Li'l Red 1

Buck Mault wrote:

3 things to make a engine run spark, compression and fuel. take one out no BOOM  

But what if it's a diesel?

@RichieRichOverdrive just fuel and heat lol
Oh there is diesels out there now that are low compression and have a spark plug so you can run multi fuels

Air, a ton of compression, and fuel. Hahaha.

Update to L'il Red.

So...
So over the weekend, I got a call from my father-in-law.  "You want that other Murray?  If not I will haul it off."  Uh... Yeah I will take it.  LOL.

From what I gather, It is a 1985 Murray GT.  Everything on it is the same as KAL, except it does not have the hill hold (hand brake).  It's hood is currently on Li'l Red.

The Hood,



The Tractor (as it sits today)


So... if I run a new build on this tractor, I will more than likely pull the hood back off Li'l Red and put it's round hood back on.

This one.



So, I guess I will have some figuring out to do.  

That's a tough call to make, but other hoods could be found for Lil Red.

Don't you have enough tractors and projects already?  Everyone could always use more parts though.

I think that hood should stay on red, it's something that really makes it different from all the other widebodys out there. I'm certain you can figure something out for the other GT, maybe something like mr.moo did on the Baja Sears? You can convert that GT to the correct engine output orientation and build something similar to it.

So after talking with @Doug today. He made me realize "indirectly" that I may or will need parts over time for KAL. I'm thinking... DUH... I will have that 85 murray! What better parts machine than another murray just like it. Transaxle, everything is the same other than engine and square headlights. So the hood is safe in Li'l Red. I may want to upgrade the headlights to LED in the future.

That's a great call to have a spare tractor laying around whose parts you can use on Kal.  @TheBeal would be really proud.

Beal doesn't even have a main tractor to throw those spare parts at

Parts tractor sounds like an alright deal, like i did with the stupid murray gt i got. Are we at least gonna see it drive before you take it apart?

Probably not, engine needs a good going through.  I think the coil is missing.  Rag joint I think is busted.  Those massive rear weights will go on my Suburban. Score there.  I may end up giving that motor to my dad.  He's blown his 3rd intek V-twin in 5 years.  May talk him into an opposed for a while.

Time to get Li'l Red some lovin. Current state again is a no start and some of my switches are not working properly.

Looks like my light switch is out and my winch switch has a loose wire. 

I need a couple relays to properly hook up the winch and the Horn which I think is going bad. 



I think this phase of Li'Red is coming to an end.  Other than Red's fast speed, Kal is much more advanced feeling.  Red sounds awesome as well.  I think it is time to do some upgrades.

- Bumper needs reworked
- Newer winch, I really like the Harbor Freight one on Kal
- Rework the exhaust, remove the black pipe
- Fix the lighting
- new clutch spring, this one seems weak now
- fix choke, it hangs
- New rear tires when affordable.

- Maybe front suspension?  I LOVE the monolink on KAL.  SO much more stable.
- New paint?  I may want to incorporate some blue in the build.

Hmm... things to contemplate.

that widebody looks really good with the older gt hood on it, wonder if my brother would get mad if I swiped the hood off the old murray 11/38 he's got in storage for my murray lt

MightyRaze wrote:

Looks like my light switch is out and my winch switch has a loose wire. 

I need a couple relays to properly hook up the winch and the Horn which I think is going bad. 

I think this phase of Li'Red is coming to an end.  Other than Red's fast speed, Kal is much more advanced feeling.  Red sounds awesome as well.  I think it is time to do some upgrades.

- Bumper needs reworked
- Newer winch, I really like the Harbor Freight one on Kal
- Rework the exhaust, remove the black pipe
- Fix the lighting
- new clutch spring, this one seems weak now
- fix choke, it hangs
- New rear tires when affordable.

- Maybe front suspension?  I LOVE the monolink on KAL.  SO much more stable.
- New paint?  I may want to incorporate some blue in the build.

Hmm... things to contemplate.

Light switch worked out.. - FIXED
Winch switch loose wire.. - FIXED
Still need a couple relays.

-Lighting fixed
-clutch spring is OK
-Choke fixed.  The Z on the end of the cable was hanging in the carb.
-scratch on the paint.  After working on it this afternoon, I like the red.  Good contrast to KAL.

I NEED A FUEL TANK.  This one is still shot.  Not worth trying to continue to fix. 

darkside0914 wrote:

that widebody looks really good with the older gt hood on it, wonder if my brother would get mad if I swiped the hood off the old murray 11/38 he's got in storage for my murray lt

I really like the Early to mid 80's Murray hood.  I do like the original round hood to a point as well.. Just not as good.

MightyRaze wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Looks like my light switch is out and my winch switch has a loose wire. 

I need a couple relays to properly hook up the winch and the Horn which I think is going bad. 

I think this phase of Li'Red is coming to an end.  Other than Red's fast speed, Kal is much more advanced feeling.  Red sounds awesome as well.  I think it is time to do some upgrades.

- Bumper needs reworked
- Newer winch, I really like the Harbor Freight one on Kal
- Rework the exhaust, remove the black pipe
- Fix the lighting
- new clutch spring, this one seems weak now
- fix choke, it hangs
- New rear tires when affordable.

- Maybe front suspension?  I LOVE the monolink on KAL.  SO much more stable.
- New paint?  I may want to incorporate some blue in the build.

Hmm... things to contemplate.

Light switch worked out.. - FIXED
Winch switch loose wire.. - FIXED
Still need a couple relays.

-Lighting fixed
-clutch spring is OK
-Choke fixed.  The Z on the end of the cable was hanging in the carb.
-scratch on the paint.  After working on it this afternoon, I like the red.  Good contrast to KAL.

I NEED A FUEL TANK.  This one is still shot.  Not worth trying to continue to fix. 

darkside0914 wrote:

that widebody looks really good with the older gt hood on it, wonder if my brother would get mad if I swiped the hood off the old murray 11/38 he's got in storage for my murray lt

I really like the Early to mid 80's Murray hood.  I do like the original round hood to a point as well.. Just not as good.

the tank on my 99 widebody leaked, I cut the top and bottom out of it and mounted a craftsman tank inside it, basically used it as a mounting bracket, I had to cut the dash out a little for the fuel filler neck but it works great.

I like how those tires look on Lil' Red.  Not too many people have them so it's kinda unique.  They look like good tires for a trail machine, but what kind of tire would you rather have?

I think it's cool that you're doing more work on this rig and you want to add suspension to it ( @AllisKidD21 ) .  Are you thinking about going with something different than a monolink?

I would try to find a generic tank online and make it fit like Paulie Detmurds did on his Sears Resurrected.  I have the tank from a 196cc clone with a broken mount but clean on the inside that I'd mail to you if you could make it work.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

I like how those tires look on Lil' Red.  Not too many people have them so it's kinda unique.  They look like good tires for a trail machine, but what kind of tire would you rather have?

I think it's cool that you're doing more work on this rig and you want to add suspension to it ( @AllisKidD21 ) .  Are you thinking about going with something different than a monolink?

I would try to find a generic tank online and make it fit like Paulie Detmurds did on his Sears Resurrected.  I have the tank from a 196cc clone with a broken mount but clean on the inside that I'd mail to you if you could make it work.

Yeah they are good for trail but truly suck in mud.  The main reason I was thinking of maybe some newer ones is because the rubber has hardened and they are beginning to wear down fast.  Tires at this point are not a high priority as there is still 50% or so tread on the back.  As for what I would move to?  Not sure at this time.

Suspension.... probably another monolink, but I am still toying with an independant idea.  Rear will stay stiff.

I have some ideas floating.  Let me work those out, I also have a couple other tanks on hand myself. I will keep you in mind though.  Thanks @Crazy_Carl.  I would like to stick with 2.5 gallons or better like I have if I can.

One of these guys may fit nicely in there?  I can find one for fairly cheap considering the replacement for a Murray tank.  This also has a gauge on top.  Posting to remember.



But I will probably mod a bracket for a 2 gallon I have on hand.  Just not thrilled where the fill spout is located on it. Any of my tanks on hand actually.

One more thought in trying to fix the existing tank... thinking about fiberglassing the whole thing up.  I think that would work.

MightyRaze wrote:

One more thought in trying to fix the existing tank... thinking about fiberglassing the whole thing up.  I think that would work.

might want to check with a local fiberglass shop or body shop that does fiberglass, or at the very least make a test panel before committing to it, I've been told that the alcohol in pump gas will make the resin fail, how long before it happens i don't know, i'm not sure personally if it's even true just relaying info I was given.

Good information.  I do think ethanol would break it down.  Something to consider should I go that route. We do have 100% here at some stations which I do purchase. Sometimes I think it gets swapped.

Doing some research..

Avoid: Polyester Resin.

Good: marine based Epoxy Resin people have had luck with and easy to find at the auto store. OK with 100% gas, but ethanol can break some epoxy down over time. (This is my current problem, I used epoxy to seal the tank and used the wrong gas).

BEST: looks to be able to even handle E85 is Vinyl Ester Resin.  Not sure where to find outside an online store.

MightyRaze wrote:

Doing some research..

Avoid: Polyester Resin.

Good: marine based Epoxy Resin people have had luck with and easy to find at the auto store.  OK with 100% gas, but ethanol can break some epoxy down over time. (This is my current problem, I used epoxy to seal the tank and used the wrong gas).

BEST: looks to be able to even handle E85 is Vinyl Ester Resin.  Not sure where to find outside an online store.

you could try several coats of plastidip, once dry it should be gas proof, put a couple extra coats in the areas where it's leaking, I can't find vinyl ester resin anywhere but online either

Hmm... got good news, bad news, good news situation...

Good news, I was able to install the LT4000 gas tank in Red... Bad news, I came back later to a puddle of Gas under the tractor.  Looks like the fuel line was the leak not the old tank.  I will reinstall the old tank and check with a new fuel line.  I bet the old patch is working fine.  I will do that this weekend.

Installed the old tank with new fuel line.  Not sure why the previous fuel line failed as it was new too.  It had failed where the nipple barb was.  It was unseen when the line was off.

I am letting it sit to be absolutely sure the tank is not leaking.  I greased up the steering while I had the dash and tank off.

Now to think about those future upgrades.  I had forgotten how much lower Red is compared to Kal and also how much FASTER it is.

Much to your dismay.... I think I will be going back to the round hood on L'il Red.  This isn't set in stone, but I am considering a Utility Build with the 85 Murray GT I have for next year.  We'll see how this will unfold for next year.

Soon as I figure out some details, I'll start a new thread.  Not sure if it would be 2019 Build-Off worthy.