Home-Built Utility Vehicle

Home-Built Utility Vehicle ATV S ATV S My youngest son gave me a chop saw and some square tubing for Christmas last year which helped launch me on a project I d been dreaming about for a long time says Stanley Smiley Winchester Ind     The project? A home-built utility vehicle built out of a 1964 Fiat 2-WD car     The completed rig is painted orange and black and is complete with a manually-operated dump bed rollbar cage front bumper schoolbus seat 4-wheel hydraulic brakes and power steering It also has two big mirrors taillights and headlights off an old combine It rides on the car s original 14-in wheels     The Fiat body was bad but the engine was still in good shape He kept the car s 4-cyl 42 hp engine 4-speed manual transmission front and rear axles and leaf springs He cut the car s frame off behind the front wheels and used 2-in tubular steel to build a new front frame     He used a 4 by 8-ft sheet of plate steel to make the bed     The power steering system uses a pump that came off an older Ford car that had a hydraulic cylinder connected to the tie rods Smiley mounted a pulley on front of the engine so he could belt-drive the pump It sends oil to a hydraulic motor that operates the cylinder The steering column steering wheel and hydraulic motor are off a tow motor forklift The fenders were purchased at an engine show      I had a lot of fun building it and my family and I enjoy riding it around our farm It comes in handy for transporting a variety of things says Smiley I spent about $1 500 to build it which is much less than the cost of a new utility vehicle The rig s wheelbase is the same length as on a Cub Cadet or Deere Gator I had to cut 18 inches off the car s driveshaft in order to get the correct wheelbase length I kept the car s springs on back but added new shocks on front      It steers so easy on the road that I have to be careful that I don t go too fast or I ll oversteer I overhauled the engine and I rebuilt all the brake and master cylinders I plan to add wider tires and a hydraulic hoist to dump the bed I also want to add brake lights and turn signals     The hood was designed for a commercial utility vehicle My son bought it on the internet from a plastics company It has a quick coupler pin on each side which makes it easy to quickly raise the hood and work on the engine says Smiley     There s a diamond plate steel platform in front of the seat The gas tank is off a zero turn riding mower and is located between the bed and the seat     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Stanley Smiley 2076 E Co Rd 600 N Winchester Ind 47394 ph 765 584-0793

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