212cc Dodge Ram D50 - 20 mph

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What this guy REALLY needs is one of the big Harbor Freight V-twin engines!


https://jalopnik.com/wrenching-hero-installs-120-lawnmower-engine-into-dodg-1834692410

Wrenching Hero Installs $120 Lawnmower Engine Into Dodge Ram Pickup

What we're looking at here is an early 1980s Dodge Ram 50 powered by a 6.5 horsepower, 8.1 ft-lb overhead-valve single-cylinder engine sold at Harbor Freight for $120.

The Dodge had apparently been sitting in the young wrencher's friend's yard for a while, so the friend just gave it away. Carson Duba decided to have some fun with it, stripping out the old motor, leaving not much more than the steering intermediate shaft and brake master cylinder. He then built a platform that ties into the original engine mounts, and that carries the single-cylinder engine.

That engine, which can slide on the platform thanks to slotted holes, has a centrifugal clutch on its output shaft, which sends power to a five-speed manual transmission via a sprocket and a chain. To get a 60-tooth sprocket on the transmission end, the YouTuber welded a shaft to the transmission input shaft (unsurprisingly, it was difficult to weld it perfectly straight), and then made a bracket so that the shaft could ride on a bearing (this bracket ties into a custom mount that holds up the front of the transmission). The big sprocket sits on the end of that shaft, and the tension of its chain is set by sliding the motor along the slotted holes in the platform.

The whole build is far more elegant than I expected for something as silly as a lawnmower in a junky old truck. The choke is hooked up to a nice slider on the dash, the original cable running from the gas pedal actuates the tiny engine's throttle, and there's a fairly nicely-packaged pull cord that goes through the fender, with a handle in the wheel housing that starts motor. A simple kill switch on the dash cuts it off.

The young mechanic even made his own door panels using material from a shower, and he demonstrates in the video that the truck works in both reverse and in a forward gear, even if it only drives about 20 MPH.
 
The Predator is used in go carts and can be modified for more oomph Thanks for a good read, Linctex
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It looked pretty torquey. Would make a good yard truck and be super reliable. Easy to work on, cheap to maintain.
 
If I was going to that much trouble I would have gotten the 22hp HF V-Twin engine or at least the 13hp 420cc
 
Originally Posted by Rand
If I was going to that much trouble I would have gotten the 22hp HF V-Twin engine or at least the 13hp 420cc



Yes, EXACTLY
 
Originally Posted by joegreen
It looked pretty torquey. Would make a good yard truck and be super reliable. Easy to work on, cheap to maintain.


Yep, and about $9,000 cheaper than so many name brand "side-by-sides" that I see
 
Originally Posted by Rand
If I was going to that much trouble I would have gotten the 22hp HF V-Twin engine or at least the 13hp 420cc

Easy enough to do an engine swap down the road, all the hard stuff is already done. I doubt that engine is gonna last a long time anyway, a lot is being asked of it to pull around a Dodge.
 
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