I feel dumb even admitting this, but im currently in the process of fabbing a mini blower onto the dumb thing and adding a jackshaft to probably do 40. RIP me . . . why cant I be normal lol
A 2 barrel Holley jetted right would trip people up about as much as the maverick carb... I've seen a few comments about putting an automotive carb on a mower next.... always entertaining and wonderfully crazy my friend.
Those twin cylinder Briggs motors sound amazing with dual straight pipes, run a couple of exhaust stacks off that motor and you'll love the sound (if you don't do a turbo).
I put something like this together years ago, but I used one of those constant velocity type pulley systems on a single speed transaxle. It was a lot of fun until I realized it would go pretty quickly in reverse. BAD IDEA. I hadn't planned on going all that fast, but things quickly got out of hand. The steering had a tiny bit of toe in, when going forward, which kept it going more or less straight. Even with the wheel held steady it started swerving around violently almost immediately. I had to stick my feet out to the sides and drag the ground to keep it from flipping over. Unfortunately the longer your feet are off the pedal, the faster it goes. So, there I was, going backward at what seemed to be incredible speed on a mower doing it's best to flip over, and or fling me off wondering if this was how I was going to die. I finally managed to pry one hand off the wheel just long enough to hit the kill switch and somehow managed to keep it upright long enough to get it stopped. I guess all that should be a warning to anyone who builds one of these.
I'm dead from laughing, imagining this . . . all I did with my rider was flip the front pulley so that the bigger pulley was on the bottom & that was enough for me & in the yard it sits . . . I absolutely recommend keeping the seat kill switch operating as it should & never get on a hill of any grade sideways . . .runaway mowers are a bitch to catch up with on foot LoL
Ah, this brought a smile to my face. Offroading and other dumb stuff with lawn and garden tractors, is the bulk of my channel content! Now... Since you've done the Briggs carb on the Maverick, can we expect to see a Holley 4-barrel on this mower??? LOL Always enjoy the content, Luke! Cheers from Canada!
Tires can make all the difference. I have basically a mini pickup truck based on a lawn tractor and it has atv tires on the rear axle. Combine that with the fact it has a 10.5hp briggs, 3 spd transaxle (with a smaller pulley), and a steel body, not only can it out run my actual lawn tractor (despite the lawn tractor being more powerful) but also gets stuck a lot less as well.
@@jamesb1221222 Hah, actually forgot I had a video of it. That video was pretty early on (before the atv tires even). Wish I could say I built it, but my neighbor actually gave it to me (he bought it from the guy who built it). If I had actually built it, I would have for sure changed the wheelbase so there is less rear overhang, the thing cannot take much tongue weight on a trailer before becoming a wheelie machine. But other than that the thing has been pretty dang useful.
I've been looking for ways to add sort of a solid cab, weatherproof toolboxes and a dumping bed to my 1987 Craftsman II GT18 garden tractor. I wonder if what you have is custom made or if it was manufactured that way.
@@Daa253 It was custom made. If I look under it I can still see parts of the frame from the lawn tractor it was made from (not sure what kind of lawn tractor to this day though). Story is guy that built it, built it as a toy for his kids since he had some land.
Thanks for the laughs today man, you have no idea how much I needed this. Yes, fix the steering first but don't let us down Uncle Luke! I vote for an even bigger pulley in the front. Don't say it can't be done. You are the guy that made a lawnmower carb run your Maverick!
Well Luke you just proved our wife’s right when they say us guys never grow up. Then what the hell is the fun in growing up. This truly was a fun video. Thanks and best to you as always. My son says you should put a four barrel carb on the mower Bill in Fort Wayne Indiana
Not sure of that year model but my Dad bought a monkey ward riding mow in 1988 it had a 18 horse B%G motor they and the grandkids mowed 12 acres of yard and around a 6 acre pond for 15 years no repairs but blades tires and oil changes Folks that was the toughest peace of equipment I have ever seen Great video Luke!!!
Yea it was most likely a "re-badged" Roper ( Sears did this also),they were a substantial unit. Then later MTD brought their "scrap" ( all vertical shaft engines) to the market & they became "through-away " junkers--but at a good price point!
"Monkey Wards"... ROFL! I don't think I've heard that name since the 90s or possibly even the 80s from around the time I last set foot into an actual Montgomery Wards store before they started closing them down. It has been quite some time. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't remember the last time I set foot in a Sears either. Yikes! 🤔🇺🇸 - Max Giganteum
@@MaxGiganteum the last one in my town closed and Walmart came in it's place ....it was one of the anchor stores on the end of a mall. Strangely enough....they tore they whole structure down and built a new structure on in it's place ....about the same square footage
Nice Luke you're going to have a good time with that unit. I still got my speeding ticket hanging on the wall of my garage for doing 65 mph in 25 mph zone. Best weekend ever
I had an old 8hp ride-on mower from W.T. Grant's back 40+ years ago. Had an actual 3spd gearbox w/reverse and "H" pattern shifter. Redlined, dump the clutch you could lift the front a good foot off the ground for 10ft or so. Top speed sucked but it was hell on fire out of the hole! 😁 Plus I could do a whole yard in 20 minutes!
You are very normal. I have raced and built racing lawn mowers using Brigg's Vanguard and Honda GX motors. About the steering is to remove the tractors front axle and build a racing style front axle with spindels and tierods. I had a blast doing what I did now my grandsons and granddaughter want me to build them racing tractors. Keep up the good work on your tractor.
My neighbor has one that will do over 50. There is a racing club up here and they have sanctioned races. He speed shifts it like a motorcycle. They even plow a racetrack on the ice during the winter. Studs, screws, ect.
Great score for free! I have a 1968 Charger 12 Wheelhorse that I'm putting a Predator 459 on, along with a winch and other goodies. Can't wait to see your progress on this!
This video takes me back to when I was a kid and would mess with anything that had blow bang and spark. Loved trying to make things go faster or go at all
The first few seconds and I'm like, "That's awesome." I have been trying to do one of my own for a while now, but it never seems to get off the ground. Heck, the engine is currently only mocked up. Anyways, love to see it. Have a Blessed Day.
Hell yeah, Briggs twin! Love those. I own.....three. Two 12.5 HP models in lawn tractors, one 18 HP on the shelf. For that starter, just remove, disassemble and grease the bushings. Easy job.
When I did this like 17 yrs ago, I used a gate hinge for a gas pedal and had it connected to the governor so I could A: run wide open B: modulate the throttle when doing wheelies. That thing was dangerous 😂
Your efforts reminded me of a couple of things. 1) My granddad purpose build a homemade tractor, not a doodlebug, from auto parts powered by a Model A motor back in 1942, and still had it running when I was a kid. Short wheel base, no springs, and worn out brakes made it a handful and it would get up and go faster than one would like, even with the low geared Model TT rear end. It wouldn’t hold a candle to a Fordson, but it did it’s job when the civilian tractor supplies dried up during the war. 2), I was given a really old rear engine, tiller steered rider - so old it came with solid hard rubber tires. Had a Clinton motor. It wasn’t very useful for mowing so I took off the blade and skirting and adjusted the throttle linkage to open up wider. It made one run at a faster pace it was designed until half way thru the run it let out a solid stream of blue smoke. I wished I’d kept the tractor seat. Anyway, I did learn something about how more modern lawn tractors work.
I'm a sucker for free stuff and fixing it to get it going, even when I don't need it or want it instead of spending valuable time on other more important projects!🤣
I love this project and can't wait to see more souped-up lawn tractor antics! Just please, PLEASE wear a helmet while you're doing so, that thing looks pretty unstable and you only have to get unlucky once to end up getting tossed and cracking your head on the ground.
Don't forget about broken: - fingers - wrists - elbows - ankles - knees - hips - ribs - necks aaaannnddddd torn ligaments, muscles, etc. Don't forget road rash either. I'm not saying don't ride it but... ugh. And people think motorcycles are unsafe! 🤦🏻♂️ Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into when constructing a potential deathtrap. It's all fun & games until the trip to the hospital. 🏥🚑👨🏻⚕️⚕️ - Max Giganteum
Seems to me that you need to use the same line in an all new video aimed at JYD... when it's true! Just food for thought and best wishes! 👍🏻🇺🇸😁 - Max Giganteum
This is fun to do. My son did this to one, thing tops out at 40 mph. All his had for induction is a small Chinese dirt bike carb. Still plenty of power to wheelie, and to blow the rear end to Narnia as well.
Luke, your alright man. I like your videos, Your ideas, and your commentary/sense of humor. I've also learned quite a bit. Please keep up the good work, you too Joe. 👍🏻😄👍🏻
I'll admit that I haven't watched this video yet.. I'm chomping at the bit for your tuner controller information to adapt a lawnmower carb on my engine.. enjoy your videos👍🍻
I just need to twist my arm to go inside and do it after work. We only get 4 months of warm weather in Iowa and I have a really hard time sitting inside working on electronics when it's warm out - especially after I'm a heavy automation programmer all day
@@ThunderHead289 okay.. definitely understandable. I'll just keep watching out for it.. at your leisure my friend, just as long as it's down the road! I'm wanting to adapt it to a 460. I think the low end torque of the engine might be good. Maybe a bit bigger carb, not sure. I'm going to figure it out for a '70 Torino. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I understand that crap takes time and effort on top of a full time job. Keep up the good work!🇺🇸👍LGB
I recently picked up a mid 70's Ranch King with a similar steering issue. I'm gonna swap out the seized 10 horse Briggs with a 22 h.p. Tecumseh Enduro V twin, and experiment with some belts & pulleys... THEN... I'll work on the steering.😁
True story! Grew up in a suburban allotment where each family had an acre of land, so our Dads all had garden tractors for mowing. Of course, we kids all hot rod-ed them behind their backs. My Dad had a Cub Cadet with a cast iron frame and that thing wouldn't wheel stand worth a crap. But my one buddy's Dad had a Wheel Horse...shoulda been called a "Wheelie Horse"! That thing would throw you off the back if you weren't careful! So he went into metal shop one day and fashioned a wheelie bar with a caster on the bottom and came home and attached it to the hitch plate. He could then pull extended 12"-14" wheel stands all day long. One day after school, he fired up the Wheelie Horse and popped the clutch. For some reason, it popped so violently that it threw him off the back. (I can still visualize all this in my mind in slow motion almost 60 years later!) As he was falling off, he reached out and grabbed the only thing he could reach which was the throttle. So he's being drug behind the tractor holding on with his left hand to the only thing he can which is a wide open throttle, all the time headed straight for his brother's beautiful, gold, freshly painted 1963 Pontiac Catalina! Somehow, My buddy managed to shove the throttle forward at the last possible second bringing the front tires of the tractor down on the rear bumper of the Catalina with such frictional force that as the tractor went down, the Catalina went up the full travel of the suspension. Miraculously, not a single scratch was applied to the Pontiac! The enamel paint on this car was so fresh you could still smell it. A few days later, we got off the school bus and walked past the Catalina to see my buddy's cat standing squarely in the center of the hood of that gorgeous car! My brother reached over and scooped up the cat who immediately sunk all four claws into the still soft enamel! Good times...!
I’ve got a similar mower that I swapped pollies on and it’s got a 18 hp that looks just like that 16 does 10 so double the original speed. Love to go faster but I still use it to mow in the lower gears 😂
Just a thought Luke: would it be worth widening it a bit? The steering might be less violent and you'd be less likely to roll the brute. Can the rear wheels maybe be turned round, or just add spacers?
Here’s an idea, to make it better. Chop the frame, lower the driving position while moving the rear axle back, scrap the belt drive and put in a driveshaft, and you’d have a go-kart roadster. (If I had an old lawn tractor myself, I’d sure try that.)
Cool mower! they are really hard to find nowadays with that Twin brigg 16hp eng. Took me 3-4 years to find a replacement for my 1977 Gear drive model, i've had 3 of those now and i SWEAR by it... They are the most heavily built, (more like overly built) TANKS... almost nothing can touch these. After the redesign in the 1978-9 or so they were still good but just not as heavy and different dash design like yours. But not so collectible. Small community of guys who do collect them
lol You are really carrying the torch on mower performance. A couple nails jambed into that clapped out steering bushing should get you that open-wheel racecar handling you desire. :)
As a good friend of mine said to me after visiting my shop and looking at some of my WILD INVENTIONS... Just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should do a thing! as he threw his leg over his Roadking and rode off with a big smile on his face.I hadn't even shown him the good stuff yet!
That was one sweet looking vintage metal gas can you were using in the opening scenes. In our current clown world you can’t even buy a normal gas can anymore 😕
My Allis from the 60s has a real 3-speed floor shifter and a 10hp motor. I really want to do something silly with it someday, but it actually serves us well for yard use still.
This brings back memories ... my parents didn't allow me and my brothers ATVs or drit bike, so we had to make own fun. We would buy lawn tractors and pulley swap them rip them up and down the street, Yes very sketchy. My older brother still has his.
I like your modifications, they really make sense if you think about it. Steering is an issue as your speed increases. Certainly not designed to go very fast, hmm, gotta get control of that beast! Kool project.
Went to the lawnmower races at the county fair once, didn't want to go through it would be boring as hell and stupid. It was actually very entertaining! They raced on a flat circle track, mostly on two or three wheels.
A good idea is to lower that tractor down a few inches. It will make it way less prone to tipping. Also I enjoyed your beginning to the video. It gives off major Red Green Show vibes.
Hey Uncle Luke, I’d like to see you widen the wheel track by cutting and welding the front end to add 6” or more beyond the guards. Could also sleeve the rear axles and widen, but would need to support them with bearing journals so the extra leverage from lengthening the axles doesn’t burst the trans casting where they come out. That should make turning at speed more practical so you can go harder. Oh and wheelie bars for a better launch and larger diameter wheels front and back. Come to think of it, better repair the broken bushing where the steering arm comes through. 😀
Oh for the love of Michael W Smith... do NOT encourage him nor give him any ideas! If he kills himself, we don't get any new video footage you dolt! 🤦🏻♂️👎🏻🇺🇸😉 - Max Giganteum
Add a bushing to get the slop out of the steering and make it a dually. The extra tires will help you from rolling over. For extra fun drop the seat down and back, it'll lower your center of gravity.
I did this to a lawn mower I got from my neighbor for free. Then I decided to put a bunch of go kart parts on it. That doubled the speed, cut the weight probably in half, and lowered the center of gravity. Thing freaking rips.
You got a lawn mover carb on a V-8, now it's time for a V-8 carb on a lawn mower! Boosted, it should even be more fun! (Maybe some wheelie bars, for safety?)
I think the first mod should be wheelie bars, I am sure you have a couple of odd & end springs that could be adapted to a piece of pipe & some small wheels or skids to ensure you don't backflip that sucker. Probably best if we never work together, I imagine it would be too much fun.
Ever made an ultracapacitor battery? I built one for my mower, and my truck. Great for.projects that you dont use often, just charge and run for a few days, when left sitting there is no degradation.
I'm with you as far as boosting the performance 🤘 I've got a 20 horse Kawasaki and a John Deere that you just gave me some interesting ideas to mess with 😂
Yeah engine swap em ,don't build em unless you like wasting time. 12hp was ok on mine, then I swapped a 20hp. That was ok for a while. I came across a 30hp that needed work and that's fun again. Not sure where it'll stop.
I wonder if you could put tires from an old 3 or 4 wheeler would fit. Also the front steering could use a wider stance to help with stability. maybe even some sort of suspension on the thing if your going to make the rear end lock up.
Probably lots of tiny turbos off of Yanmar or Kubota diesels in IA. They're used on salt spreaders to power the hydraulic motors that do the salt slinging. Probably more AG applications that I'm not aware of too. Should be sized about right for that engine. If not, do what DieselMonkey did and use two of them.
I had a riding lawn mower with a Honda 650 motorcycle engine fabbed on never got out of first gear thing scared me to death. Be careful out there man hahah
I have two of the Ford YT16's and one was free and the other was a $30 and whatever you can fit in the truck can go with you. Found a $35 Ford LGT 42" blower and a 38" John Deere blower and was like... the LGT auger is more like a plow blade and the JD would make a nice cement mixer custom job or maybe now days one of the JD 42" ones. Well, when I came back three days back with the two 6K generators, that person noted he had an Ariens snowblower missing a part that like $200 NOS and I noted if the same model... I have two of those. Well, that got me thinking maybe I can use the best of them all two stage Ariens snow thrower front end for a custom snow thrower/blower. Not quite the blower you're thinking of... though interesting in my life. Definitely no need for speed with my riders & GT's.
Don't stop modifying it until you need to hang a parachute out back!!!😂 I've had a couple old "wheelstander" mowers. They are fun but what's really suicidal is go get an old cheap golf cart with a Yamaha gas engine, turn it up by playing with the carb & bending the governor & go do 50 in the field! I used to surprise & scare people when I took them for a ride around. I also built a small ramp & tried to impersonate the General Lee from time to time.
I put a turbo on a MTD snowblower with a 10hp Tecumseh. Good times, until the engine grenaded in the first run of a huge snowstorm. I admitted defeat and bought a HondaGX clone because 40" of snow and a long driveway arent fun by hand. I fed the turbo oil using a chevy truck oilpump externally mounted on a stand with oil lines and an intercooler on the auger housing, and the turbo was off of a Dodge Omni GLX, right after I got the blower tuned up and running great in stock trim, I found the head of a Omni with a turbo at the scrapyard... well worse things followed and there ya go. The fact that the oil looked lik antiseize each season should have been a bigger clue as to the health of that engine...
You have a twisted mind, but in a good way. I'm excited to see you drifting this rig on that gravel road at say, 60 mph. In my best Mexican accent, "you can do it"!!!!!!
Montgomery Ward... There's an oldie. We still have a "Ward Plaza" shopping center here that had one of those as an anchor, and it's still decorated with the best of the 70s. 🤣A thought: The steering might be terrible, because neither wheel doing the steering was on the ground...? 🤷♂ Looking forward to the blower experiment!
I got a 70's model Simplicity Broadmoor rider mower last year and while the details of my situation are different than yours, the result is the same: I've got an "extra" thing to decide what to do with. And I came to the same conclusion, which is make it go fast. I haven't done anything with it yet but I like that you took the brake off the clutch pedal. What does your mower do now? Have you worked with it at all, or have you been busy with other projects?
I feel dumb even admitting this, but im currently in the process of fabbing a mini blower onto the dumb thing and adding a jackshaft to probably do 40. RIP me . . . why cant I be normal lol
I got no audio??
Me either ad had sound video no
Well I guess my suggestions of 2&4 Barrell Holley carbs were toooooo mild...lol
A 2 barrel Holley jetted right would trip people up about as much as the maverick carb... I've seen a few comments about putting an automotive carb on a mower next.... always entertaining and wonderfully crazy my friend.
Normal is boring, lame and overrated. Anybody can be normal because it's so easy.
Those twin cylinder Briggs motors sound amazing with dual straight pipes, run a couple of exhaust stacks off that motor and you'll love the sound (if you don't do a turbo).
I put something like this together years ago, but I used one of those constant velocity type pulley systems on a single speed transaxle. It was a lot of fun until I realized it would go pretty quickly in reverse. BAD IDEA. I hadn't planned on going all that fast, but things quickly got out of hand. The steering had a tiny bit of toe in, when going forward, which kept it going more or less straight. Even with the wheel held steady it started swerving around violently almost immediately. I had to stick my feet out to the sides and drag the ground to keep it from flipping over. Unfortunately the longer your feet are off the pedal, the faster it goes.
So, there I was, going backward at what seemed to be incredible speed on a mower doing it's best to flip over, and or fling me off wondering if this was how I was going to die. I finally managed to pry one hand off the wheel just long enough to hit the kill switch and somehow managed to keep it upright long enough to get it stopped. I guess all that should be a warning to anyone who builds one of these.
Yep... as fast in Rev as Forward is quite the shock to people that get on it and don't expect it.
Don't go backwards
@@Bellathebear777 Yeah, I kinda figured that out.
@@BD-xz6te only use speed setting one and idle in reverse
I'm dead from laughing, imagining this . . . all I did with my rider was flip the front pulley so that the bigger pulley was on the bottom & that was enough for me & in the yard it sits . . . I absolutely recommend keeping the seat kill switch operating as it should & never get on a hill of any grade sideways . . .runaway mowers are a bitch to catch up with on foot LoL
Ah, this brought a smile to my face. Offroading and other dumb stuff with lawn and garden tractors, is the bulk of my channel content! Now... Since you've done the Briggs carb on the Maverick, can we expect to see a Holley 4-barrel on this mower??? LOL
Always enjoy the content, Luke! Cheers from Canada!
Tires can make all the difference. I have basically a mini pickup truck based on a lawn tractor and it has atv tires on the rear axle. Combine that with the fact it has a 10.5hp briggs, 3 spd transaxle (with a smaller pulley), and a steel body, not only can it out run my actual lawn tractor (despite the lawn tractor being more powerful) but also gets stuck a lot less as well.
Saw your vid, that thing looks pretty sweet! (and practical) Was thinking about building one like that myself
@@jamesb1221222 Hah, actually forgot I had a video of it. That video was pretty early on (before the atv tires even). Wish I could say I built it, but my neighbor actually gave it to me (he bought it from the guy who built it).
If I had actually built it, I would have for sure changed the wheelbase so there is less rear overhang, the thing cannot take much tongue weight on a trailer before becoming a wheelie machine. But other than that the thing has been pretty dang useful.
Lock the front axle pivot and lock the diff and it's instant race mower territory.
I've been looking for ways to add sort of a solid cab, weatherproof toolboxes and a dumping bed to my 1987 Craftsman II GT18 garden tractor. I wonder if what you have is custom made or if it was manufactured that way.
@@Daa253 It was custom made. If I look under it I can still see parts of the frame from the lawn tractor it was made from (not sure what kind of lawn tractor to this day though). Story is guy that built it, built it as a toy for his kids since he had some land.
Thanks for the laughs today man, you have no idea how much I needed this. Yes, fix the steering first but don't let us down Uncle Luke! I vote for an even bigger pulley in the front. Don't say it can't be done. You are the guy that made a lawnmower carb run your Maverick!
Good thing you're an expert on lawn mower carbs!
Well Luke you just proved our wife’s right when they say us guys never grow up. Then what the hell is the fun in growing up. This truly was a fun video. Thanks and best to you as always. My son says you should put a four barrel carb on the mower
Bill in Fort Wayne Indiana
Not sure of that year model but my Dad bought a monkey ward riding mow in 1988 it had a 18 horse B%G motor they and the grandkids mowed 12 acres of yard and around a 6 acre pond for 15 years no repairs but blades tires and oil changes Folks that was the toughest peace of equipment I have ever seen Great video Luke!!!
Those we're actually built by MTD... Lots of spares to be had as MTD outsourced to a lot of brands ....and were usually on the more inexpensive side
I'd love to throw my 30hp on that.
I've currently got a Deutz Allis 612 of the late 80s vintage.
Fast mowers are a hoot.
Yea it was most likely a "re-badged" Roper ( Sears did this also),they were a substantial unit. Then later MTD brought their "scrap" ( all vertical shaft engines) to the market & they became "through-away " junkers--but at a good price point!
"Monkey Wards"... ROFL! I don't think I've heard that name since the 90s or possibly even the 80s from around the time I last set foot into an actual Montgomery Wards store before they started closing them down. It has been quite some time. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't remember the last time I set foot in a Sears either. Yikes! 🤔🇺🇸
- Max Giganteum
@@MaxGiganteum the last one in my town closed and Walmart came in it's place ....it was one of the anchor stores on the end of a mall. Strangely enough....they tore they whole structure down and built a new structure on in it's place ....about the same square footage
Nice Luke you're going to have a good time with that unit.
I still got my speeding ticket hanging on the wall of my garage for doing 65 mph in 25 mph zone. Best weekend ever
this feels too much like a Red Green episode with the voiceover in the beginning 🤣 love this one!
That voice over was from the original Duke of Hazzard. Lol
I had an old 8hp ride-on mower from W.T. Grant's back 40+ years ago. Had an actual 3spd gearbox w/reverse and "H" pattern shifter. Redlined, dump the clutch you could lift the front a good foot off the ground for 10ft or so. Top speed sucked but it was hell on fire out of the hole! 😁 Plus I could do a whole yard in 20 minutes!
I think you best summed up this whole episode with the genuine 'Good grief!'
You are very normal. I have raced and built racing lawn mowers using Brigg's Vanguard and Honda GX motors. About the steering is to remove the tractors front axle and build a racing style front axle with spindels and tierods. I had a blast doing what I did now my grandsons and granddaughter want me to build them racing tractors. Keep up the good work on your tractor.
My neighbor has one that will do over 50. There is a racing club up here and they have sanctioned races. He speed shifts it like a motorcycle. They even plow a racetrack on the ice during the winter. Studs, screws, ect.
Great score for free! I have a 1968 Charger 12 Wheelhorse that I'm putting a Predator 459 on, along with a winch and other goodies. Can't wait to see your progress on this!
Niiiice! That old Briggs opposed twin was a strong little power plant
This video takes me back to when I was a kid and would mess with anything that had blow bang and spark. Loved trying to make things go faster or go at all
The first few seconds and I'm like, "That's awesome." I have been trying to do one of my own for a while now, but it never seems to get off the ground. Heck, the engine is currently only mocked up. Anyways, love to see it. Have a Blessed Day.
Hell yeah, Briggs twin! Love those. I own.....three. Two 12.5 HP models in lawn tractors, one 18 HP on the shelf. For that starter, just remove, disassemble and grease the bushings. Easy job.
When I did this like 17 yrs ago, I used a gate hinge for a gas pedal and had it connected to the governor so I could A: run wide open B: modulate the throttle when doing wheelies. That thing was dangerous 😂
Wear a helmet and get some wheelie bars on that tractor Uncle Luke! Gotta protect that melon of yours--don't want you to go Gary Busey on us!
Montgomery Ward?! Dayum, the last one of those went out of business back in the 1990s in my neck of the woods!
This is giving me cars and cameras racing mower flashbacks. Be safe buddy
Your efforts reminded me of a couple of things. 1) My granddad purpose build a homemade tractor, not a doodlebug, from auto parts powered by a Model A motor back in 1942, and still had it running when I was a kid. Short wheel base, no springs, and worn out brakes made it a handful and it would get up and go faster than one would like, even with the low geared Model TT rear end. It wouldn’t hold a candle to a Fordson, but it did it’s job when the civilian tractor supplies dried up during the war. 2), I was given a really old rear engine, tiller steered rider - so old it came with solid hard rubber tires. Had a Clinton motor. It wasn’t very useful for mowing so I took off the blade and skirting and adjusted the throttle linkage to open up wider. It made one run at a faster pace it was designed until half way thru the run it let out a solid stream of blue smoke. I wished I’d kept the tractor seat. Anyway, I did learn something about how more modern lawn tractors work.
I'm a sucker for free stuff and fixing it to get it going, even when I don't need it or want it instead of spending valuable time on other more important projects!🤣
Sound track Justin Johnson is amazing ! Love seeing more ! Do more collaboration with Kevin! You to together are unstoppable!
I love this project and can't wait to see more souped-up lawn tractor antics! Just please, PLEASE wear a helmet while you're doing so, that thing looks pretty unstable and you only have to get unlucky once to end up getting tossed and cracking your head on the ground.
Don't forget about broken:
- fingers
- wrists
- elbows
- ankles
- knees
- hips
- ribs
- necks
aaaannnddddd torn ligaments, muscles, etc. Don't forget road rash either. I'm not saying don't ride it but... ugh. And people think motorcycles are unsafe! 🤦🏻♂️ Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into when constructing a potential deathtrap. It's all fun & games until the trip to the hospital. 🏥🚑👨🏻⚕️⚕️
- Max Giganteum
You can take Luke out of the trailer park, but you can't get the trailer park attitude out of good old Luke.
Thanks for the joy and I would give you 2 if I had it. Great day to you and your family, God bless.
Always cool to see people do fun stuff like this for cheap. Good choice of music too, Justin Johnson knocks it out.
Tell the wife to put the Orthopedic Surgeon on speed dial 🤣
"I bet you my lawn mowers faster than yours peckerwood" hahaha from the satellite revival
Dude my wife has been trolling me with that line ever since I started messing with this thing
Seems to me that you need to use the same line in an all new video aimed at JYD... when it's true! Just food for thought and best wishes! 👍🏻🇺🇸😁
- Max Giganteum
if you did that in Australia the council would have the guy with a clipboard and safety jacket knocking!
This is fun to do. My son did this to one, thing tops out at 40 mph. All his had for induction is a small Chinese dirt bike carb. Still plenty of power to wheelie, and to blow the rear end to Narnia as well.
Thanks for the dukes reference at 9min you made my day.
Grew up on the dukes, John Wayne, and star trek lol
Luke, your alright man. I like your videos, Your ideas, and your commentary/sense of humor. I've also learned quite a bit. Please keep up the good work, you too Joe. 👍🏻😄👍🏻
I'll admit that I haven't watched this video yet.. I'm chomping at the bit for your tuner controller information to adapt a lawnmower carb on my engine.. enjoy your videos👍🍻
I just need to twist my arm to go inside and do it after work. We only get 4 months of warm weather in Iowa and I have a really hard time sitting inside working on electronics when it's warm out - especially after I'm a heavy automation programmer all day
@@ThunderHead289 okay.. definitely understandable. I'll just keep watching out for it.. at your leisure my friend, just as long as it's down the road!
I'm wanting to adapt it to a 460. I think the low end torque of the engine might be good. Maybe a bit bigger carb, not sure. I'm going to figure it out for a '70 Torino. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I understand that crap takes time and effort on top of a full time job. Keep up the good work!🇺🇸👍LGB
I recently picked up a mid 70's Ranch King with a similar steering issue. I'm gonna swap out the seized 10 horse Briggs with a 22 h.p. Tecumseh Enduro V twin, and experiment with some belts & pulleys...
THEN... I'll work on the steering.😁
Thanks!
Those opposed twins are hard to kill and have a very unique sound.
True story! Grew up in a suburban allotment where each family had an acre of land, so our Dads all had garden tractors for mowing. Of course, we kids all hot rod-ed them behind their backs. My Dad had a Cub Cadet with a cast iron frame and that thing wouldn't wheel stand worth a crap. But my one buddy's Dad had a Wheel Horse...shoulda been called a "Wheelie Horse"! That thing would throw you off the back if you weren't careful! So he went into metal shop one day and fashioned a wheelie bar with a caster on the bottom and came home and attached it to the hitch plate. He could then pull extended 12"-14" wheel stands all day long. One day after school, he fired up the Wheelie Horse and popped the clutch. For some reason, it popped so violently that it threw him off the back. (I can still visualize all this in my mind in slow motion almost 60 years later!) As he was falling off, he reached out and grabbed the only thing he could reach which was the throttle. So he's being drug behind the tractor holding on with his left hand to the only thing he can which is a wide open throttle, all the time headed straight for his brother's beautiful, gold, freshly painted 1963 Pontiac Catalina! Somehow, My buddy managed to shove the throttle forward at the last possible second bringing the front tires of the tractor down on the rear bumper of the Catalina with such frictional force that as the tractor went down, the Catalina went up the full travel of the suspension. Miraculously, not a single scratch was applied to the Pontiac! The enamel paint on this car was so fresh you could still smell it. A few days later, we got off the school bus and walked past the Catalina to see my buddy's cat standing squarely in the center of the hood of that gorgeous car! My brother reached over and scooped up the cat who immediately sunk all four claws into the still soft enamel! Good times...!
Getter done man.... I've done the same thing and lived through it. Put a bearing on the steering instead of the plastic bushing. 👍
I’ve got a similar mower that I swapped pollies on and it’s got a 18 hp that looks just like that 16 does 10 so double the original speed. Love to go faster but I still use it to mow in the lower gears 😂
Just a thought Luke: would it be worth widening it a bit? The steering might be less violent and you'd be less likely to roll the brute. Can the rear wheels maybe be turned round, or just add spacers?
Awesome. Keep working on it and while your welding the diff I would add trans fluid or gear oil to the trans.
Here’s an idea, to make it better. Chop the frame, lower the driving position while moving the rear axle back, scrap the belt drive and put in a driveshaft, and you’d have a go-kart roadster.
(If I had an old lawn tractor myself, I’d sure try that.)
I love the red green show style intro to the lawn mower
Cool mower! they are really hard to find nowadays with that Twin brigg 16hp eng. Took me 3-4 years to find a replacement for my 1977 Gear drive model, i've had 3 of those now and i SWEAR by it... They are the most heavily built, (more like overly built) TANKS... almost nothing can touch these. After the redesign in the 1978-9 or so they were still good but just not as heavy and different dash design like yours. But not so collectible. Small community of guys who do collect them
lol You are really carrying the torch on mower performance. A couple nails jambed into that clapped out steering bushing should get you that open-wheel racecar handling you desire. :)
Awesome! If you get those axels lengthened for more stability, would be one killer mower
Taryl Fixes All. You might want to consider a roll cage or a helmet if you take it much further.
As a good friend of mine said to me after visiting my shop and looking at some of my WILD INVENTIONS... Just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should do a thing! as he threw his leg over his Roadking and rode off with a big smile on his face.I hadn't even shown him the good stuff yet!
I love those opposed twins. Great engine. Nice work.
That was one sweet looking vintage metal gas can you were using in the opening scenes. In our current clown world you can’t even buy a normal gas can anymore 😕
Blame the enviro-wackos for that... 👎🏻😠🤦🏻♂️
- Max Giganteum
I heard years ago you can use a smog pump off a Ford to supercharge small engines, not sure I ever really believed that.
My Allis from the 60s has a real 3-speed floor shifter and a 10hp motor. I really want to do something silly with it someday, but it actually serves us well for yard use still.
Absolutely love this and excited for a series revolving around that little beast 🤣🤣
This brings back memories ... my parents didn't allow me and my brothers ATVs or drit bike, so we had to make own fun. We would buy lawn tractors and pulley swap them rip them up and down the street, Yes very sketchy. My older brother still has his.
Locking a pivoting front end is one of the best mods to smooth em out.
Excellent video Luke :) also lots fun for on ride tractor and going super fast 👍 too!
I like your modifications, they really make sense if you think about it. Steering is an issue as your speed increases. Certainly not designed to go very fast, hmm, gotta get control of that beast! Kool project.
I have a 283 inn my shead waiting for a similar project.... Keep up the fun work!
I love your epilogue and syncing of the crank fan to the camera shutter rate, and everything else about all your episodes too
A helmet, harness and roll cage, wheelie bars and a parachute sound about right 😎
Love your content,glad you started posting more!!!
Went to the lawnmower races at the county fair once, didn't want to go through it would be boring as hell and stupid. It was actually very entertaining! They raced on a flat circle track, mostly on two or three wheels.
The rear ends on those are usually filled with grease if you replace it with gear oil they last longer
I plan to do that and weld it. It's actually extremely wore out - so well see what happens. Wouldn't be surprised if a jackshaft ends up back there
A good idea is to lower that tractor down a few inches. It will make it way less prone to tipping. Also I enjoyed your beginning to the video. It gives off major Red Green Show vibes.
Trying out everything... except mowing the grass with it! I completely understand, lol!
Heck, I didn't even think of using it for what it was made for 😅
Hey Uncle Luke, I’d like to see you widen the wheel track by cutting and welding the front end to add 6” or more beyond the guards. Could also sleeve the rear axles and widen, but would need to support them with bearing journals so the extra leverage from lengthening the axles doesn’t burst the trans casting where they come out. That should make turning at speed more practical so you can go harder. Oh and wheelie bars for a better launch and larger diameter wheels front and back. Come to think of it, better repair the broken bushing where the steering arm comes through. 😀
Oh for the love of Michael W Smith... do NOT encourage him nor give him any ideas! If he kills himself, we don't get any new video footage you dolt! 🤦🏻♂️👎🏻🇺🇸😉
- Max Giganteum
Definitely wanna see more progress videos on that, huge racing mower fan
That's just SOOOOO awesome!! LOL. A little more speed and a little more danger ... EXCELLENT!!
Can't wait to see more videos on your off-road mower. Be very interesting to see how you turbo charge it.
Add a bushing to get the slop out of the steering and make it a dually. The extra tires will help you from rolling over. For extra fun drop the seat down and back, it'll lower your center of gravity.
Are you taking the lawnmower carb to another level
We got a local guy who gets everywhere on his mower. I'll have to retrofit his machine to cut down his travel times!
I think there's a certain scene from waterboy with Vicky that comes to mind here lol
@@ThunderHead289 That Vicky Valencourt, she's a nice girl!
Love the clip of Waylon Jennings inserted from one of the best TV shows ever made!
Sounds a hoot, theres a local lawn mower racing group near me. Might have to give it a go lol
Next time on free race mower building, we add a makeshift wheelie bar
I did this to a lawn mower I got from my neighbor for free. Then I decided to put a bunch of go kart parts on it. That doubled the speed, cut the weight probably in half, and lowered the center of gravity. Thing freaking rips.
Love that Waylon, Duke's quote.
You got a lawn mover carb on a V-8, now it's time for a V-8 carb on a lawn mower! Boosted, it should even be more fun! (Maybe some wheelie bars, for safety?)
I think the first mod should be wheelie bars, I am sure you have a couple of odd & end springs that could be adapted to a piece of pipe & some small wheels or skids to ensure you don't backflip that sucker. Probably best if we never work together, I imagine it would be too much fun.
Ever made an ultracapacitor battery? I built one for my mower, and my truck. Great for.projects that you dont use often, just charge and run for a few days, when left sitting there is no degradation.
That was a great video, made me laugh several times ... keep'em coming!
I'm with you as far as boosting the performance 🤘 I've got a 20 horse Kawasaki and a John Deere that you just gave me some interesting ideas to mess with 😂
Yeah engine swap em ,don't build em unless you like wasting time.
12hp was ok on mine, then I swapped a 20hp.
That was ok for a while.
I came across a 30hp that needed work and that's fun again.
Not sure where it'll stop.
Left Lane!
I wonder if you could put tires from an old 3 or 4 wheeler would fit. Also the front steering could use a wider stance to help with stability. maybe even some sort of suspension on the thing if your going to make the rear end lock up.
Probably lots of tiny turbos off of Yanmar or Kubota diesels in IA. They're used on salt spreaders to power the hydraulic motors that do the salt slinging. Probably more AG applications that I'm not aware of too. Should be sized about right for that engine. If not, do what DieselMonkey did and use two of them.
GPS unit for speed tests? Wheelie bars & a bit more caster in the front axle might help too.
That damn thing can REALLY move down the road 🙂🛣️
I like the look on the grill area!:) Have fun man I'll always watch:)
I had a riding lawn mower with a Honda 650 motorcycle engine fabbed on never got out of first gear thing scared me to death. Be careful out there man hahah
That’s what we do!
Love it!
God Bless
😎
I have two of the Ford YT16's and one was free and the other was a $30 and whatever you can fit in the truck can go with you. Found a $35 Ford LGT 42" blower and a 38" John Deere blower and was like... the LGT auger is more like a plow blade and the JD would make a nice cement mixer custom job or maybe now days one of the JD 42" ones. Well, when I came back three days back with the two 6K generators, that person noted he had an Ariens snowblower missing a part that like $200 NOS and I noted if the same model... I have two of those. Well, that got me thinking maybe I can use the best of them all two stage Ariens snow thrower front end for a custom snow thrower/blower. Not quite the blower you're thinking of... though interesting in my life. Definitely no need for speed with my riders & GT's.
Don't stop modifying it until you need to hang a parachute out back!!!😂 I've had a couple old "wheelstander" mowers. They are fun but what's really suicidal is go get an old cheap golf cart with a Yamaha gas engine, turn it up by playing with the carb & bending the governor & go do 50 in the field! I used to surprise & scare people when I took them for a ride around. I also built a small ramp & tried to impersonate the General Lee from time to time.
That unexpected wheelie take off scene gets me every time
I put a turbo on a MTD snowblower with a 10hp Tecumseh. Good times, until the engine grenaded in the first run of a huge snowstorm. I admitted defeat and bought a HondaGX clone because 40" of snow and a long driveway arent fun by hand. I fed the turbo oil using a chevy truck oilpump externally mounted on a stand with oil lines and an intercooler on the auger housing, and the turbo was off of a Dodge Omni GLX, right after I got the blower tuned up and running great in stock trim, I found the head of a Omni with a turbo at the scrapyard... well worse things followed and there ya go. The fact that the oil looked lik antiseize each season should have been a bigger clue as to the health of that engine...
You have a twisted mind, but in a good way. I'm excited to see you drifting this rig on that gravel road at say, 60 mph.
In my best Mexican accent, "you can do it"!!!!!!
Montgomery Ward... There's an oldie. We still have a "Ward Plaza" shopping center here that had one of those as an anchor, and it's still decorated with the best of the 70s. 🤣A thought: The steering might be terrible, because neither wheel doing the steering was on the ground...? 🤷♂ Looking forward to the blower experiment!
I got a 70's model Simplicity Broadmoor rider mower last year and while the details of my situation are different than yours, the result is the same: I've got an "extra" thing to decide what to do with. And I came to the same conclusion, which is make it go fast. I haven't done anything with it yet but I like that you took the brake off the clutch pedal.
What does your mower do now? Have you worked with it at all, or have you been busy with other projects?