New A5 owner

M274 Mechanical Mule Wanted, For Sale (NO AUCTION or EBAY), and Knowledge Base
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atavuss
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New A5 owner

Post by atavuss » Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:00 pm

with a few questions:
bought a 69 A5 at the Tower Park meet saturday.
it is in overall very good condition. the PO told me that it had
Barstow 1983 written on the deck when he got it. the engine is leaking
oil, is there a common item or place that these engines (it has the 2
cyl. hercules engine in it) leak from? would I be better off getting
an engine gasket set and resealing the engine? if so, can this be done
without pulling the engine?
I want to add a passenger foot basket and passenger seat, is there a
way to do this without drilling more holes for the seat in the deck?
anything I should be aware of with the A5's?
my Mule is a two wheel steer, can it be converted to 4 wheel steer? is
the 2 wheel steer "safer" or more stable to drive?
my son and I drove it around saturday, what a blast they are! I have
always wanted one and am very pleased with being able to finally find a
decent one.
should I dare deal with the CA DMV to try and get a off road license so I can take it to OHV parks?
Ed
1969 M274A5 Mule
1946 T3-C Bantam 1/4 ton trailer


Yohan
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Post by Yohan » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:01 am

Congrats on your Mule!

You can convert it to 4 wheel steer. Bill Watson (336) 697-4020 or (336) 708-1597 cell, has the complete kit for $550.00. I bought one from him, but sold it with the Mule before I put it together. Mine was a '68 Baifield Ind. A5. I'll get another someday as my son wants an MV when he turns 15 or so. He's four now! :lol:

I believe you would have to drill the deck to put on another seat. You can get some canvas padding to place on the deck for comfort if you don't want to chop up the rig.

I've never heard of them being unsafe in four or 2 wheel steer. Depends on how you drive it, as with anything. I have seen pics of a GI riding wheelies on one in Vietnam.

I never had to work on mine for any leaks other than replacing the front dust boots and refilling with oil.

I think the replacement engines are readily available. There is the generator engine and then the correct one it was manufactured with, I think. This could be wrong, but I think the generator engine requires some mods. If you call Bill Watson, he will tell you anything you need to know. He's a good man and always willing to help. Give him a try!

HTH

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Emmett Thompson
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Post by Emmett Thompson » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:27 am

Congrats on your Mule.
2 Wheel steer is much more stable than 4 wheel while driving at high speeds on a hard surface.
As far as the engine goes, the genset engine is basicly the same engine but there are many exterior differences. If you have the old engine you can use the parts off it to convert the genset engine into a mule engine.
I believe there was an article in MV mag about just how to do it.

Yes, if you want to drill/cut up your deck ( I don't advise this) you can install a passenger seat.

I get to go and pick up my 3rd mule next week and I cant wait!

Good luck!
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M-151 A2, M-274, M-274 A5,
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Ed Funchess
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A5

Post by Ed Funchess » Tue May 09, 2006 12:30 pm

I am about to put a passenger seat on my recently procured A5. I got a basket, seatback and cushions and I dont want to put holes in the bed over there. I am considering bending and bolting some tubing or maybe some flatbar, whatever looks best, to the basket frame, following the contour of the lip and bed, and running it parallel to each side of the back of the rear seat sockets, and putting some foam pipe insulation underneath each runner That way if you wanted to go back to driver seat only, just unbolt the basket, and the whole shootin match comes off. Should be in couple weeks. I will let you know how it turns out. Should work without too much trouble. Ed
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

atavuss
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Post by atavuss » Tue May 09, 2006 5:23 pm

someone on the yahoo M274 Mule forum posted pictures of how he mounted a passenger side seat without drilling any extra holes. basically he attached a seat mount to the side rail where it mounts to the bed, the mount goes all the way across the bed and attaches to the opposite side rail mount.
Ed
1969 M274A5 Mule
1946 T3-C Bantam 1/4 ton trailer

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Rod
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Post by Rod » Tue May 09, 2006 6:35 pm

Guys,

I would like to see pictures of how to mount the extra seat. I too am wanting to do this.
I want to live life, til the day I die.

atavuss
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Post by atavuss » Tue May 09, 2006 8:13 pm

my best suggestion would be to join the yahoo M274 site and view the pictures for yourself as I don't think it would be kosher for me to post someone else's pictures, unless of course you are referring to the other Ed's post above.
Ed, what are you using for a passenger side foot basket, are you using a driver's side basket? if so, are you removing all the extra brackets, etc.?
Ed
1969 M274A5 Mule
1946 T3-C Bantam 1/4 ton trailer

Ed Funchess
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Post by Ed Funchess » Wed May 10, 2006 8:46 am

Ed Rogers from Ed Funchess. I will send you some pics when I get this done next week. I am using a new basket with all the brackets on it. I personally am not going to cut the brackets off, as they are not in the way of anything and are not obtrusive. I have got it pretty well figured out with the exception of just how to attach the basket to the passenger side frame since there are no pre existant attaching points. I will manufacture whatever I attach the basket with. I am still looking at that issue. Ed
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

atavuss
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Post by atavuss » Wed May 10, 2006 12:19 pm

Mr. Funchess,
from the pictures I have seen of various passenger side foot baskets it appears that most people cut out the section of the foot basket top mount rail where it would interfere with the choke. I don't remember if there are existing holes in the front of the Mule that can be utilized without having to drill more mounting holes. I decided to go with Mechanical Mules of America custom made passenger side foot basket that supposedly mounts up with no modifications made to the Mule. there are no brackets except two light tabs on this foot basket. I also ordered a complete seat assy from them for the passenger side as my driver's side already had a MMA seat on it.
Ed
1969 M274A5 Mule
1946 T3-C Bantam 1/4 ton trailer

Ed Funchess
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Post by Ed Funchess » Wed May 10, 2006 12:42 pm

Hi, Ed. I had looked at MMAs website in that regard. The only problem I had was spending that kind of bucks. They are definately nice. I can work metal myself and have all the metalworking tools to do it, so I got all the necessary parts to fix one except for the bolt up aspect. Not only do you have the choke, but the outfeed port for the pull starter over there. Mine has the electric start conversion, so no rope pull, but I will have to work around that donut as well as the choke. Over the weekend, I will lay out how I will attach it. There are no pre-existing holes to mount the basket, so I am gonna fix it so as not to have to do any butchering and a bunch of hole drilling. I dont believe passenger seats were on the originals anyhow, so anything I do is like an aftermarket conversion. Just dont want to mess up the originality too much. Incidentaly, the seat setup on that thing leaves a lot to be desired as far as I am concerned anyhow. I had not had the thing at my house 15 minutes before I almost threw myself off it. It is tricky on a sidehill. Ed
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.


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