Introducing the Stig Special

[Stigian 1,234]

Some of may of read I had to sell my C-125 to pay for my 518-H, sad to see the little C go but sometimes these things have to happen.. But not always go to plan..

While speaking to the winning bidder on the phone he just happened to mention he was buying it to replace his old WH with a very worn cutting deck..

Before I knew what was happening I heard myself ask, "out of interest what are you doing with your old WH"?

So I ended up part ex-ing a C-125 for a er... C-125...

Im not sure if Pete is kissing the hood or banging his head saying "not another one"..

Not being a chap to hang about at times, after a quick drive round the garden the engine was soon pulled out.

The engines new home? Well it was going to go into my little Raider 10 to replace the non running 10hp lump.

Thirteen min's later the Raiders engine was out only find the new engine a K301AS with it's rubbers and mounting plate won't bolt up to the Raiders chassis

A bit of a re-think was needed..

[TJ 175]

Yes......and......I'm waiting. :thumbs2:

[Stigian 1,234]

For me the only real problem is it's not much of a looker, you can't stroke it's curves because.. it doesn't really have any..

What's needed is something more curvy, more sexy and a tad slimmer..

It wasn't long before my collection of 71 Raider body parts were dug out : )

I also thought it needed a slightly er.. rounder rear end or should I say a rear mounted gas tank..

Some careful measuring, cutting and welding soon had WH parts of different years married up.

A little pinch on the Raiders hips was needed.

This is cool

The 71 Raiders foot plate mount thingy with the C-125's seat pan mount thingy.

Without the welds it all bolted together (not drilling any holes) and the gas tank slid into place.

Digging through the spares unearthed a seat pan that came from Jim's (Mith) 312-8 digging machine.

Would you believe it bolted straight on

A bit of patching up was needed on one of the foot plates.

Some idiot cut some metal out of it years ago thinking it wouldn't be needed again

The drive belt guard needed a little tweak so it would clear the pulley on the C-125's trans.

With the hood borrowed from my 74 Raider 10 the mixed year WH looked something like this..

I quite like it

[Stigian 1,234]

You need wait no longer TJ :thumbs2:

[TJ 175]

It was worth the wait. :thumbs2:

[wheel horse 1045 2]

we love your posts stig

[wheel horse 1045 2]

IT LIVES ITS dun dun duunnn frankinhorse, :thumbs2:

[Stigian 1,234]

And this gentlemen is where the plot thickens.

But first a bit of sad news.

Some of you may remember my Project 6x6 with the big TD engine, well it is no more..

It has taken me a long long while to admit to myself that I had really taken on too much, something my engineering skills just arnt upto.

Sorry to all you guys who have been waiting to see that build happen, but I really should build something that I can er.... Build.

One last photo of the big beast being removed from the bench.

With an empty Workshack it became clear that the Stig Special should be built into something a bit.. well.. special

With a bit of "bottled inspiration"...

A plan was hatched

It looks good but might not be that stable

Here's the real plan, hope you all like it

At the moment it's just at the mock-up stage of the build but once my soluble oil and posh measuring thingy turn up in the post next week I can start machining up some new 7 inch wide rear hubs with brake disc mounts, which are the key to getting the other wheels in the right place....

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,293]

Now that would be a sight to behold! Sorry the 6x6 didn't work out, I was looking forward to seeing more of that.

[Rollerman 290]

You know Ian...the only problem I have with you posting is......You don't post enough!

Serious though very cool to see what your doing over across the pond with what you have on hand, skills, friends & bottled inspiration.

Hey what became of the Kohler twin you mentioned?

[Stigian 1,234]

Sorry the 6x6 didn't work out, I was looking forward to seeing more of that.

Yeah, sorry about that Karl, in fact sorry about that everyone I do feel I have let you all down by not getting it built

I need to learn to "walk a bit faster before trying to run"..

You know Ian...the only problem I have with you posting is......You don't post enough!

That's very true Stephen much to my shame I do need to get one here a lot more..

Serious though very cool to see what your doing over across the pond with what you have on hand, skills, friends & bottled inspiration.

Thank you very much kind Sir, yeah the bottle inspiration sure does come in handy at times

The good news folks is my new lathe cutting tools and soluble oil have turned up, fingers crossed the posh Digital Caliper Tool Micrometer Vernier Gauge will turn up today so work on the new wider rear hubs can start..

Watch this space :thumbs:

[Stigian 1,234]

Oops, I almost forgot you asked about the big engine Stephen..

Well, if you hadn't of guessed that engine was for this project it would of just been the finishing touch..

Sadly I got out bid in the very last seconds by

[Coadster32 793]

fingers crossed the posh Digital Caliper Tool Micrometer Vernier Gauge

(sorry, machinist here)

I'm willing to bet many here wish we had the time to make for fabricating as you do. Nice work, and funny as heck too!

[Stigian 1,234]

Lol, it was copied and pasted straight from the ebay title :thumbs:

[Stigian 1,234]

Yippie it's here.. The posh Digital Caliper Tool Micrometer Vernier Gauge

Another handy chunk of steel came my way as well today.

Steve the scrap man come over today to collect all my scrap metal and I always ask the boys in the joinery next door if they have and metal they need shot of..

It's just what I need for making brake disc mounts

Moved my old Southbend lathe to a nice spot with plenty of light, more bench space around it as well

All I need to do tomorrow is to bolt down the motor and the machining work on the Stig Special can finally start..

Can't wait :scratchead:

[Coadster32 793]

A bit shawdowy in the pic, but nice bench lathe. They don't make them like they used to.

BTW- the thingy is called a "digital caliper" for short. They are really nice to have. Just don't drop them, (unless they say fisher price on the side). :thumbs:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Im not sure if Pete is kissing the hood or banging his head saying "not another one"..

Ian you tell Pete I love my horses but ummmmmm Not that much! And as allways Great Work

[Stigian 1,234]

Good morning from the Workshack Guy's, it's a wet and not very windy day outside, but do I care?? No

Im a happy chap you see as the serious engineering work started late yesterday afternoon with the first of lathe work

Not much to show really as I didn't have much time left at the end of the day, but it's a start..

[bitten 134]

Looks like a great project Ian.

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks Bitten, it's going to be great when it's done

Progress has been a bit slow partly due to getting the garden a bit tidier, but mostly because my lathe is a bit old and small and prefers smaller cuts.

But hey, it's getting there : )

With a bit of help from Garry..

The thick steel bar changed shape a bit to this.

Now with added hole.

It's almost starting to look like the plans..

And last for this short update is a short vid of Garry cutting a er.. slightly big slab of steel to make some flange 's with..

More to come as it happens.

[TJ 175]

18 seconds of pure masculine, pulse pounding, sparks flying (my ex-wife used to say that to me all the time) adrenaline pumping video. :thumbs2:

[Stigian 1,234]

Glad you liked the video TJ

While were on the subject of cutting big slabs of steel, a little tip for you Guy's.

If while your cutting you start to smell something that doesn't smell like metal cutting, always check to see if your on fire or not

This lathe work is going to take age's, so sorry guy's the updates won't be very exciting for a quite a while yet.

But at long last part 1 of one of the new wheel hubs is finished, well all the turning work is done on it, it just needs a key way cut and a hole drilling and taping for a grub screw.

As luck would have it I was having a chat with one of my landlords son's the other day who has a big lathe and milling machine tucked away in a barn.. and can cut key ways..

The inner groove closest to the trans is for a brake disc mounting plate.

As the axles are going to get quite a lot of sideways stresses I need to squeeze a bearing on the axle in between the wheel hub thingy and the trans case, and ideas on which kind of bearings whould be good for this job?

The hole on the outside is for a small axle extension that will run to a bearing on the outside of the wheel, and the groove is for the wheel mounting plate.

All of which leads me nicely onto the wheel mounting plate part of the hub..

[Stigian 1,234]

It has taken quite a while to get this big slab of steel cut, but despite it putting up a fight it was no match for the 9 inch cutter

A small-ish square of it found it way onto the lathe.

This is the first time i have had the need to use the 4 jaw chuck.

Normally "cutting corners" is a bad kinda bodge thing..

In this case cutting these corners can only be a good thing and save a lot of lathe time

Lots of grinding sparking action later had A - a very hot small slab of sleel, and B - the slab looking a bit more the right shape.

Back to the lathe and this is the point I have got to now.

This flat steel is nice to work with on the lathe, but making it round might take a while

[Stigian 1,234]

Just a couple of things to finish this update.

First of all a big goes to Michael (Fordsonmayjortom) for donating a Raider 12 hood to this project. Many thanks sir

I invested in a handy machine to help me along and speed up this project.....

A Plasma Cutter

Here's Pete having a play.

Note Pete has all the right safety gear on.

Goggles

Boiler suit

Gloves..

And open toed sandals

To finish this update on a funny note, the plasma cutter has "Tool Station England" written on it all over the place.

This is the safety warnings decal..

Me thinks they need to get a better translator

[TJ 175]

Keep the pictures coming. :scratchead: