Introducing Project 6x6x6

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

Cool!! Just might be the first Turbo Wheel Horse in existence .

Will it be mounted sideways so it can drive the tranny? Or do you have some other diabolical plan?

Mike......

[Stigian 1,234]

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

At least it doesn't have Ford written in big letters on the rocker cover

I think it just feels strange to be putting a Ford lump and not a Kohler in a WH.

Don't worry Mike, i have a cunning/diabolical plan in mind

The engine will run front to back with a hydraulic pump somewhere between my legs to power the wheels.

A bit like Jim's (Mith) setup on his Hydrobeast, but more wheels and less bending in the middle :D

[TJ 175]

Looks like fun to me. Can you adapt the hood so you don't have to modify it.

[Stigian 1,234]

Cheers Mich, yes it's gong to be fun

It's looking like i am going modify the hood a bit, but not too much

I will need to lengthen it a bit and maybe widen it by an inch or two.. Oh, and a grill for the engine's radiator might be handy as well

Well the latest new's is, the engine and trans are out of Betsie the pick-up

Removing it was quite fun using a jack and quite few blocks of wood..

Guess who sold his engine hoist and tripod during the summer thinking it would never be needed again

Of course i couldn't of moved the engine without help from my 312-8 and an old 4 wheeled trolley

A closer view... The trans has now been removed from the engine.

No post from me would be complete without a daft photo............

So.. here it is

The next job to do is to pull the trans apart and see how much of it i can use to get the power from the engine to a hydraulic pump..

With the full length of the engine and "drive extra" worked out, i can finally start on the chassis work :banana:

[TJ 175]

:hide: Keep the pictures coming. This is one I've got to see. :D

[JimD 3,345]

hey ian, is that gonna be a recoil start? :D

[Stigian 1,234]

No recoil start Jim, I was thinking of a kick start :hide:

[TR_DIGGER 3]

daft photo... GOTA LOVE IT! Keep up the good work!

[Stigian 1,234]

Evening all, sorry for my lack of updates of late but it's been a hell of a month with one problem after another coming up That's life i guess, fingers crossed things are settling down again.

So, "what has been happening with Project 6x6x6", i hear you ask?

Not as much as id of liked is the answer, but things have been moving on in a "grinder cutting/welding sparking/oo-er it's going to be big" kinda way...

At last work has started on the chassis

But first a quick jump back to almost where i left off.. the engine, well close to the engine, the trans.

I have never cracked open a car trans before and it took a lot of ing to work out how it all come apart so i could get the trans input shaft that i need to fit into the clutch plate.

The input shaft is the one at the back just to the left of the half a cog

Having made a mess on the bench, thoughts turned to making a mess else where with the chassis

The next two photo's should give you an idea on quite how big the Turbo D engine is The chassis is what's left of a 1971 Raider 10.

Time to strip the 314-8..

Starting with this on the bench..

With the help of who else but Garry..

And me finding rusty bits....

The 314-8 soon looked like this.

A quick clean of all the mess we had made on the bench, then it was mock-up time.

The 314-8 and 71 Raider chassis are end to end.

[Stigian 1,234]

Before you read on if the thought of seeing a WH being cut up, upsets you it might be best to look away now.

I want this build to still be a WH (ok, a WH with a bigger engine and more wheels) which means using as many WH parts as i can.

And to me that means using the 314's chassis.

If i made up a new chassis, to me it just wouldn't be a WH, if you know what i mean.

Enough of me rambling on... Time for some work..

The trans mounting plates were cut off both the chassis, they were then welded together.

Another quick mock-up to check the chassis was going to be long enough.

I quite like the "low rider engine" look, but not much good for ground clearance

Back on the bench it was and smoke time while trying to work out how to mount the engine and how wide would the chassis need to be

HHmmm... maybe the pick-ups front cross member with engine mounts might help

A bit more cutting later and the chassis is suddenly looking a lot wider

After lots of ing and measuring a way was worked out of mounting the cross member to the chassis rails..

In the end i just needed to cut a slot each side of the cross member

A quick measure of the engine..

And the cross member was tacked in place.

Moving forward a front cross member was needed..

The sparks followed..

Followed by some red hot clamping action

And some welding with the magical sparkling stick machine..

A cross member was born

[69DEZ 4]

I always look forward to reading your posts!!! Keep the pictures coming!!! :hide:

[Nick 13]

Was just thinking this morning that we hadnt seen a Stig Vid or picture in a while. Looking like the 6x6 is going to be a monster. Dont need to tell ya how I like them sparkly pictures. :D

[BairleaFarm 340]

Looks like your moving right along. I think it will be a cool little tractor when you get it done.

[Stigian 1,234]

This made me happy, the radiator fit's a treat

This photo kinda gives a hint of what this beast of a WH will look like...

A big bit of box section was welding on for the rear cross member, but for some reason i forgot to take any pic's of the action

The only way to get a good photo was to take the chassis outside.

So here it is..

It's 34 1/4 inches wide.

And...... a few inches longer than me er... long

That's all for now folks.. Im on the lookout for some more of that big box section steel for putting some strength into, or should i say under the WH chassis rails.

Once that's done, its drop the engine in time :D

[canam1991 2]

You should make the hood wider also.... :hide:

[Stigian 1,234]

I always look forward to reading your posts!!! Keep the pictures coming!!!

Des I will try and add pic's as and when things happen.

Was just thinking this morning that we hadnt seen a Stig Vid or picture in a while

Yeah, sorry Nick, it has been a while

Im half way through editing the latest vid, hope to have it done over the next few days

Looks like your moving right along. I think it will be a cool little tractor when you get it done

Thanks David, the build is getting there slowly.

Im not sure about the 314 being a little build, the bench Im building it on is going to be a bit too small when the wheels go on

You should make the hood wider also....

Funny you should say the canam...

The hood needs to be widened by a few inches (not enough to cover the rad though) and lengthening by quite a bit.

If my measuring was right i shouldn't have to make the hood any taller, but time will tell on that one :party:

[Stigian 1,234]

A very small update for you Guys as it's been a bit of a quiet week down the ol Shack.

Four strengthening plate were cut and welded to help keep the X member where it should be.

I also thought Id drop the engine into the chassis to see how it fitted and to try and work out a rear mount.

Lifting the engine was fun using only a couple of scaffold boards, some ratchet straps and a trolley jack (thanks for your help Pete), but we got the job done

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Looks pretty radical Ian look fwd when its complete! :hide:

[Stigian 1,234]

:omg: Duke, yes it should be a bit er.. different when it's finished

Not much of an update this time, more of a move around.. and up

The engine and chassis are now on the bench at a nice working height, although fitting the stack could be a problem as the roof gets in the way

The first part of the move was to get the chassis and engine up to bench height.

A big thank you to Adam (my stepson and quite a good welder) and Pete for helping

Later this afternoon this project got the lift it needed on to the bench.

Cheers Adam, Garry and Rob for risking your backs lifting this heavy metal lump

Moving back a bit here's the trans input shaft roughly in place with the help of one end of the trans cash that Adam sliced off.

It's going to be fun getting pulley bolted onto the end of the shaft.. I feel some lathe time coming up soon

Last photo for today, the chassis blocked up on the bench at almost the right ride height. The chassis needs to go up an inch or two, but not much.

That's all for now folks, tune back for more metal mayhem :party:

[Duff 206]

....tune back for more metal mayhem

Sounds like a good name for a band...so, Ian, would that be what the young folks call....heavy metal?

Duff :D

[Stigian 1,234]

Im not sure that "youngsters" know what heavy metal or even rock music is these days.

All they seem to want to listen to is lots of beeping noises with some bloke "talking" thinking he's singing

Or am i just getting old

Enough of me moaning, on with the build

As the front engine mounts were sorted, i thought i was time the rear mount was built.

As ever wanting to save money the original trans mount from the pick-up was dragged from the pile of parts in the corner.

Cant wait to get this build finished so i can get all the parts piles out the way and have some space back.

Or maybe i should just have a good tidy up instead

As nice as the trans mount is, it wasn't quite wide enough

So here's my Stepson Adam cutting up an old angle iron fence post that Pete found behind his shed

Some measuring, cutting and not so great welding later the mounting X member was plonked on the chassis.

I made this bolt on tow hitch for an old Westwood many years ago and it has been sitting in the "might come in handy one day" box for a long long time..

Well, It's time had finally come

After lot's of cutting and a tad of welding the bits of box looked like this.

The bit of box that goes straight up in the photo had a big nut welded on the end before it was welded into the bit of box that runs side to side in the photo.

Great description eh

Ta-Daa the mount tacked in place

As well as the mount being welded to what's left of the trans case, a bit of bar was welded into a hole on the trans case and the mount welded to that.

Every bit of strength helps, so it was fully welded up just after this pic was taken

[Stigian 1,234]

Going back to the X-member, if you thought that it needed more strengthening...

You'd be right

Four bit of steel were cut to help tie the bits on angle to the pick-up's X-member.

Here's a couple of them tacked in their new home

It's a good feeling to know the engine is "in" :banana:

Last photo from the back of the engine for now, a close up of the what i now call the "engine output shaft" so you can see the fun it's gong to be making this shaft longer to fit pulleys onto

The plan at the moment is to machine a shaft that's a very tight fit in the hole, and should stay straight while the two shafts are welding together.

If you Guys have any ideas or suggestions on this shaft joining lark, Id love to hear them

Thought's then turned to something cool.........

Yep, the cooling system or to me more precise mounting the radiator

Here's one of the bottom mounts very roughly in place.

Simple to make, only a plate with a bolt welded through the middle.

Just weld the plate to a bit of box

A quick rummage through my many tins of "odds n sod's" unearthed a couple of kawasaki Z200 mounting rubbers that fitted a treat

You didn't really think i build something with using motorbike parts somewhere did you?

A very short walk later and we find ourselves at the pillar drill doing some chain drilling.

Note to one's self... Buy some new drill bits

Some cold chisel and filing work later and two bit's of plate were sitting on the chassis with mounting rubbers through them...

But can you guess where they go

If you guessed they are top radiator mounts.. you be right

If you guessed wrong, good on ya for having a guess anyway

And i shall leave you with a photo of a couple more plates cut to size...

But no clues as to where they go until the next update

As ever, for taking to time to read my rambling

More to follow soon..

[JimD 3,345]

Ian, you are ... "The Fabricator Extroardinere"...(thingy) :banana:

looking forward to the next update. :hide:

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

As allways that was some great reading Ian! For some reason I end up trying to read your posts using an English accent ( So glad none of you can hear me ). Of course its looking great and is allway fun to see where you've gotton since your last post.

Are you putting any rubber in the motor mounts? Seems like it might vibrate your teeth out and anything else thats hangin loosely !

Mike.........

[TJ 175]

When Charles Dickens was writting "Great Expectations", people would line the shores of Boston Harbor when a ship would arrive with the latest chapter. Dicken's books were serialized back then,and the anticipation was emmence. He also got paid by the word, which explains the thickness of his novels.

I don't think I am alone when I say, "you are the Dickens of Red Square."

I am looking forward with great expectations to the next chapter.