Grassroots car pusher

In reply to Apexcarver :

I think we are on the home stretch. Now to just find the right device. A mower would be more useful than a snowblower where I am. I'm sort of liking the dual purpose aspect of that. If I could find something cool, old and functional (like what Pete posted) it would be great. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I forgot about David Bradley - our neighbor when I was a kid had one they used to cultivate their garden.  I was always fascinated by the stylized hood/grill on those things.

In reply to jh36 :

How about a DR field and brush mower?

They have a bunch of attachments you can use and make a custom pusher bracket to slot in.

The problem with using teenagers is that you can't count on there being some available unless you bring your own and if you have to grow them from scratch it takes a while.  Even then they can be recalcitrant, they only last years and you can replace a lot of clutches for the cost of even one.

I think you're headed in the right direction with the walk behind tractor but I also wonder if you're being unnecessarily cautious about the clutch. Is that a multi-disc?

In reply to APEowner :

X2 on teenagers. I've almost harvested all mine. 
Maybe I'm being overly cautious. But sort of committed to this idea. 
edit. It is a 5.5" 3 disk. 

KyAllroad said:

Write a nice letter to the people who decided a speed limit that's lower than your car can go without damaging itself and request a variance?

Our max grid/paddock speed is "walking first gear", not a particular MPH.   Some race cars don't even have speedometers.

The reality is nobody is going to give you a ticket for 5 mph over if you're driving  at an idle.  The reason for the 10 mph is to scold the guys doing 30-40 mph. 
Besides real race cars don't have speedometers.   

How far do you have to push the car , and how many times in a day / Weekend 

are you pushing on dirt , grass , or asphalt ?

The first 20 feet is the hard part , once it rolling   is much less power 

Is there 110v to recharge the batteries if needed.......

Cheaper to add another rev limiter to hold it at 10?

We have some short pallet like hacks for moving large a-frames of rolled materials (up to a few k lbs) likely over the 500$ budget unless I can figure out what they are called. Pallet kacls are the closest thing but these don't have the forks. 

In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :

The problem is idle is probably 15mph. 1st gear is a usable thing on track. Coming off track will probably  be ok. I can put the clutch in and coast back to my paddock. Starting out and getting to grid is the challenging part. Getting into the right slot but also getting rolling without spinning tires and stalling a lot. I'm sure I will get better at it over time, but I'm pretty sure I destroyed the old clutch in short order. 
 

In reply to californiamilleghia :

At VIR it's probably close to 1/4 mile and the last 50 yards is uphill. 
Typically it would be 6 sessions a weekend. 
Asphalt. 
I always have 110, either docked or by generator. 

Any way to do an electric motor install in a jetski? Then all you need to do is get a couple sets of utility trailer axles and some sort of drive chain to go to a sprocket on one of the axles. 

Still haven't figured out the steering. Is there any curves to navigate in the pits?

In reply to Olemiss540 :

Key to the project: the unit needs to fit on the forward section of my open deck trailer. 

I mean if the car will go 15 mph in gear idling, couldnt you just drag the brakes to get it closer to 10? And the upside is it would warm your brakes up for that first turn...

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

At least with the current tune, it wants to shut off below idle. On average, I have to stop probably three times getting to grid for various reasons...starting this car rolling, I am averaging probably two to three stalls per start. I just want this clutch to last as long as possible. I figure one weekend of driving in the paddock is about a half a year of racing. Yes, I'm being a little paranoid but I do want to reduce maintenance and be as kind to the car as is practical. 

No you're not. I have a triple disk 7&1/4 clutch that's basically an on off switch and  one season of getting to and from the grid kills it. 
   During the race it's not used at all because of the dog ring  gearbox. 
 That's in a light 2000 pound car.  That is never used to put on of off the trailer.  ( I own a winch for that). 
    So get a car pusher or two. Teenagers like to do stuff with their buddies. Reward them with rides during the noontime parades.    Yes put a couple of tires as a cushion  between a rotor tiller and your race car.   But don't sit in it steering  on the way to and from the grid. Walk along side talking to the "pusher".  Hook a strap to the rotor tiller to prevent run -always  on any down hill sections. 

In reply to frenchyd :

Well said. I am on board with the walk along. Its better than being primary pusher. I also have a dog box...it's just the starts and stops to grid that crush my soul. And I also have a winch for the trailer. 
stay tuned for my next steps. Searching....

I built this many years ago. It started life as an old snowblower with a broken transmission/auger assembly. I needed something to get my jetski to and from the ocean thru the sand and over the dune. It has forward gears and reverse and with the addition of a small bogey wheel on front would work great on asphalt surface.

In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :

That is it. Nicely done. 

I'm kinda glad to see the ATV no longer on the table.

I cringe when I hear a noob on a clutchless 4 wheeler in too high a gear.  That slip time before the centrifugal clutch is able to engage is death for those things.  I don't think they'd be too happy pushing a car.

I REALLY like the Gravely (or similar) idea.  Those things are truly pro-grade tractors.  I had one with handlebars and a sulky seat and it mowed VW hills like nothing.

I would think for tug duty you might have to figure out a way to add weight to the tires, either with actual weight or with some means of leverage.  We had a 5hp tug at the transmission shop that could move an 18 wheeler in low gear, but the torque to traction ratio meant you had to hook the tug under a bumper or something so you could push down on the handlebars to get traction.

Maybe a good off season project. I wonder if you could make up a mount to connect to the car that would allow you to control via the remote while still using the car to steer.

In reply to jh36 :

The entire auger assembly was removed so that just the engine and drive unit remained. Some aluminum on the sides to keep sand out of "everything", 2"x2"x3/16" angle and a dozen nuts/bolts/washers. What's nice is that it has a clutch that works very well. If you added a nose wheel so that you didn't have to glance the unit yourself, it would work much better on a flat surface. I picked up the broken but running snowblower for $50 and had another $50 in bigger wheels/tires, steel nuts/bolts and a tow ball. 

Any chance something like this could fit? Slightly out of budget, but fits the race car theme:

Race mower

In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :

That looks like the perfect tool and meets the budget. Very well done. It would work with a Gravely, now that I've half convinced myself that I need that mower. 

In reply to No Time :

I don't think so...but it looks awesome. 

So this is a really silly question; is it possible to install a more user friendly clutch? 

It seems like a lot of work to save the clutch.  I routinely see people driving 600hp cars to grid without issue.

My other thought is simply drive to grid really early so perhaps you don't have to stop as much.