Lawless 3.5 lower unit !

[riggerman]

Hi all while surfing this forum i have noticed some outboard set ups with the Lawless lower units the first thing i noticed the power head seem to sit a lot lower than the O.S MAX i use on my fe tunnel hull im guessing the powerhead sitting lower might add stability in turns. How do the Lawless lowers compare to the O.S lowers im assuming the lawless lower units have there own custom made prop and flex shafts . Who sells these lower units ! Regards Andris Golts.

 

[Brandon Atwell]

Lawless is sold by Midwest Manufacturing, superb lowers. Fred is here on the forum.
They run either an O.S. Prop shaft assembly, or a KB. I’d recommend the O.S. Assembly setup, either choice runs a KB flex shaft. They are great pieces and run phenomenal

 

[riggerman]

Hi Brandon thanks for the reply. Regards Andris Golts.

 

[Kris Flynn]

rough numbers here (± couple of mm), with the prop centerline at the same point (it 5mm above setup board)

- a nitro motor sitting on a lawless with an OS PTO mount plate is approx 10mm lower than when on an OS lower (a K&B mount plate would drop the motor another 10mm)
- a nitro motor sits/leans further forward by approx 10mm (flywheel over the hinge point as opposed to behind/level ie on a Hi-Jack mount)

- when machining out the top (as i have done on a few Lawless units) to mount the motor to the top plate (no adaptor plate), the Electric motor sits nearly 20mm lower than the OS (which you have to use an adaptor plate).

hope this helps some

 

[MarkScott]

- when machining out the top (as i have done on a few Lawless units) to mount the motor to the top plate (no adaptor plate), the Electric motor sits nearly 20mm lower than the OS (which you have to use an adaptor plate).

Fred is currently making me one of these lowers with mounting holes for the OS steering system.

 

[MarkScott]

Side by side comparison. The Lawless was altered by myself, using information from Kris. I was playing around with the mill purchased last year. Since it used a K&B shaft, purchased the required tap needed to put a OS shaft in it. But I wanted a nicer one, so Fred was contacted. Oh yea, neither the OS or K&B flex shafts work on it. One will need to contact Kris since he is the original creator of this setup. Think I ordered 10 of those shafts from him since he's down under.. The OS lower pic'd will be used on a SAW boat.

 

[LawlessMan]

I noticed this conversation and thought I would add a few cents of my own. I do the alteration that Mark has mentioned by boring a hole down through the center of the drive to clear the adapter for the flexshaft. I actually altered the placement of the top two body screws to allow for that. I make a flat plate with keyholes for the mounting screws of the FE motor, which replaces the standard motor plate. Using this mod, you can use cut off flexshafts and a set-screw or collet-type driver, or, as Mark has indicated, use a square driver on your motor with short double-ended flexshafts. I have bought a few for testing from Hyperformance in California, where I get all my flexshafts. They are just about 4" long, which is (unfortunately) about 1/4" longer than Thunder Tiger flexshafts, which have been tested and did not work with this mod.. The special 4" long shafts work very well with Hyperformance's EOB35 square driver. Dave also sells a collet type driver, as does Zippkits. Just make sure you order the one that fits your motor shaft, usualiy 5mm. I think if you e-mail Hyperformance, you can just ask him for the 4" flexshafts that Fred got a while back. I will have some on order from Dave soon. Meanwhile, back at the propshaft end. I also have modified several drives for the OS propshaft. The 9mm left hand tap for that was very hard to find, I had to order it from a supplier in Japan. There is a trade-off using that mod on any two-piece drive body, like K&B and mine... you must also use a custom spacer to literally hold the drive halves together. The OS propshaft does not have any way to do that, as the K&B propshaft does. While you may not have noticed it, the undercut on the K&B propshaft body was put there specifically to hold the drive together. Without it, the sideways forces on the PS would push the drive apart and the PS would strip out the threads and fall out. Incidentally, Hyperformance ALSO sells a very good K&B style replacement propshaft for a price that is lower than Tower's price for an OS propshaft and you don''t need any spacer with it. Anyone wishing to buy a Lawless 3.5 drive with the center already bored out needs only to ask when making their order. There is a charge for the extra operation, but it includes the motor mount plate and the driver. If you already have a Lawless drive and want it modified, you can send it to me for the mod, driver and plate. If you are not sure you want to have the radical surgery done on your drive, I also offer an adapter that mounts on the drive in place of the usual motor plate and encloses the driver. It does raise the FE motor, but the overall height is only slightly more than a having a nitro motor on the drive. The lowered position of the motor on my drive does compensate somewhat for the slightly top heavy assembly. With that adapter, you still use standard 3.5-size flexshafts. (also available from me, or Dave).
Fred, the"Lawless Guy"

 

[LawlessMan]

Special note to Brandon - Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated. But just to be clear, although Midwest has been selling my drives on his site for a long time, I do sell them directly. See them on www,lawlessdrives.com, and call or e-mail to order. A few other places have also sold them as well. So far, I have sold and shipped all three of my drives to over 30 countries in the world, including such interesting places as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Israel, and Surinam. (You may have to look that one up on a map). LOL.

 

[vanduzer]

One nice thing about Fred lawless design is to grease the shaft all you do is loosen the motor mount bolts twist the motor and pull . I use a collet so flex shaft comes out with the motor. The motor mount is keyed . I have used this unit for 3 years and has worked great.

 

[Rayhynes]

Lawless is sold by Midwest Manufacturing, superb lowers. Fred is here on the forum.
They run either an O.S. Prop shaft assembly, or a KB. I’d recommend the O.S. Assembly setup, either choice runs a KB flex shaft. They are great pieces and run phenomenal

What kind of flex shaft goes into the lawless 3.5 and it’s converted to electric please Any help would be great thanks