2006 Argo Avenger with T20

[Mike]

Great work Mike.... Are you going to need to have a LOT more clearance for the clutch and the linkage, or can you do the heat-and-press method of going 3D? I like how "down" is still "forward" on the shifters.

I could probably get away with some heating/remolding for the CVT but I think I will have to cut and weld where the linkage is. I'll have to look at that again.

[hydromike]

I was hoping to just use a flat sheet but the cardboard template showed me a couple of places that will have to be cut out and built up to allow room for the CVT and some of the shifter linkage.

Great work Mike.... Are you going to need to have a LOT more clearance for the clutch and the linkage, or can you do the heat-and-press method of going 3D? I like how "down" is still "forward" on the shifters.

[jpswift1]

Nothing short of amazing as always, Mike! It looks like it came this way from the factory. If the guys at Argo wanted to really improve their machines and sell a lot more Argos, they'd contact you and offer to buy the blueprints from your design.......for how much though?

[fmints]

BUSCO!! BUSCO!! BUSCO!! BUSCO!! Can't wait to see it.

[Mike]

This weekend was a lot of moving the T20 and Engine in and out as I finalized the fresh air intake and bolted all of the clutches on. I had to mill several more slots into the engine mounting plate so that it would allow me to have some adjustment for the placement of the fresh air intake. Once I got those done I had to make a couple of spacers to raise the fresh air intake up a fraction of an inch to center it on the motor.

Here are a few more photos of the fresh air intake:


While I had the T20 out one last (yeah right) time I took another photo of it on the T20:


I started to mock up the firewall with a piece of cardboard just to see what I would need to do. I plan on creating the firewall out of HDPE. I was hoping to just use a flat sheet but the cardboard template showed me a couple of places that will have to be cut out and built up to allow room for the CVT and some of the shifter linkage.

[thebuggyman1]

Ya know I would Drew, but I have 6 more Lil-trucks to do.....for you and Don.

[amphibious drew]

Sounds to me like a full Saturday would do it. So we can expect test drive video on Sunday right?

Sounds like buggyman is volunteering to come down and help.

[thebuggyman1]

Other than some miscellaneous things to wrap up, that's about it. So I should be done in another 8-10 months.

Sounds to me like a full Saturday would do it. So we can expect test drive video on Sunday right?

[Mike]

This build is really looking great. Mike are you an engineer?

Thanks. I am an electrical engineer.

Just went back to the beginning of the thread......You do great work Mike, but isn't it time to be done and riding? ....I don't have anywhere near that much patience. How much is left to do?

It was time to be done and riding over a year ago. There really isn't much left:

-Bend some exhaust pipe and weld it onto the existing exhaust to get it out of the engine compartment.
-Cut some sheet metal for an exhaust duct to direct the heat out of the engine bay.
-Wire the motor.
-Bend and plastic weld some HDPE to create a firewall and a floorboard

Other than some miscellaneous things to wrap up, that's about it. So I should be done in another 8-10 months.

[thebuggyman1]

Just went back to the beginning of the thread......You do great work Mike, but isn't it time to be done and riding? ....I don't have anywhere near that much patience. How much is left to do?

[Noel Woods]

This build is really looking great. Mike are you an engineer?

[Mike]

The shift knobs for my split shifter arrived last week. That allowed me to finalize the separation between the shifters and finally finish up the split shifter itself. I just have to clean up some welds and paint it. I ended up having shift knobs made by a company called House of Speed. I chose their Custom Engraved Shift Knob and went with the smallest diameter they offered of 1-7/8" diameter. I cut 1/2"-20 threads on the shift levers and had them match that with the threaded insert in the shift knobs. They turned out really well.

[Don]

That is some really nice work, Mike.

[Mike]

Lately, I've been working on the shifter for the T20 when I get a free minute here and there. I test fit it today and with a couple of minor adjustments, it is close to being finished. I still have to plug and drill the tubing for the right hand shifter rod. In the fist photo, it's just laying on the ground where it needs to be mounted.

The shift linkage is working out really well. I was going to bend the rods going to the shift knobs to fit them side by side but I think I'm going to go back and remake the left shift linkage to spread the shift knobs out a little further so that I don't have to bend the rods. I ordered a couple of shifter knobs with the shift pattern:

R
|
N
|
F

on them. Once they arrive, I will finalize the placement of the shifter rods and be ready to paint everything.

[Mike]

Thanks Larry.

Today I got all of the fresh air intake plastic-welded on the inside. I have one last piece to weld on but I have to put it in the Argo to position it correctly first. Later I will come back and plastic weld the seams on the outside as well just for extra strength. This intake turned out to be much more rigid than I even imagined.

The only thing I am a little concerned about is the airflow. The engine is only inches from an abrupt 90 degree turn in airflow through this intake. I may end up needing to install some turning veins in the duct but I'm going to wait and see how it performs first.