Mystery 6x6

[Michaeljp86]

My great grandpa lived by the river and they would find buckets of them.

[Coop]

Mystery 6x6 Teardown.

I've decided to tear down this machine, do some much needed modifications. I plan to:

* Re-Wire the whole thing, get rid of the messy harness all over the place, install a single wire alternator, that will eliminate the whole regulator mess..

* Design and build a better Jet Pump clutch, as it is now, I have to stop the engine, reach down into the "black hole",( Ive dropped wrenches in there, still missing one), that is the rear hull and loosen a set screw and slide a coupler together to engage/disengage the pump, really a bad design. I am going to adapt an electric, shaft mounted clutch, so I can drive into or out of the water and just flip a switch to operate the clutch...

* Get rid of the dual radiators and fans, mount a single radiator/fan assembly, possability above the rear deck for maximun cooling and serviceability..

* Re-locate the battery up front, in the center..

* And some other needed PM issues that will be easier with the top off: adjust valves, adjust rear chain/tensioner, clean and paint, etc.

So it will be out of commision for a while, I'll post pics as I go. Hopefully somebody might see this thing and know what it is, I'd love to know. More and more I'm thinking it is homemade, that it was some kind of a kit..

Split.jpgInternals1.jpgInternals2.jpgInternals3.jpgInternals4.jpg .

Coop

[Coop]

Pic of the pump coupler...

Pump drive.jpg

Coop

[Coop]

I got the exhaust off last night and pulled the rear chains and tensioners. I had to get the exhaust out of the way to get to the chains, and later, adjust the valves. The chains and sprockets are good, that is a good thing, because the sprockets are welded to the axles, so are the wheel hubs, so if I ever have to replace any of those things, I'll be cutting stuff apart, there will be no way to slide the axles out of the body otherwise. But, from looking at it, I don't believe the machine has had a lot of use, sprocket teeth show no wear, chains links are tight. The chain tensioners are bad though, they also look to be homemade, it is a spring loaded wheel that was pushing up on the outside of the chain, problem is they used a rubber wheel to contact the chain and the rubber got all soft and "gummy" from the oil and grease on the chain. I'm either going to replace the wheel with one made from some kind of plastic like nylon, or maybe a gear idler sprocket. More later.....

[Stonewall]

What color are you going to paint it?

[Coop]

What, you don't think it looks good baby blue?....Me either...I'm thinking about maybe an olive drab camo scheme...

Coop

[Noel Woods]

The chain adjusters actually look very advanced. I would imagine you could take the ones you have and utilize a skateboard wheel as the roller and get many years of service. UHMW or Delron would also work.

[Coop]

tore it all apart today, separated the top and lower body halves, it is a lot easier to work on it this way. I rebuilt the chain tensioners, I adapted a hardned steel chain roller from a fork truck mast to the existing tensioners, the chains don't move over the rollers at very many feet per second, they should work fine. I cleaned, lubed and re-installed all the chains, the chains all have good tension on them now. I stripped all the wiring off the engine and from under the dash, I'm going to start over and build my own harness, install new switches and gauges. The alternator has to go too, I am going to install a single wire alternator. And before it all goes back together, I am going to mount a shaft mounted electric clutch for the jet pump, get rid of that manual coupling. More later....
Topless3.jpgTopless2.jpgTopless6.jpgTopless5.jpgTopless4.jpgI

[LarryW]

Thanks for the updates! I like what your doing. Its going to be real nice when your done. The electric clutch jet pump engagement is a great idea.

[newhampshirefarms]

Neat rig. The Hustler 880 had a different body but similar jet drive in the rear: Hustler 880 6x6 - YouTube

[fmints]

Man that thing moves very well in water.When riding solo you have to slide over in the seat to adjust your weight and make the machine level out then it will handle a lot better.Just a suggestion.Very cool machine.

Yeah it does,, the quicks that I have seen an AATV go!! Cool!!

[Coop]

I'm making progress on the build. I got rid of the 2 radiators and that plumbing nightmare and replaced them with a single radiator/shroud/fan unit. I mounted it in the back of the tub on an angle, out in the open where it can do a good job of cooling the engine. I ripped out all the wiring, started over, picked up a single wire alternator, I still have to fab a mount up for that. I ordered an electric clutch for the jet pump, that will make turning the pump on and off much easier. As soon as I get the pump clutch mounted, I can put the body halves back together, do some painting and then start using it. I'll get some pics posted of the latest soon...

Coop

[LarryW]

Sounds like it will be a lot easier to work on making it simple. Dual radiators seem like it could just cause extra connections/things to go bad. Thanks for the update!

[Dirty Harry]

Keep the updates coming, Coop. And remember... PICS! PICS! PICS!

[highrollinmopars]

COOP is the make and model of that machine still a mystery? I really like the design of it...big motor,big tires,jet pump,stainless axles and hardware man thats a nice machine. I was just curious as to how you came about owning it and if anybody knows what it is or has ever seen another one.