Got a little time in on my 18 today. Mounted my new tires, bolted the frame to the rear end. Put the rear tires and front axle on. I decided on 1.25" square tubing for the spacer between the frame and fuel tank bracket, should wor well. One thing i question is the rear fenders. Will i have to space the footrests too or will they work? I know that supers use a spacer, but are the fenders different than a gt?

Good bit of work done right there.:beerchug:
I don't know about those tires, but my 1811 I picked up had 26" tires on it, and they cleared the fenders, no spacers. They were Tru Powers.:bigthink:

Thanks Zippy! Tru powers are actually a goodly amount bigger than these, but remember this is an 1864. I have a fuel tank under my fenders that only has 1/4" clearance in the factory position when these tires are installed, which isnt much of a safety factor. Plus I dont like how it looks with the fenders hugging the tire.

Im not totally convinced that these are the tires ill be using, but given the looks and performance they have with Nightow1's 782, I really want them to work.

Super fenders are different than the GT. They are longer in the front in order to reach the foot pads. I don't see why you couldn't make a filler to go from the fenders to the foot pads.

Thanks Sam, i figured as much. Ill have to see where this goes. Might be trying to jam too much into a gt :Huh:

My tire plans for my 1864 are loaded 23x10.50-12 Carlisle Tru Power's on the rear and 16x6.50-8 V61 HD 5-Rib's on the front, but that will be a while, I want to run it for a while before springing for new rubbers. :beerchug:

Thats essentially what my plans are! Only im going to have the new rubbers b4 i need them.

I got the "correct" paint OEM Cub Cadet for a cyclops series but it seems like the original paint is more orangey than the new paint. Whats the deal?

Scratch what I said about the tires fitting. I pulled the fender pan today, and guess what I found. Nuts and washers holding it up off the frame...
Sorry for the confusion.

:beerchug:

Hey guys n gals, built the spacers for my fenders to clear the tires tonight and put my fenders on. I need an extra 1-1/4" to be able to slide my (3) 12v hydraulic selector valves under the gas tank. I was worried in earlier posts that the foot rests would not work out so great, but they seem to be fine. My issue now is that the fenders, albeit the gas tank is not in there, look super rediculous being that tall.

I think that spacing the rear wheels out would help. Not quite sure where this project is going yet.

Also got my turning breaks a few days ago

If you hadn't painted the fenders already, I'd say reshape them. Perhaps some fender flares would help hide it.:beerchug:

You make these great modifications look so easy! Another fascinating build.:beerchug:

Painted or not, my skill set does not include body work unfortunately. I thought about flares but i think that would just exacerbate the issue as my 26 12 12 tires are thinner, which is why I bought them. They look so cool on Nightow1s 782, but only when he runs those huge wheel weights.

Thank you very much for that! Im glad it looks easy cuz im kinda at an impass currently. Its veery tempting to just go back to OEM.

Looks like a fun build and is coming along nicely.:beerchug: Where did you get those tires at?

Thanks Todd! Got the tires from amazon. They took a little to find but really dont cost much.

Went up this morning and got 2' x 4' of 1/4" steel plate for building the 3point base. Also got new tips and electrodes for my plasma torchhope to get started soon ish.

On a whem, I decided to try laying out a stencil for the cat 0 "Ultrahitch". Using my layout table and tools this is the preliminary design of the cheeks, which bolt to the frame and axle tubes. I still need to chamfer or round the edges, and scribe an eighth of an inch off the outside to allow for my plasma torch tip. Ill then transfer the design to a piece of 1/4" plywood. This will serve as my torch guide.

Dang! The pic from the rear makes your tractor look like some kind of lunar landing vehicle! Three hydralic selector valves :bigthink: And that hitch......very interesting! :popcorn::popcorn:

Hey yall, been playing around some on the 18. Ill give you a sneak peak at my hitch project as it sits tonight. I have several things up my sleeve, and I have let the cat out on most of them, but there are a few things that will not be revealed until they come to fruition. :bigthink:

:bigeyes::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

👍 there's a name for people like you,,,,,,,,and it is "craftsman".

Coming along nicely. Those plasma cutters work awesome on a project like this. Keep feeding us the pics and updates.:beerchug:

What a hack job. :biggrin2:

That is impressive!:beerchug:

Rockshaft mounted in bearings? Raised fenders for clearance?:bigthink: This is getting real entertaining! Build away, we are watching! :popcorn:
I got to ask, you design ahead of time or just get a general idea in your head and go to the shop and see what happens? Nothing wrong with either method, just seeing how you design your projects.

Thank you for the complement! Hopefully it work and not look like a TOTAL "hack job" :biggrin2:

Yes they do! However a cnc table would just be the $#!+, I'll keep you posted :beerchug:

If I had feelings, that might hurt:BlahBlah:

Thanks Sam :beer2:

Yea, the bushing design cub came up with works, but I figure it will help reduce friction and get more lift force to the lift arms.

Fenders are mainly for the 26" tires, but I have a few other things that the added space may come in handy for. It's a little too tall at the moment, but the 3pt will work without the spacers .

Far as the design, I had an idea before starting. I just took what I felt were the best features of the existing GT and Sgt hitches, incorporated Sam's design for extra frame stability, along with my proven designs and many new ideas... Basically had an idea of what I wanted the hitch to have, but I'm flying by my shorts far as the build goes.

Looking good! Keep it up!:beerchug:

Thanks Terry!

Looks like your thinking outside the box on this build.

Very cool project!! I like the well thought out modifications and improvements such as the bearings!:beerchug:

Please keep us posted!!:beerchug::beerchug::popcorn::popcorn::

:WWP:

Yea, I'm hopeful that it will all work out, I'm just building it from mild steel at the moment while I get the kinks worked out, eventually I will have another one cnc cut and built from tougher steel, but that's down the fence line


Thanks Jay!

I wanted a hitch that one thing isn't sacrificed for another, along with a few "tractor like" features so I can use my gts for more.

Seems that I only hit this project once every 3 months or so, but here's a lil progress on the hitch for now. Cut and bent the rear plate, then drilled a total of 12 mounting holes. Then drilled and tapped 4 out of the 6 holes on the one side. Still have to weld the flat bar on the other cheek.

Just a side note, the next one won't be built by hand like this one. Going to find somebody that can CNC this stuff... just cant get the perfection and timleyness of a water jet or lazer. Keith bent the he'll out of his xmw re-pop a month ago, and he's been nagging me ever since to get this built cuz he wants one for his 2182 and 782. The other part of the deal is once I get the hitch and part of the Hydraulics done it gets to go live at his shop for a while. And since I'm tired of it being in my way it's extra motivation to get this completed.

Wow, that is gonna be strong enough to pull stumps and the rest of the world!!!:beerchug::clap::clap:

Just a side note, the next one won't be built by hand like this one. Going to find somebody that can CNC this stuff... just cant get the perfection and timleyness of a water jet or lazer. Keith bent the he'll out of his xmw re-pop a month ago, and he's been nagging me ever since to get this built cuz he wants one for his 2182 and 782. The other part of the deal is once I get the hitch and part of the Hydraulics done it gets to go live at his shop for a while. And since I'm tired of it being in my way it's extra motivation to get this completed.[/QUOTE]

PM me. Stop doing that stuff by hand. We aren’t savages. :biggrin2: