Ian

First time in four years we've had snow.
 

 
  All gone now. Just a wet, slippy, soggy mess.

You never know Norm, I'm on a bit of a push to get MadTrax done so I can start on Wheel-Vo
 
Starting with a video to try and keep things in order..
 
 
To finish off the strengthening on the left side I needed a couple of small plates to go at the bottom.
Due to the small size of the holding them in place just wasn't going to work without setting fire to my fingers, so I welded a couple of small off-cuts to the plates to act as temporary handles.
 

 
 
Plates tacked in place..
 

 
 
Once the plates had been fully welded on the time had come to tackle a job that thus so far had caused me lot's of head scratching.... Removing the rear diff/final drive thingy..
 

 
 
The right side already had a removable plate..
 

 
 
The left side didn't, but if I could make it removable them I might stand a chance of getting the rear end out..   HHmmm... Some nice welds to cut through!
 

 
 
But before I started cutting metal a template was needed!
 

 
 
Ok, I needed the bit's marked F and R but the off-cut in the middle is a funky shape
 

 
 
This was part of the Quadzilla front end.. some cutting needed but it's just the right thickness for what I need.
 

 
 
Here's the plate cut out of the frame and the extra couple of bit's of steel which will make the plate removable..
 

 
 
With all the parts bolted back on some tack welds were added.
 

 
 
Back on the bench the now removable plate was clamped around some box and a bit of angle to hold it all square while I zapped the joins up..
Don't think it will be moving now
 

 
 
Now to try and get the rear end out.... Eeerrrr!
 

 
 
Ummmm!
 

 
 
Until eventually I was left with this open space...
 

 
 
Which was only possible once I had cut this bit of tube out the frame... Another bit to make removable!
 

 
 
The rear end on the bench..
 

 
 
Rob picked up a wire brush and started to attack it to see what it would come up like
 

 
 
Not bad but I fear some mechanical cleaning help is needed.....
 
Now where did I put those wire brush cup thingys that go in the drill???
 

Glad to have another Ian project to watch

I guessed there was a new crazy, mad, crackers, stark raving mad creation on the cards, when you said you were paying Chris a visit. Will it be ready for August, for me to try on my annual jaunt darn sarf?

I always new you were bonckers 🧐

You do know you  have a 7mth deadline to get it finished, Ian?

We all have a "must build" project in mind, and this is mine..
 
Over the years I have restored WH's
Built things that go on them such as a snowplow and harrow...
Added a couple of extra wheels - The 6x6..
And even made a fast fun machine - Project Why Not..
 
Wheel-Vo is the silly/stupid one
 
As you all know I paid The Showman a visit the other day and came back with a car load of WH..  A 312-8 although with no engine and trans it's more like a 300-0
 

 
 
Here it is back in the workshop thrown in a rather neat pile
 

 

 

 

 
 
The plan?
 
The title should of given you a clue, I'm on the look-out for a cheap Volvo that will give up a 2.3 turbo engine, gearbox, rear axle and maybe a few other parts, then sell on the rest to get a few £££'s back..
Of course a standard WH chassis won't be suitable so I'm going to have to build one..
A lot of work ahead but I can/am collect parts while I'm finishing Project MadTrax..
 
There won't be any real updates for a while but I can keep you updated as to how the parts collecting is going..
 
And of course... Video's
 
 

We all have a "must build" project in mind, and this is mine..
 
Over the years I have restored WH's
Built things that go on them such as a snowplow and harrow...
Added a couple of extra wheels - The 6x6..
And even made a fast fun machine - Project Why Not..
 
Wheel-Vo is the silly/stupid one
 
As you all know I paid The Showman a visit the other day and came back with a car load of WH..  A 312-8 although with no engine and trans it's more like a 300-0
 

 
 
Here it is back in the workshop thrown in a rather neat pile
 

 

 

 

 
 
The plan?
 
The title should of given you a clue, I'm on the look-out for a cheap Volvo that will give up a 2.3 turbo engine, gearbox, rear axle and maybe a few other parts, then sell on the rest to get a few £££'s back..
Of course a standard WH chassis won't be suitable so I'm going to have to build one..
A lot of work ahead but I can/am collect parts while I'm finishing Project MadTrax..
 
There won't be any real updates for a while but I can keep you updated as to how the parts collecting is going..
 
And of course... Video's
 
 

We all have a "must build" project in mind, and this is mine..
 
Over the years I have restored WH's
Built things that go on them such as a snowplow and harrow...
Added a couple of extra wheels - The 6x6..
And even made a fast fun machine - Project Why Not..
 
Wheel-Vo is the silly/stupid one
 
As you all know I paid The Showman a visit the other day and came back with a car load of WH..  A 312-8 although with no engine and trans it's more like a 300-0
 

 
 
Here it is back in the workshop thrown in a rather neat pile
 

 

 

 

 
 
The plan?
 
The title should of given you a clue, I'm on the look-out for a cheap Volvo that will give up a 2.3 turbo engine, gearbox, rear axle and maybe a few other parts, then sell on the rest to get a few £££'s back..
Of course a standard WH chassis won't be suitable so I'm going to have to build one..
A lot of work ahead but I can/am collect parts while I'm finishing Project MadTrax..
 
There won't be any real updates for a while but I can keep you updated as to how the parts collecting is going..
 
And of course... Video's
 
 

Not much to report, I have made a good start on the left side with the suspension mount strengthening..
When I put the TB in I had to cut a bit of tube out, so back in it went..
 

 
 
A close up. The captive nut is for the TB side mount.
 

 
 
Only a couple of small plates to go in at the bottom and a lot of welds to grind down..
 

It was good to catch up with you again Chris, thanks for selling me er.. 3/4's of a Wheel Horse..
It's nice to have something red back in the workshop, being WH-less for 1 1/2 days was hard to cope with
 
 

We all have a "must build" project in mind, and this is mine..
 
Over the years I have restored WH's
Built things that go on them such as a snowplow and harrow...
Added a couple of extra wheels - The 6x6..
And even made a fast fun machine - Project Why Not..
 
Wheel-Vo is the silly/stupid one
 
As you all know I paid The Showman a visit the other day and came back with a car load of WH..  A 312-8 although with no engine and trans it's more like a 300-0
 

 
 
Here it is back in the workshop thrown in a rather neat pile
 

 

 

 

 
 
The plan?
 
The title should of given you a clue, I'm on the look-out for a cheap Volvo that will give up a 2.3 turbo engine, gearbox, rear axle and maybe a few other parts, then sell on the rest to get a few £££'s back..
Of course a standard WH chassis won't be suitable so I'm going to have to build one..
A lot of work ahead but I can/am collect parts while I'm finishing Project MadTrax..
 
There won't be any real updates for a while but I can keep you updated as to how the parts collecting is going..
 
And of course... Video's
 
 

It was good to catch up with you again Chris, thanks for selling me er.. 3/4's of a Wheel Horse..
It's nice to have something red back in the workshop, being WH-less for 1 1/2 days was hard to cope with
 
 

I think I've had more in the back of my car from Ian's 

I know what it is like to be relieved of my hard earn cash from Chris on my last visit......

You could have got more in there, Chris. It's only half full.

Had a victim visitor to the shed today who popped in for coffee and collect a few parts.
After the coffee and a chat we loaded his car with more than I expected to get in it  and I was happy to empty his pocket.
I think Ian was pleased with all the bits and left with his car much lower at the backend
Here's some photos 

A real sad story there mate, it brought a tear to my eye
 
 
Well, a bit stuck on the drive train at the mo.. The Honda Silverwing final drive/90 Deg thingy I was planning on using just won't work!
I did the maths on sprocket sizes to work out the 5 - 1 ratios I would need and the big sprocket would need so many teeth that it would be nearly a meter diameter!
Price wise it would be very much the wrong side of £1000 and the sprocket would be so big it would cut the quad in half!
 
So.. some more thinking needed.. I need a strong 1 - 1 ratio 90 Deg drive that will fit in the rather small space available!
 
Sooo... What to do next.... Some welding me thinks
 
At the back where the new tubes meet the Quadzilla suspension mounts it looked ugly as I had just cut the tops of the mounting panel off..
A bit of cutting and welding later had a couple of bits of box welded in just above the anti-roll bar tube.. That looks better and stronger
 

 
 
Part of the plan has always been to box in the pressed steel suspension mountings as I hate the look of pressed steel, and they never looked strong enough anyway
 
Starting with one of these, a bit of tube with washers welded on both ends.
 

 
 
Which happens to be a perfect fit inside a thicker bit of tube that has been cut in half..
 

 
 
Bolt it to the suspension mounts and you have an ideal way of making sure all the bit's of half moon tube fit in the same places..
 

 
 
A bit of tack welding later..
 

 
 
Best check for clearance, plenty of and more travel than will ever be needed
 

 

 
 
Now to fill the gaps, the top of this speaker stand is about the right thickness
 

 
 
Four plates cut to size and tacked on plus a template for the next panel..
 

 
 
The right side almost done.. A few welds need a clean up, and a few of the welds won't be done until the frame is stripped and on it's side.. I hate welding upside down and I'm rubbish at it!
 

 

 
 
Best make a start on the other side, templates cut out..
 

 
 
And marked out on steel... It's a good job speaker stands come in pairs
No idea why this photo has turned around, it's the right way on my PC..
 

It's been a long while since I last went to the cinema, back in 1991 to see Terminator 2!!

Amazing work Alan, your attention to detail put's my builds to shame..

A real sad story there mate, it brought a tear to my eye
 
 
Well, a bit stuck on the drive train at the mo.. The Honda Silverwing final drive/90 Deg thingy I was planning on using just won't work!
I did the maths on sprocket sizes to work out the 5 - 1 ratios I would need and the big sprocket would need so many teeth that it would be nearly a meter diameter!
Price wise it would be very much the wrong side of £1000 and the sprocket would be so big it would cut the quad in half!
 
So.. some more thinking needed.. I need a strong 1 - 1 ratio 90 Deg drive that will fit in the rather small space available!
 
Sooo... What to do next.... Some welding me thinks
 
At the back where the new tubes meet the Quadzilla suspension mounts it looked ugly as I had just cut the tops of the mounting panel off..
A bit of cutting and welding later had a couple of bits of box welded in just above the anti-roll bar tube.. That looks better and stronger
 

 
 
Part of the plan has always been to box in the pressed steel suspension mountings as I hate the look of pressed steel, and they never looked strong enough anyway
 
Starting with one of these, a bit of tube with washers welded on both ends.
 

 
 
Which happens to be a perfect fit inside a thicker bit of tube that has been cut in half..
 

 
 
Bolt it to the suspension mounts and you have an ideal way of making sure all the bit's of half moon tube fit in the same places..
 

 
 
A bit of tack welding later..
 

 
 
Best check for clearance, plenty of and more travel than will ever be needed
 

 

 
 
Now to fill the gaps, the top of this speaker stand is about the right thickness
 

 
 
Four plates cut to size and tacked on plus a template for the next panel..
 

 
 
The right side almost done.. A few welds need a clean up, and a few of the welds won't be done until the frame is stripped and on it's side.. I hate welding upside down and I'm rubbish at it!
 

 

 
 
Best make a start on the other side, templates cut out..
 

 
 
And marked out on steel... It's a good job speaker stands come in pairs
No idea why this photo has turned around, it's the right way on my PC..
 

While still at the rear of the tractor, another item which had me head scratching for a long time, was how to provide a support for the steering shaft.  As this emerged through the rear panel at an angle due to the differential being in the way, a block of something with an angled hole was required to give more bearing surface than the thin panel.
 
Could I drill an angled hole in an alloy block without a lot of measuring and setting up. ?  NO.  I had already looked at various plumb blocks and rose joints on eBay, all being unsuitable for various reasons.  Then I remembered some small rose bearings I had found in a box of goodie's while clearing at friend John's.  Problem nearly solved.  
 
The first few photo's show an alloy block being bored and the edges milled to tidy it up.  The lower inside face was also milled to clear the tow bar.  As is often the case, a change of plan meant that I needn't have removed so much metal.    Also seen being turned is a reducing bush for the inside of the rose bearing.
 

 
The steering shaft is a length of 7mm steel rod.  Why 7mm ?  Because I had a long length which was originally the drive shaft from an old strimmer I was given years ago.  There was already a short 7mm thread on one end, made slightly longer, and a new thread cut on the other end.  The bearing block assembly is shown next with the unfinished overlong thread.  Overlong to start with as I just eyeballed the squareness of the die to the shaft.  If it was out of true after an inch or so, I could cut off and have another go.  After a little tweaking of the first few threads and checking at intervals all appeared OK.  After threading 3 to 4 inches there was no obvious run out.
I can do small threads using die holders in my Unimat 3 lathe but it would have been a struggle with this especially as the die was not of the split type.
A few nuts were drilled and tapped 7mm.

 
A 3/8 impact wobble drive socket was obtained to connect the drive shaft to the trailer steering ( when finished ).  There appears to be no slop in an impact drive compared to a standard universal joint, but not sure at this stage if there is enough wobble.  Time will well.  The square plug, drilled and tapped 7mm, was part of the previously scrapped 2 speed drill.  Just needed filing down slightly to be a good tight press fit.   The front axle end of the shaft uses a 3/8 to 1/4 adaptor with a standard U/J to allow for clearance at the differential.
 

 
These last photo's show how little clearance there is between the shaft, axle and gearbox.  Approx 3/16th above and below the shaft.  Still need to paint the wheels and hubs too.
 

 
 
 
 

The original exhaust which.was used for the test runs was unsuitable for scale appearance and was also in the wrong position.
 

 
A 180 degree bend to fit within the side panels was needed.  I tried a length of flexi pipe I had but this wouldn't bend into a tight enough radius.   A piece of 15mm copper pipe was bent up using an ancient and crude pipe bender ( found at friend John's place ) where else, which gave the required result.
 

 
The exhaust stub on the engine is approx 22mm outside diameter although the bore is a lot smaller.  An adapter was turned up to suit.
 

 
During the clear out at John's various stainless steel silencers were found which John had made at work.  This one was removed from a mower and cleaned up.
 

 
This was connected to the copper pipe via an old 90 degree plumbing elbow after cleaning off all the muck.   After finding a length of chrome plated pipe a posher version was bent up. No prizes for guessing where these came from.  Not sure how this pipe and the plating will stand up to the heat but not the end of the world if it doesn't.
 
An extension was made for the silencer, again from copper pipe, as I didn't have anything else of a suitable diameter.  This was drilled and the lower end plugged as per the full size.  An adapter ring was turned up, drilled and tapped to hold everything together.  This ring also located the assembly into the grill surround. 
 

 
The completed parts and after fitting.  Still need to make some adjustments.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Various ideas were tried out for the seat using bits and pieces lying around and then discarded.  A visit to a local upholstery shop with measurements resulted in a lottery win quote.   Back to head scratching mode.  I had already spent hours looking for something suitable on the internet without luck, trying various search word combinations.  Then I spotted some cheap-ish scooter ( Lambretta / Vespa ) back rests.  Not exactly what I wanted but worth a try.  A pair were bought and after initial, not sure thoughts, the end result was better than expected.  The fill in piece behind the seat cushion, made from plastic, still needs finishing off with padding.
 
The first mock up from ply.
 

 
The alloy frame, ex green house, just cleared the top of the gearbox. Fixing brackets were bolted on. Sheet steel was bent up for the base and back rest.
 

 
There were two short threaded studs already fitted which made mounting easy.  A length of U shaped trim finished off the steel plate and a similar section was fitted to the fuel tank.
 

 
I finally managed to get my Great grandson Henry to try the tractor for size.  Even though he is only 7 : 1/2 months he loved it.  Mummy said she had never seen him so excited, squealing and swinging the steering wheel.  We had to hold him though as mummy refused to let me cable tie him on.
 

 

Not many photo's of work on the hood.  A slightly larger than required alloy sheet was cut and a shallow fold made on the center line.  A board with a curved edge was clamped over the sheet, after carefully guesstimating where the side fold should start.  Hope that makes sense.  The sheet was then bent around the board forming one side of the hood.  This was repeated for the other side resulting in a shape which was not far off the required result.  What luck.   A little tweaking with a rubber mallet and a length of round bar persuaded the front and rear of the curved folds to line up with the headlamp surround and dash.
 

 
A lot of time was then spent trimming the oversize edges to get the best fit I could manage, followed by clamping to the headlamp surround and drilling for the pivot bolts.