Poor Man's Jay Leno's Garage: Riding Mower Re-Power With Everlast 210EXT

[christian]

[christian]

Wow,

The Forum here seems to be a wreck.

I'll try to finish posting this somehow, anyway.

[christian]

So, this initial part doesn't seem to be showing, so here it is again:

Here’s a recently completed and fun project that may hold some interest for a few Everlast Forum members, as welding, fabrication, transition solutions, and engine-driven stuff often go together. And my Everlast 210EXT is shown in use on a few segments.

But, the video covers a lot, so I’ll include photo clippings from it below too, along with the text description from the YouTube site itself.



"Christian Livingstone shares his zero-turn mower re-powering project, involving an upgrade from a 12 HP Single cylinder flathead motor to a 20 HP Twin cylinder overhead valve motor, to compensate for a larger mowing deck installation on his 1995 Dixon, model 3304. The video is somewhat lengthy, at about 78 minutes, so there may only be genuine appeal for the true riding mower enthusiasts. But, there is quite a bit of welding and fabrication demonstrated, including a custom, aluminum, diamond plate gas tank, along with a conversion from a vacuum actuated fuel pump to an electric fuel pump. An exhaust modification is made. Best practices for the bending of aluminum sheet to minimize cracking is shown. Some novice wiring and troubleshooting is done. A pulley ratio is changed, along with increasing the engine's top no-load speed to a seemingly modest 3100 RPMs, giving the mower a faster travel speed without outrunning the ability of the blade speed to give a finished cut. The application and use of pre-emergent herbicide is touched upon, along with some brief mention of incidental topics and views, too. A recap is given with rationales for most of the actions taken. On a couple video segments Christian is assisted by a neighbor/friend, who may be the first person in human history to TIG weld for the first time while having someone else doing the filler metal deposition. Otherwise, Christian humorously frames the project as a “Poor Man’s Jay Leno’s Garage: Dixon Mower Re-Power & Mods”.

[christian]

[christian]

Here’s an addendum video to the “Poor Man’s Jay Leno’s Garage” one. And while the parent video had some welding and fabrication with my Everlast 210EXT involved, this one just gives some mower motor solutions. But, as the Spring season is now arriving and some fellow Everlast Forum members are undoubtedly getting their riding mowers with these type of motors ready for use, someone here may find some of the information helpful.

[oleblu72]

Nice work Christian the extra hp ought to set your eyeballs back in their sockets just a tad. I'll race you but I have to warn you I have three hp on you but I think my mower is a little heavier than yours.

Mark

[christian]

Hey, thanks for that, Mark.

Yeah, that was a fun project.

Those old friction/cone-drive zero-turns undoubtedly can't really compete with the hydra-drives for torque and power, regardless of the motor.

But I still like it.

[oleblu72]

I think Dixon invented the zero turn mower didn't they? Mine is a Husqvarna 52" it has a 23 hp Kawasaki motor what's weird is if you buy it with the standard motor it came with a 27 hp Koehler or Briggs motor. I cut my mowing time in half with the Husky over my old John Deere but you can go so much faster mowing with the Husky when you hit some rough ground your back pays for the extra speed.

Mark

[christian]

Yeah,

Dixon was the first, with that friction-drive, zero-turn mower design, I believe.

Husky bought Dixon in 2006, and Dixon-labeled unit ceased production a few years later, I believe.

[oleblu72]

Yeah,

Dixon was the first, with that friction-drive, zero-turn mower design, I believe.

Husky bought Dixon in 2006, and Dixon-labeled unit ceased production a few years later, I believe.

Yeah for awhile there Husky was selling rebadged Dixons for some of their models.

Mark

[christian]

Here's another zero-turn refurb project I did, which includes some of my first aluminum TIG welding, using my 210EXT to make a diamond plate mulching shroud.

This unit was an early Grasshopper hydra-drive that was from around 1990, yet it was virtually never used.

Anyway, I usually look for ways to make mowers and TIG welding go togather somehow, and sometimes they do.

[oleblu72]

How do you like the Grasshopper Christian ? Before I bought my Husky I thought about buying a Grasshopper but decided to go with a new mower.

Mark

[christian]

I sold that one to a neighbor.

It was a brilliant unit, even at its age, as it had that out-front deck that articulates via a drive shaft.

That design makes for a longer unit than the mid-mount deck units, and my mower shed couldn't really spare the space.

Of course, Grasshopper makes both mid and front-mounted models.

How do you like the Grasshopper Christian ? Before I bought my Husky I thought about buying a Grasshopper but decided to go with a new mower.

Mark

[oleblu72]

The deck was a hydraulic lift wasn't it? Yeah I have the same problem here of not enough space my problem is I have to many cars and motorcycles taking up space and not enough space left over to work on anything.

Mark

[christian]

Nah,

No hydralic lift on the deck. It was only a two-blade, 36" deck.

Interestly, you could remove the deck and still run the thing while seated with only the two driven/steering wheels and the single caster tail wheel.

Of course, in the literature, that was cautioned against, as I suppose you could slide off the front seat coming down a hill, and then, theoretically, get run over by the unit.

[oleblu72]

I would rather get run over by the Grasshopper without the deck on the front that's for sure.

Mark