Thanks for putting up the pics of your adapter, gives me an idea of what direction I need to go. I’m going to call the plastic folks tomorrow to find out if they can mill the UHMW. I tore my engine down today just to make sure it was in good shape. It’s actually in very good shape, no wear in the cylinders and only minor visible wear in the bearings. I did some measuring of the frame cross member and where I think the oil pan is going to be. I believe I’m going to have clearance issues. The crank in the Kubota is so high in the block it’s going to make the oil pan much deeper than the stock engine. It looks like a combination of modifying the oil pan and cross member will be necessary. I’m carrying my Flywheel to the machine shop tomorrow so I can get it back and get started on the adapter.

 

I was able to build a pan that cleared the crossmember, also had to modify the pickup tube.

 

Got my Flywheel back today after some fine machine work from Jackson Precision Machine here in Nashville. Johnny was able to cut the Kubota flywheel down and tap the holes for the original Chevy pressure plate. As you can see from the pictures there is significant difference in the thickness of the original Chevy vs. the Kubota flywheel. Once I bolted the flywheel on I was able to figure the thickness of my adapter plate. As it stands right now the plate will need to be ¾ of inch with counter sunk holes for the bolts to recess into. The Kubota starter should work but I will need to notch the bellhousing of the transmission. My idea right now is to have my adapter plate Water Jet cut but cost may be prohibitive. If anyone has an idea of what Water Jet cutting and/or CAD drawing should cost please give me a shout.

 

Looking good!

 

I took my transmission/engine template to the local metal shop yesterday. They are going to cut a ¾ piece of aluminum I will use to create the adaptor plate. They are only going to Water Jet the crank shaft and starter holes as the cutting all of them proved to be cost prohibitive. After I get it back I’m going to index and drill all the other holes. It took a fair amount of figuring to come up with an engine/transmission template. I ended up making paper paint transfers of the bellhousing and the rear bolt pattern of the Kubota engine and then combining them onto one template. It took several hours before I was satisfied with it. I’m also working on the plate that will carry the front accessories, e.g. power steering, alternator, A/C compressor, and belt tensioner. The Kubota is not designed to carry anything but an alternator so I will need to create a plate that will attach to the front of the engine on studs and then carry the accessories. This will require some lathe work here at the house to create the studs and of course almost every stud will be a different length. I will put some picture up on my next post.

 

Subscribes, I've always wanted to see a kubota swapped Into something.

 

Here are some pics of the Accessories Template and actual Accessories Plate I made this weekend. I cut the Accessories Plate out of 1/4” steel with a Plasma and then cleaned it up with a grinder. I transferred the holes from the paper template to the steel and then drilled them, it worked great. I had to make a bunch of spacer/bushings to extend the Accessories Plate out in front of the engine, I used threaded rod to attach it. It ended up working out well; I think I have 8 actual mounting points. I’m using the OEM tensioner and belt though the belt will not be the same length. I also had to make several small spacer/bushing for the A/C compressor and P/S pump to get them lined up properly. I’m going to have to build an idler to wrap the belt around the crank properly, not sure exactly how I’m going to do this yet but it shouldn’t be too hard. Overall I’m pleased with the way the Accessories worked out, a bit wider than I would like but should be fine. Updates on the transmission adapter plate when I get it back this week.

 

Good job guys. I am going to be putting a benz 617 in my 92 s-10 4x4. Checking out who is doing what to what. Next week going to replace seals and gaskets . Then should be ready to see about taking apart the 92 after that. Will post pics and futher details soon I hope. Keep up the spirit guys. Later, Doug.

 

I was finally able to complete the build of my Accessories Plate. It took considerable engineering and time to the tune of 16 individual spacer/bushing to mount everything and probably 15-20 actual hours. I had to make each spacer/bushing on the Lathe and they were all pretty much different. There were 3 for the P/S, 2 for the A/C, 3 for the Tensioner, and 8 for the Accessories Plate itself. I had to make aluminum spacers (see pics) for the water pump, crank shaft, and Idler pulleys too. I would caution those that consider a Kubota conversion, if you don’t have a Lathe or access to a Lathe the project is going to be very expensive. The time spent on the Lathe making all of these items would be prohibitive if you had to pay someone in a machine shop to do it. I also had to re-think my Tensioner, the way I had the OEM tensioner that came off the original engine wouldn’t work. I was able to find a replacement Dayco Tensioner that worked even better. (See Pics). Overall I am please with the end result and enjoyed the build. Now I’m off to finish the Transmission Adapter Plate.

 

Thanks for the pics usedkubotaman, I am going to start doing some gasket work on my 617 starting tue. After that it will be just waiting to drop in the donor. Well work is waiting so I gotta go. Will be back in touch soon. Nice fab work. I would have done the same for that as well. Later