Building your own PT?

[ddonnell]

You guys know your PTs backwards, forwards, and upside down. Do you think it would be possible or feasible to actually "ground-up" build a "430", that would incorporate a 30+ horse diesel, 1430 size wheel motors and wheels, 6' lift height at 1200lbs., but maintain roughly the size of the 425? Obviously hydraulic components would have to be beefed up as well as basic steel dimensions in certain areas, but do you think I could do it and not have more than the price tag of a 425 in it?

What do you think?

 

[KentT]

Have you seen these plans? Might be a starting point:

CadPlans Corporation - Where you can find designs, tips and order information to build your own backhoes, diggers and MORE!

Personally, I'd be reluctant to try it because my "shade-tree engineering" usually takes about 3 tries to get something fairly usable/reliable...

 

[BobRip]

If you had an old PT425 and 1430 to copy or many pictures with some measurements on the pictures it might not be too bad. I think the wheel motor pump is built by PT.
KentT's comments of about 3 tries to get it right are well taken.

If I were going to put that much effort into something I would only do it because I knew I could make it a lot better. Otherwise it's probably cheaper and surely a lot easier to buy one. PT might be willing to make the configuration you want, or maybe sell you an empty chassis. We will all be interested in the progress of this project.

 

[woodlandfarms]

While building your own is pretty cool, and the PT seems dirt simple, If you have cash and no time why not have PT build it. They have been in the past capable of modifying their rigs...

 

[BobRip]

You would need to put a lot of weight on the back, since with the shorter body you will not have the leverage to pick up 1200 pounds.

Is there room in a 425 for the 1430 Diesel engine and pumps? I would bet the engine comparment is pretty full.

 

[ddonnell]

Points well taken. I've built stuff all my life and, while welding is fairly new to my other endeavors, I think that is doable also. I think that the way to go about this would be to start from the inside and work out so that you are not trying to shoehorn something in at the end. PTs strike me as fairly simple machines that are beefed up in all the critical areas. No frills, just get it done where it has to be done. Certainly making it better than factory bought would be primary to this project, but I somehow think that one could take the basic concept, shop smart for components, get advice from people like yourselves, and with a little ingenuity and professional advice you could make the ultimate (until someone improves it) articulated 425 sized tractor.

For instance, the tub size might have to be a little larger to accomodate a larger engine. But with that you might be able to solve some muffler and heat problems with just a tad bit more space. Wheel size and motor size is mostly vertical so you're not really adding much there. PTs aren't ZTRs so a little loss in turning radius or overall length of the machine isn't going to change a whole lot given that everything is out front anyway.

I am probably crazy to even consider this, but the simplicity of the PT design almost begs to have a whack at it. Power Trac makes what they make because they are the only act in town, and they have seemingly plenty of buyers to satisfy their corporate goals. Dropping a diesel in a 425 sized machine is logical, and quite frankly, doable. For Power Trac, it's a matter of "why bother" when we have a 1430 waiting for you.

It would be an intriguing project. Personally, I think it could be done for maybe less than the price of a 425 if you looked at it as a hobby project and didn't factor in a dollar amount for your time. One thing is for sure. I'll have to take a crash course on hydraulics!

Your thoughts and ideas for making this souped-up 425 would be welcome.

 

[MossRoad]

I wouldn't put a diesel in it. I'd put a Chevy 292 in it. They can be had from a junk yard for $500.00, will output 200HP with ease, don't weigh that much, etc... Since it is a straight 6 there is room on either side for accessories, unlike a V engine. You could run a variable volume pump at 3600RPM all day. Surplus center sells a variety of variable volume pumps with capability of bolting fixed volume pumps to the rear of them. You'd have maybe $2000 in pumps, $500 in the engine, 7-800 in cylinders, so let's say $3500. Then there are four wheel motors at $2-3000, so your looking at $5000-6500 right off the bat, with no steel, tires, rims, hoses, hydraulic cooler, fan, steering valve, joystick, treadle valve, seat, ball joints, welding rod and your time. Sounds fun, but unless you had most of the components laying around or given to you free, it would be hard to beat the price of an assembled unit. Heck, look at my backhoe project... I'll have $2000 and 50 hours in it and all the steel was free. Imagine what an entire tractor will cost in components.

 

[ddonnell]

Moss,

Good point. However, what assembled unit am I trying to beat the price of?
This bad boy wouldn't exactly be your off the shelf 425. More like a hybrid between the $10,000 425 and the $16,000 1430. If say your target was to come in at around $13K does that change your view?

Still probably a silly idea but it wouldn't be the first one I ever had.

 

[ddonnell]

MR,

Were you serious about the 292 engine? I got to thinking about it and an inline 4 or 6 cylinder would work, size-wise. Would there be any reason that that much horsepower would be a bad thing? Also, since an engine like this would be liquid cooled, could you tap into the cooling system for the hydraulic cooling also? As you can tell, I'm brainstorming here.

I was looking at a bunch of PT pictures, and it doesn't look like building the basic tub structure would be that tough. It would probably have to be a little longer in the engine compartment, but the extra weight would be okay to offset the heavier loader setup out front that I'd want.

 

[RegL]

Moss,

Good point. However, what assembled unit am I trying to beat the price of?
This bad boy wouldn't exactly be your off the shelf 425. More like a hybrid between the $10,000 425 and the $16,000 1430. If say your target was to come in at around $13K does that change your view?

Still probably a silly idea but it wouldn't be the first one I ever had.

If you want to see how the good old boys build stuff, you should subscribe to farm show. Amazing what those guys can put together when they get bored.

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