308 repower and upgrade

[aHorseofCourse 261]

Starting off with the basic horse I bought from my neighbor for $145.  The 37" deck was beyond repair but I have a Deere I mow with so I didn't need that.  I just needed a wood/dirt hauler and snow machine.  I'd rather have an 8 speed than automatic so I decided to upgrade the 308 rather than buying a bigger 400 or 520.  Another reason for the repower.  I've always been partial to Briggs motors, so I thought why not drop one of the smoothest running and reliable engines I know of in there.  A 42ci 18hp opposed Twin.  Finally found one on eBay last fall.  After tearing it apart it turned out to be too far gone to restore but it was off a wheel horse, I'm guessing a work horse.  So it gave me all the tins, pto, and engine mount I needed.  Then a friend of mine found a nearly identical twin off a craftsman that he gave me.  So between the two I can make one.  And so it began...

 

What I started with

 

Started off repainting the wheels, new rubber, and wheel weights.  Carlisle turf II front and tru power lugs in back.

 

I don't have a torch so you'll have to excuse the crude angle grinder cuts. 

 

1" bolt with barbell weights.  55lbs of weight and 15 for the bracket each side.

[aHorseofCourse 261]

Found a single stage and blade on Craig's list last year.  The blower was in mint condition and just needed geased basically.  The blade was in typical condition and just needed a weld and paint job.

[Aldon 4,826]

Like the Briggs opposed twins myself. Look forward to seeing the result.

[857 horse 2,581]

1      I like the detail you put into the weight bracket,,,,how it fits into the wheel.....nice forthought,,,,,,

2      paint job looks amazing......I have an entire machine apart ,,,ready for sanding and paint,,,Is that Sunrise Red,????

3      We will be looking for you at THE BIG SHOW in June in Ardentsville,PA,,,bring a lawn chair and that neighbor,,,,

stay a while,,,,thank=you for sharing....

 

Howard 857 Horse in VA

[aHorseofCourse 261]

11 hours ago, Aldon said:

Like the Briggs opposed twins myself. Look forward to seeing the result.

Only problem is parts are very hard to find now.  I just rounded up everything I needed took a few months

 

1 hour ago, 857 horse said:

1      I like the detail you put into the weight bracket,,,,how it fits into the wheel.....nice forthought,,,,,,

2      paint job looks amazing......I have an entire machine apart ,,,ready for sanding and paint,,,Is that Sunrise Red,????

3      We will be looking for you at THE BIG SHOW in June in Ardentsville,PA,,,bring a lawn chair and that neighbor,,,,

stay a while,,,,thank=you for sharing....

 

Howard 857 Horse in VA

1. Thank you it took a lot of test fitting to get it right

2. It is I.H. red from tractor supply.  I mix it with the reducer and hardener and spray it out of a gun on my compressor.  It goes on great and is very durable and shiny as its real oil based paint

      http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/majic-town-country-tractor-truck-implement-1-gal-i-h-red?cm_vc=-10005

3. I will keep that in mind thanks

[aHorseofCourse 261]

More progress.  My hitch was bent down pretty far so I bent it back and strengthened it up.  Also added a plate to spread the weight out on the under side of the tranny

 

the tank on on my little 8 horse Kohler is on the engine so I had to get one off a 310 on eBay.

 

Also found a seat bracket with the springs and adjuster.  Got a new shock at autozone.

[jeff lary 171]

Wow what a great job you've done you should be very happy with the results.

[can whlvr 993]

great job,i too have 308,i bought it new in early 87,i wish I had just bought a tractor with a larger engine,but money was tight at that time,still have her with a 13 hp Honda pull stsrt,its the most reliable tractor hands down,no battery,no wires or ignition problems,just means no lights,but I have several tractors for night time

[aHorseofCourse 261]

On 2/26/2017 at 10:52 AM, can whlvr said:

great job,i too have 308,i bought it new in early 87,i wish I had just bought a tractor with a larger engine,but money was tight at that time,still have her with a 13 hp Honda pull stsrt,its the most reliable tractor hands down,no battery,no wires or ignition problems,just means no lights,but I have several tractors for night time

With everything now having sensors and a million wires, it's nice to have something simple that just starts every time!

Light upgrade.  Got some small fog lights at tractor supply and wired the factory headlights direct so they don't get dim when the engine is at low rpm.  The replacement engine has a larger stator to keep up.

[aHorseofCourse 261]

Also did the 8" wheel upgrade.  Originally I did this to get more clearance with the blade.  I didn't realize until yesterday the spindles are different for the larger wheels and the front stays the same height.  I think I'm going to leave it as is because I really need the clearance.  I am selling the 6" wheels if anyone is interested.  Tires and repaint are only a year old.

[aHorseofCourse 261]

This is the last update and where I'm at now.  I recently found the holy grail on eBay, electric lift kit.  Guy was selling a non running 417-8.  I messaged him and said I'd be interested in the lift and front wheels if he didn't sell it and wanted to part it out.  About a week later he was tearing it apart.  Also had inside rear weights I got.  They are about 25lbs each.  Not sure if they are wheel horse parts, did wheel horse offer these?  I am in the process of painting this stuff now, along with the engine tins.

 

I took the actuator apart (forgot to take pictures) and greased everything real good.  I can't believe how heavy duty this thing is made.

[jeff lary 171]

Tell me about your muffler, looks homemade did you build it?

[aHorseofCourse 261]

3 hours ago, jeff lary said:

Tell me about your muffler, looks homemade did you build it?

Hi.  Yes I made it.  Just 3/4" pipe and one of those straight through mufflers you can get anywhere.  It has the pipe thread on the one end.  Actually sounds really good on the old Kohler.  Oh and a tractor supply rain cap.  I'll get some better pics of it

[953 nut 55,297]

   You are showing a lot of good upgrades, thanks for sharing.  

[jeff lary 171]

Cool,.. I like to see ground up inventions.

[PSully 61]

I really like the wheel weight idea!

[Elkskin's mower junkyard 1,117]

i just got rid of my workhorse gt1642. when i got it had no engine. i put a 12hp kohler on it from a c-125. i will tell you this. if you plan on putting a 18hp briggs on it look for a belt guard off a workhorse gt1642 has they are different from what is on your machine now

[aHorseofCourse 261]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

10 hours ago, craftsmanmowerfreak said:

i just got rid of my workhorse gt1642. when i got it had no engine. i put a 12hp kohler on it from a c-125. i will tell you this. if you plan on putting a 18hp briggs on it look for a belt guard off a workhorse gt1642 has they are different from what is on your machine now

Very good info thank you for sharing.

 

Pics of the exhaust.  Kind of a slapped together setup but it works and sounds good.  The pipe coming out of the muffler I just kind of jammed and cross threaded in the muffler then put some exhaust putty on.

[aHorseofCourse 261]

Now on to the engine saga.  This is the Briggs 18 opposed twin I got off eBay after some disassembly.  It is just flat wore out.  Cylinders are about .020 over already and a valve seat has come loose and ran like that for awhile.  Governor is missing half the teeth and the timing pin was sheared off.  There was a strange spring holding the throttle on the carb in place.  I am willing to bet it ran in the condition it's in.  Can't kill a Briggs!

This is the block I'm rebuilding.  Tins, carb, and oil pan are off the junk engine.  This one sat for a few years so it had a lot more rust than the junk one.

Much more to come! 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

I don't know if those wheel weights are WH but I used a set of CUB ones on one of my 520s, Jeff.

[aHorseofCourse 261]

On 3/2/2017 at 5:51 PM, WVHillbilly520H said:

I don't know if those wheel weights are WH but I used a set of CUB ones on one of my 520s, Jeff.

They fit perfect on there.  I haven't tried to fit mine yet, just took the guys word they were on there.  The more I look at mine the more I don't think they are wheel horse parts.

[mike416 14]

On 3/1/2017 at 9:38 PM, aHorseofCourse said:

Now on to the engine saga.  This is the Briggs 18 opposed twin I got off eBay after some disassembly.  It is just flat wore out.  Cylinders are about .020 over already and a valve seat has come loose and ran like that for awhile.  Governor is missing half the teeth and the timing pin was sheared off.  There was a strange spring holding the throttle on the carb in place.  I am willing to bet it ran in the condition it's in.  Can't kill a Briggs!

This is the block I'm rebuilding.  Tins, carb, and oil pan are off the junk engine.  This one sat for a few years so it had a lot more rust than the junk one.

Much more to come! 

In a world of Kohler and Onan, it's really neat to see an opposed twin Briggs getting some deserved attention. Keep up the great work!

[aHorseofCourse 261]

34 minutes ago, mike416 said:

In a world of Kohler and Onan, it's really neat to see an opposed twin Briggs getting some deserved attention. Keep up the great work!

Thanks so much!  The Briggs is definitely an underdog in the wheel horse world.

Got the engine tins, block, electric lift, and wheel weights painted this week.  Might get the lift put on tomorrow.  I am going to start a new topic in the engine section for the Briggs rebuild.  It's just too much for one thread.

 

[Elkskin's mower junkyard 1,117]

man you are making me want to tear apart my 701 again lol. when it warms up 701 getting painted lol. going to do plow and deck also,

[aHorseofCourse 261]

9 hours ago, craftsmanmowerfreak said:

man you are making me want to tear apart my 701 again lol. when it warms up 701 getting painted lol. going to do plow and deck also,

There's nothing like a freshly painted horse!  It's so much work tho, I dread doing it every time.