The Fast Mower That Was An Agway But I Got Something Else Build

So around September I made my first "Speed mower" using an Agway/ MTD frame. Needless to say, it sucked and after a while it stopped working. Now that I have cleaned my shop and got some new tools, I started on my Generation 2 build.


The old Agway racer, my Gen 1 build.

Since I already started, im gonna half-ass this first post from what I had on Facebook.

You can see update videos of the build on my Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/DougFackler .

[12.10.12]

Removed grille, hood, rear fenders, seat, gas tank, and electronics from chassis.

*No pictures*





[12.11.12]

Chassis/body cleaned.
Removed rear transaxle.
New transaxle being prepped for modification.

*Pending*





[12.12.12]

Misc body work.
Removed dash.
Mounted grille.
Construction on new dash begins.

*Pending*



[12.13.12]

Dash "skeleton" complete.

*Pending*

nice build thread! cant wait to see it finished!i subscribed on youtube ill be adding videos soon

Well the transaxle is ready to be mounted, but the body isnt. I didnt measure the transaxle before I went to mount it so im just now finding out its too long, so I need to make new mounts. Im just a bit curious as to where I should place the transaxle, so I need some opinions before I get to fabricating new mounts.

Heres the transaxle as far back on the body as it will go. Im thinking of just putting it here. Just wondering if anybody else thinks it should move up an inch or tow, its about an inch behind the old mounts.

If i were you id move it up about 1 - 1.5 inch up or so just so your sitting on top of the trans more and so it doesnt look like the wheels are too far back and hanging off. just make sure your engine pulley and trans pulley will line up

Theworktractor wrote:

If i were you id move it up about 1 - 1.5 inch up or so just so your sitting on top of the trans more and so it doesnt look like the wheels are too far back and hanging off. just make sure your engine pulley and trans pulley will line up

The seat is relative of where I will be sitting.

I welded on a roughly 5" plate onto each side (well, 1 side, ran out of wire), so I can drill multiple holes if I need to.

Not too worried about pulley alignment, I can reroute the belt if needed. I only have a 2 1/2" on the back and im gonna have a big one on the front.

I did something similar on my mild mod MTD - i put lower profile turf tires on the stock rims, locked the front axle as high up in the chassis as it would go, mounted the seat to the chassis - it handled excellent and felt totally safer to drive ( not top heavy) - i cut a rusted set of rear fenders up to fit it.

I pulled the rear wheels off, took a grinder and lightly ground the axles down so the wheels would slip on easier - but you definitely need the bolts on the axle ends.

Heres what my tractor looked like:



I dont have the tractor anymore actually, i used the chassis for a mowing tractor.

Ha, that looks exactly like what mine is going to look like, except the shifter will be in a different position, the steering will be replaced with direct steering and handlebars, and the fenders will be removable.

My fenders were only bolted to the footrests - i also cut the top part under the seat out for more access, but bolted it back in. Actually it wouldnt be hard to adapt a different place for the speed setup - MTD put them all over the place - have a few where theyre in the dash, fender and in front of the seat.

I considered doing something with the steering, but after initally driving it - it reacted pretty darn good - locking it solid helped tremendously- funny bit was it reminded me of driving a 'big wheel' when i was a kid - steering wheel was actually at a comfortable hieght , even tho i sat lower then normal. It felt really stable , specially when running around corners , could lean right in . Felt tons more stable then my old murray, but it had less power then it did tho.

Well, I had pics to upload, but Facebook is acting up and Photobucket isnt working for me either. Ill try later on.

I use flickr - thru yahoo - ive never had an issue with it - its easy to use as well.

I found photobucket was a serious pain to use- i never liked it.

Doug Fackler wrote:

Well the transaxle is ready to be mounted, but the body isnt. I didnt measure the transaxle before I went to mount it so im just now finding out its too long, so I need to make new mounts. Im just a bit curious as to where I should place the transaxle, so I need some opinions before I get to fabricating new mounts.

when you say its to long do you mean the tranny is or the frame? also does the width line up? im doing the same thing as you are now replaceing the FNR tranny with a 3 speed manual

Theworktractor wrote:

Doug Fackler wrote:

Well the transaxle is ready to be mounted, but the body isnt. I didnt measure the transaxle before I went to mount it so im just now finding out its too long, so I need to make new mounts. Im just a bit curious as to where I should place the transaxle, so I need some opinions before I get to fabricating new mounts.

when you say its to long do you mean the tranny is or the frame? also does the width line up? im doing the same thing as you are now replaceing the FNR tranny with a 3 speed manual

The transmission was longer than the body was wide. AKA the mount holes on the transmission didnt line up with the body. The brake also needs some work cause the lever hits the body. Itll all be highlighted in my next video which should be up before Wednesday.

Doug Fackler wrote:

Theworktractor wrote:

Doug Fackler wrote:

Well the transaxle is ready to be mounted, but the body isnt. I didnt measure the transaxle before I went to mount it so im just now finding out its too long, so I need to make new mounts. Im just a bit curious as to where I should place the transaxle, so I need some opinions before I get to fabricating new mounts.

when you say its to long do you mean the tranny is or the frame? also does the width line up? im doing the same thing as you are now replaceing the FNR tranny with a 3 speed manual

The transmission was longer than the body was wide. AKA the mount holes on the transmission didnt line up with the body. The brake also needs some work cause the lever hits the body. Itll all be highlighted in my next video which should be up before Wednesday.

damn i was afraid you were gonna say that haha the tranny i have bought is a FOOTE 3864 3 speed and im guessing ill have the same problem? maybe not idk it came off a small dynamark 12/36 so i guess ill be following your videos on mounting the transmission since im doing the same thing so please make them detailed

Theworktractor wrote:

Doug Fackler wrote:

Theworktractor wrote:

Doug Fackler wrote:

Well the transaxle is ready to be mounted, but the body isnt. I didnt measure the transaxle before I went to mount it so im just now finding out its too long, so I need to make new mounts. Im just a bit curious as to where I should place the transaxle, so I need some opinions before I get to fabricating new mounts.

when you say its to long do you mean the tranny is or the frame? also does the width line up? im doing the same thing as you are now replaceing the FNR tranny with a 3 speed manual

The transmission was longer than the body was wide. AKA the mount holes on the transmission didnt line up with the body. The brake also needs some work cause the lever hits the body. Itll all be highlighted in my next video which should be up before Wednesday.

damn i was afraid you were gonna say that haha the tranny i have bought is a FOOTE 3864 3 speed and im guessing ill have the same problem? maybe not idk it came off a small dynamark 12/36 so i guess ill be following your videos on mounting the transmission since im doing the same thing so please make them detailed

Can you get a photo of your new tranny for me please? I have a three speed and I was wondering if it was the same thing.

I made a video today but didnt go really in depth, but I did talk about it a little bit. I dont really like the video though cause it stopped midway (batteries died) so its 2 parts, and I might redo it tomorrow.

Ill try to get you a pic of the transmission if Facebook lets me upload my pictures. I doubt its the same though, it came out of a pretty modern Craftsman.

Ariens YT11 wrote:

Can you get a photo of your new tranny for me please? I have a three speed and I was wondering if it was the same thing.

me or him? haha the new one for me is a 3 speed foote 3864 ill put a a pic on my thread tommoro

Doug Fackler wrote:

I made a video today but didnt go really in depth, but I did talk about it a little bit. I dont really like the video though cause it stopped midway (batteries died) so its 2 parts, and I might redo it tomorrow.

Ill try to get you a pic of the transmission if Facebook lets me upload my pictures. I doubt its the same though, it came out of a pretty modern Craftsman.

okay sweet! apprieciate it and idk if he was talking to me or you lol but ill post a picture of the new trans on my project post tommoro

Well, heres the plate that I had to weld on. This was before I beefed up my welds, but its the same on both sides. My holes had to be drilled roughly 1" out from the bend.



Heres the transmission prior to being put in. The pulley isnt on it yet.



And heres the underside. The brake isnt on cause the lever hits the body, so I need to either do some cutting or get a mechanical brake for the axle itsself.

thanks alot! ill probably do the same exact thing lol good thing i have this thread to follow as i build mine

Vlog for yesterdays work.

Starting to look pretty good cant wait to see it go!

THanks, and me too. THis waiting game is killing me. I worked on it a bit today, and in that I mean I put the engine on to play around with it. I isolated the choke from the throttle body so my handbrake throttle wont choke me out. I need to order a new throttle choke cable though because the one I have is too short, unless I dont put the choke cable in the dash and somewhere in the engine compartment.

UPDATE:

I ordered a 12" pulley today for the front, and 6' of new brake cable housing. Should get them mid to late next week.

Update I guess. Too damn cold to make a video. Anyways, I got my front pulley and new brake cable housing. Still waiting on dash plastics to arrive. I need to buy a new rear pulley for the transaxle that is a bit bigger than the one I have so I have a 3:1 ratio.

Until it warms up though, nothing progresses. Still gonna be at least another week as far as I know. Damn deep freeze weather. I should have at least one warm day next week to make a Vlog though. Fingers crossed it warms up.

3 to 1(3) is going to be way fast, and unless you have a custom frontend, way dangerous.
3 to 2(1.5) is still going to be pretty quick, depends on your transaxle.
With 4in front, and 3 in rear pulleys(1.33), on a Peerless 600 transaxle, and with stock 18.5 tires, we were 35 to 40mph.