Brumby/Brat.
They are starting to get interested in Motor Trials riding - I support that, because the skills are always helpful and the risks are pretty low compared to any other motor sport.....
The local car club has an off-road facility and can issue juniour racing licenses for "no speed" events to 12 year olds. So I have the Chirstmas present sorted for the then 12 year old
Cheers,
Joe

 

[Billh51]

We haven’t had much time lately to work on the race mower, my Grandsons a busy guy. However, we did get together last night for dinner and we’re able to spend a couple of hours in the shop on our project. We drilled out the other hub for the lug bolts and then pressed them in. Forgot to snap a few pictures, having to much fun. Then we pulled the shaft back out of the machine to mill in the key ways, now that we know where everything is going be.

 

[TerryH]

Very cool project!

 

[matthewsx]

Let me know if there’s anything you need. I have a ton of race kart parts from my previous business. I also have some custom Kawasaki engines, a couple of transmissions and a scatter shield for a Briggs horizontal flathead I bought when we were thinking of building a race mower. PM me for details.

Thanks,

John

 

[Billh51]

Thanks John, we'll see what comes up as we progress on the mower.

 

[GoceKU]

Interesting project, and you've done some beautiful machining on the rear axle, my question is, why are using the OEM tractor sheet metal frame, aren't you better off making an tube frame and integrating a bit of flex and a roll cage for safety in any motorsport, bending the rules is half the winning, can you explain the surface and the rules of this racing series. Nothing like that around here.

 

[Billh51]

Thanks for your reply. The whole idea is to keep it cheap and simple, so everyone can compete on a fairly level playing field. Some people have the skills and the shop to build in, such as myself but others are not so fortunate. The whole idea was to give the kids something constructive to do in their spare time, learning building skills and also having fun racing, while lot of the Mom and Dads show up to watch.
After building my Grand daughters racer last year, I guess I kind of upped the game a bit, because she was so successful. I have been helping the other kids with their mowers also, trying to get several of them in this faster class of racer. We will probably have two classes of mowers this year as some of the others can’t run with this mower.
They are holding the races on a red clay hay field, nothing fancy but a lot of fun. It’s an oval track with about 175’ straightaways, so it isn’t very big but makes for some good close racing.
It would be a lot of fun to just design a tube frame with suspension and all the good stuff but I believe you would wind up racing yourself, as there isn’t any of that type around here.

 

[GoceKU]

but I believe you would wind up racing yourself, as there isn’t any of that type around here.

I know exactly what you mean, i've done it in few times myself but some times is good, makes others get more involved and makes the racing that more cooperative, i can remember betting cars with twice my horsepower on street tires week after week because i was able to figure out how to make my own 4 link rear suspension with a welded diff that transfers the load perfectly and can apply all the power without any wheel spin, so steer your grand children into doing more research and looking 5 steps ahead.

 

[Billh51]

We were able to get a couple more hours on the race mower over the weekend. Got the motor mounted up into position so we could get the steering system set up. We were able to lay out the front and rear mounts for the steering shaft and built and installed them. Another small step.