building a small groomer puller

Mr. Deere · Post by **Mr. Deere** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:20 pm

Ok I didn't know it was going at 1000RPM. You need to get like a deep cycle battery of one of those Spiral cell Optima Battery's. Whats the top speed on this. 35.

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:43 pm

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys. I guess I'll keep at her. I finally finished the gauge pod today. The gauges arrived last week and look great except that the voltmeter he sent me has a chrome surround instead of a dark grey one like the others. I think I'm going to contact him and see if he can get me the proper one so it matches the others. I just surface mounted the rear vision monitor to the pod for now. If this cheap one seems like it's going to work ok, I'll flush mount it into the pod later. I just didn't want to go hacking a big hole in the pod for it if the monitor isn't up to the task. The pics make the paint look like it's a metalfalke finish, but it isn't really. It's a textured paint for plastic and for some reason, the camera makes the texture look like metalflake.

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Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:47 pm

This is the front of the pod which will be seen through the windshield of the machine. What do you think fellows? Should I leave the Skiroule logo on it? Or should I grind it off? Seems kinda silly, but since I'm building this rig exclusively for grooming our vintage derby trail, I think it seems sorta appropriate to leave it on.

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Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:03 pm

Mr. Deere wrote: Whats the top speed on this. 35.

Bob, I haven't yet decided on the exact gearing. I want to be at around 5600-5900 engine RPM's with the clutches about 2/3 shifted out in low range when I am at 8-10 mph pulling my groomer. So I'll try to set up the gearing to accomodate that and then I'll see what she'll do for top end with no load in high range, but you're probably pretty close with the 35 mph guess....maybe a wee bit faster, I dunno.

And here's a view of the inside of my gauge pod.

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_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:45 pm

Looking very nice Pete, quality work for sure. I say not only leave the Skiroule, but accent it with white so it jumps out.

Post by **Matt** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:55 am

Definitely exchange the chrome-trim gauge for a matching one, and leave the Skiroule on there. Maybe there are some other places you can add some vintage logos to make a theme? Keep up the great work.

Post by **WinnipegStPaul9** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:37 am

Yep, I'm with Matt. Chrome goes, Skiroule stays.....again a real class job!

Mr. Deere · Post by **Mr. Deere** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:38 am

Nice work. I like the Thumbscrew idea on the gauge holders. Also Why two Temp gauges. I like the idea of a rear view camera also.

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:20 pm

jdmatt wrote:Definitely exchange the chrome-trim gauge for a matching one, and leave the Skiroule on there. Maybe there are some other places you can add some vintage logos to make a theme? Keep up the great work.

It's decided then, the Skiroule stays! Great idea bout the vintage logos, Matt. I'm not sure if I'll be installing any more actual logos, but I'll definately be using some vintage sled parts. I won't bother mentioning what they are. We'll see if anyone recognizes them and what sled they came off of as I slowly get this thing together. So far, it's just the Skiroule fuel tank and four John Deere track drive sprockets (I'm not counting the Thundercat front end and Polaris rear suspensions/track & engine cause they're not quite vintage).

Not sure if I posted a pic lately of what the frame is starting to look like, but here's a shot. There's a fair bit of angles in the cab frame........should deflect radar.....maybe I'll call it the Stealth.....

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Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:39 pm

Mr. Deere wrote:Nice work. I like the Thumbscrew idea on the gauge holders. Also Why two Temp gauges. I like the idea of a rear view camera also.

Bob, there's actually three temp gauges. Exhaust temperature, coolant temperature, and transmission temp. Maybe the tranny temp was unneccesary, but I figured why not? The EGT was a sorta a must because I'll be in the dark figuring out the correct jetting for this thing. Yes, the engine ran well in the sled it was removed from, but since I'm installing it on a completely different machine with vastly different engine bay airflow characteristics and different load demands, I rather doubt the old jetting will be right. The EGT should help me figure out the jetting...at least I hope so.

I hope that rear vision monitor works. It's just a $80.00 cheapie I hunted down at Costco. Some people tell me that you are only supposed to wire them so that they are running when the vehicle is in reverse because otherwise they'll overheat if used continuously. But I'm thinking that it should be cold enugh in the winter that it shouldn't be a big problem. If it craps out, I guess I'll have to buy a better one.

I spent my free time in the last couple days trying to get a transmission shifter cable hooked up. That's kinda tedious work and so far I've only got the tranny end figured out. I still have to make a shifter lever and mount it in a convenient location. I found a lever from an old Toro lawn tractor that looks like it might have some potential with a few modifications.

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Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:26 am

The Toro lever worked out ok........It seems to shift really well in a warm shop. We'll see what it's like at minus forty.

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Mr. Deere · Post by **Mr. Deere** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:14 am

Nice. It should be sweet whaen its completed. Are you running the heater off the Engines antifreeze. Also don't for get the Fire Extinguisher. It would be a shame if it was lost due to the fact the camera blew up.

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:36 pm

Mr. Deere wrote: Are you running the heater off the Engines antifreeze. Also don't for get the Fire Extinguisher. It would be a shame if it was lost due to the fact the camera blew up.

Great point about the fire extinquisher....I'll definately mount one inside the cab.

Yep, I'm using the engine coolant to heat the cab. I just finished installing the cab heater. I mounted it so that most of the air will blow upward on the windshield....though I'll be rigging up a couple vents that'll blow just under the dashboard towards the drivers lower body as well. The heater is a 29,000 btu unit so I think it should be toasty warm inside. The blower is a three speed set up and really puts out on high speed. I been checking all the auto parts places for a off/low/med/high switch, but nobody around here had any four position switches. Then this morning I was doing some maintenance on our JD 7720 combine and I noticed it has a nice switch that would work. I ordered one this afternoon from John Deere and it's only $15.00.....sweet! This thing is beginning to have alot of Deere DNA.

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Mr. Deere · Post by **Mr. Deere** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:05 pm

I am suprised that no one had a combination switch. I mean cars have had 4 position blowers for how long.

JDT · Post by **JDT** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:24 am

Be carefull not to pull to much heat out of the coolant. I have no idea what the min coolant/operating temp of this engine is but 29Kbtu is a lot of exchange.

Rather than run the heater blower at max to keep the windsheild clear you may want to install a small fan or two on either side to defrost/melt the glass.
Another idea would be a squirel cage mounted under the overhead pod.