1957 RJ-35 Build

[JUSS10 250]

So as some of you may know i picked up an RJ-35 that was destined to be scrapped last fall. I wasn't sure what to do with it as it was missing a fair amount of parts (hood, steering wheel, rear wheels/tires, motion lever) but it did have all the essential parts and in great condition (rear hubs, original front wheels, varidrive pulley, brake kit) And after i put some rear tires on it and made it a roller, I just had to bring it back to life. I have since started fabbing up a new motion lever from scratch thanks to some dimensions and great video from VinsRJ. I also picked up an engine lot that consisted of a kohler K-91 as well as two clinton 900s. Got the kohler up and running and so far, it looks like its a solid engine so that will get bolted in the frame. Progress is slow but i hope to get it running under its own power within the month.

 

 have run into a few snags with the motion lever. It looks like a previous owner bent and broke off the bottom of the mount for the motion lever. I've gathered that the metal stok there is 1.25" by .25" stock and i know the hole has to be .375". I was wondering if i could get some help with the location of a new replacement piece i am making. how far below the frame does that hole go? (i suppose i could try and line up the handle with the holes for the different speeds) and how much material is there below the hole for that lever to ride/pivot against?

 

Another question is about the kohler k91. When i un bolted the existing i muffler i expected to find threads in the exhaust port but it just looks like it has two bolt holes. Is there a custom piece that bolts the block there that has pipe thread on it so i can run a muffler to the front?

 

Here are some pictures of where it started 

 

 

 

 

 

as it went in to winter storage before i pulled the tarp off last week

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Justin

[Jake Kuhn 1,562]

Glad to see you are working on it again justin! As for the motor many people usually have that question. The original kohler used on wheel horses had a 3/4" tapped exaust. The k91 you have is a newer motor and they just had bolted on mufflers. What I usually do when I have one that has that type of exaust is just tap it to 1/2" and it usually works out well.

 

~Jake

[VinsRJ 723]

Looks like you are on the right path!

 

I would agree with what Jake has suggested for the exhaust port threads.

[JUSS10 250]

Well I haven't been on the forum in quite some time. Maybe 2 years? I guess I've just been busy. I've moved in that time and put up a nice 32x48 pole barn and have been slowly getting things together. This little guy was tucked way in the back of a shed and I really want to try and get it up and running this year. I have since got the speed selector lever built and functioning. I also have the original front wheels off and cleaned up so I can put some new tires on. I am working on an old set of rear tires for it that I plan to clean up and use millers tire paint on. The few main items I need are a steering wheel, fan shroud so I can use the kohler engine I have (its missing it) and a hood (I'm guessing those are impossible to find?). If some one had a good cad model of the hood, I could CNC machine a mold for fiber glassing and go that route as well. 

[953 nut 56,338]

9 hours ago, JUSS10 said:

I need are a steering wheel, fan shroud so I can use the kohler engine I have (its missing it) and a hood (I'm guessing those are impossible to find?

The hood and steering wheel for the '57 RJ are the same as the '58 & '59 RJs, hard but not impossible to find.

[AlwaysLookin80 1,308]

Great project. I love RJ 35s.

[JUSS10 250]

I have a 3 spoke steering wheel from a 62 model tractor. Its stuck on the steering shaft but if I can get that off, I may just use that for now. I know this wouldn't be correct, but since a 58/59 rj hood is the same, does that mean a 60/61 suburban hood would also fit?