New member, New Attex.

[bkeith]

Hey, Im new to the 6x6 machines, Ive always seen pictures and videos of them but have not ever been up close to one until I bought an Attex for 200 dollars. Ive been researching quite a bit, but still have tons of questions.

I know that my Attex is a 1977, but I dont know which model it is. It has the skidsteer transmission/ The original motor isnt in it, it now has a tecumshe oh160, Is that a very good motor? The orginal motor had exhaust coming out the side of the machine, but the hole was patched up by the pervious owner. I put a battery in it, turned the key and got nothing. So im thinking its the wiring or ignition switch. If anyone can help shed some more light on this, i would apericiate it. Im really curious of what model it is?

Thanks,

[bkeith]

Pics

Here are a few pics of my Attex.

100_1696.jpg

100_1697.jpg

100_1700.jpg

100_1702.jpg

[Mike]

Hi bkeith, I moved your posts to the Attex forums just to get some answers to your question. I just wanted to welcome you to the site. For $200 you got one heck of a deal and it looks to be in pretty good shape. Have fun and I'm sure one of the Attex experts will chime in shortly with some help.

[6X6]

Hi Bkeith. The Tomahawk 450 came with a Tec oh160 and was made in 1977 so I bet thats what you have there. (And I believe it came with the clutch on backwards like on yours, so that would be the original engine or a replacement of the same type.) For a machine with an HDPE body you got a heck of a deal!

[Don]

That sure looks like a Tomahawk to me, too- and it's set up for tracks with the high exhaust. You got a steal for $200! Great find- you'll be happy with the machine, and the little OH160 is surprizingly torquey.

[jpswift1]

6x6 is right, the clutch was installed backwards from the factory. That is one of the best deals I've ever seen on a 6 wheeler.....$200, WOW! I think I saw that on Craigslist. You've come to the right place for information on this rig. There are tons of helpful people here. That is one great machine you have there!

[evil8x8]

Why was the clutch mounted backwards?

[jpswift1]

Why was the clutch mounted backwards?

Evil, The clutch was mounted backwards because of chain clearance issues. If it wasn't mounted backwards it would have hit on the chain coming off the T-20.

[mudbug3]

Hi bkeith ,

Welcome to the top amphib forum on the web. There are lots of Attex lovers here , thats for sure. Darn good find for $200 I,d say.

[bkeith]

Thanks for the help

Hi Bkeith. The Tomahawk 450 came with a Tec oh160 and was made in 1977 so I bet thats what you have there. (And I believe it came with the clutch on backwards like on yours, so that would be the original engine or a replacement of the same type.) For a machine with an HDPE body you got a heck of a deal!

First off, I want to thank everyone that has giving me all the great info about this machine. Yes, I did find it on craigslist and im very glad that I got it.

I still dont think that was the original engine, I for to mention before that on the dash it tells you the ratio to mix for 2 cycle oil, but the techumshe is a 4 stroke. On the right side, at one point exhaust came out of it, but someone put a round patch on there. Ill try to get some more detailed pics of some key stuff. Thanks guys

[jpswift1]

Here is a picture of an all original Tomahawk that Don owned.
You can see how the exhaust was routed. Like Don mentioned, you have the high exit exhaust so someone probably was using tracks at one time. As far as the sticker on the dash goes, you'll come to find that Attex sometimes used whatever parts were laying around the factory at the time of assembly. There are folks on here that have found machines with frames that had older serial numbers stamped on them, but they were in newer model bodies just to give you an example. I'd be willing to guess that whoever was putting machines together that day at the factory stuck a two stroke sticker on the dash without paying attention to what model the machine was.....there are many possibilities. Compare the pictures to yours and see if things are the same.....check the driven clutch on the T-20 also. This site is so great because of all the resources and people that are on here, you can find out tons of useful information about your machine. Anyways, that is a great machine you have there, regardless. As far as the engine goes, check for spark, compression, and see if it getting fuel. Keep us updated.

[whipper-ag]

GREAT find, Bkeith. Are you going to just restore it stock or are you going to make it into a racer?

Whipper

And BTW, Sixbysix4me, I've been waiting for months to say this, "Welcome Back".

[LarryW]

Welcome bkeith,
Great find and what a deal. As far as the sticker things goes, My Attex 225/Hustler had a tag on the dash that said it was a st300. Not sure if it was to put serial numbers on it from someone who had a spare st300 tag or if it was factory. It had the stickers on the side saying hustler.
LarryW

[bkeith]

GREAT find, Bkeith. Are you going to just restore it stock or are you going to make it into a racer?

Whipper

And BTW, Sixbysix4me, I've been waiting for months to say this, "Welcome Back".

For now I think just going to restore it to stock, get it running really good and then after I learn more about them, I may possibly want to make it into a racer. Looks like there are tons of different things that you can do with them (tracks, dualed tires, and tons of other things)


I cant get over how great this site is and how helpful all of you guys are. Now that I know exactly what I have, it just makes me want to get it started even more. My brother actually went in on it with me, so it is going to be a great project for us. We have talked about severaly different things that we want to do with it..... but I suppose the first step would to be get it started. Once we do get it running im sure that we will want to try to find another amphibious machine to buy (these things are so cool) We hooked a battery up to it, turned the key and got nothing. Today im going to get the test light out and see if the wires up to the ignition are getting juice. Im also going to take the ignition to napa and have them test it.

Well Ill let you guys know how it turns out today and Im going to take a few more pictures of it as well. Thanks for all the help guys, and you can count on at least a million more questions from me

[bkeith]

Its Alive.... Kinda

I work on the Attex this afternoon, put a couple tires on it. I bought 5 tires off of ebay, a couple of them say 63 inch and the rest of the tires I have are all 65 inch.... If I used the 63 inch ones would it still work out ok?? I have 8 right tires and only two left tires, so Ill have to pick up a few more left ones adventually.

Made some good progress today. Tested the ignition, it was fine. I unwrapped all of the black electrical tape from the wire to discovery that a splice had come undone, fixed that and now when I turn the key it will turn over. None of the lights work yet, but that should be easy enough. I didnt get a chance to get some more pics taked cause my camera batterys were dead. The wiring from the ignition, has 5 wires going to a plug, on the other side of the connecter plug, there are 6 wires leading back to the motor and starter. As i unraveled the tape one of the wires (at the end with 6 wire) wasnt connected to anything, it was a black wire, it just comes from that plug toward the motor but ends only about a foot from the plug.

I really need to take some pics of it, i dont know if how Im explaining it makes any sence. I wil get pictures for sure tomorrow. But defintly making a little progress with it and have enjoyed every minute of it.

If anyone has any suggestion about what else I should be doing with this machine, feel free to let me know. I am new to all of this, but it does seem like a really easy machine to work on.