KruSty CooT: WagZ new Build..

[jpswift1]

Hey Wagz, did you have those new body halves made?

[mustangwagz]

Hey Wagz, did you have those new body halves made?

Yes sir i did.

[amphibious drew]

Hmmm engine and clutches. Well I know nothing of any deals on an engine right now, but there was a matching set of clutches of a Polaris 400 something or other on Pittsburgh's craigslist for like $80. I couldn't tell you if that's a 2 or 4 stroke quad or what the shafts are, but I thought someone was using or going to use a Polaris clutch set up on something. Might be worth a look.

[mustangwagz]

Not much going on, Cut out a bad section of the floor and side wall of the tub..


Then i Cut off a fender..and stuff..lol


THen i Jacked up the coot at front of rear tub so i could spin the front half and do some fitting for the side panel... THe side will fit nicely once i get it pulled in and welded in place, ill get pictures of it. but here's one of how far it can twist till it maxes out on the "stops"

[Noel Woods]

Wagz:
Just because you have a vertical motor in it doesn't mean you have to tilt the body sideways to make it a horizontal.

[mustangwagz]

Wagz:
Just because you have a vertical motor in it doesn't mean you have to tilt the body sideways to make it a horizontal.

Bahahaha, Dang...thought maybe i could Trick it into thinking it was horizontal..lol

[mustangwagz]

Nothing great grand and wonderful going on other than putting a side on it. Got most of it welded, however need to do more. ALMOST outta mig welder gas so i stopped using it, and switched to STICK for what i can. Sucks, i aint nearly as good at stick welding as i am at mig welding..but....ill learn! lol ANyhow, yah..thats about it really. Its been beautiful today so i didnt get a whole hell of a lot done on the coot. Sorry boys/gals, this is gonna be a SLOW build! hahaha.

[mustangwagz]

Well, Left side is DONE for now till i get wheels back on and then i can work on my "Guide Rails" imma build...but thats for later..lol Here's a few pics. Dont mind the mess i made of it, some area's of the coot i just had to work with what i had...the old metal was getting thin, and im glad i decided to add to the body metal cuz it needed it!! Some welds were done with Mig (important ones) and some were done with the Stick....might i add, STICK welding that old thin metal is nerve wrecking!! Ugghhhh!!! Also, on the side you'll see where some areas were grinded on....those are plug welds. I pulled the new metal into the old metal, then welded them together. How did i pull it in you may wander??, Cut a hole in the new metal, weld a bolt to the old metal, then run the new metal down against it with a Nut and washer, or piece of flat stock if you have a large area thats "gapping" underneath.






NEXT ill be on to the right side..in some of the pictures i posted earlier, you can see that i had MAJOR holes in the bottom of the tub, well...got some on the side too as seen in the following picture. Once i get fender cut off and dash re-fitted as needed, then i can begin welding new fender into place. Once fender is in place and tub is attatched properly, i can then go back to putting front wheels on...which will DEFF make it nicer to move around..This big steel tank is heavy!! lol I had to post a "question" over on coot world about wheel bearings, cuz my front ones have NO numbers on them..makes it tough to Cross ref them! lol Anyhow, enjoy boys and gals!! Ill be back with more im sure!!

[Bazooo guy]

The bearings should be easy.
I would use a new style 4 bolt flange.
Just measure the axle .
Great start on the build

[mustangwagz]

The bearings should be easy.
I would use a new style 4 bolt flange.
Just measure the axle .
Great start on the build

Thanks man, but bearings are a little more complicated than that..lol. The coot has spindles that pivit, they are actual bearings that press/pound into a hub..Not like the 6wheelers at all actually. but no worries, ill figure it out!! :-D

[mustangwagz]

My son and i worked on The Krustacious Cooter Yesterday, got my other side tacked on, Important area's were welded via Mig, and its ready to be STICK welded now. So, once thats done i can re-mount front wheels and have a fairly movable object hiding in the garage. lol THAT will be a big plus. here's a pic of the kid Banging on the coot! POW POW!

[Bazooo guy]

I like to use a small 1/8" rod (6013) when welding thin metal ....turn down the heat and keep moving.
Clean metal is much easier to weld. It looks like the body of the coot is at least 1/8" thick so you should be good.
Your son looks like he is having a blast helping form the metal.
He needs a bigger hammer

[mustangwagz]

WEll its been a while since i updated my build..i have no pictures at the moment, but ill get some. Pretty basic stuff. Finally got new panels all welded on, front spindles re-built and packed with new grease and bearings. Steering Mechanism all cleaned up and working very free. I even cut a board and made a Hobo-seat. lol Just temporary to see what i would be working with for steering wheel placement and leg room, etc etc. (NOTE: i did not build my TT box yet, however i have all the bearings found online/at auto parts store and all are ready to be ordered..enough for both boxes too...which is about 150 bucks..) ANyhow, metal fabricating is going on right now and i had this bright idea to give the coot a tilt steering wheel. Something that would allow easier entry and exit. Tonight i made cardboard cutouts of the Stand, and tilt mechanism. I copied the idea from some pictures i found online. I have a new 3/4 bore universal joint for joining shafts in the garage, only problem i found was that one side is smooth bore, other is splined and is only 11/16th ID...so ill have to open it up a bit. Not sure if i can just hit it with a drill bit or not...so i may have to chuck it into a lathe and do some work on it. SLOWLY, but surely it is coming along. Once i get TT built, i intend on retrofitting some outter sealed bearings rather than axle tubes. Oh, and i also need to cut my big plate for the front of coot and weld it on as well. THen i can build a Super Mega Bumper and all that other good jazz (winch mount, Clevis eyes) Also need to cut smaller plate yet, for the Steering Rack Re-inforcement that i read about as well. The Front half of Coot is gonna be the expensive half..lol LOT to do yet that i haven't mentioned, however by next year for ashtabula, i should have the ole coot ready to play with yinz guys!! :-D And as i said, ill get pictures of my slow but on going process! Stay tuned!!

[North Country Tough]

Been a little bit more than tied up in my own little world as of late and missed this thread altogether,and all I got to say is WOW,I can picture the finished project and know it will be nothing short of a mechanical miracle,and have zero doubt that you will make it better stronger faster,congrats Z on this find,looks like the youngin and the misses are on board,what great times for that boy of yours I remember spending time with my Dad in the shop working on all manner of mechanical beasts,and now that he is gone they are fond memory's,and you are growing up the next generation of tinkerers,I will be watching the progress on this one have some fun and keep that lad involved.NCT

[mustangwagz]

THanks NCT! Life...short pd of time where we have to many things to do and all need done asap...thats how it works bro. haha. Anyhow, pictures as i promised. Nothing great yet, but SLOWLY gettin it all figured out. Got shaft cut and assembled for most part...will have to take apart to assemble it once i get a new bearing and mounting flange. HOPING my idea works out the way i want it to but wont know till i try it for sure. haha. If all else fails, ill just mount it solid at a different angle, where it'll be outta the way of my legs/knees. So yah, anyhow..., dont mind the looks of the welds, had to start and stop during welds to prevent burn though on the older metal. I wanted good penetration...well i got it. haha. (hadda g/f that used to say that too...BAHAHA!)..errr uhhh yah so anyways, gonna try to get to TSC before 8 pm so i can get a bearing mounting flange and bearing. (wtf..they close at 8pm...who does that crap!? lol) Here's a couple pics of the column so far. been busy every night since it got nice out. I have a log truck load of wood in my yard that i gotta get cut, split and stacked so it can dry so thats been taking up alot of evening time. Along with other CRAP that i gotta do. lol ok, im done bitching, Catch yinz later!