craftsman mud mower

hi guys im new the forum. I started this build about a week ago because i had a extra mower with no purpose but it has a good engine and chassis. so i now have it in my garage and waiting for ideas. im working out a plan for a snorkel but there is no edge for a coupling its just flat so does anyone has any ideas??

body is back on with the seat. now i jsut gotta find a tranny.

Now that i see the carb- youll need to make a an adapter- use a flat piece of 1/8 - 1/4" steel with a short section of pipe welded on it- drill 2 holes for existing bolts and that should work as a mounting flange to attach an intake to- id suggest a rubber gasket to keep water from seeping in between the carb and flange.

How deep of mud are you going thru? you might want to consider lifting it and bigger tires eventually.

My mud machine is a 80's agway ( murray) - for years i ran it thru the swamp behind my folks house - was basically stock with a 10HP briggs - all i added was treaded front tires for better steering - the stock rear tires were a bit weak for thicker mud, but it did surprisingly well - deepest water was only up to the foot rests.

Since i dragged it down home here, im making a few changes- slight pulley swap, larger wheels front and back - eventually a rack on the back and a place to mount my winch - more lights will also be added, push bar and eventually ... 4 wheel drive. Its sat for a while, but id like to finish it so i can take it to my nephews and ride it over there ( hes out in the sticks).

Heres what it looks like:


Only issue i have with it at the moment is it's large steering radius- it doesnt do tight turns anymore with the bigger wheels up front- i was planning on using a 14.5HP briggs , might switch to a 11HP- not sure at the moment. Itll still need some tweeking, im sure. ill also need tubes for the fronts- so i can air em down a bit- right now they go flat too quick.

theres 2 sides in this place we go. one side is like all water and flooded and has some mud pits. the other side has some muddy spots and some dust spots. im getting some carlisle ag tires for the back. and the front im gonna try to put snow blower tires on because they are like an atv's holeshot tires. ill look around and look for a place to weld at. i dont have one myself which sucks.

oh and another thing is im afraid to bottom out and crack the front axle because on atvs and anything if i know its high in the middle ill gun it and try to use skid plates to slide but idk if a skid plate setup is possible throughout the whole mower

Id be more worried about the trans then the front axle - fearlessfront made a skid plate from an old footrest for his trans- could probably come up with a small one for the front axle- youll want the flex tho for offroading .

Problem with a full plate underneath is that itd hold the mud and water ( covering the belts) - the front axle would hit first, then the trans - i ran my agway thru mud/water for many years never had any belt slippage/belt issues - the stock motor pulley was hitting mud as well - eventually lifting it would help in some aspects - easiest way is to add taller profile tires .

did you paint it that yellow? iv never seen one that color but it looks cool

yea i painted it john deer yellow and i repainted all the frame and dash with jet black. I wanted the suzuki yellow but a littl darker so i made it that. I see people like redz with shocks on his front how much of a trouble is that to do?

k so i found out my dad said once i get all the right parts for the exhaust, snorkel, transmission, front grill bars and maybe a rear cooler rack that we will rent a welder and get it down in one shot. so prolly this friday ill have some stuff done. today i got bored and did some stenciling.

im so sad that i had to end this build and start parting it out my mom gave me crap about shes not letting me and stuff and she wanted her garage back. which is funny because i clean, use, work on everything or mechanical so i consider it mine so if ya need any parts im very resonable

Get one of those temporary garages - you can find em usually pretty cheep. Some conrete flat blocks, set some pallets on em and itll be raised off the ground - thats how i did the floor in my shed.

or look on craigslist for a shed .

Can't park it outside under a tarp temporarily?

yea im very crafty but i still wouldnt be able to get a new carb till dec. :/ my carb and throttle arent working together. the throttle cable wont move the carb flap. i took out the choke flap to put in a snorkel but i think i messed everything up lol