|
|
|
|
|
Project C4 - blog
The story of converting a 1979 Wheel Horse C-101
into a Four Wheel drive Monster.
|
31st Aug 2010 |
Where it all began...
a 1979 C-101 built in the Amnor factory,
Belgium.
|
22nd Apr 2011 |
Shiny
After a part restore and paint it was ready
for the 2011 show season.
|
25th Jun 2013 |
Thinking...
Fast forward a few years, and my plans to
make a four wheel drive conversion kit were underway. (I was at the
serious thinking stage)
I was looking for a donor axle from a
small tractor or mower. I had contemplated front diff housings from
several quads - Kawasaki KLF400, Honda TRX350. They were all suitable
but I needed to make the axle and carriers to support the standard quad
hubs and wheels.
Luckily before things got too serious an
almost perfect fit came up.
|
7th Jul 2013
|
Big Wheels!
I'd always wanted to put some wide wheels
on, and a pair of 12" rims came to me for £6 ($10). The offset needed
fixing, but not too hard, and I had a pair of Argocat tyres from an
earlier deal I'd been saving for a rainy day :)
The kids think it looks a bit mad, but I
like them...
|
9th Aug 2013 |
More thinking...
I discovered an axle from an MTD Yardman AWS
mower might just fit the bill.
Here's the first prototype sketch
|
22nd Sept 2013 |
The day arrives...
An opportunity to buy and axle from a mower
that was being split came up, a bid was made and within days I had an
axle and wheels.
Now I had to come up with a plan to pull
it all together...
|
13th Oct 2013 |
Day one
One of the first things was to lose the
giant pulley, it wouldn't be running at engine speed and I needed space
to make the mounts and add some proper steering. The old pulley was
split in order to get the splined hub from the centre. This was then
turned down on the lathe until it fit inside a 1210 x1" taper lock bush.
|
14th Oct 2013 |
Steering
The old steering arms were extended in order
to get the correct akerman angle. A new trackrod was made so that the
two sides were nicely connected. I managed to reuse the old trackrod
ends which was a bonus!
|
19th Oct 2013 |
Plans
During my time away at work, I managed to
come up with a way of mounting the axle. Here's the first 3Dsketch.
Followed by lots of cutting... 3/8" RSJ
is thick stuff to get through!
It was worth it
Here's the 'kit' required in order to
mount the axle
|
20th Oct 2013 |
Does it fit?
Rather than strip the C-101 down I decided
to use my old Raider 10 chassis in order to work out the steering. I
just used a long pin to locate the axle in the usual location.
|
25th Oct 2013 |
Wheels!
The original rears of the yardman were old
turf tyres and not really fitting for a 4WD tractor.
So I ordered these bad boys, and they
came today
And together it looks like this, I can
now visualise the size of things - the front end is approx 4 inch higher
than standard.
|
27th Oct 2013 |
Steering part 2
I had to try to find a way to keep things
simple and reuse as much of the existing tractor. The result was very
simple and effective... just use the existing steering setup with an
additional drag link to one side.
|
3rd Nov 2013 |
Gears and linkages
You may have noticed on the axle cradle that
there was a small tab welded on the bottom (see pic above). This was for
the 4WD selector - which will eventually be on the transmission tunnel.
Here's the first part of the linkage that
has to get from the underside up to the chassis.
|
13th Nov 2013 |
Bits and bobs...
In order to reduce the angle of the drag
link a small collar was turned down and welded onto the steering arm.
Tabs were also welded onto the bottom as
well as some stops on the cradle. These are to reduce the steering
travel and prevent the UJ's being damaged.
|
17th Nov 2013 |
Pins...
In order to complete the mounting of the
axle a new heavy duty steel pin was made for the axle pivot.
Complete with grease point.
|
24th Nov 2013 |
Now you see it...
Now you don't
Now with axle
and wheels
And the landmark picture, on all fours
for the first time
|
25th Nov 2013 |
Well it had to be done...
A few pics just to pose and see how it
looks, check out the articulation!!!
and I made a small mod to the hood decal
|
4th Dec 2013 |
The race is on...
Now it's on all fours I need
to get the transmission sorted. First step calculate the gear ratios
between front and rear.
I know the rear brake drum
runs at 12.28:1 compared to the rear axle, and the new front axle is
27:1. So by entering a few known numbers - tyre sizes and preferred
pulley sizes the calculator works out the correct numbers for me!
next job... turning the
inside of a brake drum to fit a 31 tooth 08B sprocket.
Next job, working out the
intermediate tensioner...
|
11th Dec 2013 |
Slots...
In order to transfer drive I need an
intermediate drive with at least two keyways cutting. So a bit of time
with some 30mm bar, I came up with this.
In conjunction with a 3/32 slot drill I
now get this
Which is perfect for 5/8 taper lock
bushes.
|
13th Dec 2013 |
Nearly there...
First mock up of the intermediate arms, this
was to set the belt length and ensure everything cleared.
Followed by cutting some side plates and
turning some bushes down.
The lower carrier takes standard 5/8
bearings
Another dry run, but without the wood...
|
14th Dec 2013 |
D Day...
An early start this morning sees me put a
tensioner together out of an old cutter deck.
Round the other side it's looking even
better
Which can only mean one thing...
Test drive!!
How did it drive? one word
awesome!!! Video footage to follow...
|
15th Dec 2013 |
Video...
Here's the first video footage, sorry about
the quality... It was recorded HD 1920x1080p30 @ 48Mbps - which is a
little high for most video editors to process.
|
21st Dec 2013 |
More video...
Slightly better quality video this time - my
first time using Sony vegas pro. I had to finish off the testing ahead
of stripping it down to finish the odds and sods!
|
22nd Dec 2013 |
Final fixes - taking it apart
Quite a few people have commented on the
front end being high, and I thought I'd take the take to correct some of
this by lifting the backend up 2 inches.
A small bracket was made to weld on the
underside of the transmission mount.
Then welded in
|
23rd Dec 2013 |
Bug fixing
Quite a few downsides to dropping the rear,
gear linkages won't work. The brake rod is too short, the belt will not
route and the guard won't fit!
Here's another small issue:
The chain is now 1/2 link too short... no
worry.. I have a 1/2 link in stock
|
28th Dec 2014 |
Knobs and linkages
I completed the rest of the 4WD selector and
started putting things back together!
|
4th Jan 2014 |
More painting
Slow updates and boring, it's been quite a
lazy xmas - but for stripping the front end and painting.
First Coat
4WD Selector added and painted.
Heavy duty pin painted and grease groove
added as clearance was too small to get grease through...
|
11th Jan 2014
|
Back together...
All ready to play again
|
5th July 2014 |
Been a while
Long time since the last update, Project C4
has been to two shows so far this year. It was worked hard at the Bronte
Vintage Gathering pulling a trailer in the mud for 3 days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back
|
|
©2014 Arpeggi8
designs |