1992 Kawasaki Mule project

So the rush was on today to finish up enough of the project to get it ready for the big snowstorm this evening...we already have about 8-10 inches and Ive had the Mule out twice so far...but let me back up a bit to this morning where I still had the tailgate to install, weld up a passenger door and install the plexi panels.

Heres the tailgate. its in red oxide primer for the time being...but it will do for now. its all rust treated, straightened, and fits nicely....





And part of the process in building the doors...I took the rear upright off to install the hinge bolts as I cannot get to the other side to install the washers and nuts when installed....I measured down 4" from the top and up the same amount from the bottom of the door frame channel. I mounted the hinges to both pieces then reinstalled them back on the Mule to measure the opening. Since the cab is a bit tweaked from years of abuse, the doors are close to the same size, but not exactly....the top of the cab on the passengers side is way out of square...Ill get to that in the Springtime...maybe.....





Once that was in place it was a matter of measure, cut, test fit, remove, weld, reinstall, measure, cut, test fit, remove, weld, etc, etc, etc....



I took a break from that once the frame was done and installed the L-channel and plexi to the drivers door...



The close up shows a bit of detail of the channel. I cut full size pieces for the outer channels and 2" brackets for the inner part. I thought I would need more of them, but they hold the plexi nice and tight without being too rigid....



It took all day to finish both doors and add the tailgate just in time for the snow to start falling.....I really wanted to test this thing more, but you know how it goes. Ive got some work to do here and there, like adding back up lights, a limit switch to the plow for height, adjust the carb for better return to idle, and a few other bits and pieces.

here it is after the first round of plowing. I have to say I am finally able to push the snow right out to the end of our long driveway and the Mule has plenty of power in reserve to do much more. Im very pleased with the result. It used to take me 2 hours with the garden tractor in snow like this, but the Mule is done in 30 minutes!

The lights I added are actually too bright if I use all 4 of them, so I may put one of them in the back for a reverse light. the reflections off all the plexi dont allow me to see clearly when backing up...The side view mirrors help a great deal, but Im not used to them yet.....

traction is awesome. This thing just crawls through deep snow and somehow finds grip to push a heavy plow....side plowing is not an issue even though the tires run over some of the snow the plow is throwing off....

To use a term I picked up from the forum here, Im well chuffed!






Ill see what things look like in the morning....for now Im quite done for tonight!


JP

To my eyes the back tyres look like they could do with pointing the other way, on Tractors the V should point in direction of rotation. Those tyres look broadly like they are V shaped so you may get better traction swapping them to the other side?

I think I love it a little bit more now!

Looks like fun!

Great job, nice to see it in action, you could do with some Moon Discs on the the wheels to stop the snow building up!

Reassembly ongoing.....

I dont know what I was so thoughtful about with this limit switch, really. there are so many complicated diagrams and schematics online as to make you dizzy, but once I figured out that I was just interrupting the "UP" side of the switch it became much clearer. The only thing I was pretty sure I wanted to do was tap into the circuit on the low draw side of the relay unit (the switch side, not the winch motor side). The limit switch is rated for high voltage, but what the heck. The contacts inside the thing, although robust, are probably not meant for too much abuse....anyway....

Here is the bracket in place....(wow, it got dark fast tonight!)



and with the limit switch in place:



and finally, the repaired bracket back in place. I put a small amount of adjustment into the bracket by elongating the mounting holes slightly, which worked great. The plow cannot go any higher because of the bracket I fixed so the switch will not get mangled....I have bigger problems if that happens!



thanks for lookin,

JP

Thanks, Strikey.

I got a chance to check out a real 10' plow set up on a brand new plow truck today at the sign shop. Its designed so that one person can remove and reinstall the plow with the pull of a handle, basically. its pretty amazing. For me, just taking the pivot point bolt out of my set up does the same thing.....bonus!

Ive still got to finish the passenger side door with paint, make infill pieces for the area just ahead of the doors, design functional latches for them, put the rear fenders back in place, get a lift kit for the front end, ......

all in good time I suppose!


JP

I wanted to get some work done on the infill panels between the front of the doors and the corner of the windscreen. My options were fabric with snaps or solid panels made from plastic, plexi, durabond, plywood, ect....it really does not matter, but in the end I have decided I want the panel to be rigid. It does need one bend in it towards the bottom corner so it aligns with the door and dash panel, but other than that, its a flat piece.

CAD to the rescue. I just temporarily riveted this cardboard piece in place and trimmed it to shape.



Here it is from the inside....It looks like I will have some room to add the door latch here....somehow...still gotta work that out....



Here is the latch area now. I may add some lumber to the panel and then a piece of flat bar to act both as a door stop and a place for the latch to engage....



the other side is different, so will require a differently shaped piece...but the idea will be the same. I can also fix the roof on the other side while Im at it. its pushed up about 6" on that front corner!

thanks for lookin

JP

Well, as I was making the templates for the infill panels, I found that in order to get the second one done and shaped correctly, I would have to fix the wonky roof...so off it came....easy enough...a few bolts and a few shoves....

the crossbar above the door was waaaay out of place, the bolt being almost torn through it...Something got caught under the roof on that side like a garage door or overhang or something that did not move easily!......



I straightened it out, cleaned it up and welded it back together again....



Then it was time to get the roof on a flat surface and see where it was bent....

after an hour or so of gentle persuading, and some not so gentle persuading, I was able to get it back into shape. I would say it was 4" out of sorts....



a little better.....I ground off all the rust and gave the pieces a lick of paint. I wont go too crazy as its too cold for painting the whole thing.



Its a start...Now I can get back to making my template for the infill section......

thanks for lookin

JP