Liquidator Refresh

[AirborneX4Special]

Cool
Liquidators are heavy in general but Deere wanted an indestructible sled to win the Big One and generally dominate the competition. It was rumored you could stand on the original hood.

[ihengineer76]

I believe it. The hood is almost a quarter inch thick.
I made a little more progress today. I got the air box cleaned up and installed repro carb boots and an NOS inlet tube seal. I sync’d the carbs after giving them a good cleaning in the ultrasonic and a rebuild. I’m working on determining the reason for the red paint on the carb cap and air box.

[AirborneX4Special]

Different jets and or needle setting identification? Kawasaki Liquifire carbs are slightly different to accommodate the water transfer physics of the engine.

[ihengineer76]

Dator carbs were jetted the same left and right, so I don’t believe that’s it. My first thought was from tech inspection, but that isn’t likely since it didn’t win any major races.

[ihengineer76]

I didn’t post any pictures of how the sled looked when I first got it, so here are a few of the “before” pictures.

[ihengineer76]

One more

[ihengineer76]

Some more progress. I got the chain case back together, and exhaust and radiator installed. I had noticed before a bit of yellow on the radiator, but never really thought much of it. I just happened to be standing at the right angle doing something else and I looked over at the front end when I finally found out what the paint was. There’s the leaping Deere logo on the grille. Pretty neat little surprise from her past.

[ihengineer76]

Since I put the bulkhead cooler on this sled, the coolant hose routing required some changes. It took some trips to several different auto parts stores, but I found the right combination of formed hoses to make it work properly.

[ihengineer76]

Today, I focused on getting the clutches done. The primary was first on the list. After complete disassembly, I cleaned the fixed and moveable sheaves in the solvent tank. After that, the sheaves, spider, cover plate, and cam arms were all walnut shell blasted. I like walnut shells the best for aluminum and zinc plated surfaces that I don’t plan on replating. They get the oxidation off without damaging the surface. From there, I chucked the fixed sheave up in the lathe to dress the face and shaft. I started with 220 grit and some WD-40. From there I went to 600, then to green scuff pad. I then repeated the process with the moveable sheave. Once done, everything was cleaned with brake parts cleaner. I replaced the bushings, rollers, buttons, and cam arm pins and installed one of the primary springs I reproduced. I then reassembled it and installed it on the engine.

[ihengineer76]

Next step was the secondary. This was disassembled, solvent cleaned, and walnut blasted as well. I replaced the moveable bushing, sourced an NOS 38 degree helix, and installed a new plastic bushing. I replaced the buttons and put in one of the blue secondary springs I repopped. Once that was installed, I focused on putting a new temp gauge in that I got from Busco Bullet.

[AirborneX4Special]

[ihengineer76]

This weekend I was able to finish up the sled and fire her up. I wrapped the coolant lines to the bulkhead heat exchanger in aluminized fiberglass to prevent them from getting too hot from the pipes. When it was time to run, I primed the fuel system and gave it 4 or 5 pulls. It rumbled to life with a wonderful snarl unique to the Dators. I quickly checked the timing and it was right on at .065” before TDC. Throttle response was crisp, and clutch engagement was right at 4000 rpm. All the lights worked, and even the heated grips still function! So far, the only issue I’ve noticed is the tach reads about 15% low, so I will need to find a replacement. With a lot of soybean oil and a little bit of heat, I was able to get the seat to button back down. I then gave it a good polish and wax. When I was waxing the hood, I found the shadows of some decals on the hood scoop. This one still has some mysteries that I need to uncover.

[ihengineer76]

Here is the final product. Now to wait until next year’s snow…

[400brian]

Looks great!

[snowmoer]

Looks Great! Hopefully you will get a quick storm so you can run it around the yard a little bit.