Big ride on mower

[AndyUK]

hello

l have been having a bit of trouble with my old ride on mower as of late, its on its last legs and needs replacing really
however when l look around at the price of new its a non starter :confused2:
so since l always enjoy a project l thought l would have a go at building one from scratch
below is a pic of the sort of style and layout l want, except l want to be able to fit a rotary deck or flail mower on the front
and not cylinders as the area l have to cut is a bit rough

to keep costs to a reasonable level l will have to use components l have or can get get cheap rather that what might be best
as its always bl**dy raining here l think 4 wheel drive is a must as is a diesel engine

l have been into offroading suzuki's for a long while so the parts bin is full of suzuki stuff lol,
sidekick/tracker has a nice wide rear axle that is quite robust too so that will make a nice front axle on the mower
and a sj front axle will take the sidekick front diff to match the ratio's, the long side is easily cut down to the same length as the short side giving a nice narrow steering rear axle that has matching ratios

the other bonus with using suzuki axles is that the stud patten matches up with the wide wheels l already have

Andy

 

[Bird]

Sounds like a very interesting project. Keep us informed as to how it's going. I didn't do a lot of off roading, but did buy a new Suzuki Samurai in 1986 and kept it for over 3 years. It was quite a toy.

 

[AndyUK]

hi

cutting the long side down to the same as the short side meant l could just use another short side halfshaft but the axle isent quite
narrow enough but l might have to live with it

l wanted the rear wheels to run inside the fronts so as l could use the mower as a roller too, but when the wheels turn they use up so much space and l have to get a chassis through there between the tyres out to a tow hitch on the back

 

[AndyUK]

power plant is a fwd car engine and box turned sideways with the diff welded up or better still a LSD fitted, in this case its a peugeot 1900cc engine fitted into everything over and as cheap as chips, the one l am using for mock up is a manual but will get swopped for an auto before its finished

 

[chad22]

Definitely an interesting project. Will be following this thread.

Chad

 

[creekbend]

Interesting project. What ground speed are you anticipating with the automatic transmission?

 

[madmax12]

This whole forum is absolutely incredible!

People like u, AndyUK, are the reason why.

I liked your new ride as soon as I saw the first pick with the tires in it!

Absolutely amazing, what so many here can do.

Great work!!!

 

[AndyUK]

Interesting project. What ground speed are you anticipating with the automatic transmission?

well l will be happy with what ever l get after all its a mower, my present mower seems to cut happy at walking speed 3mph ?
but it is on its last legs and wheezes along like an asmatic snail so a little faster might be good,
the car the engine and box came out of had a top speed of around 80 mph on level ground clearly l have a second diff in the drive train now so that will get cut by a factor of 4, so that is 20 mph flat out but l dont want to run the engine flat out so lets assume 12mph at a steady engine speed then add back in some for the increase in tire size l have gone from a 21" dia to a 31" tire so thats a 50% increase ? which gets us back to 20 mph or more for travelling on the road, it would be easier to calculate accuratly if it was a manual gearbox with fixed ratio's but the auto is a bit wishy washy

l have to make a decision on the engine and box at some point as l have a choice to make here, the engine and box l have in the workshop is a 1.9 turbo diesel with intercooler and manual gearbox but l also have a complete working driving car with the same 1.9 engine but its a non turbo but with an auto box, now l like the idea of the auto box as its far easier to arrange the gear change than it is with a manual gearbox, however the extra power from the turbo would no doubt be usefull too as l want to drive a big hydraulic pump of the crank pully, the intercooler sat up on top of the engine wont see any natrual airflow so will be as much use as a chocolate fire guard but l was pondering fitting 2 electric fans above the intercooler that were activated by a switch on the accelerator pedal at around 2/3 rds or 3/4 pedal travel so when travelling on the road the intercooler might be doing something usefull ??,

l have these cutting decks l bought of ebay for around $150,

the centre one has 3 blades but is not quite wide enough so l might make a new deck that will carry 4 blades/motors that is the full width of the mower but would like to arrange it so it will swing sideways to stick out 2' or so so l can mow under the trees up to the hedge with out the branches knocking my false teeth out

 

[AndyUK]

Sounds like a very interesting project. Keep us informed as to how it's going. I didn't do a lot of off roading, but did buy a new Suzuki Samurai in 1986 and kept it for over 3 years. It was quite a toy.

those little samurai's are great little things, l still have a few kicking around the barn lol, they will run rings round my landrover due to their lightweight and nimblness but horses for courses l wouldent want one for a daily driver and as for towing an empty trailer is too much for it lol, did you get the lwb version overthere ? well l say lwb its the same as everyone elses swb

Andy

 

[AndyUK]

This whole forum is absolutely incredible!

People like u, AndyUK, are the reason why.

I liked your new ride as soon as I saw the first pick with the tires in it!




Absolutely amazing, what so many here can do.

Great work!!!

its always the wheels and tires that get peoples attention, if l dident have them already l probally wouldent have started building this, l like to have them on early as l find it motivates me to get on and do something to get it finished