OT Sorta: Ultimate Lawn Mower Engine Swap

[Lanse]

this is what happens when we get bored. Or i try to get to work. lol.

Ive decided to go ahead and make that allis manifold. I just want to see if i can. I think it would be really awesome to see if it'll work

I have to Thank everyone who commented, and offered to help me. You guys are the best

So anyway.... I got out the steel.... started working on it.... and hear something outside.

The kids from down the road stopped by....

We decided we were going to something lawn mower realated. They saw that MTD out there and asked if it was anything i wanted.... Remembering someone saying it might be worth money i said yes...

"OK... What about that thing"??

"Umm well....."

This little wheelhorse needed some attention. They had an 18 horse V twin briggs that they diddnt want... so we got to work.

It was in this later-model bolens. Take the kubota down there... start it up and find out the transmission doesnt work. Stick back wheels in bucket and drive home.... first gear... idle.... in reverse....

Took forever but we made it. We were very careful with the wires, and just un-did everything to carry over to the wheelhorse.

Got everything un-bolted then bolted and stuck a battery in and poured some gas in.

The wheelhorse doesnt have holes for gauges, so we stuck the whole "dashboard" from the bolens to the top of the wheelhorse with some bungee cords.

We diddnt un-do a single connection other then the battery. or so we thought.

Turned the key and nothing happens. The light on the bolens dash come on indicating it was getting power.

"Dangit"

I took some jumper cables and touched the terminal to the stater. Sparks flew everywhere but it turned.

Seeing as this was between the battery and the gas tank, i decided that sending sparks everywhere was probabally a bad idea.

so it looks like rewire time. This engine has a ton of wires for things like a deck (electronic pto), clutch switch, seat switch....

My wheelhorse has nothing. Absolutially nothing. The seven horse engine that was in it ran off a magneto. That was the whole electrical system.

So i guess its time to rewire it. Theres allready some wires hanging off the side of this creation.

Im looking for a wireing diagram for something like this. Its a newer V-twin engine. It has to be wired to run itself, thats IT. nothing else. It needs its starting system. Theres not even lights on this wheelhorse. Well, that work or that were gonna use that is.

If anyone has a diagram, i sure would appriciate it.

Heres some pictures. Thanks for reading!!!

 

[waltdavies]

Lance I wish I had pictures of all the crazy things that I built in my youth, like 70 MPH mini bike with a McCullough racing engine. Or that English prefect that I tore down and made into an antique two seater race car.
Walt

 

[Wesley Stephens]

when I was about 13 we swapped motors on a lawn mower and didn't worry about the wires. We just touched the hot side of some jumper cables to the terminal on the starter to crank it and popped the plug wire off with a screwdriver to cut it off. I guess that's not OSHA approved though.

 

[Old Roy]

Lance I have a world of info on that engine including wiring diagrams, but as wired on the Bolens the wiring you have relates to the Bolens as far as the missing safety switches,

as far as just getting it to run there should be a 2 wire plug thingy coming out from under shroud [top cover] it is a white plastic with two holes to plug in wires with a bullet style male plug~~~~ Now listen!! ~~~ Feel the wires just behind the white plug and the wire that has a small lump is the charging wire that goes to the amp gauge. and is for DC voltage the other is AC for lights.

you will need a [+} hot wire to the can thingy on the side of the carb either from the ignition switch or a toggle switch This is a magnetic fuel shut off when power is not present and a one time clicking sound should be heard when ignition is turned on. at this point should run the way you are trying , but I suggest you place the hot [+] on the starter and use ground away from the tank somewhere on frame or front of motor.
By the way that is an Opposing twin briggs.
post serial, model, and code numbers and I'll try to find the actual wiring diagram.

 

[Old Roy]

Other things I forgot to mention I can see that plug yours is not exactly white ,but almost a clear opaque looking plug , you can also see the lume in the wire in the black where the two wires go to the engine side but the main thing before you do anything . Make sure all terminals are clean and free of any corrosion then start from there and try my suggestions above.

I would try to find the side covers if you're planning on running it for awhile to keep the heads cooler and help blow the exhaust away from engine .

The numbers I ask for should be stamped on the edge of the top cover

 

[Old Roy]

Darn it Lance!! you're keeping me up tonight Most wiring diagrams I have are showing the solenoid needs mounted and grounded.

 

[ChrisB]

(quoted from post at 03:00:14 06/29/09) Darn it Lance!! you're keeping me up tonight Most wiring diagrams I have are showing the solenoid needs mounted and grounded.

He has it tied down with the black cable. It will do fine.

 

[just another old geezer]

judging by the lawn mower pics, I'd say it makes a good case as to why some people should not be allowed to own tools.

 

[just another old geezer]

judging by the lawn mower pics, I'd say it makes a good case as to why some people should not be allowed to own tools.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Looks like hell and wont work.The mower frame wont stand the extra weight and horsepower.Your bugee cord dash will fall off if you do get it running.This mess will come apart and make some extra holes in you.Surprised you posted the pix.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Dont encourage the kid,hes jumped off the deep end this time.Complete lack of pride in his work.

 

[lucas boy]

hEY, IF YOU HAD SOME FUN AND IT DIDNT COST I SAY GREAT.. I GET TIED UP FIXING THINGS CHEEP FOR KIDS SOMETIMES. LUCAS

 

[jeff lanoue]

x2 lucas

 

[Anonymous-0]

(quoted from post at 03:42:26 06/29/09) Looks like hell and wont work.The mower frame wont stand the extra weight and horsepower.Your bugee cord dash will fall off if you do get it running.This mess will come apart and make some extra holes in you.Surprised you posted the pix.Dont encourage the kid,hes jumped off the deep end this time.Complete lack of pride in his work.

Dude...... You must have or are leading a miserable life.... If they had fun, screw it. At least they aren't trying their hand at a meth lab. If he takes off a hand or foot in the process, it'll be a learning experience. I encourage anyone to try, just be careful.

Dave

 

[Ryan - WI]

Assuming all of your safety switches are not tripped, the problem lies in the starter solenoid. There are four connections to it. It looks like only two of yours are hooked up.

1. There should be a large gauge wire from the battery to the solenoid. Check.

2. There should be a large gauge wire from the solenoid to the starter. Check.

3. There should be a small gauge wire from the ignition to the solenoid. Unhooked.

4. The metal base of the solenoid needs to be grounded to the frame or battery.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Don't worry about the naysayers,you're getting an education.Reminds me of the Oliver 70 standard with the Ford V6 engine I had.Thing nearly killed me a couple times but it was a lot of fun

 

[WvaJim]

Lanse, you keep learnin" and having fun. As for some of the other comments...must lead a sad life. I think coming to this forum anymore is not worth it.

 

[fixerupper]

Lanse, you're doing OK using your imagination and enginuity. It's the way I started out. Someday you're gonna put out some great work. Jim

 

[Buzzle]

Reminds me of that time my neighbor and me put his 340 rockwell twin into his snowmobile. It was not the stock motor, and his dad kept saying he would build a new motor mount someday. So there we were, two teenage boys in the middle of the summer,

What did we do?

We made a wood engine mount and had it in by noon, ran that snowmobile up and down the ditch the rest of the day, in july! Needless to say his dad was probably mad but just shut his mouth once he saw how much fun we had had.

 

[Dick L]

I sure would have hated to have you as my Dad.

I see you can not see the trees for the forest.
More is learned from trying things that did not work that advise from people that said it won't work so don't do it.

Remember the Wright brothers did things that would never work according to the advise from others.

As you read your computer screen you might take time to remember the stories about a crazy Ben Franklin.

Very seldom do we have a chance to see a young mans talents develop in front of us in live print and pictures.

I view this as a privilege to see a learning curve into the unknown by a young man open to advise from multiple opinions by some that have never even done what he is about to or trying to do.

 

[Wesley Stephens]

Lanse, this motor would be good for you to practice your exhaust fabrication skills. 2 pipes bent like bull horns would be cool on that machine.

 

[bob featherstone]

jeesus chr**st give the kid a break were you never young ??????? some of my fondest memories were the teenage years buying $25 cars & strippin them down & callin em dune buggies & beatin the p**s outta them in the back 40 thru the plowed fields the only way ANYTHING ever got invented was by people NOT afraid to fail
i say go Lanse, & watch your fingers & toes when you fire up the blades
bob

 

[RN]

You"re right about gas tanks and spark being slightly dangerous. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. Flat twin Briggs are a fairly smooth running engine, vibration won"t be great concern. Mounting bolts from frame to engine- some engines have extra mounting holes tapped for alternate use-mount engine where you want it and tap hole position in frame to drill or build subframe- what I did on amusing swap of 7hp briggs to a 12/14 hp Tecumseh OHV from a Bolens in a Simplicity 700 frame. Small Honda motorcycle muffler used with plumbing fitting pipes. Ferguson starter button handles starter. At least you don"t have drive shaft couplers to make. Have fun, remember fire extinguisher, gloves, boots, safety glass. RN

 

[Anonymous-0]

Cmon Lanse,Bungee cords.Now you know you should use ty-wraps for that or racing duct tape.How bout duct taping the bungees?

 

[john d]

Lanse, as others have mentioned, keep a fire extinguisher close by until you get that wiring completely sorted out!

Get it running like you want it to, then work on consolidating that dash assembly. Looks like you're having as much fun with this stuff as I did when I was your age! Keep experimenting!

 

[Greg_Ky]

Lanse YA need More POWER!

 

[Ben Rauls]

How are people suposed to learn? Quit Bashing

 

[Ben Rauls]

How are people suposed to learn? Quit Bashing

 

[waltdavies]

Lanse Remember Ford did not build his first car in one day he spent a lot of time putting things together with the hope that it would work.
Also read about Ole Evenrude He built his first outboard because he didn't like rowing a boat and hos girl friend wanted to spend Sunday out on the Lake.
Like I told you I could have been seriously hurt or killed on a lot of the contraptions that I put together when young but I am here with all my fingers and toes.
When very young Grampa gave us small wheels and we made one seater cars that we rolled down steep hills on the property. I had a fun life because my Granpa encouraged us all to build crazy things to have fun on.
Walt
PS we didn't need drugs to get high we had a life of doing things that kept us high on adrenalin.

 

[waltdavies]

Lanse Remember Ford did not build his first car in one day he spent a lot of time putting things together with the hope that it would work.
Also read about Ole Evenrude He built his first outboard because he didn't like rowing a boat and hos girl friend wanted to spend Sunday out on the Lake.
Like I told you I could have been seriously hurt or killed on a lot of the contraptions that I put together when young but I am here with all my fingers and toes.
When very young Grampa gave us small wheels and we made one seater cars that we rolled down steep hills on the property. I had a fun life because my Granpa encouraged us all to build crazy things to have fun on.
Walt
PS we didn't need drugs to get high we had a life of doing things that kept us high on adrenalin.

 

[waltdavies]

Lanse Remember Ford did not build his first car in one day he spent a lot of time putting things together with the hope that it would work.
Also read about Ole Evenrude He built his first outboard because he didn't like rowing a boat and hos girl friend wanted to spend Sunday out on the Lake.
Like I told you I could have been seriously hurt or killed on a lot of the contraptions that I put together when young but I am here with all my fingers and toes.
When very young Grampa gave us small wheels and we made one seater cars that we rolled down steep hills on the property. I had a fun life because my Granpa encouraged us all to build crazy things to have fun on.
Walt
PS we didn't need drugs to get high we had a life of doing things that kept us high on adrenalin.

 

[waltdavies]

Darn just found out why some people have more than one post.
Walt

 

[Ben Rauls]

How are people suposed to learn? Quit Bashing

 

[Nancy Howell]

Lanse, looks like you and your buddies are having a boat load of fun. Keep it up. Forget the naysayers and take in the good advice.

Projects like this get the mind "juices" flowing and you will learn a lot.

To the naysayers - Lanse and his friends could have been doing some other less than acceptable teen-age stuff instead of using their minds and creativity.

Do be safe Lanse. I am expecting more pictures as this project comes along.

 

[Billy NY]

That's good stuff, common sense will keep you out of trouble, for the most part. We too had a lot of fun building snowmobiles, dirtbikes from parts and salvage, go carts and so on, a lot of other kids got store bought new ones, still was fun to build your own, and yep they broke down, I think we gained more character, then the ones who were given new ones.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Theres a good chance one of his friends will be hurt with this rig.The drunk driver always survives the wreck. Others get killed.Hes already looking for ways to make it go faster.At what speed will the blade come apart? Lance is an up and coming DUFUS.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Getting crippled for life because you do something stupid aint much fun.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Taking crazy risks can hardly called a talent.When I think back on 7 young men who were raising hell here years ago none made it to 25.I was a constable then and saw them die hard.2 died in jail.One ran a snowmobile thru the ice.Another ended up in a wheel chair after a car wreck.Another died in a car wreck while his friend lost an arm.They were all big risk takers and it cost them.One of them bought a van with no brakes,drove it home anyway and killed 2 people on the way.Pretty bad for a small town of 1000.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I had to laugh at your post.Picking up rabid cats makes me wonder where you left your common sense.

 

[Anonymous-0]

the posts on lawn mowers reminded me of the 2 young fellows who stopped at my place to buy a used mower I had for sale.They had been mowing lawns for hire the previous summer.The rewind clutch failed so they took the shroud off the B&S engine.They cut the rope free from the rewind and wrapped the rope around the fly wheel.They pulled the rope,the engine started.The rope caught in the fly wheel fins.The steel pin in the pull handle went right thru the calf of one boys leg.I told them they could have replaced the rewind clutch for 6 bucks,THe EM bill was many hundred bucks.I stopped at a general store where two boys were mowing grass around pinic tables.One held up the end of the table while the other pushed the mower under the table.I went over and told them that what they were doing was dangerous.They laughed at me.As I headed for the store I heard one of them scream.The mower had passed over the foot of the boy that was holding up the end of the table.The top of his sneaker was gone,I could see the bones of his big toe plus the next toe was gone.I ran to the store and a first aid kit was brought out.The boy was rushed to the Doctor a few miles away.I hope Lance reads this.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I never did that.I still have a car I bought in the fifties.Fools destroy things and call it fun.