Mystery 6x6

[Michaeljp86]

I wonder if it was meant for salt water use with stainles axles.

[Coop]

fmints....The tires are inset close to the body and in the front and rear, the edges of the tire would hit the body if the diameter was much bigger. 26's will work fine.

I worked on the brakes today, the calipers were siezed up. After spending an hour at NAPA, we fiqured out that the calipers are off a 1975 Porsche 911S, fronts, both left sides. I was able to take them apart and free them up, I ordered new pads, they will be here tomorrow.

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Here are some pics of the chains and tensioners up front, heavy duty stuff...

Coop

[mustangwagz]

I think the Amphibious Pig would be most appropriate.

Amphibious pig, short for hippo! lol This thing is built like a tank, and has a HUGE motor! I wander just exactly what this thing is..i'm kinda leaning towards a Kit kinda thing, however...who knows..this could have been a one hit wander kind of machine.

[fmints]

if 26x12x12's are on there now, there should be no problem putting 27's or even 28's on it, looking at the clearance between tire to tire and tire to body (inside and top)

[amphibious drew]

I also have to come up with a name for it.

I think the Amphibious Pig would be most appropriate.

[LarryW]

Wow, Neat machine! You did a great job on the video walk around. Nicely done. Thanks!

[Coop]

Thanks guys...I agree, there is alot of work there to make the body, and to engineer the drivetrain, there has to be more around. I have to try to get ahold of the guy over on Route 6x6 that posted a pic of his, looks to be the same machine other than a couple differences in the body. I'm planning on giving it a good tune-up tonight, grease everything, oil change, and maybe take it swimming this weekend. There is another AATV on our site here, homemade, that the builder used a VW engine and transaxle, very similar set-up to this one, I'm wondering if maybe the builder saw one of these and patterned his build after this one. I also have to come up with a name for it, especially if I don't find out what it officially is, my son says it should be called the "Tadpole".

Coop

[brushcutter]

Cool ride, curious to see what kind of speed you get out of the jet pump. Looks like a lot of thought and work went into this machine. Nice find!

[Tomo]

hi
Nice
With all the curves in the body it is unlikely it is a one of a kind . Most likely there was a mould the the body was fibre glassed into . All this is to much work for one unit ??. Then again i was thinking of making a mould from copying my swampfox upper and lower bodies so who knows ...

tomo

[azz7772]

looks in pretty good shape .......... By looking at the design it must have been built for a specific purpose, I am not sure about that being used as an all around use machine. The approach and depart angles are not that great for bush and hills.

[coosaridgerider]

Man that's a cool ride.You might need a big winch if you get that thing stuck.Looks and sounds good.What type of trans.

[Coop]

Ok Guys, I got it home, now we need to fiqure out what it is, and who made it. I will say, it is built very heavy duty. The fiberglass body is 3/8" to 1/2" thick everywhere, nicely laid up, Everywhere that there is a tiedown hook or clevis, it is reinforced with a metal plate glassed into the body. The axles are 1 3/8" stainless steel and are supported on the outside of the body and at the end of the axle on the inside by big, greasable bearing blocks. The bearings are bolted to the sides of the body on the wheel side, on the inside there is a metal cage glassed and bolted into the body that the inner bearing is bolted to. The drive chains are bigger than #50, I'd guess # 60, all the chains are riding on spring loaded tensioners with nylon wiper blocks on them. It has the Berkley Jet Drive, that is coupled to the engine crank with a sliding coupler that you have to manually loosen 2 set screws and slide the coupler forward to engage 6 pins into the drive lug. I can see that being a PITA, I will be re-desiging that engagement method to something I can do on the fly from the drivers seat, probably an electric clutch of some kind. The engine is a Subaru, I think 1300cc, it has points and a carb, so that dates that to mid 70's to early 80's . Transaxle is a VW Bug, mid 70's also because it came out of a Bettle that had CV joints. There is an aluminum adapter between the engine and trans. There are brake rotors mounted on the output shafts, the rotors and calipers look to be XJ Jaguar units, I'm familiar with those from my Cobra kit car,( wish I still had that), The gauges are also Jag, except for the speedo, that is a Stewart Warner. It has 2 gas tanks teed together, one common fill. There are 2 small radiators also teed together in the back, each one has an electric fan mounted on it, the fans are controlled by an electric thermostat on the engine. There are 2 bilge pumps in the rear well, they exit out the rear bulkhead. The wheels are all the same, the front and rears have that stiffining plate welded/bolted into the center. the hubs are welded to the axles. The tires are 26-12-12. It has an AM radio in it, and the interesting thing about that is that the antenna mast is glassed into the body, up under the dash.
I'm wondering if this was some kind of a kit that you built? They supplied the body, mounting hardware, you supplied the engine, trans, etc.. I've attached a walkaround vid, I'll take some pics as I get into it deeper. Let me know your thoughts...

Coop