2006 - Volume #30, Issue #1, Page #21
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Awesome V-8 Cadet Mows Lawn At 45 MPH
Avery Allred of Vinemont, Alabama has always enjoyed car, tractor and motorcycle shows, and he has built many custom units for other people over the years. But the new V-8 lawn mower he built for himself is the best thing he's ever done.
"I call it the Cub Ca-Debt because I probably have $15,000 to $20,000 invested in materials alone," Allred explains. "I hand built it from wheels up from new parts. I started out with the axles and engine block, and made the chassis. I bought Cub Cadet body panels, and cut and sectioned those to make it look like a Cub Cadet lawn mower."
Allred designed the engine and the engine components he made for it. It's got a Chevy truck engine block, but all of the internal components were hand molded, cast and fabricated including the camshaft and engine timing gears.
"It used to crank to the left, and now it cranks to the right so that the mower blades and the hydraulics and everything would operate," he says. "I did all the electronics myself, too.
Allred says he "didn't draw any blueprints or plans or anything." He thought about it for about a year before starting, and then worked seven days a week at it. After three months, he turned the crank for the first time and took it to a tractor show. From there, he kept adding extra features to the unit for another six months.
He says the main reason he made the tractor was for the kids he would see at the shows. He'd felt badly for them because they couldn't climb on any of the other entries.
"I have more fun with the kids, and they get a kick out of it. I've got a lot of safety features on it û you can override the voice command, disconnect the belt and there's automatic shut-downs, plus a slip clutch so it won't run away," he says. "I let little kids drive it. It runs the same speed as a stock lawn mower so you can walk beside it."
But the unit is also made to compete in pulling competitions and grass drag races, and plenty of "big kids" are enthralled with it, too.
The rig's dragster engine allows it to mow grass at an average speed of 40 to 45 mph for 100 feet before it needs to be shut down and cooled. Allred performs his high speed mowing as an exhibition at shows.
The "Club Ca-Debt's" 383 cu. in. engine has 487 ft. lbs. of torque. The transmission is "modified hydrostatic," and its tires are 16 by 6.50 by 8 on front and 23 by 10.50 by 12 on the rear.
Some of the features on his show model include: the "world's first" RRS (reverse rotation stroker) engine, a SBC (small block Chev) V-8 engine, tunnel ram intake with two 650 Holley's, digital gauges, speedometer, tachometer, tilt wheel cruise control, disc brakes, bright and dim lighting, turn signals, horn, power steering, hydraulic seat, front and rear hydraulic systems, voice-activated am/fm radio w/booster and equalizer, kicker speakers, CD player, six disc CD changer, power antenna, onboard computer monitoring with Windows programs, voice-activated cell phone with voice mail, flame throwers from stainless steel upright exhaust pipes (sounds like machine guns firing, shoots flames out for night shows), voice-activated wake up (starts the engine), 4-ft. chrome pipes, infrared scanner and voice-activated GPS navigational and tracking system.
One thing the unit doesn't have, however, is a cup holder. Allred says he gets teased all the time that he doesn't have a cup holder, but he just replies, you're not supposed to drink and drive.
"I'm making another custom V-8 lawn mower right now for someone else and it is a 1,600 hp unit," he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Avery Allred, #20 County Rd. 1222, Vinemont, Alabama 35179 (ph 256 739-0285; info@hotmower.com; www.hotmower.com).
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