Ian

Neat!

Nah, I just don't like making things easy for myself
 
Back to the rear light and I needed some sheet steel to make it from.
This will do..
 

 
 
Yes it came from our old tumble drier and still has some fluff on it to prove it
 

 
 
A grinder with a 1mm disc was used to cut the long slices, a sharpened screwdriver (yes it was a very old one of which I have many) was used to chop the ends out.
No idea why certain photo's like to turn the wrong way!
 

 
 
Lot's of time spent with a file later and the lens almost fits.
 

 
 
Time to bend the edges round, wanting a nice curve some bar stock was used for beating around.
 

 
 
Ta-Daa.
 

 

 
 
A lens check.
 

 
 
"Let there be light"
 

 
 
And held in postion.
 

You must have the patience of a saint, Ian.

The bug looks good Paul

Great photos Mark, you certainly did get hit by the snow!
 
Thought I'd drop in your C4 in the snow video here
 
 

A great story Chris, I'm only 5 years behind you, been playing with WH's for 10 years now..

You know me, why do it the easy way?
 
 
 
Thanks Richard, it's getting there, hope to have it test driveable in a few months.
 
Let's start this update with the latest video.. Lot's of timelapse bits
 
 
 
 
Back to the headlamp but only very quickly..
When it came to wire the lamp in I found there wasn't enough space around the outside of the bulb holder to run the wires,so three holes were dilled and then slotted to feed the wires through.
 

 
 
Time to turn to the other end of NadTrax..
Starting with a cardboard template..
 

 
 
Which fits about here..
 

 
 
I'm sure you will of guessed by now it's for a rear light.. Even though I've no plans to put MadTrax on the road it needs a rear light to balance out the front light..
Not having any rear lights that will fit I need to make my own, starting with this Honda Silverwing light lens.
 

 
 
Trimmed to shape including the lens inside.
 

 

 
 
Hard to hold in position and take a picture!
 

 
 
I have an idea on how I want the rear light to look, template time..
Rubbing dirty fingers on paper to make some marks and then cutting out didn't work too well..
No idea why this pic keeps turning around!
 

 
 
Template number 2 involved cutting lots of bits of cardboard but it looks much better and is much more usable as an actual template
Turning this into steel is going to be fun
 

 
 
The transfer box gear stick needed a tweak so it wasn't in the way of any knees, so it was moved in by an inch, lengthened and a new hip and groovy know was put on the end 
It needs a little tidy up but it looks good
 

 

Great photos Mark, you certainly did get hit by the snow!
 
Thought I'd drop in your C4 in the snow video here
 
 

You know me, why do it the easy way?
 
 
 
Thanks Richard, it's getting there, hope to have it test driveable in a few months.
 
Let's start this update with the latest video.. Lot's of timelapse bits
 
 
 
 
Back to the headlamp but only very quickly..
When it came to wire the lamp in I found there wasn't enough space around the outside of the bulb holder to run the wires,so three holes were dilled and then slotted to feed the wires through.
 

 
 
Time to turn to the other end of NadTrax..
Starting with a cardboard template..
 

 
 
Which fits about here..
 

 
 
I'm sure you will of guessed by now it's for a rear light.. Even though I've no plans to put MadTrax on the road it needs a rear light to balance out the front light..
Not having any rear lights that will fit I need to make my own, starting with this Honda Silverwing light lens.
 

 
 
Trimmed to shape including the lens inside.
 

 

 
 
Hard to hold in position and take a picture!
 

 
 
I have an idea on how I want the rear light to look, template time..
Rubbing dirty fingers on paper to make some marks and then cutting out didn't work too well..
No idea why this pic keeps turning around!
 

 
 
Template number 2 involved cutting lots of bits of cardboard but it looks much better and is much more usable as an actual template
Turning this into steel is going to be fun
 

 
 
The transfer box gear stick needed a tweak so it wasn't in the way of any knees, so it was moved in by an inch, lengthened and a new hip and groovy know was put on the end 
It needs a little tidy up but it looks good
 

 

As we say in Scotland It will take mair than a  wee drap snaw to stop us gane tae the inn
Irikah waiting on the inn opening my modern zimmer HA HA

My good deed for today clearing the the footpath in the village so that the old ones can get their pensions and food, we must make sure the old ones are OK
Keep well

We got more than we expected...

A great story Chris, I'm only 5 years behind you, been playing with WH's for 10 years now..

Looking through my literature today i found that its been 15 years this month that i bought my first Wheelhorse.
I was looking for something to exhibit at rallys and saw a ride-on-mower advertised in the Friday Ad for £50, on viewing it I decided to buy it although it didn't have any makers name on it.
After getting it home and a bit of fiddling i got it running and then discovered it was a 1969 Commando 7.
Over the years I've had the odd one or two but this has to be special to me as it got me started with this hobby?.
All my grandchildren have learned to drive on it and ive still got it sitting in the shed waiting for Dylan to grow a bit more.

That's about my pace to do things Nigel.....sometimes longer. I hope to speed up when it's warmer though ! .
 
Glad to see you're progressing Ian. great work 

Like 3 days to make a posh washer 😄👍🏻

I most certainly will be making a cover for the battery, it's in an ideal place to get covered in all sorts of mud and stuff..
 
While digging through the Quadzilla wiring loom for connectors to pilage I found something that would most certainly be a good upgrade..
So this small bracket was made..
 

 
 
It was welded onto the frame just under the seat.
 

 
 
If you hadn't guessed it holds up a modern fuse block, much better than the oold Honda one
 

 
 
With the 4 wheel drive bit wired in, the time had come to think about lights starting with the er.. headlamp..
 
Not having the correct bulb holder (which would of been for a really old style bulb anyway) I had this problem to overcome!
 

 
 
I had an idea on how to solve the er..gap problem but not the materials until Nigel found me this old pully.. Thank mate
 

 
 
No photo's of all the lathe stages (plenty of that in the next video) but the pulley ending up looking like this..
 

 
 
The shallow slots were done with a milling bit in my pillar drill. Not ideal as the bed does try to move sideways!
 

 
 
The bulb pokes through like this.
 

 
 
Then the whole thing drops into the back of the lamp bowl.
The little black slot through the bowl is a handy bolt hole, as is the one the other side
 

 
 
Now something to hold the bulb to the holder.
Starting with this.. Thanks again Nigel
 

 
 
It was turned into this..
 

 
 
Which of course fits here..
 

 
 
I found some nice small bolts to use but I didn't have a tap to cut a thread.....   So I made one 
 

 
 
Best test it.. Yep it works...
 

 

 
 
Lots of drilling, thread cutting and countersinking and bolt shortening later..
 

 

 

 
 
Tad-Daaa     A lot of work for something that won't be seen
 

I most certainly will be making a cover for the battery, it's in an ideal place to get covered in all sorts of mud and stuff..
 
While digging through the Quadzilla wiring loom for connectors to pilage I found something that would most certainly be a good upgrade..
So this small bracket was made..
 

 
 
It was welded onto the frame just under the seat.
 

 
 
If you hadn't guessed it holds up a modern fuse block, much better than the oold Honda one
 

 
 
With the 4 wheel drive bit wired in, the time had come to think about lights starting with the er.. headlamp..
 
Not having the correct bulb holder (which would of been for a really old style bulb anyway) I had this problem to overcome!
 

 
 
I had an idea on how to solve the er..gap problem but not the materials until Nigel found me this old pully.. Thank mate
 

 
 
No photo's of all the lathe stages (plenty of that in the next video) but the pulley ending up looking like this..
 

 
 
The shallow slots were done with a milling bit in my pillar drill. Not ideal as the bed does try to move sideways!
 

 
 
The bulb pokes through like this.
 

 
 
Then the whole thing drops into the back of the lamp bowl.
The little black slot through the bowl is a handy bolt hole, as is the one the other side
 

 
 
Now something to hold the bulb to the holder.
Starting with this.. Thanks again Nigel
 

 
 
It was turned into this..
 

 
 
Which of course fits here..
 

 
 
I found some nice small bolts to use but I didn't have a tap to cut a thread.....   So I made one 
 

 
 
Best test it.. Yep it works...
 

 

 
 
Lots of drilling, thread cutting and countersinking and bolt shortening later..
 

 

 

 
 
Tad-Daaa     A lot of work for something that won't be seen
 

I most certainly will be making a cover for the battery, it's in an ideal place to get covered in all sorts of mud and stuff..
 
While digging through the Quadzilla wiring loom for connectors to pilage I found something that would most certainly be a good upgrade..
So this small bracket was made..
 

 
 
It was welded onto the frame just under the seat.
 

 
 
If you hadn't guessed it holds up a modern fuse block, much better than the oold Honda one
 

 
 
With the 4 wheel drive bit wired in, the time had come to think about lights starting with the er.. headlamp..
 
Not having the correct bulb holder (which would of been for a really old style bulb anyway) I had this problem to overcome!
 

 
 
I had an idea on how to solve the er..gap problem but not the materials until Nigel found me this old pully.. Thank mate
 

 
 
No photo's of all the lathe stages (plenty of that in the next video) but the pulley ending up looking like this..
 

 
 
The shallow slots were done with a milling bit in my pillar drill. Not ideal as the bed does try to move sideways!
 

 
 
The bulb pokes through like this.
 

 
 
Then the whole thing drops into the back of the lamp bowl.
The little black slot through the bowl is a handy bolt hole, as is the one the other side
 

 
 
Now something to hold the bulb to the holder.
Starting with this.. Thanks again Nigel
 

 
 
It was turned into this..
 

 
 
Which of course fits here..
 

 
 
I found some nice small bolts to use but I didn't have a tap to cut a thread.....   So I made one 
 

 
 
Best test it.. Yep it works...
 

 

 
 
Lots of drilling, thread cutting and countersinking and bolt shortening later..
 

 

 

 
 
Tad-Daaa     A lot of work for something that won't be seen
 

I most certainly will be making a cover for the battery, it's in an ideal place to get covered in all sorts of mud and stuff..
 
While digging through the Quadzilla wiring loom for connectors to pilage I found something that would most certainly be a good upgrade..
So this small bracket was made..
 

 
 
It was welded onto the frame just under the seat.
 

 
 
If you hadn't guessed it holds up a modern fuse block, much better than the oold Honda one
 

 
 
With the 4 wheel drive bit wired in, the time had come to think about lights starting with the er.. headlamp..
 
Not having the correct bulb holder (which would of been for a really old style bulb anyway) I had this problem to overcome!
 

 
 
I had an idea on how to solve the er..gap problem but not the materials until Nigel found me this old pully.. Thank mate
 

 
 
No photo's of all the lathe stages (plenty of that in the next video) but the pulley ending up looking like this..
 

 
 
The shallow slots were done with a milling bit in my pillar drill. Not ideal as the bed does try to move sideways!
 

 
 
The bulb pokes through like this.
 

 
 
Then the whole thing drops into the back of the lamp bowl.
The little black slot through the bowl is a handy bolt hole, as is the one the other side
 

 
 
Now something to hold the bulb to the holder.
Starting with this.. Thanks again Nigel
 

 
 
It was turned into this..
 

 
 
Which of course fits here..
 

 
 
I found some nice small bolts to use but I didn't have a tap to cut a thread.....   So I made one 
 

 
 
Best test it.. Yep it works...
 

 

 
 
Lots of drilling, thread cutting and countersinking and bolt shortening later..
 

 

 

 
 
Tad-Daaa     A lot of work for something that won't be seen
 

Are you going to make a cover for the battery, Ian? I think it could do with one.

Having already mounted the voltage regulator the wrong way ie bolted directly to the frame, I needed to find a good way of rubber mounting it..
Which is where the random bit of Quadzilla comes into play as it has a few holes already with rubber isolating mounts in it... Just not quite in the right places.....
 

 
 
Soooooo..
 
Chop of the unwanted bits.
 

 
 
Slice 4mm from the middle.
 

 
 
Weld the two halfs back together.
 

 
 
That should be strong enough
 

 

 
 
Drill a hole.
 

 
 
Bash the bend flat.
 

 
 
Drill a second hole then test fit.
 

 
 
Cut and grind the bracket to shape.
 

 
 
Bolt the regulator back on to the bracket.
 

 
 
Bolt the whole thing back on to MadTrax, plug the wires in.... Job done
 

Now, back to the wiring...
 
This isn't what's left of the loom, it's all the bit's I didn't need mostly chopped from wires that were too long!
 

 
 
As I went along all the crimp connectors were removed and the joints soldered up before being wrapped in tape.. At least I know the loom won't pull apart now
 
Battery end of things.
 

 
 
This bit of the loom was a massive mess with lots of crimp connectors!
It looks way better now
 

 
 
The front end splits nicely into two, it will split nicely into three when the headlamp is wired in..
 

 
 
Speaking of the headlamp, these "not yet connected" wires go to the Quadzilla switch gear and are the very wires that give life to the lighting circuit.   And the horn  
 

 
 
Monday was spent turning this mess....
 

 
 
Into this non mess...... A day well spent
 

The wiring isn't too bad (well it feels that way now most of it's sorted), only 2 fuses and 2 idiot lights, but I do have a lighting circuits and the 4 wheel drive mode circuit to add.. And as the horn switch works I might as well try and find something loud to wire into it
 
 
 
Thanks Ewan, I wasn't sure what she would sound like, but I like what I hear
 
With the wiring (mostly) sorted I couldn't tidy the loom up without knowing where all the wires would run to...
All of which means I had to find somewhere to mount the battery!
 
The only place for it to go was just infront of the rear R/S wheel (no pics as it's hard to hold a battery in place and take photo's at the same time), no ideal but it just would not fit anywhere else!
I had already built a battery box, but hope to mount it???
 
This TB mount looks a good start
 

 
 
Lot's of chopping and welding later it looked like this
 
Inside view.

 
Outside view.
 

 
 
Checking the battery box fits..
 

 
 
TB/Batt mount bolted back on to MadTrax
 

 
 
Battery plonked in place.. It feels nice and strong with no movement and will hold the battery in place no problem
 

Having already mounted the voltage regulator the wrong way ie bolted directly to the frame, I needed to find a good way of rubber mounting it..
Which is where the random bit of Quadzilla comes into play as it has a few holes already with rubber isolating mounts in it... Just not quite in the right places.....
 

 
 
Soooooo..
 
Chop of the unwanted bits.
 

 
 
Slice 4mm from the middle.
 

 
 
Weld the two halfs back together.
 

 
 
That should be strong enough
 

 

 
 
Drill a hole.
 

 
 
Bash the bend flat.
 

 
 
Drill a second hole then test fit.
 

 
 
Cut and grind the bracket to shape.
 

 
 
Bolt the regulator back on to the bracket.
 

 
 
Bolt the whole thing back on to MadTrax, plug the wires in.... Job done