Agway offroader project

Finally had time to get a couple pics - heres the agway:



Originally i bot it from a buddy, got it running/mowing- then gave it back to him before i moved south, and a year after i moved i got it back to use for tinkering on / mudding up at the folks around 2007 - i had a blast with it going thru mud and deep water - the original front wheels were the flat ribbed kind- the front wheels in the pic are off a junked murray for better steering traction.

My plans for it are to lift it about 6-12" , make the front swivel more , put large rear tires on the front, and most important- a bigger motor - a 14.5HP briggs- the tractor already has a 5" on the motor and 4 1/2 on the trans- so thats covered.

Ill probably start working on it when my nephew comes over in the summer.


In addition to the agway i also dragged my 70 toro home- itll be put back into mowing shape sometime soon :



This is the tractor that kicked off my tractor collecting back in the 90's......

now thats a real tractor!

You just had to post that toro didn't you! Damn I want another one... That's in really good shape too!

fearlessfront: LOL! Told y i had one- thats the furthest its ever been i think- 1,300 miles - had to bring it since it was the key tractor to my tinkering/collecting.

Im not sure how many are left anymore - ive seen 3 and herd of one and saw a couple pics online of them- mine is one, 2 were in the junkyard in pieces , i coulda bot one with a opposed twin on it for mowing ( for $400- i regret NOT getting that one) - i bot the steering gears off the one junked toro ( was a 770) , cause the ones on mine were shattered- also bot the deck and other dash- shoulda bot the whole thing actually. That was over 10 years ago and havent seen one since. My nephew is like " Mod that thing! Itll make a cool modded tractor!" Im like " Nope- its staying as is- too rare..."

Its a keeper- i dont plan on ever getting rid of it, id really like to make it mow again- might take it apart n go over the whole thing. I upgraded the rear axle bushings with pillow blocks- originals were so worn , it wouldnt keep tension on the chain- i have a deck and the shifter cover - i need to figure out a way to get the deck to engage- it wont be 'stock' , but itll be functional. I also want to somehow reroute the muffler- keeps buring my sneeker ....ill need to get some smaller wheels as well.

I might fire up the agway one more time after i see what broke ( i think a keyway) , then ill take er for a last spin before i strip it down for its rebuild.

It wont be 100% original, but itll be mostly original . i keep thinking about getting some polished go kart wheels for it eventually , even tho its stock. I added a second set of wheels on the deck for a 'floating type' deck.

Ill probably use some truck bed liner on the foot rests - the right one needs to be straightend a bit- has a slight dent in it.

The front grille needs a lil work as well. I already hooked it up for an ignition switch and a place for a battery ( yes it has electric start).

Agway is in the shed ready for its mods- ill haveta tear it apart next time. I found 4 large tires ( two were off my mod murray) for it already . Itll need more front axle flex and a definite lift, plus strip off the old deck lift hardware.

I was anxious to see what the new tires would look like - so i took a couple hours to yank the old motor and put the new wheels on- this is the result :



Surprisingly, the wheels dont touch the hood, BUT they do hit the foot rests at full turn- so ill either mod the footrests or put a stop in on the spindle:



Heres the replacement motor for the old 10HP:


I still have alot to do- like the spindle extensions ( also they dont rub the front axle) put the new motor on, check out the trans ( i noticed one of the seals is leaking) and check why the trans pulley slips ( probably the keyway) - the front wheels also need new tubes cause they leak -once i get those done - ill take it for a test run and see how it works.

I also notice the front sits up about an inch or so higher then the back- might adjust the trans so it sits level- eventually i might see about lifting it.

i reall like the looks of this!!! i love how much the rear wheels stick out and the new fronts make it look tougher.

I dont even know if it would need lifting! Looks awesome in those photos.

As for the steering, I'd but in steering stops, the foot rests on those murray chassis' arent big at the best of times. And with that motor, it will be awesome, plenty power and great gas economy. I really want a large s(single or twin) ohv Briggs! I love oppsed twins, but they sure are thirsty engines!

I woulda put a twin on it- but thats going on the wheelhorse - i dont think itd fit under the hood either ..... the chassis is different then a normal chassis- motor sits on two rubber bushing plates and its sunk in around it ( i imagine so everything still lines up) - ill need to see if the holes line up or not.

Im really surprised the wheels didnt hit the hood or the rear fenders - at first i didnt think the fronts would hit anything , but they do. Ill try the steering stop first when i drag the welder out for the spindles.

At first i was like - where am i gonna try it out? Well- the town left a bunch of cut tree branches in the front yard- thats one place- then driving into the shed is another - it seemd like barely a bump when i rolled it out the door.

Yeah, Ive noticed that too, bumps feel tiny when you have huge front wheels! Definatly noticeable on the alko

Also have a couple car ramps and concrete blocks i could use - the only thing is the front axle doesnt flex a whole lot tho- hopefully with the larger wheels, itll help that out.

That thing looks sweet! I like it already!

Thats the cool thing- all i did was put the larger wheels on it. I figured id have some clearance issues but just the foot rests is all - i suppose if i raised it up- just a couple inches, it would be fine- they dont hit by much .

Ill get it all running and then maybe decide to mod it other ways- i do like the idea of a front bumper and rear carrying rack.

Then i just need a place to drive it.....

Thing is, if you have it ready, all you gotta do is find somewhere, there must be plenty of places in cali (thats where you live right?) to go mudding, even if you have to travel, it'll be worth it!

Florida Yeah theres lots of private land around with mud, BUT have a few things to deal with - the ones that let you on thier land make you pay, theres BIG snakes in the swamps, AND theres gators in them places!

Id like to buy some land actually- but its expensive!

Today i got some stuff done on the agway - welded the bolts on for the front wheels, put steering stops in , fixed the trans pulley ( keyway was broke).

Couple more days it should be running ( if the motor bolts up to the chassis)- then ill need to sort out an exhaust - i dont want to cut the hood.


Once its running good, i might take it apart n build a lift kit for it- just a couple inches.

That'll be sweet! I can't wait to see that! you should lift it and keep the deck on it, and build the first all-terrain-riding-brush-hog!

FearlessFront wrote:

That'll be sweet! I can't wait to see that! you should lift it and keep the deck on it, and build the first all-terrain-riding-brush-hog!

That could be seriously cool to see!

Sounds like you have some awesome plans for this thing, cant wait to see it, I always loved the look of this machine. I may be getting a similar one (branded under Mountfield) soon, just for the motor.
Dont know what made me say Cali though, my bad lol

Deck is actually going to the 99 hydro murray ( needs some minor repairs first - couple small holes and a crack- ill repaint it black as well) - i want to get that thing mowing - besides already took all the deck hardware stuff off the agway.

The agway was actually the second one to fuel my lawntractor collecting - bot it soon after the toro from my same freind - ended up getting 3 off him . Im still trying not to do a whole lot to it-stuff that can be reversed - just in case i want to return it back to mowing status - some year.....id like to do bolt on mods for the lift- might even change the front axle - ill see what i have around.

I noticed theres a steel company a couple miles away- id like to stop in there n see what i can get for my projects, some angle, square tubing , soild round and some small 1/4" plate - TSC is too expensive for steel pieces.

To be honest, even if you did weld the tractor, chances are yu;d never need it with the huge fleet you have already. lol. But its nice to keep the option there. The wheelhorse is gonna be a full of mod anyway!

I dunno- i still have the " keep em mowers" in my head - yeah the wheelhorse will be all custom and welded - im not worried about either the bolens or wheelhorse being original again .

Cant hurt to have another spare mower- LOL!

Is it just me or does the Agway look like a re-badged Murray? It looks like it has some features seen on old Murray's.

Its a murray - must be they also made my one LT11 craftsman- has the same deck adjustment setup as the murray.