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Now the disruption of Christmas is over its back to the shed. This is a Raider 10 thats been in the back of my woodstore for a few years and during my rebuild on the Raider 12 ive been piling bits together to put it together. Had a bit of a late start as i had to clear all the sawdust after sawing up a load of wood during the last couple of days. This is as far as ive got today apart from the chassis is now sanded down to bare metal

A tad early I know, but a HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY.

Given that this machine is a smaller lawn tractor than a larger garden tractor, 8 years old should be fine with supervision. I think your idea to expose him to other interests is a very good one, but don't forget to involve him in the basic workings and maintenance aspects as well.

Part of the idea about buying this is to get him doing something other than play on the playstation. He loves driving games and farming simulator so when he started asking for a tractor I spotted an opportunity. It seems to have worked as he was desperate to have a drive on it on Christmas day ! Ideally I would like to fit a proper manual clutch. I have seen some sort of pulley arrangement described as a clutch brake. Not sure exactly how they work but the price pretty much rules them out.

I would question whether an eight year old should be driving at garden tractor at all but if you've made that decision he should be supervised at all times and all the machine's safety systems, such as the seat pressure switch should be fully functional . If it has not got a seat pressure switch or it has been by passed, that should be rectified. Consider a "kill tag" that cuts out the engine should he fall off or hit his head on a tree bough etc. While anything is possible I think that the installation of a centrifugal clutch and additional brake will not be a simple matter. A tractor with hydrostatic transmission would achieve smooth single pedal or lever control of forward neutral and reverse and give dynamic braking. A used transmission such as a TuffTorq K55 or 46 would fulfil both the above functions and is perfectly "doable" using readily available new and used parts. Alternatively re-sell the machine and buy a hydrostatic one.