I've been busy working on the John Deere 650 lately so I haven't posted much on this homemade tractor. As I'd mentioned previously, I crudely mounted a 1947 Onan BH twin cylinder engine. Since then I permanently attached the engine and made a belt tensioning clutch assembly and belt guard. This first photo is with a trial belt that is too long.
The next photo is after the clutch gizmo is welded onto the frame. The concept seems to work, the belt is just too long.
I got two shorter v-belts that work much better.
Two of the engine ears were broken off when I got this motor so I drilled, tapped, and heli-coiled the remnants of the ears so I could bolt the engine to the tractor frame.
This next photo below shows the completed belt guard. I used sheet metal for the most part.
Tractors that use a slipping belt for a clutch need some method of keeping the belts from hanging on the pulleys when they are slack. If the belts are allowed to hang on the pulleys, the belts would continue to drive the transmission input shaft, causing grinding when shifting into gear and making it difficult to get out of gear when the clutch is disengaged. The belt guard holds the belts off the pulleys so there are no issues when shifting. Small commercially made tractors such as Gibson (one I'm very familiar with) that use slipping belts as the clutch have similar belt guards.
I still need to fabricate a clutch pedal and linkage but for now I can drive the tractor around the yard by pushing down on the clutch lever with my foot. I also still need to find or make front wheels...
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