2006 Argo Avenger with T20

[Moosetalker]

Thats an awsome amount of work Mike should be a blast to run.

[Dan67]

I hope you will have this beast ready for Busco.. really looking forward to seeing the craftsmanship that you put into it.

[Mike]

It won't be ready for this Busco ride but maybe it will be together for the fall ride. I've still got a long ways to go. While I'm trying not to just let this project sit, I'm in no rush to finish it either and want to take my time for once. Thanks for the comments.

[fmints]

Hey Mike, what's going on with the project? Haven't heard nothing about it in a while! Impatiently waiting for the video so no rush at all,, lol!!!

[hydromike]

He probably sold the idea to ODG and is sipping Mai-Tais on the beach in Punta Cana right now....

[fmints]

He probably sold the idea to ODG and is sipping Mai-Tais on the beach in Punta Cana right now....

Mai-Tais in Punta Cana??!?!?!?! We don't have time for that!! lol!!

Mike,, its times to get those wrenches turning buddy. You can take a knee later! (at least that was what my Pee-Wee Football coach used to tell me !! lol!)

[Mike]

I wish I was sipping Mai-Tais in Punta Cana. Instead, I'm sipping county water in North Carolina dressed in business casual in 94 degrees heat and 99% humidity. Not quite Punta Cana.

I'm still working on the Argo slowly but other things in life have gotten in the way. I did manage to get the popsicle sticks heat treated. Three weeks ago I cut and welded a place to hook the *gasp* springs to the laterals. I have cut the stock floor board to fit around the laterals. Last week I purchased a 4'x8' sheet of HDPE and a plastic welder. I decided to make my own HDPE fresh air intake for the air-cooled motor. We'll see how well that turns out. I still have to weld an exhaust pipe to my muffler and pick up some metal to make the exhaust heat shielding. I was hoping to have it ready for Busco in the fall but I'm not sure it will happen. I actually have a couple of days off over the next week so I will see if I get time to work on it then. July and August are full for me and then Busco will be here before you know it.

At least I'm moving forward even if it is at a snail's pace.

[fmints]

Hey Man, moving forward is still moving forward!! Life does tend to slow us down a little bit from time to time!!!

[Mike]

No real updates to post today. I installed and removed the transmission mount probably 8 times today as I carefully shave a little metal off the bottom. If I can get the transmission to sit just a hair lower, I can use one less link in the #60 chain. The main reason for this post, while I had the engine and transmission out today I weighed all of the parts just to get an idea of how different the weight would be compared to the stock Avenger. This is what I got:

Old
Stock Argo Avenger transmission/motor mount: 10.3 lbs
Stock Argo Avenger transmission with brakes installed: 68 lbs
Stock Argo Avenger Kohler with radiator, muffler & clutch: 147 lbs
Total: 225.3 lbs

New
Custom T20 transmission mount: 18.8 lbs
Custom Bandolero motor mount: 16.5 lbs
Bandolero motor with muffler & clutch: 96 lbs
T20: 69 lbs
Total: 200.3 lbs


At the end of the day, there really isn't going to be much difference in weight but while I had everything out I thought I would document it.

[ARGOJIM]

Mike, 5 pounds less on the front axle could make quite the difference in the slop and down-hills, maybe even swimming. Can't wait to see it perform.

[fmints]

Yeah Mike, I agree with Jim, less weight is better no matter the amount. 25 pounds lighter in the nose will definetely be noticeable. But then again,,,,,, I guess another question will be,,,, will it be beneficial? I would like to think that ARGO, put a lot of R&D in their machines. I know that you won't be working with your machine much if any, so your lighter machine won't be needing the weight for traction for pulling or transporting anything! You will be able to turn those beefy tires a little quicker and the machine will surely ride higher in the water because of it being lighter.

Were you aiming to make it lighter initially, to make the machine more balanced or it just ended up that way? It was a great idea to weight the old and the new for the comparison!! I like it Mike, I like it!! Your creating a beast over there!!!

[Mike]

I wasn't trying to make it lighter as you can tell from the addition of the 8 Vampire ASX tires. I installed/removed the transmission mount so much yesterday that I knew it was much heavier than the stock mount. Just for kicks I weighed the mounts and decided to weigh everything else while I was at it just to document the weight.

[Mike]

Today I finally got the transmission mount shaved down enough to remove a half link from the chain between the T20 and the jackshaft. This let's me keep the T20 where I initially wanted it. I also finalized the return springs for the laterals.

This is a photo of the underside of the T20 mount. You can see how I mounted the springs to the control rods and the transmission mount so that the pressure is adjustable similar to a Max IV.


Here is the T20 mocked up yet again in the Argo, this time withe the lateral springs connected and tightened down. It's amazing just how everything ended up fitting with very minimal tolerances yet it all appears that it is going to work fine. I don't want to assume that just yet though.

[amphibious drew]

I'm loving this build Mike. I hope you can get it done before October so we can all see you tear Busco up in this beast your building.

[Tomo]

hi mike ,
Great build
I will mention some points of note that apply to the BANDO engine installed in a max or similar
The bando installs are my SSfox and aussie max springer
The over all gear [T20and axle ] ratio affects engine and 6x6 performance
The clutch selection and tuning is also a critical
The bandolero series of racing has rolling starts using a high percentage of throttle
The carby is not a high quality carb
The bando engine produces moderate [34 ft lbsfrom memory] torque which is not high at all by comparison
In a heavier unit such as a ssf the 770 seconday ["lower first gear" was very beneficial]
The top speed was not an issue
The original was a 41 or 45 degree helix 770 secondary and a axle 28/15t20 gear ratio did not handle steep sandy hills and loaded up in semi soft beach sand.Top speed was VERY fast running pace quicker than argo .TO QUICK

Changed to 28 degree helix 770 secondary 32/15 ratio way way better
The top speed was jogging pace faster than a friends 6x6 argo in high

To get a low trail speed with good throttle control do not gear to high or have a high clutch engagement rpm
High gearing with high clutch engagement promotes lots of belt wear due to not being fully engaged properly at very low speed

Remember ., to low a clutch engagement may cause engine pinging /detonation .
Bando engines love a high octane fuel reduces pinging /detonation
Poor fuel metering by the 2 barrel carb is very common within Australia on mini loaders also

The 780 drive is rated to 5500 rpm therefore not to much reason to change weight setups
Recommended to run the heavy weights for better clamping force on belt to try and better cope with the higher hp and torque that is being aggressively applied
The primary role is the for the clutch is engagement rpm
Much more hp/ torque and or rpm a high capacity clutch setup is needed

to remove the most heat from the engine bay use a 2into 1 exhaust manifold [some argos use this ] and an INLINE muffler . The idea is to not block the air flow coming from the cylinder heads . The secondary benefit is the air flow will cool the muffler . The duct work may want to be extended so it matches up to cylinder head area as close as possible . All this made a big difference to a friends argo .

hope this info helps tomo