RED STAG 69 Raider 12 The Best Rusty Copy

I've been thinking about getting another Wheel Horse to modify so when this popped up on facebook marketplace for $125 I promptly picked it up.  It is a 1969 Raider 12 with a limited slip 6 speed transmission, and a poorly done 5hp tecumseh snow king swap.


I'm going to purpose build it for TTC 2021.  I've already ordered an 18hp duromax for it.  Hence the "440" hehe
It will get many of the essential mods that ol red had like locked trans, 10" rear rims, trans brace, a small front bumper and pulley swap.
I have started tearing it down for pressure washing.  There are some issues in the steering to fix like broken steering support, tie rods, and pivot pin. I ordered a new steering support and tie rods. The pin for the hitch was a pain to get out.  The air hammer paid for itself by working the pin back and forth and spraying penetrating oil on it, it eventually came out



The beauty of it I've already done this before so I can make good time on this.  I'm going to get the chassis and trans lock done, then swap in the the motor, and deal with the pulley swap and clutch.

Welcome back to the tractor game. 

Glad to see the start of the new build, those old horses are tough machines! The duromax swap joke was one I was toying with for a while too... put a duromax in a Sears suburban and say to people, “I swapped a duramax in a suburban, wanna see? *Pulls out garden tractor* lol. You got a good deal on that, enjoy the new addition to your stable!

So this is getting the 10 hp K241 from the C-100.  It will be more of a mild/work horse build.  I want aggressive rear tires, unlocked rear end, tri ribs up front, and the implement lift so I can plow with it in the winter.

I have flushed the transmission a couple times with diesel fuel.  It came out filthy the first time and a lot cleaner the second time.  I temporarily EV swapped it to do this.


At the moment the K241 has me completely lost.  I had adusted the throttle and reset the governor. The engine started and idled great.  As soon as I gave it gas the engine would rev to the moon so I had assumed the governor was internally messed up until I removed the cam cover and saw the governor gear totally in tact, the plunger, weights, "golf club" were all there and moved freely.  The plastic governor gear looked great but it does move back and forth on the shaft about 1/4" which seems like a lot.  The carburetor was pretty dirty and the air cleaner was almost completely plugged.  I wonder if those has something to do with the revving issue.

To Do List:
-tie rods (need to order)
-replace steering column support(in stock)
-order front/rear tires and front wheel bearings
-have rims powder coated
-front axle pivot supports are bent and sloppy which will need repair
-left rear hub is loose, needs a second set screw drilled and tapped
-fix front hood supports
-fix governor issue on K241

I really like the direction your going with this, lol be wanted to do something similar myself one day, to me nothing looks as sexy on these tractors as the factory kohler motors. I had a similar revving issue on my zero turn and after much tail chasing it was just out of adjustment and it was terrible to get right, it was extremely picky about how the arm set on the rod, I just kept tinkering with it till it works right, but even now it’s not really perfect, seems like it doesn’t respond to a load like it should and still revs higher than it should, but it mows fine so I’m leaving it be

@Creepycrawler I've been thinking about the governor issue and maybe because the governor gear has 1/4" side play on the shaft that is why it is so picky. Maybe I didn't take up that play when I first attempted adjustment. I want to rebuild the carb, bolt it back up, and adjust the governor arm with the cam gear cover off so that I know I have taken up that 1/4". If there's still an issue after that the motor must be torn down.

so I cleaned the carburetor, replaced the plugged air filter, made sure the governor gear had all the slop taken out when I adjusted it, also the high idle stop on the throttle linkage was a mile off.  I whipped together a test stand and fired it up and it ran great and the governor works exactly like it should.  i’m excited that I have a good donor engine for the tractor and also the old crusty rims have been sent off to get powder coated before I mount up the new rubber.

i’m going to make this tractor my beater off-roader.  some thing I can ride with friends two or three times a year.  it will get locked, the 18hp Duromax and these tires:

Very nice tires!  Go to see ya pop in!

Those are some nice tires! Looks like it will be a fine rig.

that aint no beater thats a dedicated romper my mtd is a beater, the engine knocks, the exhaust is made from bike frame, the frame has a massive crack and a hole in it, the paints falling off, dash is half broke off, no gas cap, tires are flat, and the wiring is just jumping the solenoid because the wiring is garbage but it runs and i purposely rammed it into a tree.

I have a long way to go on this chassis but here is a tease of what is to come:

Budget_gokart wrote:

that aint no beater thats a dedicated romper my mtd is a beater, the engine knocks, the exhaust is made from bike frame, the frame has a massive crack and a hole in it, the paints falling off, dash is half broke off, no gas cap, tires are flat, and the wiring is just jumping the solenoid because the wiring is garbage but it runs and i purposely rammed it into a tree.

You keep talking about that man, can you throw a pic up?

Yesterday  I ripped the rear end out and today I had my dad stick weld the 10 pinions together with half of the carrier assembled.  After it cooled, I chipped the slag away and was able to hammer the diff back together.  Then I reassembled the trans, and now waiting on seals.

Quote :

You keep talking about that man, can you throw a pic up?

Sorry if i quoted wrong but i gave it to a buddy pics are in my thread. Also i fonnaly have a welder to weld diffs like this LOL so imma weld the diff in my tractors eventually. And loving the progress this horsie is gonna be MEAN

Sad to see a LSD get welded up but I guess if you want to be competitive in the TTC you need a strong locker eh!? Lol

@Brianator Don’t feel bad because the limited slip ring was broken into two pieces when I disassembled it. That explained the crunchy sound I was hearing.

what does everyone think of the nickname “Stitches”?

Great if you're planning on decorating it like a cute little puppy and entering in the parade! Lol. Scars would be more appropriate in my opinion, much tougher like a tractor deserves, im sure it'll earn itself more and every scar has a story to tell!

Maybe grind the welds flat and make a reinforcement plate to weld over those areas.

Nice work! Will be looking forward to see where this thing goes!

Thanks for the compliments.  I’m not going to grind down the welds because I want it to look ratty.

i’ve been taking care of some tedious stuff like repairing the hood sheet-metal, mounting light bar and drilling a hole for the voltmeter.  I am working on the trans braces and fixing the front axle but I will post pictures of that when I’m done.

Sorry, I wasn’t criticizing the welds, I was only suggesting reinforcing to stop the cracks from returning. They will, I expect. Maybe plate the inside of those areas where possible?
I like the look of them too, you are doing some nice work.

I think if it were some thing like a frame I would definitely reinforced it but I’m not too worried about the dash sheet metal at the moment.

I made great progress this afternoon.  I got the trans braces done and the sloppy steering all fixed with a new pivot pin set up.

Looking great @Crazy_Carl, but I have to ask.  What are the odds of that grease zerk getting knocked off?