The Lone Raider

[AlexR 627]

Just picked up this 1972 Raider 14 today. Its been sitting outside for at least 5 years. Guy I bought it from at a rental property of his, said it was a old guy that owned it and he died a couple years ago. 

My plans with it are see how it runs (motor is free) and I might swap out the the 14hp into my 73' that was originally a 14hp but has a 12hp now. 

And then I am thinking of lowering it and swapping pulleys out to make it faster. It will get paint of some kind as well. 

 

Deck is there and I pulled it off but it's a bit of a mess, blades are locked up.

Edited June 29 by AlexR

[kpinnc 12,001]

1 hour ago, AlexR said:

Just picked up this 1972 Raider 14 today.

 

That's a heckuva battery tray the previous owner came up with!

 

Looks to have good bones! 

[AlexR 627]

54 minutes ago, kpinnc said:

 

That's a heckuva battery tray the previous owner came up with!

 

Looks to have good bones! 

Yeah it would probably make a great weight tray for someone, but all the weight is on the hitch pin on the transmission so maybe not.

And honestly I don't know why they did make that battery tray there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the stock battery tray

 

It is good, but it's messed up and worn out in enough places that I don't mind hacking away a bit at it. Like the PTO lever plate that holds the lever tight is welded to the steering tower. The wiring is a absolute mess which is fine I have a new key switch and wiring harness that goes to it so I can rewire it no problem. Gas tank is questionable it doesn't have the shutoff valve and bushing on it. And I am sure there are some things I haven't ran into yet. 

Edited June 29 by AlexR

[8ntruck 6,998]

The fuel shutoff valve in this era of tractor was often in the side plate of the dash tower just above the lift lever.  Looks like it might be there in your 2nd picture.

 

Multiple turn knob sticking through the pannel with the actual valve inside.

[AlexR 627]

44 minutes ago, 8ntruck said:

The fuel shutoff valve in this era of tractor was often in the side plate of the dash tower just above the lift lever.  Looks like it might be there in your 2nd picture.

 

Multiple turn knob sticking through the pannel with the actual valve inside.

That's good to know!! I noticed that but I didn't realize that was original and the way they did that. Thank you very much for that information. 

[Handy Don 12,210]

At least there was a tink-tink on the stack to keep the rain (mostly?) out of the cylinder. Good luck!

[AlexR 627]

26 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

At least there was a tink-tink on the stack to keep the rain (mostly?) out of the cylinder. Good luck!

Yeah I was worried about that as well first thing I checked before I bought it, at least for the $100 I paid for it was if the engine would spin. I would have still bought it if it was seized, but offered less. That said there is still a possibility of corrosion on the exhaust valve. The flapper is a fair bit bigger then the pipe so that probably helped as well. 

[oliver2-44 9,726]

That should have the limited slip transmission.  Maybe not the best for a pulley swap high speed tractor.  But then again you may be the first to try it and prove how it really handles it!  

[Handy Don 12,210]

3 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

Maybe not the best for a pulley swap high speed tractor. 

Agreed. I think for a speeder, an 8-speed is the way to go--center-supported pinions and no resistance when starting a turn. Swap the LSD to someone doing ground engagement or snow plowing?!

[AlexR 627]

24 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Agreed. I think for a speeder, an 8-speed is the way to go--center-supported pinions and no resistance when starting a turn. Swap the LSD to someone doing ground engagement or snow plowing?!

My '73 the one that has the 12 hp that I am thinking of swapping the 14hp to has a 8 speed I could swap transmissions too. As that is my ground engagement or snowplowing machine. Thanks for the info I forgot about the Raiders having limited slip. I should have remembered that from putting a charger transmission on my B100 auto that has a limited slip. I can verify that before I switch it all around though. 

[AlexR 627]

32 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

That should have the limited slip transmission.  Maybe not the best for a pulley swap high speed tractor.  But then again you may be the first to try it and prove how it really handles it!  

I suppose the only good it would do is if it can do burnouts.                    (highly doubtful) 

[Pullstart 62,834]

6 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

That's a heckuva battery tray the previous owner came up with!

Musta been a smart feller!

 

 

[kpinnc 12,001]

13 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Musta been a smart feller!

 

If it gets it out from under that starter/generator, it's definitely a smart move!

[AlexR 627]

I'm kinda reconsidering hacking this one apart to lower it. It has its issues but it might still be too nice to do that. So restoration project or cut it up as a custom, what are your guys thoughts? 

[AlexR 627]

Well the transmission is not limited slip or at least if it was it's completely worn out now. Spinning one tire the other tire spins reverse and if I hold one tire and spin the other there is very little resistance. I do hear a slight clunking/clicking so it's probably just completely worn out. 

Working on getting the oil changed out on the transmission to get any water out. 

Looks like they welded a bar to the hitch and it's a beefy bar

[ebinmaine 67,415]

3 hours ago, AlexR said:

I'm kinda reconsidering hacking this one apart to lower it. It has its issues but it might still be too nice to do that. So restoration project or cut it up as a custom, what are your guys thoughts? 

 

IMHO... restoration.  

 

 

 

1 hour ago, AlexR said:

if I hold one tire and spin the other there is very little resistance. I do hear a slight clunking/clicking so it's probably just completely worn out

 

Easy enough to repair. 

 

 

[Handy Don 12,210]

1 hour ago, AlexR said:

Well the transmission is not limited slip or at least if it was it's completely worn out now.

If you intend to open the trans, it’s easy to spot the LSD differential without actually disassembling it -- it. has five bolts holding it together vs. four in the standard 8-speed.

[AlexR 627]

Well the seat pan is not very good shape still might be salvageable but definitely wouldn't mind cutting it up. Steering is a bit sloppy which most of these tractors are, if they weren't greased regularly and used a lot. I drained the transmission which had quite a bit of water in it but looking through the fill tube and pulled the gear shifter to look through there it doesn't look bad at all. Refilled with fresh oil for now. Also drained and refilled engine oil which had like a tablespoon of water that came out before the oil. 

The gear shifter set screw seems like the threads in the transmission are stripped so will have to figure that one out later. 

Ripped all the wiring out except the ones from the engine to the rectifier, and removed the ignition switch which was not the correct one and was loose, I had a spare ignition switch and a stens wiring harness so that will not be hard to get finished up.

 

The PTO lever plate at the steering tower is a mess it's welded to the tower and it's cracked at the angle. And the PTO itself at the engine seems a little loose. 

 

The headlight lens in the photo looks ok but it's not it's cracked in multiple places. 

 

The hitch pin of course is stuck so didn't mess with that to much right now

 

Pulled the carb bowel it was dry and pretty clean so may not even need to mess with that. 

[AlexR 627]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

IMHO... restoration.  

 

After tearing into it more while it could be restored I already have two nice machines and I think I would rather return my 73' to more original form like transferring the 14hp and redoing the decals (it has C120 decals) then hunt down all the parts for this machine. Because if I do restore this one I will want to keep the engine on it. 

All that said I haven't decided yet I will probably think about it for a little while. 

 

I do have a idea for the mount from the deck though. I have two snowplows I was going to make one good one from but I will have a extra blade which I can cut it down and use the deck mount which already is a mid mount with a lift point to make a mid mount grader blade.

 

Edited June 30 by AlexR

[Lee1977 6,656]

A later model mid hitch will bolt up on the same holes as the original. I changed my 1971 Raider to a later model mid hitch. 

[AlexR 627]

Made myself a hub puller from a trashed 1" hub 

[peter lena 8,608]

@AlexR  on that trans flush (  recommended ) after initial drop , drain , would also jack up the front end to enhance drainage . been using a hi mileage ATF fluid for refill and  some drive around time , like miles , days of use , the more it gets to fling around and flush down , the more it cleans flushes , also like to use every gear , forward reverse , you probably will have to do this a couple of times , new shift boot , after  a clean drain ,  75x90  gear oil is good , personally like a " climbing gear oil "  at final drain and refill , think its much smoother / easier shifting , also get after related clutch linkage with an aerosol penetrating oil , to make the rust run out  , then a red grease on every related linkage point . lots to do on that , pete

[ebinmaine 67,415]

On 6/30/2024 at 5:18 PM, AlexR said:

The gear shifter set screw seems like the threads in the transmission are stripped so will have to figure that one out later. 

 

I have one here from a low hours 312-8 that's been cross threaded at an interesting angle. 

 

Here's a link to a thread about it: 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't attempted any particular repair yet. 

 

 

 

 

[AlexR 627]

2 hours ago, peter lena said:

@AlexR  on that trans flush (  recommended ) after initial drop , drain , would also jack up the front end to enhance drainage . been using a hi mileage ATF fluid for refill and  some drive around time , like miles , days of use , the more it gets to fling around and flush down , the more it cleans flushes , also like to use every gear , forward reverse , you probably will have to do this a couple of times , new shift boot , after  a clean drain ,  75x90  gear oil is good , personally like a " climbing gear oil "  at final drain and refill , think its much smoother / easier shifting , also get after related clutch linkage with an aerosol penetrating oil , to make the rust run out  , then a red grease on every related linkage point . lots to do on that , pete

Those are great recommendations, but I think a transmission rebuild is probably in store for it a couple bearings are worn.

[AlexR 627]

52 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

I have one here from a low hours 312-8 that's been cross threaded at an interesting angle. 

 

Here's a link to a thread about it: 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't attempted any particular repair yet. 

 

 

 

 

That is definitely a interesting angle haha. 

I will probably tackle mine when I tear the transmission apart. Fortunately mine isn't at a angle, I will have to see how messed up the threads are when I get into it.