It was posted on some other tractor forums over a period of about 6-months as I built it.
All together there were about 45 individual post and hundreds of photos.
I'm going to condense this all down so you can still get the feel of the overall build without getting into all the day by day works.
Initially, I had built this with a front end loader but after it was finished I decided I didn't like it with the loader on so I removed it.
As the built progresses, some of the photos may show parts that were for mounting the loader.
I will put this up over the next few days until it is all posted.
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Over the years, I have been collecting parts for this project and I think I have enough to get started on it.
Last weekend I brought some of the parts into the garage so I can get started.
This very dirty engine and transmission is out of an old EzGo industrial cart that's been sitting around for about 15 years.
This is a pair of old Chevy truck rims that I picked up from some where at some time ( I really don't remember )
And a pair of new, 29x12x15 tires off ebay that just arrived last week
I'm really tickled about these. They are "blemished" tires and only cost $100 each with shipping.
If you look closely at the left side on the top tire, you can see that the manufacture's name has been sanded off.
First thing I did was to clean some of the gunk off the engine and transmission.
The engine is an Onan but I don't know the horse power.
It has a 3-speed transmission and a "high-low" range gear box behind it.
It's been a few years since I've had it running but I believe it ran OK and didn't smoke.
Like a lot of air cooled engines that sit around for a while, it has a mouse nest in the cooling fan shroud.
The rear axle is from a Economy Jim Dandy garden tractor.
I'm using a U-channel rail from a "pallet rack" for the frame. I know it's heavier than what I need but it is what I have laying around.
The rail is 9 foot long and I cut it in half to give me two 54 inch sections. The channel is 4 inch wide by 3 inch deep and 1/4 inch wall thickness.
Here I've notched one end of the frame rails to clear the axle housing and fitting one side to the axle for placement of the axle mounting holes.
Once the hole locations were measured out, I drilled them thru the side of each frame.
Next, I took the high-low range transmission off the back of the Onan so I can mate it to the rear axle.
The Power King axle has a spline shaft and the transmission has a 1 inch shaft with a keyway.
Using the splined sleeve that fits on the axle and a sleeve with a keyway that fits on the transmission, I welded the two sleeves together to form a solid drive shaft.
Here you can see the spline at the end of the key-way bore.
The Power King tractor was designed to use a solid, closed drive shaft housing with solid drive shaft couplers inside it.
First I cut the housing mounting flanges out of 1/4 inch steel.
Both mounting flanges are completed and mounted to the axle and transmission.
One side of the frame had to be notched out to clear the transmission.
Then I welded in the support for the rear of the transmission.
This support is made out of 2-1/2 x 3/8 inch steel.
The front transmission support is made out of 2 x 1/4 inch steel and is bolted to the frame so it can be removed so the transmission can slide forward for removal.
At this point, with every thing welded and bolted tightly in place, the alignment is set so the coupler will
slide back and forth on the shafts about 1/8 inch.
The transmission was then removed and the drive shaft housing tube was set in place.
Every thing was bolted back up tight and the housing tube was welded to the mounting flanges.
Both the center hole and the wheel lug hole pattern are larger on the Power King wheels then they are on the Chevy truck wheels that I'm using.
The hubs are rusted on the rear axle so I have to use the hub puller to get them off.
With the hub chucked up in the lathe, I turn down the center to fit the hole diameter in the Chevy wheels.
Here I'm marking the center of the first hole with a transfer punch.
Once the first hole is drilled out, I bolt the hub to the wheel thru that hole and I can mark the other 5-holes for drilling.
Drilling the wheel stud holes out on the drill press.
This Onan engine is a cast iron Model #CCKA and it has a deep oil pan on it.
The front transmission is connected to the rear transmission thru a universal joint.
With every thing lined up as it was designed, the bottom of the oil pan is below the frame rails.
I used 2-1/2 x1/4 inch square tube to mount the engine on.
The frame rails for the engine are welded in place and the engine and transmission mounts are tack welded on.
Tires are mounted and I finished welding up the engine and transmission mounts and boxing in the frame.
I decided to go with these rear tires off a Sears tractor. They are 12 inch rims and the tires stand about 22 inch tall.
It just so happens that I have this set of 5-bolt hubs off an old trailer that fits these Sears wheels.
Digging in the barn, I found this early Ford front axle that is no good because it is bent.
Whereas the bent axle can be straightened, I would not want to use it on anything that would run on the highway.
To make it easier to work with, I cut the axle in half ( it's going to have to be shortened anyway ).
Here are the parts that I'll use and the bent part of the axle has been straightened.
Next, I cut the Ford axle spindles off the brackets with the torch.
Then I machined the Ford spindle brackets so they have a flat surface.
With the trailer spindle chucked in the lathe, I faced off the back so it is flat and turned down the out side edge to remove the bolt holes.
The back of the Ford spindle brackets have a center counter sink that was used at the factory for machining the spindle.
I used this to center the Ford spindle bracket on the trailer spindle.
Then I tack welded 4-places around the spindle base and then finished welding the trailer spindle to the Ford spindle bracket.
Here are the finished spindles that will accept the wheel hubs that fit the wheels.
This is NOT a modification you would want to do to a car or truck but it will make a very strong axle for my tractor.
I cleaned and greased the bearings and put new seals in the hubs and they were then assembled on the spindles.
With one wheel temporally mounted, I set one half of the axle in place and marked where the axle needed to be cut.
Both halves of the axle are cut the same length and welded together. Then I welded a 1/2 inch thick steel bar on both sides to fill in the center.
I ordered new bushings, seals and kingpin bolts for the Ford axle. When they came in, I assembled the spindles on the axle.
Then I mounted the wheels and put the axle in place again to see where the pivot pin was going to go.
It turns out that it will work best right thru the center of the axle. So I welded a steel block on top of the axle to take the strain of the tractor weight.
Next I drilled the pivot hole out on the drill press.
With the front axle finished, it is time to mount it on the tractor.
First I bent a piece of steel plate to form the rear support bracket for the axle.
The bracket is bent so it is about 5 degrees off from being a full 90 degrees.
This will set the caster on the axle to help the tractor track correctly.
The bracket is clamped in place on the front.
Then the axle is clamped to the bracket and the pivot pin hole is center punched with a transfer punch.
After the hole is drilled, the bracket is then welded in place.
Then I made the front mounting bracket the same way.
This holds the pin in place and keeps it from rotating.
I welded two axle stops on the front of the frame to control how far the axle can rotate up and down.
Here you can see the caster angle on the axle.
The axle needs a radius support arm to keep it so the axle doesn't move forward or backwards.
I bent up two "U" brackets and drilled a 3/8 diameter hole thru them.
The "U" brackets are bolted to the front of the radius arm and the radius arm is clamped up to the axle.
The "U" brackets are then welded to the bolts in the spring perch holes.
A bracket was welded in between the frame rails and the ball hitch bracket is bolted to it at the back of the radius arm.
This allows the ends of the axle to rotate up or down but not forward or backward.
I used two 1/2 inch diameter rods to form the center section between the model A tierod ends.
After the front axle was mounted I was having second thoughts on if it would be strong enough.
This axle was designed to be supported out on the spring mounts, not from a center pin.
The steel block I welded on top of the axle will keep the hole from going egg shape at the top but doesn't add a lot of strength to the axle itself.
Plus it has been cut and re-welded in the center and it has a 1-1/16 diameter hole thru the center.
Instead of taking a chance on it braking, I decided to beef it up now so I know I don't have to worry about it later.
I'm going to weld a steel bar along the bottom to spread out the force that is applied to the axle by the pivot pin.
I'm making the axle brace out of 1-1/2 inch diameter solid steel bar.
I cut the piece to the length I need and bent it in the hydraulic press.
Then I put it on the mill and machined a flat area on each end.
This is the axle and brace clamped together and ready to weld.
You can see how the milled flat area fits nicely against the bottom of the axle.
The finished axle re-mounted on the tractor.
