Morning guys, i cant believe its been so long since ive updated you all on the progress (or lack of ) on the 4x4 project.

As you might have spotted elsewhere on this fine forum, plans have changed slightly with the 314-8 chassis being used for development purposes.
The chassis is stripped down and is sitting on a bench awaiting action, so at least something has been happening with project 4x4

A couple of questions for you chaps in the know

I was lying under the Countax the other day (as you do), having a look at the electric clutch for the cutting deck, thinking that two of them might come in handy for the drive system on project 4x4.
One for turning the drive to the front axle on and off, and one for the diff-lock

The question is do you think a couple of these electric clutch 's would be upto the job

The next and final (well for this update) question is, how do i work out what size pulleys i need to use to get the front wheels turning at the right speed in relation to the rears

Im using 23" tall tires on the back and 16" tall on the front.
If i bolt pulleys on both front and back wheels and run a belt between them, what size pulleys would i need

Sorry to ask such a ing sort of question, but i just cant get my head around the maths of it all

Once i know what size pulleys i need i can order them along with loads of bearings from the same place (saves on postage ) and finally get cracking on with the build

"At last", i hear you all cry

The electric clutches are strong enough for sure, but whenever they are engaged they are using power, and I dont think the 314 will provide enough juice to keep 2 clutches engaged.
You can get a mint for them on ebay (they are £300+/- new and are non-servicable) so it might be better selling it and buying some parts for a manual engagement.


If your wheels are in the ratio 23:16 then you need your drive in that ratio too. So you could have a 23" pulley and a 16" pulley, or 11.5" and 8" or 5.75" and 2". As long as they are in the same ratio then it should be fine.
Ideally you want the front wheels to be turning very slightly faster than the rears to aid steering.

Interesting thread. While I haven't read it before now, and even now not in it's entirety, I love the idea.

The math is the easy part!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Cheers Jim, i thought you would be the man in the know about electric clutches
I wish i knew how much i could of got for the countax clutch before i sold it at the weekend Oh well, i will know for next time
Maybe a motorbike clutch would be an answer i have a couple of them kicking about so its worth a look to see if i can use them

Cheers as well for the pulley ratio help, i think ive got my head around it now
Id better head off down the shack at some point today and do a full list of pulley and bearings

Dale - much to my shame my maths has never been that good, i guess its part of the reason why im from the "cut it to fit" school of engineering

Saying that, the maths of it all is part of the challenge, and i like a challenge

Hey Ian!!!!!!!!

I'm of the school, cut it, if it's too short, CUT IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!