Redneck 4-wheeler, or What to do with an old lawn tractor

[McGuyvers shop]

OK here is my fun project. I had an old lawn tractor with a blown motor, so I stripped it down, borrowed the horizontal shaft motor from my old tiller, and the Redneck puddle jumper is born. I purchased the sprockets and flange bearings from McMaster Carr and did a lot of research on how I wanted to arrange the gear ratio. It turns out that it runs around 10~15 mph, but the real fun is how it pulls and climbs hills and goes through puddles. I decided to keep the speed down so the kids wouldn't roll it and get me in trouble with the wife so this works out for everyone.

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[stevecmo]

Very cool. I love the exhaust header! )

You may want to make sure you have an umbrella policy.......just sayin'.

 

[Splat]

Cool! Kinda like a light-duty atv.

 

[davebow]

I don't have a picture handy to back this up, but when I was a kid in the early 70's, my Dad traded for a "Homco" brand lawn mower. It was some kind of a Snapper knock-off. It had a heavy duty set of handlebars to steer it with. He trashed the deck, installed a gas pedal from a junk VW Beetle, and screwed in a straight pipe about 8" long for the exhaust. And then he built a single passenger trailer to pull behind it. Man was that thing a blast! I had trails all over the neighborhood! The ultimate off road adventure.) Somewhere in the family archives, there's a picture of me at about the age of 9 "burning" across the yard in 4 or 5 inches of snow on that thing. OH! I about left out the best part! The trailer made a perfect set of "wheelie bars"...stomp the gas pedal, pop the clutch, and in 2nd or 3rd gear, it would stand straight up!!! I thought I was Don Garlits or somebody!

 

[McGuyvers shop]

Davebow, That is cool. The kids these days don't seem to appreciate the idea of being creative. Of course, I stuck to my Dad as a young kid and by the time I was 13 I could disassemble and reassemble a lawn mower engine for fun. We built bicycles, go carts, minibikes, and what ever else we wanted to. I enjoy thinking about the old days.