Long overdue Commando V-8 repower.

[Raider69 65]

I finally dug my 1970 Commando V-8 out of it's hiding spot and pressure washed 5 years of crap off it. I then removed the 14.5HP Briggs I had bolted in a few years back and set a Kawasaki FC420V 14HP in it's place to see how it fit and I have to say it's a much better fit than the Briggs. I'll have to trim a little off the LH side of the grill as it just kisses the corner of the air cleaner housing and one spot on the intake manifold. Since someone had cut a notch in the RH side before I got it to clear a non OEM muffler I don't feel bad about trimming it a little bit. I'm going to trim both sides the full length of the grille about 3/8" which will give me room on the Left side, remove the butchery on the Right side and look stock at a quick glance. I have lots of room on top and between the engine and the battery which is good because I'll need to make an adapter plate and rais it up a little as the mounting hole pattern is different. I'll also have to fabricate an exhaust system but there's plentty of room in the tractor frame to bring the exhaust out through the original hole in the frame and a large muffler mounted to the side of the engine. 

It had a 1970 Tecumseh VH-80 in it when I got it but by the Model No. it originally came with a Kohler K181A 8HP vertical shaft, it seems those are somewhat rare. Someone told me they didn't hold up as well as the horizontal shaft K's and were only made for a brief period.

[ebinmaine 63,197]

 

Sounds like a good changeover and repower. 

Keep us posted with pics. 

 

 

 

I'm not familiar enough with the vertical shaft Kohler to comment on that specifically but the tractor itself is a little less stout than a horizontal shaft tractor.  

 

Vertical shaft tractors were not intended for the hard work a larger heavier Garden Tractor can do.  

 

That said, they'll do perfectly fine as a mower/tugger/snowplow. 

 

 

[Raider69 65]

7 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

Sounds like a good changeover and repower. 

Keep us posted with pics. 

 

 

 

I'm not familiar enough with the vertical shaft Kohler to comment on that specifically but the tractor itself is a little less stout than a horizontal shaft tractor.  

 

Vertical shaft tractors were not intended for the hard work a larger heavier Garden Tractor can do.  

 

That said, they'll do perfectly fine as a mower/tugger/snowplow. 

 

 

I will be taking pictures, 1st order of business is to get it mounted in the frame properly which means fabbing an adapter plate. I'm going to see if I can cheat the engine back in the frame a half inch or so, if the drive pulley has clearance and I can slide the engine back a little then I won't have to do any sheetmetal modifications, just get a slightly shorter drive belt. Been looking at pics of JD's like the one it came out of and it looks like the throttle cable, etc. will all be pretty simple. According to the Kawasaki spec sheet he FC420V has an actual oil pump and pressurized oil system and an optional oil filter was available. Mine is not so equipped but it appears a lot of them were. I may look into putting one on it if it does indeed have a true pressurized system. They make a filter kit for my FC290V also but it's still a splash system so I'm not sure HTH a filter would be of any value on it. My FC290V has served me well and has plenty of power and I was actually trying to find an FC290V for my Commando when I came across the FC420V. They've both been out of production for awhile but Deere used millions of them so they are plentiful, relatively cheap and parts are available (so far).

 

The weakest link on the early 70's vertical shaft tractors is probably the transaxles and some of the seals for the trans went extinct years ago. If mine ever starts leaking around the shifter which comes out the front of the case at about the same level as the axles I am SOL. On the other hand it does have limited slip which has pulled me out of some situations where I would have had to get off and push on other mowers, thankfully I don't have to mow that property any more. The front "frame" is a solid hunk of cast iron connected to the transaxle by a section of heavy gauge steel like that used on the larger horizontal shaft tractors and they have a slightly smaller version of the WH forged front axle which is still much stronger than anything built today. Unfortunately the front axle pivot is also NLA by a couple decades but  mine feels OK and I do have a good used spare. One of my friends saw mine and called it "cute", then he noticed the cast iron engine cradle and forged axle. He was quite impressed, so much so he went out and bought a larger Wheelhorse to replace his decades newer box store riding mower.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Raider69
Old fingers, old eyes and a small keyboard.

[ebinmaine 63,197]

31 minutes ago, Raider69 said:

If mine ever starts leaking around the shifter which comes out the front of the case at about the same level as the axles I am SOL

Motion Industries, National CR or Federal Mogul all may have availability. 

Run it by specs instead of application and a little flexibility on size.  

 

 

32 minutes ago, Raider69 said:

One of my friends saw mine and called it "cute", then he noticed the cast iron engine cradle and forged axle. He was quite impressed, so much so he went out and bought a larger Wheelhorse to replace his decades newer box store riding mower

Has he joined us on Redsquare? 

[Raider69 65]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Motion Industries, National CR or Federal Mogul all may have availability. 

Run it by specs instead of application and a little flexibility on size.  

 

 

Has he joined us on Redsquare? 

There were no crossovers a few years ago that I could find, it's actually a combination boot and seal. I'm sure once upon a time something somewhere used the same one but I haven't found it yet. The transaxle in it now is actually out of a '72 CG-7, they used the same 5075 transaxle as the '70 Commando V-8. The original pushed a bearing shaft out the plug hole in the bottom of the case when our youngest was mowing with it.... that's a story for another day but I do still have it and hope to rebuild it one of these days.

 

Sadly my friend is no longer with us. I still kick myself for not buying his WH at his estate auction but there was "no room at the inn"......

[Raider69 65]

Holy crap, I just went on Ebay on a whim and someone had the shifter boot seal! Yes, I bought it. 

[Raider69 65]

Shifter boot arrived today, got a chunk of 5/8" thick T6061 aluminum for the adapter plate and found a spare #8098 double groove engine pulley from a CG-8. Both sections of the CG-8 pulley are the same diameter, the Commando V-8 had a smaller pulley for the belt to the transaxle. The old 8HP Tecumseh needed the lower drive ratio, the 14 HP Kawasaki won't.

[Horseoholic 143]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:25 PM, Raider69 said:

they used the same 5075 transaxle as the '70 Commando V-8.

70' Commando V-8's used the model 5066 transaxle as well as the 1969 Commando V-8's , only 2 years that transaxle was used , and they did have a weak link with the transaxle , parts for these transaxles are pretty much non-existence , and you are lucky to find one for sale . I have a 1970 Commando V-8 with the cast iron Tecumseh VH80 engine , I have never touched that engine ( Internally ) and I continue to mow with her today ( 53 years old ) This is the first Wheel Horse tractor I ever bought roughly over 30 years ago and she introduced me to the Wheel Horse family 

[Raider69 65]

23 hours ago, Horseoholic said:

70' Commando V-8's used the model 5066 transaxle as well as the 1969 Commando V-8's , only 2 years that transaxle was used , and they did have a weak link with the transaxle , parts for these transaxles are pretty much non-existence , and you are lucky to find one for sale . I have a 1970 Commando V-8 with the cast iron Tecumseh VH80 engine , I have never touched that engine ( Internally ) and I continue to mow with her today ( 53 years old ) This is the first Wheel Horse tractor I ever bought roughly over 30 years ago and she introduced me to the Wheel Horse family 

Yep, you're right, not sure where I came up with that because every publication I have says 5066 for the Commando V-8 and 5067 for the CG-7. 

[Raider69 65]

UPDATE:  I do NOT have to make an adpater plate, which does bum me out just a little, I was kind of looking forward to the challenge. Oh well, maybe I'll get to make one for something else. The old Tecumseh VH-80 has 6 mounting holes, all at 5 inches from the crank centerline, 4 at 45 deg. from the tractor centerlines and 2 on the tractor right side at 35 deg. The chassis has 3 holes at 45 deg. and one at the right rear corner at 35 deg. The Kawsaki engine also has the holes located 5 inches from crank centerline, 2 on the left side at 45 deg. and 2 on the right side at 35 deg. and 3 of my 4 holes line up, the right front hole is the odd man out but the machined mounting boss on the chassis extends under the mounting hole in the engine so it's simply a matter of marking and drilling the 4th hole. Both right rear holes are tapped, I'll most likely drill out the threads in the frame and bolt it from the bottom like the other 3. I also cannot move the engine back any further so there will have to be a little sheetmetal trimming on the hood, that I'm leaving to a pro, I know a guy, just hoping he has time to do it.