The Other Vehicle

Midwesterner · Jul 27, 2023

200 bucks into probably the must fun I've ever had.

McHenry2500 · Jul 27, 2023

Midwesterner said:
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I need to know all the specs on whatever this is.......... and more pictures!

Midwesterner · Jul 27, 2023

McHenry2500 said:
I need to know all the specs on whatever this is.......... and more pictures!

We took a lawn tractor, took the front axle off, stuck a bunch of scrap steel off the front(old steel pallets, fence post pipe, etc.) to stretch the frame, built a picnic table frame on top, bolted some wood to it, extended the steering arm, and dropped a big ol' exhaust tip on it.

In progress:

Finished:

Sorry, I don't have too many pictures. It's great fun, only problem is you really can't talk to the riders people while driving it.

jsalbre · Jul 27, 2023

Midwesterner said:
We took a lawn tractor, took the front axle off, stuck a bunch of scrap steel off the front(old steel pallets, fence post pipe, etc.) to stretch the frame, built a picnic table frame on top, bolted some wood to it, extended the steering arm, and dropped a big ol' exhaust tip on it.

In progress:
View attachment 60164

Finished:
View attachment 60165

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Sorry, I don't have too many pictures. It's great fun, only problem is you really can't talk to the riders people while driving it.

Sounds like the solution is to electrify it. Plenty of room for batteries and a big electric motor on that thing!

Midwesterner · Jul 27, 2023

jsalbre said:
Sounds like the solution is to electrify it. Plenty of room for batteries and a big electric motor on that thing!

That's a good idea! I might do that. It would probably be on a different chassis though, this one is a janky, high schooler, learning to weld edition
I've seen some built onto the frame of a golf cart, that would be a good base to electrify.
I would have to keep the exhaust tip tho.

Midwesterner · Jul 27, 2023

Midwesterner said:
200 bucks into probably the must fun I've ever had.
View attachment 60152

Notice the drag slicks on the rear of the vehicle-necessary for transferring the power to the ground

Great White North Eh · Jul 27, 2023

Midwesterner said:
We took a lawn tractor, took the front axle off, stuck a bunch of scrap steel off the front(old steel pallets, fence post pipe, etc.) to stretch the frame, built a picnic table frame on top, bolted some wood to it, extended the steering arm, and dropped a big ol' exhaust tip on it.

In progress:
View attachment 60164

Finished:
View attachment 60165

View attachment 60166

Sorry, I don't have too many pictures. It's great fun, only problem is you really can't talk to the riders people while driving it.

Ya gotta roool through a drive through with that baby ………instant pick-a-nick.

jsalbre · Jul 28, 2023

Midwesterner said:
That's a good idea! I might do that. It would probably be on a different chassis though, this one is a janky, high schooler, learning to weld edition
I've seen some built onto the frame of a golf cart, that would be a good base to electrify.
I would have to keep the exhaust tip tho.

Hook a speaker up to the “exhaust” and play Ferrari noises.

Midwesterner · Jul 28, 2023

Great White North Eh said:
Ya gotta roool through a drive through with that baby ………instant pick-a-nick.

Oh we have, it's great. The reactions are amazing. We took it to a snow cone trailer, after seeing that their tables were all full. Their tables emptied and this one filled up.

Midwesterner · Jul 28, 2023

jsalbre said:
Hook a speaker up to the “exhaust” and play Ferrari noises.

100% doing that, love that idea.

Pearce · Aug 21, 2023

Replaced seals and changed shim stacks on Fox coilovers this past weekend. My supervisor kept his eye on me to do it right. Seems intimidating at first but actually a pretty fun and relaxing process.

Rockcrawlindude · Aug 21, 2023

Pearce said:
Replaced seals and changed shim stacks on Fox coilovers this past weekend. My supervisor kept his eye on me to do it right. Seems intimidating at first but actually a pretty fun and relaxing process.

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Rig looks awesome. Always fun getting the shocks dialed in. I assume you’re not doing much rock crawling in Florida so shoot me a message when you come north Alabama/ Tennessee etc.

gimmie11s · Aug 21, 2023

Pearce said:
Replaced seals and changed shim stacks on Fox coilovers this past weekend. My supervisor kept his eye on me to do it right. Seems intimidating at first but actually a pretty fun and relaxing process.

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This is something I have not yet done, rebuild a shock. Very cool.

Rockcrawlindude · Aug 21, 2023

gimmie11s said:
This is something I have not yet done, rebuild a shock. Very cool.

It’s fun and you’re not limited to just swapping the valve shim stacks you can get creative.

I drilled bleed ports in the pistons of my 2.5”s in addition to swapping the stack of .010”s for .008”s and .012”s for .010”s. Normally I would put bleed shims in but i knew it needed more bleed and i didn’t have the correct three port piston bleed shims in my parts bin so I just put them in the drill press and made bleed ports. Custom tuning at its finest.

You can run them by 4wp or somewhere to get them filled with nitrogen if you don’t have access to fill them with 200psi nitrogen.

They have a bunch of service tools but you can get by with a cheap adjustable pin spanner. You want a good clamp setup to hold the shock body and shaft. The rest of the stuff is optional. The bullets cover the threads to help with o-ring installation. Calipers are handy since valve shims aren’t labeled

gimmie11s · Aug 21, 2023

Very, very cool. It's a matter of time for me before I dive into this.

Pearce · Aug 21, 2023

Rockcrawlindude said:
Rig looks awesome. Always fun getting the shocks dialed in. I assume you’re not doing much rock crawling in Florida so shoot me a message when you come north Alabama/ Tennessee etc.

Back at Hawk Pride Oct 7th weekend.

Pearce · Aug 21, 2023

gimmie11s said:
Very, very cool. It's a matter of time for me before I dive into this.

I completely changed the shim stacks from what I ordered 10 years ago for the previous crawler. Now I have heavy compression stack and light rebound stack. I'm fortunate to have a friend that has a lot of knowledge in valving. He guided me to a good starting point but I may have to take them apart a few times to dial in compression/rebound perfectly. Before you dive into research how you want to change valving so you're in the ballpark to begin with.