[ErikC304]

Now I finally have got some time to put the Volvo BM Mini together and begun today with a going through what needs to be done.
- Oil change to both engine and transaxle and greasing every moving point is obvious.
- Trans also seem not to be 100 sealed, a tightening of bolts will be the first try.
- A new fuel line is needed.
- Exhaust system is deficient home made from plumber pipes and totally worn-out.
- Electricity needs attention, as two cable ends hang loose underneath and battery is missing. Earth twist and plus powerline to/from battery to be renewed.
- Right front tyre needs refilling every day it will be used as pressure seeps out.
- Steering needs attention as one rod end plays and another nut is loose.
- Brake connection rod is missing but is present on the parts unit, so relatively easily solved.

But after the examination I devoted myself to mowing deck installation. As the original deck (36" I think) misses parts and shows signs of wear I have a few months back spent a little time searching for a replacement, which resulted in a much newer 48" unit from a Jonsered 19 hp GT.





(the shed is really a shame, I know...)

After a bit of try the deck found its new place. It looks a bit heavy with such a large deck on such a small tractor and I calmly wish this finally will work.

Now the task is to find the belt path as the original deck has horisontal axle connected to angle gears and the new is all vertical. I will weld kind of a front bumper of to install idler pulleys as mule drive, but it will be a very tight fit as steering rods are in the way. Maybe the mule drive will get the wheels rather far down low and kick up idler pulleys added a bit behind the steering rods to gain space. To be sorted out.

Hopefully continued in the next few days.

 

[ErikC304]

With two sons 2,5 years and 9 months old and busy work for the moment, its not easy to get time for the tractor. The week passed has though a number of hours been spent to it and the tasks in the list is reduced. New oil and grease has done good to it, much less heavy to push it now and noise from the tranny is a lot less. Screws were missing here and there and a new battery is fitted.

Tomorrow or tuesday the key will be turned!

Then work will continue with deck suspension. This tractor has obviously never carried a midmountmower, the holes where the lever mechanism is supposed to sit had not slightest mark of being used. A danish manufactured front reel mower followed with it, so possibly the first owner had a very nice grass surfaced garden.

But now there is a mid mount suspension added from the part tractor. The suspension looks very low, time will tell if the 48" deck fits underneath...

The week has also given a new challenge as I discovered that the 48" deck demands a gear up. The tractor is fitted with snow blower pulley - dual 3" - 3.5" near the engine and one pulley like 4" - 5" diameter a bit out. I will need a 5.75" to run the deck and find something to decent money here is not easy. I do not get surprised if this ends up buying parts on ebay US... I am extremely jealous on the diversity of your consumer market, on this side of the ditch most things are rare and/or expensive!

 

[lobsterbox]

Not too many people on this forum have the BM Volvo Mini branded Roper tractors. The majority of the tractors sold by Roper were through Sears. Up here in Canada, most of the Roper tractors were branded "Moto-Mower". You're right, I too am jealous of the seeming abundance of old Garden Tractors in the U.S. - especially in the eastern states like CT and PA. Up here in Canada things are really hard to find. Good luck with this, I'll be following the thread. I am very curious to see how the adapted deck works with that tractor.

 

[ErikC304]

One step further taken tonight, as after only a few cranks the engine fired up A couple of horses jolted to the far corner of the pasture next to our garden and looked suspiciously on the noisy strange creature, with open pipes the twin sounds something similar to a HD To be usable, this thing is in urgent need of a muffler!

A new drivebelt was needed before and now I also remember that I concluded before changing the transaxles five years ago why the original trans was worn; the belt is too short and clutch function doesent work properly. The adjustment wheel is as far up possible, so theres no excuses, just take it off, measure and decide what length to be bought.

But one thing would be good to have solved before. Has anyone mounted the modern taper sleeve belt pulleys on a tractor engine shaft? As you all over there persist with that customary mess-urement system there will probably occur obstacles finding pulleys that fit the Briggs here, 1" and 25 mm is NOT the same thing... But IF I find inch-fitting, I will try mounting one single SPA 80mm and one single 150 or 140mm pulley next to each other and then the deck gearing issue will be solved. Anyone experience?

 

[ErikC304]

Not too many people on this forum have the BM Volvo Mini branded Roper tractors.

No and its fun that some here and there find this place and other forums

Good luck with this, I'll be following the thread. I am very curious to see how the adapted deck works with that tractor.

Thanks! I hope to add some pictures next update. Threads like this one should have far more pics than I present, but until now my feeling is there is nothing really to show. But there is a change approaching

 

[ErikC304]

Some images

The Twin Exhaust sadly system ends right underneath where it disappears in the framing.


The sticker under the hood is very unashamedly glued on the english/american original.

"Kraftuttag" is power take-off in swedish.

The reel-mower. It has been stored outside along with the front sweeper several years and are in a sad condition. I had it indoors since 2005 until I had to leave a storage a month ago, hopefully it joins the other stuff in the shed soon until there can be a better garage/workshop built.




Here is the thing that I lend parts of its name to my nick from. A Volvo C304 6x6 1975, former ambulance in The Swedish Defence Forces.

 

[ErikC304]

Today I got the package from Smallenginesuppliers in Independence. After a fast travel half around the earth the domestic shipper has played ballgames with it over a week ackording to the tracking history.

The new pulleys are already on the shaft and the old plumming pipes are removed.

New muffler placed for try.

Surprise, hood needs modification. My intention was that the hood should cover the muffler, but I have on the other hand not seen any measurements before I ordered it.

I also recieved two beefy pulleys. Next step is to place them for the belt twist.

 

[CHEVY&SEARS]

You could put a smoke stack on it or just a different muffler so that you don't have to mod the hood. You mentioned more pulleys, will you have 2 on the shaft so you can use the PTO?

 

[lobsterbox]

You are doing excellent work! The clutch idler pulley looks really close to the engine pulley. As CHEVY&SEARS pointed out, you may want to think twice about modifying the hood but you did go through a lot of trouble to get your hands on that muffler anyway. It's up to you. I agree with you on the "mess-urment" system that is imperial. Millimetres are much easier to work with and much more precise then fractions of inches (hence why millimetres have been adopted as the universal measurement in computing).

 

[CHEVY&SEARS]

I love the Imperial system... I'm sure that has something to do with being American though.

 

[ErikC304]

Thanks Wish I could do a more serious renovation and paint job, but that has to wait.

There is an 85mm pulley close to the engine and the larger PTO pulley is 140mm. Has not been exactly clear to those reading, I have been kind of home blind and havent seen it

The clutch pulley "hangs there" for the moment, as the spring is removed. So it wont be so close - and if it will, I have to find a way to restrict its path.

I will cut the hood and it doesent bother me as much as it maybe sounded in the post above. I have one more and that one has also the stickers left

The twist pulleys will be placed somewhere like this:

I have made a bracket which will be bolted to the chassi and to which there will be an additional steel angle welded to mount the idlers on. The bracket has ears to hook the deck front suspension into.

As the last point in this post I just hope noone took offense, although there was a small sense in my joke about the inch-foot-yard measurement system Jokes do best as spoken, heard and body languagued in mother languague, written in foreign languague dont always become good...

 

[CHEVY&SEARS]

I don't take offense to it! I agree, jokes and sarcasm are usually lost in translation, especially when written in text. The tractor is coming along nicely.

 

[ErikC304]

Its mowing! :thThumbsU Or maybe one should say "Reclaim the lawn!!!"

2011 when we bought our home, this was an ok lawn. We had no mower and a lot to do inside, so we decided to let it be until we had possibility. So the Mini got the toughest possible first task...

One could say the grass is thick...
Looks kind of beast without hood, but will be modified to fit together again.

 

[ErikC304]

The mule drive of my own "design". Two M14 nuts (close to 5/8") welded on a plate, offset in length, higth and angle, made the belt path ok. The driven part did I thoroughly target straight from the V idler to the PTO pulley and the return part got an angle which I hope it can stand for a while.

Sadly I have made an error when investigating what belt size to use, so now when its working the next step will be ordering a new B-sized belt and PTO pulley. Also the belt is too long, so in order to get tension I simply had to add one more idler. This idler is pushed in contact with the footrest now and then, causing a loud grinding noise...

Safety??? Dont you like my safety switch? I believe I have work left to do. There is a lever on the deck which I guess on the donor tractor is used to release tension when exchanging belt or remove the deck, but I will use it to engage/ disengage with the original for this Roper/Volvo wire handle. I need though getting longer travel distance for the idler tensioner, which will cause me part crafts. Also lifting device (original from this tractor) has to be adapted and shield plates to be made. Belt brake and cut off switch for deck engagement will also be made eventually.

 

[ErikC304]

Concerning mowing one feet of not completely dry grass I did it on lowest gear and sometimes had to brake to let the loads out and engine to rev up again. I can see a meaning with 25-30 hp in this case I will probably never drive my steep lawn especially fast and hopefully also never have this thick grass anymore, but 12.5 hp had a hard work today.