Fantasy Projects...

Hi Guys, I am surprised you haven't heard anything about the Ford Racing FR100.

There was quite a bit of information about it a few year back. From memory (and I have a bad memory)... It was the brain child of the team at Ford racing concepts to show off their awesome cammer engine. They took 2 1954 F100 (later a panel to) and made a full tube chassis, moved the front axle 5 inches forward and extended the cab 6 inch.
When tested the FR100 lapped only 1sec behind the racing Mustang they built. Also managed 120mph with 2 more gears to go... That is my dream Truck, but maybe in Gold ;o)..

Awesome truck FR 100 If I'm not mistaken I seen this truck sold on Barrett Jackson a few years ago. Don't remember what it sold for but I think money went to charity.

I have a fully restored 1969 John Deere 112 garden tractor. I've probably got as much money in as i will have in my ratrod project but it earns it keep each week mowing the yard. My fantasy project is to get another 112 and drop it on the ground and put a snowmobile motor in it and head to Bonneville to get the landspeed record for a lawnmower which i believe is 85 M.P H. I think I could take it.

John Deer Bonneville?

Now that hounds like a "doable" fantasy and a worthy goal as well. Good luck with that.

Tom

I meant "sounds", can't type too well.

Tom

I've got a donor body and frame of a John Deere 214 in the building down back now all I need is a snowmobile motor and the courage to hold it wide open.

I knew there's a reason I belong here.
It shows me I am sane contrary to Pop Opinion. . . . . I have 2 JD's a 111 and a 216 Hydro Drive I cannot find a reasonabley priced 38" twin blade Deck. I sure as hell can't afford $800 or so it costs for a stamped mower deck shell new from JD either.

So both of these great machines are taking up valuable space in my crammed shop. It would be ideal to resto both these Deere's but it's cheaper to buy throw away's than fix JD's. I ran a (UGH!) 18.5 Kohler Powered Craftsman all summer figuring I'd kill it & just throw it away, BUT. . . .

Mind Blower! It has a 46" 3 blade deck. I ran the ass of that machine. All I did all summer was a major tune up & install a new Battery. The Batt' was "iffy & soft/going" when I Scored the machine. None the less it cut over 125 Acres in 5 months. My $375 Investment brought me more income in 5 months than my Govt SS Check does all year. I love my Deere's Also. However there's a limit. There is a reality too. I can't say much bad about my Craftsman (I swore I'd Never buy one, but did) I paid under $400 for it & made a years income in 5 months with it. Hmmm can't complain about that very much. Maybe I'll change the oil in that Craftsman + Kholer this winter, and maybe a new air Filter too. {I jest surely} I'll service the thing, replace a few "soft" wheel bearings & stuff, give it a full lube, R&R a crapload of clevises, tired pins & clips while I'm at it. Then I'll see if I can "kill it" neat year, Huh?

BUT seriously, If any of y'all have a source for clean used or reasonable New JD 38" - 2 Blade (twin) Mower decks with the adjustable hieght ground wheels, let me know, PM me or something. I want to put my 216 -2 Cyl Hydrostatic drive back in the line up. It will move my car trailer with my T-Bird on it (if I put enough air in the tires) My neighbors peek thru' my friggin fences to see what I'm doing & they think I'm way far out crazy. . . . .
The 2 words I got for them aint "Happy Motoring, or Good Mornin'". . . either. Hah ha ah ROTFLMFAO :-}. . . . . . Koth keep the Green


FBp

Hey Dave,
I lurk alot here and I have a rather full "plate" now that I'm retired & can take it easy in life. ( Hah!)
You should've seen our 40's Hangar Dance & Veteran's Day Parade our Museum put on this year. We had a B-25H Mitchell (USN Type made to fly off carriers as Dolittle did) a SNJ-2(USN) or A-6 (Army) which is same aircraft, also known as a Texan at Hangar Dance, plus a 40's style swing band & perhaps 1,000 attendees. It was a hoot!
The parade was over 1.5 miles long and had nerly 100 entries, all branches, several deuce and a half's, bradleys, a flyover, and much more. It drew perhaps 8,000 to 10,000 spectators and downtown was closed from 08:00 until 14:00
with military static displays & booths, even rolling thunder attended the events.
A week's Break with a few minutes to spare, then Thanksgiving & family time. Friday it's off to "Turkey Rod Run" at Daytona Inat'l Speedway, then '09 Ormond Beach AACA annual show. Maybe one of thses days I'll get to straighten out my "Play Pen" and move some of the junk & clutter around in there.
I gotta go meet people this morning so I'm outta here again for now.

CIAO
FBp

Yeah Dave, I copy that Man.

But you gotta understand Man, my Deere spoiled me with Hydrostatic Drive. . . .
It's so much easier on me, the belts, machine & turf than the 6 speed "tri- geared X dual range" in my Craftsman.
Some of 6 Fwd speeds are so close to the same it doesn't matter. Plus it struggles & slips trying to shunt my old
"MT" car trailer, let alone with my Bird on there. It will not move it at all then.
BUT {or maybe "Butt" ?} ya can't beat the price and if it cranks & works I don't care what it looks like,
as long as it does the work, ya know?
FBp

man a year ago i scrapped a mower deck, tiller off a 214 jd, would of fit your 216 no problem, i owned a small engine repair shop (second job) and had taken it in trade for some work on something else, put it for sale and nowbody wanted it so when it was time to move it all went to the schredders.

Ouch. . . . That hurts Charger.
Down here in the BiKiNi state we have this field grass that people use for turf called Pensacola Bahaia and like a few other species it has a hellacious silica content, most grasses here with tall seed head shoots have that. It is so bad that between those shoots and the sand base they grow in decks get sandblasted in 3-4 years time. JD's 38" twin blade mower decks are deep & contoured so critical points get blasted away more than others. It's quite embarassing when a shive, shaft, bearing housing & blade drop thru a deck get hit by the 2nd blade, then run over it doing more damage.

I don't know why shallow decks & 3 blade decks don't have that problem like John Deeres do, other than maybe their design & configuraion. Also you can't put same Deere High Lift blades on flatter decks like on JD deep decks either. I've learned a lot about interchange-ability with 38" JD mower decks. The difference I learned to watch is ground wheels. Some are height adjustable, some are not. The earlier 110's are not, 111's are.
Anyway decent 38" JD Mowerdeck shells bring $300- $325 w/ adjustable ground wheels if clean & not sand blasted or rusted/ rotted out.

I've a 111 with a Kawasaki 11hp & my 216 with Briggs IC 16Hp Twin. Of course it lacks pressurized oiling, but I found if I use a good 30HD oil & keep it clean or changed regular there is no problem here in the Flatlands of Florida. I heard horror stories of running hills & embankments with that engine though. My 216 is a 1987, my 111 a 1990. I like them better, but they are pricey if I need to go to J Deere for the pieces/ parts. . . Also around here they have riding mower races & IC twin 16 Hps dominate with gear drive.
FBp

There is a fine example of a vw bug done in street rod style which can be seen at http://www.whatareyouworkinon.com/, look up Jimbobjoe57. My fantasies are: Old Willys Jeep wagon on ranger exploder 4x4 running gear. Have started gathering parts to do it. 64-67 elcamino with 4wd underneath, 64 0r 65 cutlass /442 front clip, 65 442 "side scoops" with an extra 4 and an x "4X442". '63 f85 wagon on an s10 blazer 4x4 chassis with the 215 aluminum turbo v8 from a 63 olds jetfire. There's an old ford british hillman at a local scrapyard that is also intiguing. It's a 4 door, but with some better power, suspension and brakes... A 30 something 5 window coupe made into an extended cab pickup by cutting of the trunk and putting on the rear bulhead/cab corners from a same year and make pickup and the bed from the same. I tried to put a scetch of the Willys project on here but couldn't get 'er done. Don't know how this photo thing works. I'd like to make my wifes 78 4 door olds omega which she inherited when her dad passed away back in 98 into a bit of a street machine. I have switched it from a 2 bbl to a carter 4bbl on a pre egr intake, and put a set of hi comp 305 truck heads on it. Anyhow make it so she could run away from some punk in a rice rocket and he could see the bumper sticker that says "Is my fathers' Oldsmobile". I never liked that "not your fathers' oldsmobile" ad to begin with. My dad had several when I was kid, and they never appeared so sedate and mundane to me.

My cousin had a white '58 Olds 98 with tri-power on it and it was a sceamer for that much iron.