New guy , new to 6x6's....

[Ceejus]

i'm supposed to go pick this up sunday or monday. i know it's an Attex, but i have no idea what model or anything. supposed to have the 440 2 stroke engine in it...

[LarryW]

Looks like Attex 440 thunderchief. If you clean up the frame rail on the right I believe(help guys if Im wrong) it will have 2 large numbers and also some other model codes but the larger numbers are the year. I specialize more in the earlier attexes but Don, Jp, racerone3 and a lot of other guys could probably help you with anything you ever wanted to know plus some you didnt.

Some attex infor here....

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/content/section/372-attex-six-wheeler-manuals.html

[jpswift1]

Larry's right. Check the right side of the frame rail on the top, just about over the rear axle. The two larger numbers on there will tell you the year. This Thunderchief is either a 1974 or 1975. The 1973 models came with the chrome headlight bezels and the 74 and 75's had the rubber grommet style.....just a simple way to tell them apart. I see you'll be in need of a belt, so pick up a Dayco Max 1078 and you'll be in business. This machine looks VERY original! And I see that it has the original dual carburetor set up and all of the dash gauges. Nice find! If you get this, I'd highly recommend restoring it to it's original condition. It will also help raise the resale value of the machine this way. The only thing you might want to do is update the wheels and tires to modern style ones and just keep the balloon tires stored in your garage. First start by removing all of the dirt and grime, and then take some acetone on a clean white rag and go over the body and it will clean it right up. Do it just like you're waxing a car. It might take 3 times of going over it, but it'll come back like new. I did that on my Thunderchief racer that I'm building and it looks like a million bucks now. Good luck with it and be sure to keep us updated.

[Ceejus]

awesome! thanks for the info!!! i'm really excited about this thing!

[jpswift1]

awesome! thanks for the info!!! i'm really excited about this thing!

I certainly would be too, you've got a really great machine to start with here! Just one request......don't paint it. This machine is a perfect candidate for a full frame out restoration. It really isn't too complicated once you do it because these machines are rather simple. You can get all new drive chains and inner and outter bearings (very high quality ones) at a really low price through a place that many 6x6World members use called Buffalo Bearing. Sandblast and paint the frame, run new fuel lines, tune up the motor, shine the body up and get it bolted back together with new chains, bearings, and fresh paint on the steel parts and you're going to have one really nice (and fast) 6 wheeler!

[liflod]

I've had really good success soaking the body with bleach in a spray bottle and cleaning with a scotchbrite pad to get the dirt and fungus stuff out of the plastic. Without the bleach and just using soap, there's still dark sutff in the plastic. The bleach will clean it out.

[Ceejus]

thanks for the tips and info!
i've had good luck with removing mold and the like with white vinegar too.
as simple as these things appear to be, it should be a fairly easy resto i would think. the only complicated things being the engine and electrical.

i've built a few motorcycles and cars so this should be a snap! (i hope!)

who was the manufacturer of these 44 2 stroke engines?
my dad used to fly ultralight aircraft and has a couple of VERY similar Cuyuna 430cc 2 stroke twin engines. i was wondering if they may have been made by the same company.

i guess this is the newer version of the 430..
Engine Models 460F

[jpswift1]

The 44o in the Thunderchief is made by JLO/Rockwell. It is a 4 bolt head, and the newer version (which are 5 port engines) are 6 bolt heads. The 6 bolt head, 5 port engines were made under the name Cuyuna after they bought out JLO/Rockwell. Cuyuna went on to make engines for Scorpion snowmobiles and ultralight applications. 2si then bought out Cuyuna. The bottom ends are pretty much the same on these engines, except the jugs and heads were different. My motor in my Thunderchief racer started out as a JLO/Rockwell bottom end and I bolted on the 6 bolt heads with the 5 port jugs. You can still see the JLO/Rockwell sticker on the fan case. These are excellent engines for sure!

[Ceejus]

excellent! so i'll have a couple of back up engines that i KNOW run, just incase this one is a lost cause.

[hydromike]

Hey 'Ceej,

The ULII-02s breathe a heck of a lot better than even the standard Cuyuna 5-ports do. Better cooling, often with CDI, better porting. Throw a couple Mikuni 34's on, and you'll be amazed at what it will do. You could run down most Superchiefs if you get it tweaked in right....

Squeeze one of the 430s in there. Dad will never miss it...

~m

:::EDIT:::
I see that 2Si is still rating the 460 at 35 horsepower. My opinion is, that's about 20% low...

[Ceejus]

Hey 'Ceej,

The ULII-02s breathe a heck of a lot better than even the standard Cuyuna 5-ports do. Better cooling, often with CDI, better porting. Throw a couple Mikuni 34's on, and you'll be amazed at what it will do. You could run down most Superchiefs if you get it tweaked in right....

Squeeze one of the 430s in there. Dad will never miss it...

~m

:::EDIT:::
I see that 2Si is still rating the 460 at 35 horsepower. My opinion is, that's about 20% low...

the engines he has ARE ULII-02's! i'd forgotten the model number of those engines!

[hydromike]

WELL??!! What are you waiting for?! Sneak into the garage and grab one!



It'll bolt right into place of your T-Chief engine. Same clutch taper, same bolt pattern....
~m

[Ceejus]

WELL??!! What are you waiting for?! Sneak into the garage and grab one!



It'll bolt right into place of your T-Chief engine. Same clutch taper, same bolt pattern....
~m

i'm on it!!!
my dad lives about 3 1/2 hours away from me, but i'll probably grab one out of his garage since i'm gonna be there next weekend!
will the electric start on the original engine bolt up to the ULII-02?

[jpswift1]

i'm on it!!!
my dad lives about 3 1/2 hours away from me, but i'll probably grab one out of his garage since i'm gonna be there next weekend!
will the electric start on the original engine bolt up to the ULII-02?

You'd have to look at the flywheel on the ULII engine to see if its the same, but there is a prett good chance that it could. Here's my engine that started out life as a 400 JLO/Rockwell. I got some 5 port, 6 bolt heads and jugs from Hydromike on a trade. From there I had it bored out .020 thousandths over, installed all new forged Wiseco pistons, had the ports worked and did a little bit of polishing on some of the internals of the engine and now it screams! I'm running a 36mm Mikuni with a 300 main jet right now, but it seems to be just a little too rich so I might step down to a 280 or 290 like it says in my Cuyuna manual. Hydromike and I are going to be having a test and tune session with our machines tomorrow, so we'll post up about that then. That ULII is going to make that machine fast for sure. The only thing is that you'll have to rework the exhaust because it will be a little different than the original 4 bolt head 440 JLO/Rockwell set up. It shouldn't be too bad though, and we're all here to help.

[hydromike]

Rework exhaust?
Electric starter?

Rip the darn ring gear off and throw a big fat pipe on that animal and we'll bend up a cage for it. We'll go racin'....

~m

(in all seriousness, I still have a starter [and bracket, I think?] from a ULII-02 that'd more than likely bolt right up. Maybe even the ring gear, but that's likely the same from the JLO days... I'll check the warehouse tonight....)