It's a 1977 Gehl 2500. Repowered with 24hp Honda, so it should be pretty capable when I'm done. Replaced every hose, most seals and repacked all bearings. The cylinders that roll the bocket up and down have pitting on the ends where they were exposed to years of rain and snow... I cleaned them up pretty well, got rid of a lot of the rust and minimized the pits. Hoping they don't have small leaks. We'll see!
Still need to sand blast the cage and get a seat belt for it. Cage will be paintd black. Also need tires. Getting close though.
Drop yours off! I'm running out of projects.
Mike

 

Going slow but getting closer.
Mike

 

looking really good!

 

Thanks...
Tomorrow may be the big day... The 10 gallons of hydraulic fluid I ordered comes in, I pick the battery up and hopefully crank the key to that sweet Honda sound!
I've had to get 2 parts machined to make the throttle setup I wanted. The guys that sold me the engine kit had their computers taken out with a lightening strike, so I'm taking pictures for them as I go so the next guy can have something to go by. I've made several iterations of various setups to come up with a final design that can easily be replicated by someone without a welder, or other special tools. So far they said the throttle and choke setup that I came up with is nicer looking and functioning than what anyone has done so far.
This Skid Steer will be their poster child for the conversion... All this has slowed me down considerably but I'm still at it.
I'm trying to cover all the bases so the next guy will not have a problem. Now that they have put this in my court and I have accepted the challenge, I started to do my usual overly-**** job of digging deeper than I should... Usually I get paid a lot of money for doing this! LOL
Sooo...
I talked to a Honda warranty claims Engineer yesterday to get his take on the project before I fire it up. He told me not to start the engine for the first time with the belt attached that powers the Hydraulic pumps... The bearings will be oil starved and have a big side-load on the main crank bearings. Which by the way he said siezes a good amount of the time. He also told me not to overtighten the belt or that too would put too much side-load on the crank bearings and smoke them prematurely. Makes sense.
I asked the guys who sold me the engine about this and believe it or not but they said they did not know anything about this... Hmmmm? However, they are going to pass this on to future Customers.
We'll see... hopefully I can help a few people out, that is reward enough.
Mike

 

Nice job.I've got one myself I've been working on.I have everything ready except for the left drive motor is out of it.Do you have a good one to sell me or know where I can get one reasonably priced?

 

Call this guy... He used to work for Hydramac that made most of the parts on these. He bought all the rights to the old parts and prints. He also bought all the spare parts inventory.
John Bugge
218-684-5901

Mike

 

wow that was one hell of a find man!!!....hey while i am here...i am new to the forum any chance you could shoot me a PM and help direct me around a bit??

 

some guy is gonna be ticked " i coulda swore i left my skidsteer right here 50 years ago" "it vaanished!!"

 

looking good mate

 

Awesome man!

I'd love to have one of those for my hunting property haha.

Good build.

 

That looks great! You do some quality work, I would be proud to own anything you restored/refinished. Cant wait for some skid steer donuts!

 

is this done yet? I want to see video of you using it to do work.

 

I fired it up this afternoon after I finished the throttle and choke setup. They say not to have the drive belt for the pumps hooked up on the first start. So i just fired the motor and let her run for 15 minutes up and down the rev range.
Once I did that I filled it up with hydraulic oil, they say to prime the hydraulic pump before starting but I haven't had luck with that yet. Going to try to get her to prime again tomorrow. I'll post pics then.
Mike

 

man, that is awesome. loved the card board holding your parts in place...genius. you have revolutionized the way i will be doing business...lol. looks great, good color choice, cant wait to see this thing in action.

 

Well, tonight was the night. Took a 20 minute spin. These things are pretty cool. Now gotta' get the bucket on there and work it tomorrow.
Mike