Introducing Project 6x6x6

[Stigian 1,234]

I guess ive kept you waiting and guessing for long enough on my post in the mods section.. So here it is

It started with a quick mock-up in the workshack, and looked so good a few photo's had to be taken.. Oh and i should point out the one and only Garry was about to offer full encouragement at another daft idea

Anyway, here's the photo that did it for me

This mock-up was done on the 312-8, but....... as i have the 314-8 half stripped on a bench (read very un-level big office desk), i thought the 314 is just begging for a 6x6x6 conversion

Soooooo, onto the plans...

Ive not drawn anything up yet, so your have to use your imagination a bit

The wheel base is going to be 54 inches between front and back axles, with the middle one at (yes you guessed it ) 27 inches.

The track from side to side will be about 8 inches wider each side.

Working out how to power all 6 wheels took a bit of ing, but with a bit of CAD (coffee aided design) work it all came together.

Each wheel will have its own short axle with bearings (saves lots of grinding noises)

and wheel hub of course

The axles each side will be linked together with sprockets and chains, and the back half axles will have chains running up to the WH trans.

To fit it all under the WH chassis i need to raise the ride height about 4 inches, but it should look ok along with the widened track.

Hope you all followed that

"But how is it going to steer"? i hear you ask..

With brakes of course

And this is were the build has started

I knocked a pair of these up quite a while ago to go on my kart project (hanging on the wall awaiting love) (the kart, not me ) but with a bit of lathe work they fitted the WH axles a treat.

This is half of a Kawasaki Gpz305 front wheel hub, cut down the middle and made into something to fit on the kart axle.

A bit of trimming to its width had it down to size.

Ta-daa the two of them slip quite nicely over the axles

Just need to cut some keyways now.

The disc's will be gripped by the gpz calipers and the brakes operated by an interesting linkage that will fiton the base of the steering coloum..

Yup, thats right.. no lever steer here

This wont be a fast build as most of my spare cash is going towards the workshack extension, but i will be doing what i can mostly on the bodywork front until i have the cash to splash on an arc welder

Thats it for now folks..

Tune back when something more might of happened :o

[Docwheelhorse 2,660]

:whistle: Get Outta this Mans Way... he is on a mission!!!! I have the 30 acres and the swamp to test it in when your done!

Tony

[rustbucket 4]

that thing looks awsome and i think when its fully built will be wicked sweet.

[combatmp29r 27]

Well Ian as always we will be on the edge of our seats waiting for the next update. Can't wait to see more. B)

[BairleaFarm 340]

This will be sweet when you get it done. Keep the pics a comming

[Stigian 1,234]

:thumbs: for all the great comments guys

I wish i had the cash to through at this project, but the workshack extension must come first, or at least be water tight before winter

I did have slight doubts about whether the steering would work as well as i hoped, but after looking under the hood of an Argo Cat the other day, i was delighted to see the Cats steering worked the same way as im going to use

Oh, the cat had a 18hp Kohler under the hood

In order to keep this project moving while funds are tight, im going to start on the bodywork next

Wish me luck, as some of it needs a bit of hammer work

[perry 82]

you sure are keeping your self busy :USA:

[pond195520032003 27]

as always, its very interesting to see and read about the projects you guys are doing over there cant wait for the next chapter :horseplay: :banana: keep up the good work :USA:

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Looks like a fun one Ian! And from the looks of the pics in Jim's post on his mystery project, he's got your testing ground! :USA:

[jusjeepn 59]

:banghead: SSSWWWWEEEEETTTTT!!!!!! :USA:

[Stigian 1,234]

Cheers guys

Perry - I cant help being busy, its just the way i am

Pond - next chapter coming up in a day or so

Jason - lol, yes Jim has got the right testing ground although Im not sure if the new project will fit in the back of the pick-up to get it to Jim's place..

HHmm Id better measure how wide the pick-up bed is tomorrow

Jusjeepn -

Well, no work has happened on the project today been busy with woodwork

Give me metal any day

But i expect something will happen over the next day or so :omg:

[Nick 13]

Ian, When your project came up I was going to mention the John Deere gator design but couldnt find pictures I had taken of one. Went to an auction today that had two of them so I shot some pictures.

Ive thought about building something similar from a wheel horse just never got up on my list. The Gator is has a transmission on the first set of tires then chain drive to the 2nd set with just short shafts and disc brakes for each wheel. Pictures should explain better. I would think the brake being on the 2nd axle might strain the chain but they must have held up, even if they are green.

More pictures if ya want to see them Picture album

[Stigian 1,234]

This is why RedSquare is a great place to be, people are always will to help each other out

for thinking of me and my build and taking the time to snap the pic's Nick

The Gator design is almost the same as what i have in mind for the 314, just done in a slightly more logical (well to me anyway) way.

I agree putting the brakes on the second axle not the drive axle is a strange way of doing it..... or is it now i think on it..errr....

Ok.. if I put the brakes where i plan to on the trans, it would mean that the diff would do "its thing" faster when a brake is put on one side.. but the actual braking to the wheels would be done through chains which isnt ideal.

Putting brakes on a wheel axle would mean the actual wheel to ground braking would happen faster, but the diff would now have to do "it's thing" through chains...

er...... i need to work out the full pro's and con's of doing it both ways

The drive shaft mounts on the Gator have given me food for thought

If possable i want to get my (well the 314's) new short drive shafts outboard enough to still be able to use my snowplow/blade

Time and a tape measure will tell :D

[Stigian 1,234]

Chapter 1 - A shocking discovery and a selection of hammers.

Morning all, i thought id have a break from building the workshack extension yesterday, and get one of the many jobs done on this project

But first i had to sort this mess out

I was shocked to find a bench under it all

With the bench clear i could crack on. Now where's the hood

Found it hiding under a bench

By the looks of the hood, someone in the past had used the 314 for knocking down walls Nothing a selection of hammers cant sort

Lots of hammering later (thick stuff this WH steel) and it was starting to look a lot better.

A quick coat of primer and a bit of sanding showed up the high and low spots.

Im very pleased with how it turned out, just needs a small skin of filler to smooth it all out. I have to say i really enjoyed myself doing the panel beating

After a couple of cans of beer to celebrate, i thought i might as well remove the decals as they need replacing anyway.

Not being the sort of chap to waist anything, i put the old WH decal to good use

I think the beer might of kicked in a bit while doing the base of my baccy tin

Thats all for this chapter folks

Tune back for more of the same madness :(

[Nick 13]

Ian, Looks like your getting a good start on the 6x6x6.

Also the decal you made reads an awful lot like some of the older Chinese built instruction manuals Ive had. :USA:

[Kelly 1,029]

:banghead: I love your decals

[Stigian 1,234]

Glad you like the decals guys

It was great, feeling like a little Kid again sticking them on the tin

If the weather stays good this week most of my time will be spent building the extension, but if it rains Im sure i can find something to do on this project :omg:

[bell 11]

I love your decals

x2.... LOLOLOL

[Stigian 1,234]

Wow things move fast on Redsquare, this post is down to page 4 already!!

Anyway, just a quick update to let you know i have been thinking about this project even though ive not had any time to do any work on it due to my workshack extension..

Ive been thinking about welding, wondering if my old trusty MIG welder is up to the job of a lot of heavy welding..

After the normal smokes and i came to the conclusion that i needed something a bit more heavy duty....

Soooo, this arrived at my door today

Wish me luck with the ARC welding as it's something i havnt done in many years, and if Im honest i was never that good at

Sorry this hasnt been an action packed update, but things will happen shortly :USA:

[tasmi01 3]

:omg: That will be ONE MEAN machine way to use ing skills :USA:

[Stigian 1,234]

:USA:

Yep lots of ing ahead, but the challenge is all part of the fun

Just ordered 5KG of 2.5mm welding rods, so getting started on the serious fabrication work is getting closer

One thing I need to do before starting the fab work is to get the 314-8 off that undersized and very un-level bench, and get it er... on the level :thumbs:

[rustbucket 4]

ah arc welding my fav welding. never could get the hang of tig and mig but good old arc thats where its at strongest weld and so easy to use just listen for sizzling bacon and the weld will be beautiful.

[Stigian 1,234]

just listen for sizzling bacon and the weld will be beautiful.

If only it could smell like sizzling bacon too

As you know not much has been happening on this project what with all the building work going on, but with the new king size bench up i thought it was about time i mocked up project 6x6x6 to try and work out how to fit everything in place.

It was at this point that the 6x6x6 almost became a 4x4x4 instead

The two reasons behind maybe loosing a couple of wheels was cost of all the parts, and thoughts of building a front loader on it at some point for which the space where the middle wheels would go could come in handy for mounting the said loader.

Despite it looking quite meaty from the front.

And quite scary if you happen to be run over by it.

four wheels just wouldn't look right or offer the traction Im after from this build, so all six wheels will be staying

One thing that has been bugging me since the start (if you can call it that) of this build is the steering by brakes.

It's not that the steering wouldn't work, it's this project would be much better if you could turn the WH on a dime

yes, that's right i want this build to be able to turn like a Cat bulldozer and that means the wheels turning in opposite directions each side

Some said i was having a laugh and it couldn't be done, but i have come up with a way of building it that uses belts, pulleys and only a couple of cogs

I will post the plans up as soon as i have finished... er the plans on the pc.

I could scan and post my scribbling but the are hard enough for me to understand

The other thing i have been thinking of is using hydraulics to drive the wheels each side (must of been inspired by Jim's Hydrobeast ) but i need to do some major research on the subject..

More to come when it happens :omg:

[Stigian 1,234]

Yes folks, it's that time of year again when i dig this thread up from the depths and give you all an update..

So far vast amounts of nothing happening have er.. been happening while i scrape the pennies together for the hydro bits and other parts..

The good news is i have found an engine for it that is a tad more powerful than the 14hp Kohler engine that came in the 314-8

It's not another Kohler or a big Briggs.. it's.......a.....er...Ford.

Before i run away and hide for even thinking or doing the swap let me explain..

You may remember our little pick-up that was called Betsie, well she went for her MOT (English road safety test) and failed with flying colors mostly on vast amounts of rust

Well, it seemed a shame to send the engine off to the scrap yard....

Can you guess whats coming next?

So Project 6x6x6 will be getting an 1800cc diesel engine

A 1800cc TURBO diesel engine

Ok, i might of lost the plot a bit this time and i may well be beyond

But as the engine is free it would be rude not to use it

If all goes to plan i should have the engine out of Betsie on Monday, and can start working out how much i need to widen the chassis by, widen the hood by, widen.... well quite a lot of bits really

It's going to be a fun winter in Stigs Workshack :party:

[KyBlue 655]

And just whats wrong with Ford there mr ian... see there I was just starting to really dig all your projects... hahaha

Cool project - should be interesting to say the least, and NICE job on the metal work!