Underpowered Bobcat Powered Up With Honda
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Leonard Wulf’s 1973 Model 371 Bobcat looks like new and runs better than new since he converted it to a 20 hp Honda V-Twin engine. The old 13 hp Kohler engine was underpowered to begin with and about shot by the time Wulf bought it. More than 30 years old, the Bobcat looked pretty rough, too.
“I know I paid too much for it when I bought it about 5 years ago,” says Wulf. “The carburetor was shot. It had a burned piston, and the valve case fuel pump was going out.”
With parts for old Kohlers difficult – if not impossible – to find, a new motor seemed like a good investment. Wulf uses the little skid steer on a daily basis since he swapped out engines.
“I use it in the woods, to haul rock and when I built a new building,” says Wulf. “It works well with the new engine. With the Honda in there, you can’t stop it.”
Converting was relatively easy, he says. The V-Twin fit well, though Wulf did have to raise it up about an inch and a half so the belly of the engine had clearance. Unlike the Kohler, the Honda has its fuel tank under the belly of the engine. He also had to modify the 3 drive pulleys needed to match the 2-speed drive on the Bobcat.
The Honda driveshaft required narrower hubs than were commonly available on drive pulleys. Wulf had to find pulley blanks and hubs he could modify. They were hard to find.
“Everybody had cast iron pulleys, but I finally found some blanks that I could weld at Tractor Supply,” recalls Wulf. “I narrowed the hubs and welded the pulleys on. The hubs fit perfectly and matched up with the Bobcat drive pulleys.”
While he had the Bobcat apart, Wulf made some other changes. “I stripped it down completely, sandblasted it and repainted,” he says. “It was so old that it had no safety features. The first thing I did was add seat belts.”
The Honda required that he mount the key/start module in the operator compartment. He also connected the throttle linkage and choke levers, both off the shelf parts.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leonard Wulf, 53 E. Big Rock Rd., Waterloo, Iowa 50703 (ph 319 232-3919).
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Underpowered Bobcat Powered Up With Honda ENGINES Leonard Wulf’s 1973 Model 371 Bobcat looks like new and runs better than new since he converted it to a 20 hp Honda V-Twin engine The old 13 hp Kohler engine was underpowered to begin with and about shot by the time Wulf bought it More than 30 years old the Bobcat looked pretty rough too “I know I paid too much for it when I bought it about 5 years ago ” says Wulf “The carburetor was shot It had a burned piston and the valve case fuel pump was going out ” With parts for old Kohlers difficult – if not impossible – to find a new motor seemed like a good investment Wulf uses the little skid steer on a daily basis since he swapped out engines “I use it in the woods to haul rock and when I built a new building ” says Wulf “It works well with the new engine With the Honda in there you can’t stop it ” Converting was relatively easy he says The V-Twin fit well though Wulf did have to raise it up about an inch and a half so the belly of the engine had clearance Unlike the Kohler the Honda has its fuel tank under the belly of the engine He also had to modify the 3 drive pulleys needed to match the 2-speed drive on the Bobcat The Honda driveshaft required narrower hubs than were commonly available on drive pulleys Wulf had to find pulley blanks and hubs he could modify They were hard to find “Everybody had cast iron pulleys but I finally found some blanks that I could weld at Tractor Supply ” recalls Wulf “I narrowed the hubs and welded the pulleys on The hubs fit perfectly and matched up with the Bobcat drive pulleys ” While he had the Bobcat apart Wulf made some other changes “I stripped it down completely sandblasted it and repainted ” he says “It was so old that it had no safety features The first thing I did was add seat belts ” The Honda required that he mount the key/start module in the operator compartment He also connected the throttle linkage and choke levers both off the shelf parts Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Leonard Wulf 53 E Big Rock Rd Waterloo Iowa 50703 ph 319 232-3919
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