For this sled I chose a 2.52 X 151 X 1.25 Camoplast Ripsaw Track. No surprises here. I didnt stray to far away from Tundra Man Dans build. Why mess with such a well thought out conversion.

 

This conversion would not of been possible without b550's special drivers. I wasnt sure if they would fit on the axle or not but after a communication with Benoit he assured me of their fitment, Press On!!!

 

Looking Good!

Dan

 

Before I installed the drivers into the sled I painted them black so I could study the wear patterns to see where the drives where driving. After 3 full tanks of hard riding everything looks as it should. My track is set up way loose and I have not had any problems with driver skip.

Many thanks to Benoit his posts truly are inspirational.

I added a grease fitting to the bearing plate opposite the chaincase. I also pulled the seals on that axle bearing so the grease could get in there and do its job.

 

There are lots of little things that I have done to this sled that I might skim over because someone else has covered that area in greater detail. If you see if you see something of interest to you that I have not covered let me know and I will fill you in.

This snow season has not been great, maybe 10 inches of snow at any given time. I was still able to do quite a bit of test riding. I have been quite impressed with the torquey 268 along with b550's gear reducing drivers. I am able to creep along in the woods with plenty of power right from the first throttle blip. I can climb moderate hills at a tractors pace. I can stop and start on a hill without spinning.

As this season ends I have learned much about this sled and where I want it to be. I am certain I am on the right trail. Stay tuned for future updates.

Here are some pictures as it sits today ready for its next adventure.

I did put a bolt in the rear idler. After the picture of course.

 

 

A couple more glamour shots

 

 

 

I enjoy seeing pictures of and reading reports about these types of projects. Good job. Thanks for sharing.

 

I added a grease fitting to the bearing plate opposite the chaincase. I also pulled the seals on that axle bearing so the grease could get in there and do its job.

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Nice touch :wink_old:

I think I need to do this driver and track swap for my remaining 377 Skandic :rolleyes_old:

 

Good job Tasky :wink_old:

Have you had a chance to try in soft snow?

Definitely a good performer witch the 277 and lower gear ratio

 

That is really a nice looking machine! Since that originally had the 250 I'm guessing that you also have the lower gear ratio in the chain case which is nice.

Dan

 

That looks like a great idea. How long have you been making this particular mod? I've always wondered why that particular bearing had such a flintstone setup for lube. I have yanked a couple bone dry, rusty bearings now in project sleds that could have used this.

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b550, We had an average of 40 inches this year typically we have a average yearly total of 120 inches of snow. No real soft snow yet, maybe next year.

tundraman, you are correct. I am using the same gears as on your Tundra II 12 tooth top 27 bottom. For any speed runs I have a 15 tooth top out of a Citation or a 14 top out of a 96 Tundra II.

AKcub, I have taken lots of sleds apart quite a few more than I have ever put together. I have kind of a fascination with planned obsolescence and how to reverse it so I am always looking at how things are built and what keeps them together in one piece. While building this sled I was also taking apart a 80 blizzard 5500. When I pulled the track I noticed that the bearing plate had a grease fitting on it so I simply added one to the Tundra bearing plate. I cant remember if I pulled out both bearing grease seals or just the side that faces the incoming grease.

On an interesting side note, Yesterday I replaced a bent spindle in a 69 Skidaddler. The spindle has a grease fitting on the end that not only lubes the ski leg but carries the grease through to the bolt that attaches the leaf spring to the spindle. I had not seen that before.

 

AKcub, I have taken lots of sleds apart quite a few more than I have ever put together.

:laugh_old: I'm with ya there !!

 

Hi Tasky your longer track conversion looks great and the pics are helpful. Ive been reading up on b550s major changes with interest. One area that would be helpful to understand more for a less engineering minded person is how you made and connected the rail extensions. The pics are small and hard to tell and some description on it would be helpful. I can follow directions in doing custom things, just not come up with the design to start with.

Thanks ~ Phil

 

Phil if you haven't already, you have to check out Tundramandan's post in the frequently asked questions. http://www.dootalk.com/forums/topic/549122-1994-tundra-ii-long-track-151x15x125-252-pitch/ here is a link. In this area of the build I followed his post. He has some very detailed pictures of this modification. The extensions where made by Western Power Sports. It took some time to find a pair but eventually I located a set. There was some grinding and measuring involved and I might of even added a couple of holes to get them to fit.

Dan's sled is a 94 and mine is a 88 they use a different rear arm in the suspension. I plan on changing my rear arm to the newer style and adding larger inboard wheels like Dan has done. My reason for this is that my track adjusters are all the way in and my track is still quite loose. By adding larger diameter wheels I should be able to take up quite a bit of the extra slack in the adjustment. I will need the Tundra II rear suspension rear arm to provide clearance for these new larger wheels. I will follow Tundra Mans post for the larger rear wheels and inboard axle.

There are some awesome posts in this forum and some I followed more than others. A little of this and a little of that and you made it your own. The hardest part of this build for me was getting started. To much thinking and second guessing was getting in the way. After I bought a new track there was no going back.

Keep the questions coming and I will do my best to get some answers.

 

"There are some awesome posts in this forum and some I followed more than others. A little of this and a little of that and you made it your own. The hardest part of this build for me was getting started. To much thinking and second guessing was getting in the way."

Yes.

 

Hi guys thanks yes I've been reading many different threads on tundra modifications.

TASKY, the rail extensions you mentiones aRe they not sold new anymore?

 

I really dont know if they are still made or not. I found mine on Ebay as did Tundra Man. The extensions were made by Western Power Sports, part number 44-1529 It might take some time to find a set now that summer is on the way. Do a google search on mountain sleds. There are a lot of custom builders making products like these. Western Power Sports may be still around.

I just sent you a pm

 

Plastic Skiis

Here are some pictures of the plastic skiis I put on my Tundra

 

 

 

I had these made several years ago for another project. Seeing how the original Tundra steel skiis needed some work I pulled these out of the rafters for this project instead. They are Powder Pro SLP skiis with some big carbides. The Carbide mounting studs go through the skiis and then the bracket holding the pieces together. The ski brackets where patterned after a vintage Arctic Cat ski. The stock mono leafs where to long so I used a NOS pair of 72 John Deere multi leafs. I had to use the Ski-Doo spring saddle and simply changed these out from the John Deere leaf pack.

Just a quick comparison there does not seem to be much in the line of weight savings. Advantages hopefully will be more precise steering, less drag (friction) and some more flotation from the added width.