89 Marathon toaster oven conversion.

[coosa]

Good luck! I almost did this a few years ago with my 84. Glad I didn't; the frame broke in half due to excessive rust.

[tculpepper]

End of the day update:

Time cut me short. I got the controller, solenoid, and pot unit mounted. Although I asked Scotty enough questions to probably annoy him, if you can read English and follow a line, you can understand his directions. I had too much going on around me and didn't get done. If I could've worked straight through, I would be. I stripped out two battery posts and had to cut them off. Parts were rusty and had to clean them. I had to go get the wife flowers and wire I thought I had. Students come first so, I had to tend to a few of their problems and questions. A student built my battery trays so, they aren't exactly square. I had to drill a new hole to bolt the unit down. I also had to shorten the new linkage. Everything on the unit is wired up and the linkage is connected. I have great movement from the pedal and the pot arm moves flawlessly. There will be the occasional driver other than myself. Because of this, I am going to fabricate somewhat of a governor. You can feel when the pedal max's out the pot but, the pedal isn't on the floor. You could put it all the way down but, things will be bent and pushed where they shouldn't be. I'm going to think of something for a stop. I'm also going to close in everything around the unit to keep water and mud out the best I can. Definitely don't want to start ruining things! I have a few things to get done first thing in the morning and will get back on it after that! Thanks for following.

[scottyb]

Looking good Trey

[tculpepper]

Thank you sir. In my situation, it's a slow process. It should be done tomorrow though.


I also got the HD F&R switch in. The difference in it and the factory is huge. You could tell mine had experienced extreme heat in just about every place possible.

[tculpepper]

She is complete. I've checked all of the wiring at least 3 times. One more check and it test time!

[Token]

Looks real good.

[jakesnake27]

Well, did it move??

[tculpepper]

When I was putting everything in, I decided to check the batteries. Absolutely no water. Hopefully they aren't gone. Honestly, I've neglected them. I filled them up and continued. I checked my wiring at least 10 times. Didn't like the idea of putting $900 up in smoke! So, every thing checked out good. I jacked it up and eased on the go pedal. Nothing. My solenoid has been welded so long, I forgot to turn on the key! So I turned it and, the tires spun! I put it in reverse and the same thing. I let it off the jack and jumped in! I fanagled it out of the shop and took off. I was thoroughly impressed. This dude goes! The pedal is going to take a little getting used too. It doesn't have the range of movement as before but, still has a great range of speeds. Before, I had to give it all or nothing. Resistors would start sparking and carrying on. Now, I can ease on it just fine. I had did a pre assembly test. On flat ground, I got 12.2. I went down a small hill and got 14.4. Both were on pavement. On the second test, I got 14 and 15.8. I gained a little speed. What I wanted was torque. That's what I got. My old F&R, the wiper board and it's wires, and the broke down solenoid were holding things back. Now, the smallest high current wire I have is a 4 ga. It's getting changed tomorrow to 1/0. I brought the cart home and did some woods test. I went up a hill that it would normally slow down on. Straight up no problems. I went down the pond levee. Back up from a dead stop absolutely perfect. I can't wait to try on a full charge. Like I said, the pedal is going to take some getting used too. Tomorrow, I'm going to make the new cable, clean up some wiring, and build a shield for under the battery tray.

[jakesnake27]

Sweet!

Now please, take care of those batteries!

[tculpepper]

Yes sir. There's literally not a day that goes by, that I don't use it. I olive check the water about twice a month. I'm going to do my best to check once a week. I am definitely pleased with the kit. Scotty did the hard part. The linkage and setup is top notch.


The next step is going to be the hardest. I'm building a long travel front end. At least after the first of the year, if not end of January, I'm tearing it apart. Every nut, bolt, wire, and piece of everything is coming off. That will be the thread to follow.