Yes, you did as i do, if there is a way to fix or improve a existing "whatever" i do it.All the newfangled stuff, i hate it.Always breaks, costs arm and leg to fix.
I needed a GT i built one from scrap parts, which included, Agway/Murry/Sears/Massey parts/scrap steel/ford/chevy parts/welding rods/and so on. I may have 300.00 in it including the new 24x12x12 ATV Lug tires. Been running it over 3 yrs now, pushing snow, dirt rocks, hauling wood, rocks dirt in cart.Hasn't let me down yet.
Even has a car battery with a 90 amp chevy alt. Holigen headlights/tails, back up light, homemade steel and alum. cab for winter work.Tire chains made from 11:00x20 big truck chains. Plows 2 foot of snow in 2nd gear. have pushed rocks across yard that are like 3' across by a foot thick.Pulled tree trunks 20' long and over a foot diameter. with the front plow, i cut a road for it about 50 yards long across a hillside, upper bank on road is about 2 ft high, so you see i worked the H out of it. I wouldnt trade it for anything manufactured now in this size range.REPEAT, This size range..Only LT/gt size.

Without any hard facts to support my theory, I will offer my opinion....With an electrically operated PTO clutch, the manufacturers of tractors can relatively easily (for them) add inhibitor switches and relays that will cause the PTO to disengage (instead of just shutting down the engine) under certain operating conditions. The second part of my opinion is that the electric PTO becomes an "amenity" to "enhance sell-ability" to the consumer. I think that the original appearance of the electric PTO in the OPE market might possibly have been due to certain governmental rumors that some sort of Reverse Gear, Implement Disabling system would become a Federal mandate. I don't believe it ever became a Federal standard but I have heard that at least 2 States have adopted the concept and written State Laws requiring a system to automatically disengage the cutting blades or kill the engine if reverse gear is selected while the cutting blades are engaged.

I am able to back up while mowing and that is a great thing. I don't mind actually paying attention and mowing carefully and at a speed that makes sense. I don't have young kids running around which is the primary issue with tractor safety. With a loud engine the driver won't hear kids running up behind them and if you back up suddenly you can really have a bad day with a kid behind you. I can understand why tractor companies are fearful as idiots seem to be everywhere. Imagine being in court with some kid seriously injured and a guy that certainly did not want to harm anyone, but just wanted to mow his lawn. You end up aiming at the tractor builder as the only people with deep pockets. If the person on the tractor disabled a safety device a lot more blame will be headed his way. This ease of turning off the blades or snow-blower is why electric pto's are very popular with owners / companies and lawyers. It is also why I would be very careful when removing safety equipment or changing equipment around. I have no worries that changing this tractor to a manual pto will be fine and not yield any safety or legal issues. But be aware why the electric switches are very popular. I also like the ease that my daughter can turn the blades on and off when mowing so we can exchange a few words while mowing a few of the neighbors yards as we did a couple days ago. we both had sunstars and she likes the hand controls and power lift and power steering... it makes for relaxed mowing.

Hey johninmd, sounds like you've got a great machine there; maybe you could post some pics.

I can see where the law-makers are coming from. You can back over someone or something sure, but it'd be even worse to slice it up like a salad shooter. It just seems the government is taking common sense and flushing it down the commode in favor of mandating supposedly "stupid-proof" features that all the common people now have to pay through the nose for.

While these "amenities" do make doing the job a little more pleasurable, I can't help but think most of them are a costly pain in the butt waiting to happen.

It's good for business, Wiring gets chafed, switched fail, elect clutches fail. This added up to good for business, maybe not good for resale for someone that knows which way to turn a bolt, but for the majority that turns the key, pulls the switch, and gets a new one every few years it's great. It's only bad for the ones that keep the equipment TOO LONG.

Well, its a reliable machine, a strong powerful machine, but very BUTT UGLY!! LOL
Let me just describe the basics, i have no camera right now, it, like everything else you buy now days, broke on me.
The tractors frame is made from 2 tractors,rear half is heavy box steel from the AGWAY,front half is C channel frame from a 69 Massey. Welded together and reenforced full length with 3" angle, 1/4" thick. trannsaxle is a 3 speed with low being a "granny" gear from a GT,with 12" bolt on wheels.
Front axle is Massey, Iron axle, 8" wheels, rack and pinion steering.
Rear fenders are made from 1/8" plate steel. Seat from a Snapper RER.
Steering wheel from a 92 Olds Cutlass. Dash is homemade, includes headlight switch,backup light switch, Igniton switch from a 70 Chevy pickup. And a lighted Amp guage.
4 gallon fuel tank froma the AGWAY.
Hood and grill From the AGWAY. Front "bumper/snow plow mount" built from a old Reese,frame mount, truck, trailor hitch.
100 lb rear weight from front of a 2040 JD farm tractor.
Nitty gritty?
Starter sol. from a ford truck.
Car battery and cables.
Headlights, one in center 55 watt Quartz froma 93 Pontiac Grand Prix, then one on each side of that, 35 watt each Quartz, from bumper of 94 Dodge Shadow.
Engine is a 12 HP Briggs IC Single.
Altinator is froma Chevy car, I added a 6" pulley on top of engine, mounted ALT. on side of engine, runs with a short belt.
Crank pulley is 3" runs a belt back to a 6" pulley that runs a 90 degee, 2 to 1 gear reduction box. Thus changing vertical engine to a 2 to 1 horizontal drive, 4" pulley on side of gear box runs back to 4 inch pulley on transaxle.
I built my own clutch setup from various parts. As i did with brake. I also built a Emergency type brake, a lever on its own rod i can lock down.
Tires are: rear 24x12x12 ATV Lug
front are 16x6x8" carlisle, soon to be changed to a set of AG's
I have a pintle hitch on rear, 2" ball.
Cab is made of stainless 1/1/4" tubing, bent to from a upside down "U" shape over seat area and part way up hood, cross tubes at rear,top rear, top front, and at hood level.
Roof is covered in a single sheet of "roadsign thick" alumium. Windshield, side windows, rear window, are ultra clear plastic sheeting.Doors are made from 1/4" steel rod formed into a door shape, hinged, and covered with same plastic.
Tire chains are made from big truck chains, the only thing i found large enough to not hide down in the tire lugs.
My snow blade was actually a snow blade i had bought, but i covered it with sheet steel, bent to shape of blade, making it about 4" wider on each side, and 6 inches higher.
Made my own lever lift setup as well.Added a welded on cutting bar, and get this... made bar from a old truck leaf spring, welded it on, sharped edge.Mount for blade all homemade as well.(just need to figure out now how to angle without getting out of seat)
I made this thing over a summer, made it to stand up to abuse, i didnt make it to be pretty. It does what i need and more.Only drawback is having to tell people who see it and laugh, where to go. LOL

You wouldn't happen to call this thing Frankenstein would you? XD It must be an awsome sight. But hey, I'd chose function over looks any day of the week.

Frankentractor! But I like it, I like it! Quit teasing and get some pictures please. :^)

LOL you guys hang on, i cant afford to buy a camera right now. daughter has one but wont see her for awhile yet.
It probably doesn't look like most of you imagine, from a distance it looks just like your regular old GT. Most of what i said about it is all small stuff, you really have to witness the construction to know how much work was involved in fabricating all those things on it.
Clutch pulleys and linkage being the most aggravating.
Oh, forgot to add this, its painted New Holland Yellow. First it was red, then black, now yellow.
Im going to replace plastic "windshield" with plexi. soon though, you can see through it ok, but it wrinkles and vibrates in the wind, and is annoying.
Wife said when i had the cab all black, it loked like a Amish buggy LOL.
So give me a week or so and ill see about pics.

When you upgrade the windshield, use polycarbonate (Lexan) instead of Plexiglass. The Lexan costs a bit more but will not fracture as readily as Plexi. Try to devise a mounting strategy that does not require drilling mounting holes in your windshield panel. Drilling holes in the clear panel for bolts or screws almost guarantees cracks to develop at the hole and spread across the panel. A technique I have used with success is to fabricate a "frame" for the plastic panel from lengths of oak hardwood flooring. I miter cut 4 pieces of this flooring to form something that could pass for a picture frame. The groove or slot of the "tongue & groove" feature is the key here. I rip the tongue part away (and reduce the plank width to the desired dimension at the same time) on my table saw. Then I construct the "frame" (using miter cuts at the corners) so that the "groove" is facing inward (or to the inside of the perimeter of the frame). The frame needs to be sized so that the frame width and height (measured from the bottom of the grooves) is about 1/8 inch greater than the width & height of your plastic panel. Figure out which "side" of this frame is the bottom of the windshield and cut slots with a router, a drill or a circular saw to provide a way for water to drain out of the bottom groove of this plank (make the drainage provision only into the "weather side" of the plank). Assemble the plastic panel into the frame on a flat surface using metal corner braces (from the hardware store). If you did your math right, the edges of the plastic panel will not be visible (except for portions along the outside of the bottom plank where you provided drainage) and the corners of each plank will butt against each other with no gaps. If you have a gap at a corner it means that your frame members are too short. Because of the possibility of cutting your frame members too short, you may want to deliberately cut them a bit long and then shorten them (using miter cuts) in the assembly stage. Once you have a good fit all around (no gaps and no panel edges showing) scribe or otherwise mark each corner of the frame members AND the corners of the plastic panel so that you can reassemble it later EXACTLY as you built it. Now you can put the final touches to the fabrication phase by locating the mounting holes in the frame that will secure the "windshield" to the tractor. DO NOT tighten the windshield down with "brute force" It is best if you make the mounting holes in the wooden frame AND the tractor slightly larger than the bolt or screw diameter you choose. Use flat washers and self locking nuts to hold the windshield assembly to the tractor. This somewhat loose fit will allow for any "flexing or twisting" of the tractor cab to occur without breaking or loosening the plastic panel. After you are satisfied with the fit of the windshield assembly, take it apart and paint each plank (paint the grooves and backside too) with a good grade of paint in the color of your choice. I have also made some "windshields" and side windows using extruded aluminum strips (available at bigger "automotive or commercial glass shops) but for most projects of this nature, the oak tongue & groove flooring works pretty well.

mownie, that is a good idea. However, this old crude thing isnt worth that much work LOL.
The way i was going to do it is:
I have some old conveyor belt, about 1/8" thick, and 2' wide. I was going to cut a piece of that wide enough to go from side to side on cab frame. Secure with self tapping screws.
I have a bag of the rubber washered screws you use on metal roofs. the work well and hold well. Then using a angle grinder with cut off wheel, cut out area for the plexi,and make some smoke too! . then make another piece of belt exactly like the first, but cut opening 1" smaller all around, sandwich plexi loosely in between the two halves, and secure second "frame" to first with same screws, then cut protruding screw shanks off inside.End up sort of like a picture frame.
I have used the belt for things before with the rubber washered screws, and they never come loose. This belt is pretty old, and stays pretty stiff, not floppy at all.
I have lots of mechanical skills, i have a good imagination,lot of tools. what i dont have is patience to make things look pretty LOL
What i make works, my welds hold, but once i get a few pics, you will see what i mean about not having patience.
I know i could have made this thing look good, but i am not one who is concerned about looks either.
I appreciate the input though.

SERIOUSLY johninmd, talk to your neighbors, co-workers, any relatives that live nearby and borrow a digital camera! We've got to see some pictures. And don't be stingy about sharing them, you can upload them on Photobucket for free. Post at least a dozen pictures but preferably more. I'm especially interested in seeing the alternator and other car parts integrated into this tractor.

I've always considered myself a pretty handy/mechanical guy having grown up on a farm, but I work with a guy who is just like what you sound like. Very inventive and can build something out of what most people would consider not enough to even start with.

I commend your ingenuity and it is quite frankly what this great country was built on.

Dave

Don't forget the pics!

johninmd, yeah, that conveyor belt material is a good idea to use as a "flexible frame". I've never had any of it "in my stock of stuff" (junk, but potential treasure), but I have seen it and can visualize exactly how it would work.