Murray Off-Road Mower Build

Well, I thought I would let you guys sorta take this journey with me giving me ideas and advice along the way. I am starting my off-road mower build. This started off as a racing mower, but I've decided to make it slower (still faster than stock - 1:1 ratio), cooler looking, and tougher by locking the transaxle, painting it and doing various other mods. My goal is to have basically a lawn tractor that will do as well as a RWD 4 wheeler, but won't be as fast.

Things I Plan To Do:
-transaxle lock
-repaint (probably black with racing stripes - white, red, yellow...ideas?)
-rewire (already in process as of tonight)
-bigger and better front rims and tires
-better tread for rear tires (aggressive)
-lighting upgrades
-gas pedal
-new gear ratio (1:1 - running 8" to 8" w/ 5/8" v-belt - lots of surface area and torque for when the belt gets wet and for towing)

ANYONE ELSE HAVE IDEAS? THROW 'EM OUT THERE!

Pictures of what it looks like as of now (prior to starting the rewire tonight):



yes it is a rebuilt engine








I also do YouTube videos. I am doing an "Update Series" on my off-road mower and will keep people informed that way as well as on here. Any comments, extra views, ratings and subscribers are VERY welcome! Below is all I have for an update so far. I am editing update #2 as we speak. So that will be up tonight.

Update #1:

Suggestions

1. If you haven't already, maybe replace the bushings in the front rims with bearings.
2. Add grease zerks for any moving part lacking them.
3. Separate brake and clutch into separate pedals will prolong brake pad life.

Your suggestions 1 & 3 I had already thought of, but forgot to put them in my list. Thanks man!

Here's the newest update video. Tear down has begun!

Well I have it completely (almost) torn down. This is as bare bones as it'll get I think. I've decided that instead of repainting it, I will keep the original Murray red (which only looks bad cause this thing is just SO dirty, and then put racing stripes or something on it. Make it look cooler and won't be as time consuming. What this really needs is a good pressure washing, but this is January in Maine, so I'm not sure how I'm going to really clean this thing yet. Ideas?

Here's some pics from tonight:

Buy a can of Brakleen or two and some shop towels and wipe it all down. Thats all I can think of unless you really wanna break out the soapy water.

Whatcha gonna do for the deck engage lever? think it would make a badass parking brake handle if you could hook it up right.

A good set of scrub brushes and some warm soapy water is the cheapest safest way to clean it. Pick up a cheap kids wading pool for the big stuff.

Dish soap has serious grease cutters in it, and a good water rinse will strip the soap residue. A simple isopropyl wipe will clean the rest of the water residue off. All you need is a place to work thats above freezing.

despite the CFC bans aerosol cleaners are still seriously hazardous. The way I see it. If I can use it to test start an engine, I don't want to breathe it..

As far as the new CFC free, Enviro freindly cleaners are concerned, they still aren't good for you.

Even the citrus based stuff is very harsh on skin, and vapors can hurt lungs.

sorry for the rant.

Yes, I thought it would make a great parking brake handle as well, but I already have it hooked up as my shift linkage since I will be cutting out the panel where the shifter was previously (between the seat and dash) and making a compartment to store tools and such for quick fixes on the go. I will probably do both the brakleen and then do soapy water to wash off any left over residue from the brakleen. Thanks for the advice! And other tips for hooking up a separate parking brake? I thought maybe another hand activated lever. Not sure yet.

theres a reason that warm soapy water has been the recommended media for cleaning engines for as long as I can remeber.

Even in aircraft shops.

Everything must be dried thouroghly afterwards and treated for corrosion.

Chopperhed wrote:

A good set of scrub brushes and some warm soapy water is the cheapest safest way to clean it. Pick up a cheap kids wading pool for the big stuff.

Dish soap has serious grease cutters in it, and a good water rinse will strip the soap residue. A simple isopropyl wipe will clean the rest of the water residue off. All you need is a place to work thats above freezing.

despite the CFC bans aerosol cleaners are still seriously hazardous. The way I see it. If I can use it to test start an engine, I don't want to breathe it..

As far as the new CFC free, Enviro freindly cleaners are concerned, they still aren't good for you.

Even the citrus based stuff is very harsh on skin, and vapors can hurt lungs.

sorry for the rant.

Thanks for the advice man! I agree with you partly. I have no problem with using aerosol cleaners in a well ventilated area (like outside in my driveway in the summer - I use engine degreaser or Purple Power for cleaning my mowers that I sell) but in the winter working out of my basement workshop like I am right now, I'll stick to the dish soap I think. Thanks!

You can't go wrong with that frame. We had one for years, and it was jumped, crashed, and flipped many times. Frame never cracked or bent. Front axle mounting was weak, pivot would wear out, and bracket holding the front axle in would bend or loosen. Tie rod ends are junk from the factory, need 1/2 rods and heim joints if it's going to put up with a lot of abuse. I don't remember why, but we junked the factory steering box, and went to direct steer setup. That didn't work, too touchy, so we welded in a craftsman steering box. The upper plastic mount for the steering wheel can break also.

The paint on those mowers is practically indestructible... you can about use a wire wheel to polish it. I think if it was left outside for decades the metal would rust out from under the paint.

I have a pic of an '85 LT12 steering 'box' - i swapped the crappy plastic laden one from my '99 weedeater ( craftsman also) for the '85 ( out of a parts craftsman) - works excellent.



On my weedeater it was basically a bolt on mod, had to use stock steering link to the front spindle and tweek the piece where the steering wheel bolts to.

My steering shaft locator on the dash broke ( plastic), i found a fix from my old 70 toro's spare parts - the steering shaft mount - two bolts and its all metal.

Those are the same steering boxes we use (with some mild mods to tighten them up), and they work really good.

Ive been told the weedeater tractors were built 'cheeper' - why it has alot of plastic - it had this plastic T where the metal is under the end of the steering shaft - i fixed it once with copper bushings ( lasted a few years) - started acting up end of last year, so i swapped it out completely.

Have to love parts tractors.

Yeah I'm going to need to do something about the play in the rods. I'd love to do a direct steering setup with like bicycle handlebars but I'm not sure. The steering isn't too bad, and the gears look really good actually. Just need to make new brass bushings for the front rods.

Got some of the cleaning done and most of the wiring for my new ignition system. Now, it's time to lock the transaxle and figure out what to do with the front end. Most likely, Fearless is going to help me with the locking.



just a quick coat of black paint on the new transaxle pulley


crappy picture of my Fearlessfront style ignition system. (toggle switch not done yet)

Newest update video is up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG80aWUQ5Do

So, I'll be locking the transaxle for my off-road mower this weekend! I'm meeting up with Fearlessfront on Saturday.

So check this out! A lot has happened!

It looks good.
I like those rear tires.

nice, never seen the front bigger then the back before lol jk, love the back ones