**** UPDATE ****Well I have had it for about a month now and have had a lot of issues with it, it wasn't put together very well. On the maiden voyage we got stuck in the woods, when it stalled and had no starter to get it going. We got pulled out of the woods and jump started it, then on the way back up to the house the left rear tire passed me!
At that point I decided to go over it myself from front to rear. I started making phone calls, asking questions, reading about it, and ordering parts.
Most of the wiring was in really bad shape, and was just hanging everywhere and getting caught on stuff. It had smashed, pinched, burnt, and melted wiring everywhere, not to mention all the broken and loose ground wires. Also the three gauges he had in it were mounted between the seats shoved down under the seatbelts. So I removed everything that did not make it run (i.e. headlights, taillights, switches, gauges, extra wiring etc).
I then went through and replaced all the remaining wiring one wire at a time and tied it up in a bundle out of the way.
I bought a new Hi-Torque starter for it and while replacing all the wiring I found that the ignition switch had a direct short in it so when you turned it to "On" (not "start") it should have been engaging the starter. However the starter wire was so loose it did not do that, you actually had to wiggle the ignition switch to get it started. I am assuming that the reason the last guy burnt up so many starters is that once you started driving it in the woods and started bouncing around that the loose wire would make contact and the starter would try to turn, with the engine already running. I bought a new ignition switch and replaced that.
I think the reason the gauges were where they were was due to the length of the cabling/wires. He had purchased mechanical gauges and the cable/wiring was only about 6 feet long. Fine for a front mounted engine but way to short for a rear mounted. I bought all new electrical gauges and mounted them under the windshield and ran the wiring in a bundle to the rear. Looks great, works great, and you can actually see and read them there!
I pulled the engine and found that he clutch, pressure plate and flywheel were burnt up. They had gotten so hot that it actually warped the flywheel. I contacted KEP and they had me ship them the flywheel and said I could mail it to them and if it wasn't to bad they could turn it or I could buy a new one (turning $50 - new one $230), I asked what their address was. They were able to turn it and they pressed on a new ring gear the shipped it back, in the mean time I bought a 4 puck racing clutch, a stage II 2300 pound pressure plate, and new throw out bearing.
I also found that the last guy had put on a 12 volt 130 tooth flywheel but he had a 1966 or older transmission wich had a 6 volt 109 tooth flywheel. You can use the larger flywheel but you have to grind out the bell housing for clearance first, he did not bother to do that (see post/photos in Water Cooled Engine thread) so the flywheel he had in it ground out the bell housing itself, probably a big reason it got so hot and warped. We checked the clearance and ground a little on it before we put the engine back in but most of it was already done by the flywheel.
I also put in a new 1000 cold cranking amp battery, due to the engine not having an alternator in it I wanted to make sure I had a strong battery in it. We are going to get an alternator put on it when we can.
While working on it we had the wheels off and the drums, brakes, and cylinders are all in bad shape. Rather than spending the money replacing the inferior parts, my next item to work on is changing the whole set up. I did go ahead and replace the cracked plastic brake reservoir with a billet aluminum one and we got longer bolts and retapped the holes in the drums so the wheels wouldn't come off until I can get them replaced. I am switching over to Hydraulic brakes, putting new brake lines on, adding cutter brakes, and replacing the drums with a disc kit.
The front H bar set up is going to need to be replaced as well, it will last for now but is going to have to go. The tops where the shocks mount are rusting out and the shocks will brake off sooner or later. Also all the ball joints in the front end are shot.
Any suggestions or recommendations for replacing the front end are appreciated - keeping in mind it will mostly be driven on the street after this year but will still off road sometimes.Last weekend we actually got the engine back in and it running, I am taking it out a little at a time and getting a little rougher each time to see what it needs or what will break and need replaced. While playing around in it I was able to get the front end about 3 feet off the ground and ride it for about 40 feet.
She is FAST!! and has plenty of power. The plan now is to get it running and mechanically correct this year and then start working on setting it up for the street this winter. The engine still needs some tuning because it isn't running just right but I can get dad back over here for that.
As always your comments, suggestions, or recommendations are appreciated!!
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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!
