Project: ArgoCeptor!

[SARgo1]

rear carrier/outboard mount is coming along nicely:





I'm going to make up a plate that will fit in the space where the outboard currently is so when the outboard isn't mounted, the entire rear carrier just becomes storage space.

Tomorrow I'll either build the outboard sliding mount or the front brush guard. Not sure which I want to work on next.

It will likely be the front brush guard because I'm still working out some details on the outboard mount in my head right now.....

[SARgo1]

Working it, getting closer:





it will move back a little bit from where it is in those pics and it may lean back a lot more, but thats getting pretty close to the finished form.

[garretttpe]

Looking great, Maybe a piano hinge on the back of the hood to lift the hood/grill up together..

[SARgo1]

Well, no turning back now:







After trying multiple times to reshape the plastic, I’ve decided to just slice it right off. I’ll make the grill part of the hood and fiberglass the sides to blend it to the cut opening. I can get a much smoother and finished look that way instead of trying to reshape the plastic.

[SARgo1]

Decided to try for option 2: cut the grill down to size for the middle section of the Argo:



Not bad, not bad at all.It looks big in the pic, but it's a little lower than the hood line and a little less wide than the flat center section on the Argo nose.

Or, I suppose I could invert it like it was on the F-150:



I might not be as keen on that orientation,. It would, however, allow the hood to stay the same width to the grill instead of having to narrow it to match the narrow top grill.

That's just put together rough for now, it needs more plastic welding, shaping and finishing. But that's pretty much the way it will look. 

I'm thinking installing the bottom even with where the Argo body line is now, but instead of leaning it back to follow the Argo nose "slant", I'm thinking leaving it a bit nearer vertical to make more room behind it for the radiator.

I'll have to rework the nose to come out to meet the grill and I can just make the hood larger to cover the top part. The hood is the easy part since it's fiberglass. That's just more cloth and resin to get it the way I want it.

For water entry issues, I plan to put a brush guard on the front anyways, so a small deflector plate on it will break the water before it reaches the grill opening. If that's not enough to stop the water, it's going to be swamped anyways. I've got 2 bilge pumps so I can get the water back out if needed...

[SARgo1]

Was driving home the other day and I drove past a bunch of car pieces at a country intersection. Someone had an accident there and there was a busted F-150 grill in the ditch.

I stopped to have a look at it and it seemed to me I might be able to do something with it. So into the back of the truck it went.

As anyone who has one knows, heat is a big issue in an Amphib. Getting air in (and out) is a problem due to it basically being a sealed bathtub.

I striped what was left of the grill down to just the plastic insert and set it on the Argo nose:







Yeah, it's too big as is and it's got some busted pieces. But it's just thermoplastic and that's super easy to both cut and form. All you need is a little heat, applied the right ways.

The wheels are turning in my brain. Sure would be nice to be able to get a front facing radiator in the nose of the Argo. I've got two thoughts:

1. Cut out the nose and fit everything (headlights included) behind a modified to fit grill, or
2. Cut down the grill to open up just the center section of the nose between the headlights

Options 1 benefits: LOTS of cooling air, front mount radiator options, unique looks.
Drawbacks of options 1: Water entry might be an issue. Such a large cut out may weaken the upper tub and maybe the lower tub.

Option 2 benefits: More cooling air, option for front mount radiator, would retain more of the original structural integrity.
Option 2 drawbacks: water entry concerns, although less than option 1.

The big "FORD" mounting spot in the middle of the grill is an easy fix: I'll just make up an "ARGO" emblem that's the same shape/size as the FORD badge and stick it on. That's as easy as printing one out and covering it in a clear epoxy.

Loosing the center part of the nose for a winch mount in either option isn't a big deal as I had already planned to build a custom winch mount that sits the winch level on a brush guard instead of being on the angled nose piece.

It means the Argo will loose some of it's froggy/puppy look on the nose, but that's not a big deal for me. A grill might actually update the look a bit so it looks less like it's 1960/70's counterparts and more like a some of the more recent designs.

[SARgo1]

Well, in order to get the outboard low enough to get the cavitaion plate level with the bottom of the hull, some changes to the rear rack were required:




Looks ok and is nearly as strong as it was before. It added another 7” to the rack, but it’s up fairly high so it shouldn’t be a snag hazard when climbing and it’s a relatively small point in the middle so it shouldn’t negatively effect turning. Those pics are with the motor at running height. For land travel, I’m building a vertical sliding outboard mount. It will raise the outboard 18”, which will bring the skeg about 3” below the body split line.

[SARgo1]

Aluminum work continues:











You can see the front seat back frames. Right now, the seat back is straight across. But once done, there will be two seperate seat backs and a “step through” space in the middle. That will make it easy to drive into the water and move to the back to use the outboard. I may make it a “fold down” center or maybe a solid step plate (a la: Argo Hunmaster). Dunno yet, still thinking about that one...

The tail lights are from the Interceptor, I had an extra in my spares pile so I could do L+R lights and they keep with the “Argoceptor” theme. I needed to install rear lights anyways, as (by law) you can’t ride an ATV or dirt bike around here after dark without head lights AND tail lights.

The Johnson 2hp outboard is just set in place for mock up purposes. I’ve also got an 8hp, but the 2hp (they’re both 2 strokes) is more than enough to push this thing through the water as fast as the hull’s brick shape and protruding  tires will allow it to go. It's also super light (important when trying to lift it or when banging around in stowed postion for land travel), the fuel tank is self contained (8hp needs an external tank system) and it will run forever on it’s teeny tiny tank. The 2hp is also stone simple and easy as heck to feild repair (if needed). I also upgraded to 2hp ignition to a solid state unit (brand: Atom) a few years ago that lets it tick over at stupid low rpms (ie:trolling) or at pegged out at max rpm. Added bonus iis it does away with finicky points or failure prone (ie:wet and corrosive environment) condensers.

The outboard needs to drop another 4-5 inches though, to be comfortably below the bottom of the hull. It would be in the water (and work) where it is, but I’d like it deeper to get less tubulent water for both the prop and cooling water uptake. I’ll be building a “slide” mechanism that will allow me to raise it up nice and high (I’m thinking about 12-18” of lift) for land travel and then drop down for water travel. I’ve got a couple designs I’m rolling around in my head right now, just have to figure out one that will work....

[Argo8x8]

Body band looks good, should that some of that Argo body flex out while driving. Jeff Bar

[SARgo1]

Decided to work on the aluminum bits and take a break from the drivetrain:



The rubber body band was still there and looked ok, but it was starting to split in a few areas so I’m covering it all in Al. That also gives me a place to attach the hand rails that turn into the luggage rack at the rear.

I’m also adding the honda interceptor tail lights:



You need tail lights to trail ride after dark here and the interceptor tail lights are nice and big yet still fit the style I’m going for. I had a second tail light so I’ve got one for each side.

Should look pretty nice when done.

Tomorrow, keep working on the rack and build the support for the front seat back.

[SARgo1]

So I’m moving the sticks over to the LH side.

So far, I’ve got the mount built to hold the master cylinders and the control sticks. I’ve built the lh bar, which I made higher and angled rearward to make it more comfortable to use. With the thicker seat cusshions (roughly 3x the orginal) you had to crouch over when holding the sticks. Now I can sit upright and hold the sticks.

The top portion is a section from a honda big red handle bar. Welding looks pretty janky right now, but I went for structure first and looks second. I’ll clean it up on the grinder later.

The rh bar isn't built yet, but I’m relatively certain I’ll be using a thumb throttle or a front mounted throttle lever.

It’s a bit crowded on the LH side with the sticks and transmission drive, but it felt so much better sitting on the lh side that I just had to make it work.

I’ve batted around alternative steering methods,  but I’m going to stick with two seperate levers for now. I can revisit other methods later, but this will get me up and running for now. I’ve got so many projects on the go right now that I don’t need the Argo turning into another long term garage space hog...

I think I’ve abandoned the rear engine idea. But I do belive I’m going to raise the engine a few inches to make the chain angle  a little better, provide more room for the headers and easier access to various other bits. It just means a little taller hood bulge.

[SARgo1]

I’m wondering again if it might be worth my while to rear mount the engine.

All this is ever going to be now is a toy. Likely just for myself, maybe with the wife. No sense taking dogs, it’s just too rough for them. Not a hunter and not a “backwoods” or “swamp” guy, so no needs/concerns there.

Little local trail riding and maybe a little bit of “silliness” in local sand pits.

Seems to me the rig would be far more balanced with the engine in the back. Both on land and in water. Same with if it ever gets “jumped” over bumps or whoops. Not that I intend too, but having it come down rear first (or flat) sounds better to me than it being nose heavy with drivetrain and passengers crowded up front in the unplanned event that it catches air.

Dunno, still thinking about it. Mostly just tossing it around in my head.

Would require splitting the tub and likely having to make a new frame for the rear mounted engine and transmission. It would let me “stack” the engine and trans a bit, which would minimize its space requirements. Would raise the c of g though. Things like exhaust would get much easier to build,  but things like throttle cables and shifting would become an issue (ie: distance from controls to power package)

On the plus side; I could have as much leg room up front as I want.....

[SARgo1]

Haven't done much on the Argo lately, I've been working on my FJ1200. I built a new swingarm, converted to modern rims and radials, exhaust, etc.

But that's coming to a close soon and I should be back on the Argo shortly after that.

To that end, I ordered the aluminum today to armor the "body band" and make the front seat back support as well as the "grab rail" for the rear seating compartment.

The body band aluminum "armor" will wrap the entire tub with an extension on the rear to make a small built in "luggage rack". The aluminum band is the start of the mounting places for various additions later on (ie: winch mount, brush guard, mud deflectors, maybe a ROPS, etc).

The front seat will have a fold down center to use as a step through spot, something like the Huntmaster models. The rear rack will have an outboard (either a 2 HP of an 8 HP) mount that will pivot from a high and right storage position to a center and low running position, so a step through front seat is essential for me to be able to move from front to back and vice versa when on the water. There's also going to be a fold down "boarding step" in the center of the luggage rack to make getting in easier since the springer suspension is going to add at least a couple more inches to the overall height of the rig. Basically, fold down the ladder, walk up and into the Argo from the rear, then move forward to the drivers seat. Probably will also put a couple steps on teh front sides to get in an out as well. It's just going to be too high for me with teh suspension to not have steps to get in and out of it.

The rear rack will also incorporate new tail lights, which will be two units from a VF750f interceptor. It needs tail lights, as you can't legally trail ride after dark here without rear lights. They'll each get a nice little AL housing to protect them from bangs and bumps, as well as make it look nice.

The exhaust will come out the stock grill opening at the front and run down the side to the rear, where it will end in a single can/muffler. I', cutting up an old Hindle 4 into 1 system I had lying around for the VF750. It's pretty rough (rusty, crushed in places, etc) so it's no great loss if I cut it up for it's bends and pipe sections.

Right now I'm toying with the thought of moving the steering over to the left side as well as making it a handlebar style steering arrangement. It won't be a straight bar like the newer models, but a variation on that theme and more familiar to those who are used to motorcycle style bars as opposed to the argo lever/handle arrangement.

The engine install is close to being done. I still need to make an offset sprocket for the output shaft to mount the chain. Then it's finish the exhaust, build a shifter, plug in the wiring harness, plumb the fuel pump and fire it up.

I would like to get to the springer suspension build this year, but I think I'm just not going to have enough time with everything else going on....

[WFO]

 

[garretttpe]

SARgo1
how is the project coming along? looking forward to seeing more updates..