Edit: project renamed: ArgoCeptor due to working on swapping in a Honda V45 interceptor engine.
Howdy. I'm new to Argo's and AATV's in general. Actually, I've only had one for a week or so now.
Some background;
I'm military, RCAF. I'm Search and rescue, flying the Cormorant Helo (flight engineer):
But after 28 years, I'm just too beaten up and broken to continue. It's a young man's game and I'm....errr.....not....anymore.
Since I can't carry on, I'm being medically released from the military. No regrets. I've done and seen things most people will never even have a concept of. My pension and the medical release "parachute" is also pretty good.
But SAR isn't something you just " stop". It gets in the blood. That others may live isn't just an motto, it's a way of life. So even though I won't be Helo SAR, I'm planning to join the provincial Ground Search team once I'm out. It's all volunteer and poorly funded. As in, it's not.
My problem is my injuries mean I can't traverse uneven ground for very far. Not good for a ground search team member.
Enter: the Argo (SARgo? LOL!)
The Argo will be my legs.
I wanted an 8x8 for the size it offers over a 6x6 (carrying gear, searchers, casualties, etc), Argo because it's fairly mainstream for these rigs (get parts, accessories, etc without having to fire up the welder or lathe every time something breaks) and tracks because Nova Scotia is somewhere around 50-75% rivers, lakes and bog/swamp/muck. That's also why a quad or side by side wouldn't be a great choice for me either, I need amphibious for SAR around here.
I looked at new and damned near had a stroke right then and there! 25-35 grand CAD! Nope,that's not going to happen. Sure was pretty though....
So it had to be used. But they're not common around these parts and just plain hard to come by used. Those do have 'em, aren't selling.
I got lucky and came across an 86 8x8. Came with windshield, supertracks and a soft top. It's a Conquest, so hyd brakes and the old Kohler Magnum 18 hp. Gent wanted 4500 CAD:
It's used but not (particularly) abused.
Gent was a DNR guy so he took care of it as best he could for the 10 years he owned it. But he sure wasn't a mechanic. He had replaced one caliper and the lever was adjusted close up to the firewall. The other lever was a good 4-6" pull further to get it to grab. The carb was gummed up and it had to run with choke. The tires are some kind of knobby tire by Kenda, Dominator IIRC:
The tracks were loose as....well, insert favorite curse word here. I also had to pull the wheels off each side to get the tracks off as the trailer was only 62" wide. It all made driving it on the trailer a fair bit of "fun".
No rear floor. Gent had a couple pieces of plywood in there. I wasn't worried about that as a couple welded spacers to the rear frame and a sheet of 1/8" 5052 aluminum (attached with Dzeus fasteners) would make a nice strong floor. Flat floor is preferred anyways as my wife trains tracking dogs and this will give them a good surface after I bond some rubber covering to it.
I pointed out a few things, hemmed and hawed a bit and then my missus played the "I don't want to buy this piece of junk" game. We ended up at 3 grand.
That's pretty good around these parts for a running, intact 8x8.
I took it directly to the cottage. First thing was a quick burn down the road. Ran like crap. Steered like crap. I goosed it wide open and it caught after a few seconds. No suspension and aired up tires (to squeeze it on the trailer) quickly became a bad combination on a few woops in the road. it took a bad bounce, things started to go really wrong really fast and I went for a handful of brakes. Well, one side grabbed first (still out of adjustment) and it jerked sideways, I then backed off the brakes trying to regain control and it all just made things even worse. We shot off into the trees and I ended up nose in against a big pine. I was laughing my head off, half happy I was still alive and half terrified of what just happened. Trip back to the cottage was decidedly slower and more cautious.
So, first off it was adjusting the brake/steering levers. I evened them out and steering became much easier and the whole rig became much more controllable as I didn't have to remember to pull one lever first when I wanted to stop. Then the carb came apart and got a good going through. Reinstalled and adjusted, the old Kohler now worked great. No more surging, responds to throttle. It's not perfect, but it's getting there.
Then I drove it down to the harbor. Yep, those tires don't swim worth a damn. Not a big surprise. They also make it a bear to turn on land, as the knobs just dig in and don't skid well at all. Gravel is ok, sod just gets ripped out and chunks go flying. I get it in deep enough to check wheel seals. Yup, most are leaking. Not a surprise and I expected it on a rig this old. But it's coming in damned fast up front somewhere. The skidplate (Argo's "second tub" arrangement) looks intact, but now I'm hoping the hull behind it is good and there's just a hub gasket gone really bad up front. Can't see exactly where it's coming in with the drivetrain installed. I'll have to check that out a little closer later. The "auto" bilge pump is dead, but the manual one he installed pumps it out and has no problems pumping the hull dry in a few seconds.
Back up to the yard and I degrease/clean the thing several times:
and can now get a good look at double chains and sprockets (and the engine/transmission). Chains are stretched, but again, I expected that. Sprockets may be OK, have to get the chains off to know for sure. Looks like the idler sprockets are toast. Points on every tooth.
So, I've got some basic work to do. I expected most of it with a well used unit and nothing I can't handle. I ordered up some half links for the supertracks and that should (hopefully) take up the looseness. I took out one full link and it's too tight to get together, but it looks like a half link will be just about right to get my 3 odd inches of sag on the tracks from the 6-8" of sag there is now.
Once the maintenance is all addressed I'll be on to a SAR build up.
I'm looking at building racks, seats, pushbars and the like. I've got a 3500lb winch to install, which will be on a receiver type arrangement (connected to the frame winch bracket0 so I can use it front and rear. My Lincoln 180 will get a decent workout on all that stuff. Some will be aluminum, some will be steel. Smart use of each will keep the weight down. That's important for a SAR rig where lots of rescue/first aid gear goes in.
Of course, survival gear will be on board too. Military is good at making sure you know what to bring in the woods and how to use it.
I'm also wanting to build it into a springer. I've got several reasons for that:
1. Looks like a fun project
2. It will be gentler to my beat up old bod
3. Looks to be fun to use when I just want to off road, and
4. when you've got someone with broken bones and such on board, you want the ride as smooth as possible.
Springer is a long range project though.
I'm not sure how well tracks will work with a springer though. Tracks is a must have and 4-6 feet of snow is common here in winter and it hangs around in the woods well into spring, sometimes summer.
Well, that's where it currently sits. More as I get into it.