Cushman truckster

[Alexander]

These are the before pictures. This is a 1982 cushman truckster. It is a road legal truck registered and insured for street use in ab. What got me interested in this truck was just how tiny it is. I bought it not running 2 years ago and got it running as well as possible with the original 18hp outboard marine company engine. Unfortunately it burns oil and Is down on power.

 

[Alexander]

This is the day i actually bought the truck. It only had one door. It seems the other door got lost in the last 10 years of it sitting in the alley. The back rims are bent, probably from carrying heavy loads as a maintenance vehicle at the mall. The biggest problem is the motor does not run. I was able to get it started by making new spark plug wires and rebuilding the carburetor.

 

[Chicken lights]

That’s pretty cool!

 

[Alexander]

Thanks! one of the first things I did is make wheel adapters. I started by turning two 1 inch thick aluminum discs. the first side got studs pressed in and the other side got 60 degree chamfered holes. these adapt the cushman 4x3.75" bolt pattern to a more comon 4x4"

 

[Alexander]

After I drove this thing around for a year I decided this old OMC engine was junk. Omc made a good engine but with a little over twenty three thousand kilometers on the odometer it was worn out. I bought a 610cc honda v twin on kijiji and got to work swapping it out.

 

[Tom Kitta]

Small sub 25hp motors are so cheap I wonder how they can sell them for so little. Even if workmanship is somewhat poor its still takes time plus raw materials are not cheap and someone has to put it together and ship it + later sell it.

 

[YYCHM]

After I drove this thing around for a year I decided this old OMC engine was junk. Omc made a good engine but with a little over twenty three thousand kilometers on the odometer it was worn out. I bought a 610cc honda v twin on kijiji and got to work swapping it out.

What????? No V8 and wheelie bar! Blaaa…. you're no fun

 

[Alexander]

What????? No V8 and wheelie bar! Blaaa…. you're no fun

Nah no need for one this thing is pretty unstable even at 60km/h. Anyways I had to replace the brake master cylinders. The dam hubs were really stuck on the axles. Such a strange design. You undo the center nut and pull the hub off the tapered axle shafts.

 

[historicalarms]

wow I haven't seen one of those for 40 yrs, and yes you are right, they are very "unstable"...the damn thing was on its side more than its wheels.

two teenage brothers owned the one I was around and the last time it was used...older brother was driving the Cushman & younger brother was pushing him with an old British Anglia car across one of our hay fields. at somewhere close to 4o mph the brother driving the Cushman lost control and veered off into one of my old mans hay stacks...The Cushman caught fire & so did the stack...both were destroyed...My old man sure was pissed over that hay we lost...drug Percy out of the smoke before he went up also and kicked his ass all the way home to his parents farm.

 

[Alexander]

Here is the old drivetrain, I am reusing the transmission but the rest is junk!

I had to cut the output shaft shorter and build a sleeve to fit the old cushman clutch.

 

[Bofobo]

wow I haven't seen one of those for 40 yrs, and yes you are right, they are very "unstable"...the damn thing was on its side more than its wheels.

two teenage brothers owned the one I was around and the last time it was used...older brother was driving the Cushman & younger brother was pushing him with an old British Anglia car across one of our hay fields. at somewhere close to 4o mph the brother driving the Cushman lost control and veered off into one of my old mans hay stacks...The Cushman caught fire & so did the stack...both were destroyed...My old man sure was pissed over that hay we lost...drug Percy out of the smoke before he went up also and kicked his ass all the way home to his parents farm.

Sadly my punishment was the same

 

[John Conroy]

Looks like a fun project!

 

[Janger]

Cool Alex.

 

[Alexander]

Thanks guys. This is still a work in progress. I am saving the best part for last.

 

[YYCHM]

Thanks guys. This is still a work in progress. I am saving the best part for last.

The V8 and wheelie bars?

 

[Alexander]

The V8 and wheelie bars?

NO! basically all of my friends have said "put a big motorcycle engine in it" I wouldn't cut it up that bad. It is to cool for a hack job and I am no fabricator.

 

[CalgaryPT]

That's great. What kind of certification and registration process did you have to go through to make it street legal?

 

[Alexander]

It was actually already registered when I bought it. I was told it use to be a garbage truck for zellers. All I did was take my bill of sale to the registry and they already had it in there system as a utility vehicle.

 

[CalgaryPT]

It was actually already registered when I bought it. I was told it use to be a garbage truck for zellers. All I did was take my bill of sale to the registry and they already had it in there system as a utility vehicle.

Good for you. I love unique stuff like this.

 

[Bofobo]

Not surprised about the vin myself, who remembers these things on the street? I do!! Playing pop goes the Weasel and carrying ice cream. Perhaps not this specific one but for sure even at a mere 34 I remember these