MTD columbia T/C cover

Bbqman

Active Member
#1
IMG_20201018_190246490.jpg Hello, is anyone who runs a 20 series able to use the stock cover. Mine says trail flight on it. Not sure if it's the right one. I heard there are different models. Mine will not fit over the driver with the stock brackets. Any help would be appreciated. Here is a pic of my bike with the cover just sitting on bike with no driver attached. Is this cover correct for those bike?
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#2
View attachment 274055 Hello, is anyone who runs a 20 series able to use the stock cover. Mine says trail flight on it. Not sure if it's the right one. I heard there are different models. Mine will not fit over the driver with the stock brackets. Any help would be appreciated. Here is a pic of my bike with the cover just sitting on bike with no driver attached. Is this cover correct for those bike?
I think you have the shallower cover but I thought that style will work with either clutch. How deep is that end of the cover? How far is the clutch hanging off the end of the PTO?

Pics of the other style cover, drive clutch end is 4.25" deep and the cover face angles so 4" at the back of the drive clutch area.

20210120_214720.jpg 20210120_214738.jpg 20210120_214752.jpg
 
#3
That is a 1971 model cover that had the V-plex torque converter set up with shallow cover. The following year they went with the Fairbanks Morse converter with deeper cover. Then eventually I think they went to Comet converters. The shallow cover doesn't fit anything but the V-plex due to the flat shape of the driver from my trial and error years ago unless you modify the brackets.
 

Bbqman

Active Member
#4
That is a 1971 model cover that had the V-plex torque converter set up with shallow cover. The following year they went with the Fairbanks Morse converter with deeper cover. Then eventually I think they went to Comet converters. The shallow cover doesn't fit anything but the V-plex due to the flat shape of the driver from my trial and error years ago unless you modify the brackets.
It had a fairbanks driven on it when I bought it. Would that make it a 72'?
 

Bbqman

Active Member
#6
Is that the original cover to your bike? Or one you purchased? And if that is the original motor the ID numbers will tell you the year.
The bike had the motor. The cover was in a box with some other parts. It says trail flite on the cover. Want that western auto that made that bike?
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#7
The bike had the motor. The cover was in a box with some other parts. It says trail flite on the cover. Want that western auto that made that bike?
MTD was the manufacturer for all of them. Western Auto & Columbia to name two sold them with their badging. Cheezy has the dates correct on the covers, my original engine is a mid-year 1972. Your engine is MTD silver, good chance it's original.

Either way you'll need to find the correct larger cover or extend/make a bracket to use that one. 30 series driver would fit but the 30 series driven would stick out farther than a 20 series driven and create another belt alignment and cover fit issue.
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#12
2 3/4" deep in the front. Definately not deep enough. I guess I need the deeper one. Do I guess this one will be for sale
Yeah, I don't even think that would cover much of the belt if you extended the brackets out.

Just don't ride with bell bottoms until you find one...heck a piece of scrap steel bolted across the top of the factory mounts will get you rolling and at least keep debris from flying up at you.
 

Bbqman

Active Member
#13
Yeah, I don't even think that would cover much of the belt if you extended the brackets out.

Just don't ride with bell bottoms until you find one...heck a piece of scrap steel bolted across the top of the factory mounts will get you rolling and at least keep debris from flying up at you.
Haha bell bottoms right. Thanks for the info as always
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#14
Haha bell bottoms right. Thanks for the info as always
Doesn't do much but it's nice to have the company of others on a search for missing pieces of 50 year old machines.

Don't hold your breath but I considered making a mold off of that crusty later cover I pictured and re-popping a few covers in fiberglass. Way down on my priority list but if you or someone else wants to tackle it all I want is my original cover back and two re-pops. Just need a few days to go get it blasted.
 

Bbqman

Active Member
#15
Doesn't do much but it's nice to have the company of others on a search for missing pieces of 50 year old machines.

Don't hold your breath but I considered making a mold off of that crusty later cover I pictured and re-popping a few covers in fiberglass. Way down on my priority list but if you or someone else wants to tackle it all I want is my original cover back and two re-pops. Just need a few days to go get it blasted.
I am having the brackets made from a dxf file that I found at a fab shop by me. I wonder if they could do the cover of they had one to take measurements from
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#16
I am having the brackets made from a dxf file that I found at a fab shop by me. I wonder if they could do the cover of they had one to take measurements from
Pretty intricate stamping to have duplicated if you were going for an exact copy in steel (thinking $$$). The basic shape with a flat front could be fabbed up out of two or three pieces of sheet relatively easily or at least less costly. Slap a repro Trail Flite decal on? Dunno though, I think that recess is almost necessary for foot space on the peg.
 

cfh

Well-Known Member
#17
i have the DXF file for the mtd torque converter cover's mounting bracket on my site. Used autocad to draw them up. that's probably where most people got the file. you can always tell my version because there are small 'v' cutouts on the side, where you bend the bracket (that was not part of the original mtd version, but added them to aid in the bending of the bracket.)
www.pinrepair.com/minibikes/mtdinfo.htm
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#18
i have the DXF file for the mtd torque converter cover's mounting bracket on my site. Used autocad to draw them up. that's probably where most people got the file. you can always tell my version because there are small 'v' cutouts on the side, where you bend the bracket (that was not part of the original mtd version, but added them to aid in the bending of the bracket.)
www.pinrepair.com/minibikes/mtdinfo.htm
We gave you credit up a few replies above. I found your site last year when I was researching buying a childhood replacement MTD, great references! I only disagree with you perpetuating the "ugly" moniker, otherwise helped me pin down what I was looking for & I got a digital brochure to boot.
;)
 

minibikefever

Well-Known Member
#19
I might have an deep cover available in a week or so, I bought a bike for parts with the cover your looking for but only saw the cover in a bad picture so I won't know it's condition until I pick the bike up if you haven't found one by then? I had a half dozen of those brackets made up from member cfh's DXF file for my mtd from sendcutsend, had them a couple days later from across the country very inexpensive and they work great on several different cover applications also, thanks cfh
 

ELT

Active Member
#20
I might have an deep cover available in a week or so, I bought a bike for parts with the cover your looking for but only saw the cover in a bad picture so I won't know it's condition until I pick the bike up if you haven't found one by then? I had a half dozen of those brackets made up from member cfh's DXF file for my mtd from sendcutsend, had them a couple days later from across the country very inexpensive and they work great on several different cover applications also, thanks cfh[/QUOTE.
I'm looking for a deep mtd belt cover also. Let me know if this cover is available.
 
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