Hustler 980 tall tub build

[dirtdobber]

T20 is ready to go. Relined bands, new seals, one new bearing and one new thrust washer. The thing is, though, the plungers are going to stick out of the case rather than being inset. Drums are in great shape, but I guess they could have been turned at some point.

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[dirtdobber]

Made a little progress this weekend. Worn holes in the T20 mount were repaired by welding them up and drilling/cutting new ones.
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I'm going to replace the outer frame rails. They've got some heavy rust damage and lots of twists and turns.

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[dirtdobber]

Finally moving forward again on the 980 build. I have new frame rails formed from 3/16 material. This is a little thicker than factory (which was some odd 9 gauge material or something). The webbing is a little deeper and the channel is a little taller = lots more strength, but heavier.

I cut the old side rails off this morning, and hopefully this evening I'll have everything cleaned up ready to tack the new rails in place.

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[Dw89xj]

Fun fun I had to go through this on my Max ii. I went with 1/8" metal, I hope it holds up well.

[dirtdobber]

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Making progress. Got the new frame rails tacked in and everything else tacked into place. I will drop it in the to make sure everything lines up correctly before welding. The second pic shows the difference in the factory frame vs. the new one.

[dirtdobber]

Got the frame dropped into the tub. Amazingly, all 18 bolt holes for the outer bearings lined up perfectly, as did other bolt holes. Yanked it back out and got it all welded up. Now on to modifying chain tensioners.

[dirtdobber]

Update: I'm making pretty good progress. I have my new chain tensioners built and welded in. Motor mounts are about an hour away from being fabbed up and tacked together. If all goes according to plan, I hope to set the engine in position this weekend. It's going to be a tight fit. If I can get it in position and the mounts all tacked in, I can set the frame back in the tub, set the engine in place, and then see just how big of a job it will be to mount the original radiator.....if it will fit!!

[john swenson]

it's going to be a really good machine that holds up well with all that work you've done ! that first ride will be exciting . love the rolling stand too . johnboy va.

[dirtdobber]

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Thank you Johnboy. I'm counting on it being a long lasting machine.

Here's the chain tensioners.

[dirtdobber]

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Engine mounted.

[ARGOJIM]

Looking good, the frame looks really good.
Countrycummings IV with the diesel worked really well.

[dirtdobber]

20200128_063910.jpg20200128_063931.jpgI stuck it together to better see what clearances I have. The factory radiator wont fit, so I have to come up with an alternative. I really want to keep everything under the engine cover....nice and neat.

[Don]

If your radiator setup is similar to mine, you can remove the fan spacer, turn the fan backwards and move the radiator about an inch and a half toward the engine. That gave me enough room to fit the original into the tub under the stock engine cover. Ended up making a new cover to install fans- the two cylinder was fine with the stock cover but the triple ran hot.

[ARGOJIM]

Consider 2 or 3 atv radiators in line with electric fans either on right body ledge or across the back. Right body ledge would require cutting the body though.

Btw Bo Clayton is putting together a ride or so in NE Texas on Facebook if you are interested.

[dirtdobber]

Don, thanks for the input and for posting your pic. I have been meaning to go find it. Unfortunately, the Yanmar engine is different. No fan spacer and reversing the fan makes it worse as the fan hub is dished to move it closer to engine already.

AJ, I'm considering all options, including stringing together heater cores along the back screen or wherever else. Actually, I'm researching the John Deere gators. They made diesel models with nearly the same engine and smaller radiators. My radiator is bigger because it has an oil cooler for the hydraulic fluid, which I don't need.