Lawn Mower Racing Build BASIC WA Style +MOW Stuff

what is the crankcase pressure relief and reservoir for?

thanks

Yes, they don't work too good, have gone in and pulled the rotor, removed any leaked grease in the area with Brake Kleen solvent, did the same to the rotor, then roughed it up with some 180 grit, ordered up and installed some new brake shoes, actually in thinking about it they work pretty darn good. Didn't work well at all before the clean up.

are you useing the same brakes that were on the lawn mower?

hey i got 2 of these craftsman's. 1 with a 4 speed tranny and 1 with a 5 speed tranny, and most likely going to buy a ford today. go 6" pulley up front (on the engine) and 3" pulley on the transaxle. put a couple of belt guards on so it doesnt pop off.

Adjustable Front Tie Rod: I used 1/2" female 20 right hand thread heim joints I got through speedwaymotors . com , they were $5.99 each, picked up some grade 5 jam nuts from the local implement store, used 1/2" cold rolled shaft material I cut and threaded, then assembled everything with Blue Locktite. It wasn't a kit, all from scratch.

Steering,like the idea of more direct steering, motorcycle style bars, just a preference. Yup, ended up with a 1 to 1 ratio, seems to dial it in for the right rpm in high gear for that particular track.

pto meaning tranny? no. The front meaning the engine, to put a lager pulley on the engine and change it from original one from the mower set up, remove the bolt down the center, spray in some PJs penitrating loosing solution and let it soak for an hour or two, should be able to get it off, might not be easy though, you may need a puller. Max size I could fit on the front of mine was 5, you may have room for something different. Mine is an old Craftsman, others may be different.

do you have to take the pto, off tp put a bigger pulley on the front

Hmmmm, I just don't have any better pics of the throttle hook up. As far as the rear pulley goes, pull the battery and the battery tray underneath, this will get you access to the pulley, there is a snap ring on the shaft you need to take off in order to pull the pulley.

i have the same style of mower as you and can't get the throttle figured out... could you make a video of that and show your rear pulley so i can see what to do to get that stuff working. thanks so much

AND, I have a 5" pully on the engine, started with a 7" on the tranny, reduced that to a 6" but still don't have the top speed I need on the long sweeper, good in the tight stuff though, its a "Road Course", may go to a 5" on the tranny just to bring up the top speed in hi gear, BUT will sacrifice power on the tight section, see . . . Mains Bits N Pieces and . . . Powder Puff. Those in the KNOW said in the beginning I need to go 5 on the engine and 5 on the tranny, but did I pay attention, no.

Got It!

It wont be easy- most racers use a go kart type front axle and spindles to lower the front- welded in. Most also switch to a straight rear axle setup or mount the stock trans up thru the rear chassis- using a murray deck spindle assy ( one pulley under the tractor- one on top) to lower the drivetrain- it makes for alot better stability/handling. Alot of welding /fabbing will need to be done.

Way Cool. I am now in the thought process of trying to get my brain around the whole idea of lowering it a couple of inches. It may happen or it may not.

I used a same year craftsman as a modded tractor ( not for racing)- i ended up locking up the stock trans when i broke a few pinion teeth off in it. Im planning on making a cruiser out of it for my wife. I have a modifed murray for speeding around with- im aiming for 60 mph with it ( after extensive mods of course)- after im done building the murray i have a MTD wizard thats going to be a whole lot faster...

There were some problems that came up, see "Track Practice".

Thanks for the heads up.

Great video, but you should lower your mower, those craftsmans are very tippy, check out my craftsman in my videos. my craftsman has a bunch of upgrades including breaks, but no mods to the 28CID 12HP briggs and i still need to lower mine...in my videos i was in 3rd out of 6th gear.

you should think of it more as advertising. because I like it. might go and buy the song on the internet

Thanks, just music I don't have to be concerned about abusing a copyright. I do respect those who work hard to copyright their work.

NICE! I love this video. what's the name of the song?

DANG!!, I did practice laps and discovered that for the track I will be at I am geared too low, turning 5000+ rpms or 30+ mph in high gear, floating the valves, so kept the 5 on the front and went to a 6 on the back instead of the 7 I had, should do great. Of course that also means a new shorter belt. That's 29 mph at 4000 rpm. Have to keep the rpms up on my 11 hp. Also had to weld the front axle in place so the inside rear wheel won't lift and spin free while cornering, causing a loss of speed.

Yup, however it seems as though the Briggs is pretty tough, AND, I have another 11 hp (used as well)waiting in the shop to drop in. We'll see what happens on the track in a couple of weeks. Either it will fall apart sitting there ideling or could very likely take the abuse, I hope.

Thats crazy removing the govenor! You'll blow the engine easily.

1 to 1 ratio is usually the best to start at. meaning first try same size pulleys. Why did you change to a handle bar from the steering wheel?