These is my Mud Puppy 6x6 that I rebuilt and modified. It is somewhat of an abomination, but I still love the way it looks. I could find almost zero information about this machine, so I thought I would share this one.
It was branded and sold by Sportsman's Mobility in Detroit, Michigan. I believe it had basically the same running gear as the Gip Sea and Multimobile, although there were at least two variations in the drive train and the top half of the bodies were a little different. The Mud Puppy was probably a rebranded Multimobile, but I don't know for sure.
I "rebuilt" it with a 4-stroke engine and installed a reverse gearbox, but kept the rest of the steering and braking system as it was originally designed, including the single joystick control that operated throttle, steering and braking. Everything was rebuilt or replaced, including new axles, bushings and bearings and powder-coated frame. I had to do a lot of custom work to install the new engine and transmission while keeping as much of the original drivetrain intact. It was a very tight fit.
I had to repair two big holes in the front before finishing the body as well as fabricate the headlight. I also removed the body seem.
Throughout the project, I had many doubts that the vehicle would perform. It is an interesting design, but not a good one for a 6x6. Sadly, when it was nearly finished and could be test driven, it was clear it would never operate as well as I hoped. I am not at all surprised that these designs were only made for a couple of years.
I still like the way it looks, so I plan to remove all of the original frame and driveline and then replace it with a full frame, larger engine and Argo transmission when I have time.
Posting here for posterity, or in case anyone else out there has one of these and needs help figuring it out.
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Originally Posted by plott hound
