18 Automatic "Hip" surgery

["D"- Man 827]

I have just finished a mock-up of my 18 Auto with extra wide fenders. I noticed that the stock fenders did not cover the whole width of the 12" tires, and would not cover dual 15" ags sooo... I took them to my welder friend along with a pair from my parts tractor and asked if he could take four narrow fenders trim off opposing edges of each and weld them together to make two wide fenders. He also is quite handy at body work and agreed to do it.

I only had two extra holes in each of one pair (where a previous owner had replaced the original tail lights with a wider base) the other fenders were unmolested. I had my friend fill in the extra holes, so all that remained was the 4 mounting holes at the front and 6 holes at the rear. This way the wider fenders can accomodate two reflectors each and two tail lights each!!!

I also may try to use a section of footrest from the parts tractor to sort of fill the void between the extra mounting holes (those on the outside) and the original footrest. Still trying to work out a design that comes close to looking factory.

Looks like files are too big, I try in another post.

["D"- Man 827]

More pics hopefully...

["D"- Man 827]

Rear view

[AMC RULES 37,127]

That's gonna look great...nice work.     

["D"- Man 827]

Front view

[KC9KAS 4,741]

That is so cool..........Thanks for the photos.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

Looks good, but lookin forward to the pics with the wide rubber in em.

Mike............

["D"- Man 827]

Oh and just for looks ???

Dual chrome exhaust tips.

[brandonozz 168]

Very cool, 

I will be looking forward to seeing the tires mounted and how it looks all together.

[SousaKerry 501]

I would tuck two headlights under the front of each fender and make it look like a IH farm tractor

[chevyaddict83 39]

I would tuck two headlights under the front of each fender and make it look like a IH farm tractor

that's the ONLY reason I want a gt14 or the 18auto. The recessed btail lights. Looks cool.

www.perfecttrimlawnandgardencare.com

[JamesBe1 82]

Wow, that's excellent. 

 

If I recall correctly, there are braces under the fenders on a normal set of fenders.  Did you use the old ones over or did you fabricate longer ones to accommodate the extra width?

["D"- Man 827]

That's gonna look great...nice work.     

Thanks Craig, I think so too!

["D"- Man 827]

That is so cool..........Thanks for the photos.

Thanks Ken, you are very welcome.

["D"- Man 827]

Looks good, but lookin forward to the pics with the wide rubber in em.

Mike............

Thanks Mike, I probably will try to just do a hydro trans bolt-on with hubs wheels and 12" tires, after I get the wheels (that I had sandblasted) painted and tires mounted to see how it's going to look for myself... then I will take pics and post.

["D"- Man 827]

Very cool, 

I will be looking forward to seeing the tires mounted and how it looks all together.

Thanks Brandon, Tires mounted... hopefully soon, see it altogether well, lets just say that may be awhile yet as I am still trying to sort out some "mild" modifications along the way and they are taking a little longer than expected.

["D"- Man 827]

I would tuck two headlights under the front of each fender and make it look like a IH farm tractor

Thanks SousaKerry, I am currently trying to sort out how to fill-in the areas from the extended fenders to the footrests as this will offer a little support to the front of the fenders, I hope.

["D"- Man 827]

 

I would tuck two headlights under the front of each fender and make it look like a IH farm tractor

that's the ONLY reason I want a gt14 or the 18auto. The recessed btail lights. Looks cool.

www.perfecttrimlawnandgardencare.com

 

Thanks David, (I did get that name right I hope) I think it looks pretty cool myself, I am hoping to get the other two red lenses soon and see how all four tail lights will look!

["D"- Man 827]

Wow, that's excellent. 

 

If I recall correctly, there are braces under the fenders on a normal set of fenders.  Did you use the old ones over or did you fabricate longer ones to accommodate the extra width?

Thanks James, you are correct.  The braces from the original fenders were mounted at the rear, I am moving these to the middle. for the rear braces I am cutting in half a channel from my parts tractor (part #103226) I have drilled new holes to accommodate the rubber bumpers from the spare braces.  This will provide support out to 10-1/2" the extra wide fenders are almost 14" wide.  

["D"- Man 827]

Well it has been quite some time since the last update. Redoing a transaxle in part was a little more time consuming than I anticipated! I also redid the two hubs, spacers and finally received my rear wheels back from the sand-blaster/powder coater (primer only) so I painted them. I chose Gloss White just because I really thought it would make them stand out more than the Linen Beige. Hope to have the tires mounted and wheels bolted to the hubs on my next post.

One picture image was too large, sorry.

Edited September 11, 2013 by TWIN54

[groundhog47 347]

Extremely impressive, do you plan to activate the exhaust, that is really neat?  Addition of dual rear lights very nice touch. As am unfamiliar with most of the BIG Horses, as well as new what are the four bolts in the hub for (not being smarty, just curious); friend pacer has one and haven't crawled all over it yet to learn. Just know the D's if that what you have are mega tractors compared to mine.

["D"- Man 827]

Extremely impressive, do you plan to activate the exhaust, that is really neat? Addition of dual rear lights very nice touch. As am unfamiliar with most of the BIG Horses, as well as new what are the four bolts in the hub for (not being smarty, just curious); friend pacer has one and haven't crawled all over it yet to learn. Just know the D's if that what you have are mega tractors compared to mine.

Thanks Gerry, no, I do not plan on activating the dual rear exhaust. I do not even know if they would be in the way of the three point hitch, or any of the rear attachments. The four bolts per hub are for securing the turning brake discs. I do not have any yet, because the tractor that I purchased a partial system from was a working unit and the risk of damaging the hubs was not worth trying to remove them. I also need the rods to complete my T-brake system. P.S. this model is considered an 18 Automatic, which is the predecessor to the "D" series models. Mark. Edited September 12, 2013 by TWIN54

["D"- Man 827]

 

"I also may try to use a section of footrest from the parts tractor to sort of fill the void between the extra mounting holes (those on the outside) and the original footrest. Still trying to work out a design that comes close to looking factory."  

 

Just a slight bit of an update to sorting out the widened footrest design. What I decided to do is cut opposing edges off the two footrests from the tractor I am restoring and the two from my parts tractor.  This approach seemed like the only logical design to accomplish a "factory" look.  When the cuts were completed on the two pieces for the left footrest I test fitted them only to discover that the piece of angle I had clamped to one as a guide for my cut had been misaligned and about a 1/8" gap was present for the length of a few inches.  On the two cuts for the right footrest the surfaces were filed to fit without any issues.  So now I have turned these over to the welder, but was told it may be awhile before he can fit these into his schedule.  I only took one picture of the left side with the pieces in place.  Since I have purchased all of the parts that I needed for turning brakes* {most of which are new old stock} I am planning on adding this option to the tractor.  This requires that the middle of the front of the right footrest will have to remain open, so consequently I will also leave the middle of the front of the left footrest open just for the sake of keeping things symmetrical. 

 

*A couple of the rods and the disc's are not included in the picture as these were still on the parts tractor when this pic was taken.

Edited January 7, 2015 by 23 Automatic LSE

[Brrly1 1,146]

Lookin' good Mark!!! Can't wait to see at the show!

["D"- Man 827]

...my 18 Auto with extra wide fenders... I took them to my welder friend along with a pair from my parts tractor and asked if he could take four narrow fenders trim off opposing edges of each and weld them together to make two wide fenders.

I was asked, in a P.M. about the seam in these extra wide fenders, so I removed one and snapped a picture of the joining area to show where the weld is. I have also posted a picture of the edges that were trimmed off. You should be able to click on the image in order to enlarge for detail.