The heart of this system was finding the right "donor" vehicle for the drive system. I found a Case model 444 riding lawn mower. This is a pretty big tractor with a 14 horse Kohler motor. I cut the tractors frame to fit inside the back hull of the coot. Then cut the tractors rear axle assemble to fit into the front of the coot to sit where the coot transmission once sat.
(Above) photo of tractor rear end. Note that one of the axles was cut
off to fit the transmission in the coot. I cut the axle tub and bolted
the axle stub back into the differential so that I could still service
the transmission if I had to. By doing this I doubled the output speed
of the remaining axle. I installed a 60 tooth sprocket on the output shaft
of the transmission to make up for the lower rpms. The tractor brake system
lends itself nicely to using the coot brake lever. Simply had to extend
the brake cable since the brake pulls in the opposite direction than that
coot brake system. If this coot still had the original brake system, that
could have been used.
The tractor motor and hydraulic cooling system and reserve bolt into the back of the coot. The coot drive shaft fits between the pump and the frame of the motor as if it were designed to do so!
I have added a windshield
and "hood" over the motor. Also a "A" frame to the bumper as I intend to
use the coot for plowing snow this winter. While this is an older picture,
I have since added a roll bar and will soon paint the entire coot. I hope
to still add a top and sides to the cab. More pictures will be posted as
I move along with the project.
Below are a few more pictures of the coot.
