[FINALIST] - Murraymountain's Mountain Murray [2019 Build-Off Entry]

No, I was cutting the square tubing today as my buddy did the welding. They're my modifications, but not my welds.

Amico I believe. 160 amps.

Well, got an after the BO upgrade... Still gotta pull it off the tractor. $35 for a Kohler Command. No starter, pretty sure a bad carb, looks to have throttle issues, and no factory fuel pump. Not sure what HP since it didn't have the shrouds. I'm gonna put Briggs fuel pump on it.



Went ahead and bought some new anti-skid floor mats...



And since racks seem impossible to get around here, we're gonna make one (with like 35ft of bed frame box steel)...



So, hopefully I can have it completed Sunday. I don't think we have enough time then to finish it, but maybe.

EDIT: Turns out that JD is an STX38... That means the MM is getting a 12.5 HP replacement. Gonna have to boost that somehow.

Printed some labels for the new engine since it's label are gone... I say it's making 15HP because that will be the goal. I'm gonna do anything I can to boost power.

What are the plans for the power boost?

Not exactly sure yet. I gave 2 away in those labels: High performance carb (I spelled it wrong in the label. Better re-print it I guess.), and run it completely ungoverned. I'll do some research and see if it's possible to mess with the valve train, maybe set the timing a little different. I don't rightly know yet. The 15 horse Briggs should last long enough to build up this one, so I have time on my side for this motor. Whatever I do, I want that 15 HP out of that little Kohler.

Sometimes a simple port job and valve lapping will really wake a used engine up. Some machine work on the cylinder head maybe.

As far as the valve train goes I would say maybe a bigger cam from a different engine if you can find one. That might warrant stiffer springs but I doubt it would be a problem to run the stock ones, valve float might stop it from revving too high anyways. With all that stuff I would also say maybe a slight ignition timing advance too.

But if you're going for a bigger carb on a stock engine I'd say you should definitely port the head at least.

Yeah that's what I meant. I was wondering if it was possible to port and lap the valves on these Kohlers. Since it is I will definitely do that. Just gotta do my research on how to do it first. I'll definitely port the head (I don't know what that means yet but I'll figure it all out LOL). It needs to crank out some power and be reliable so I'll have to have the perfect mix of that. I heard the flywheel keys are known to shear and that they make a lot of valve lifter noise so I'd need to upgrade that if possible. But as far as the build off goes, the good ol' Briggs will do just fine. I'm gonna run the Briggs at Haspin so I'll spend most of next year building this Kohler.

Build-Off is in the final 20 days!  Good Luck!

Well, it's back home! Brakes are fixed. New anti-skid floor mats are down...



Gas pedal mod...



Finished.


Rear guard in the making...




Done.


What will be the rack...



The end of the day...




Now, I need to wash it, change out a plastic pulley for steel, get the rack made and mounted, put the belly pan on, paint the welds, and shoot my final video. Hopefully all that will be done by Saturday.

TOMORROW: I will replace a plastic idler with a steel one and install the belly pan. By tomorrow night the only thing left will be to fabricate, paint, and mount the cargo rack.

TODAY: I slapped some paint over the all the welds, and spent 3 hours washing it. Got some water somewhere it's not supposed to be and now it won't start.

Before the wash (I was driving it around for an hour and a half):


After the wash:



Slapped some paint over the worn out rims (these tires are awesome for sliding around everywhere):



How she sits now:



The battery is charging right now. I plan on getting the mail with it so by tonight it will be running again. BTW, the transaxle now decided to blow out the rear seal... Hmmm.

The FINAL top speed run... (I had it floored)

Anyway, the light at the end of the tunnel is almost blinding....

EDIT: Everything is in working order now. Weather says snow in the morning, so the MM might get dirty again.

Alright, belly pan is on. I'm going to drill a hole in the square tubing for a trailer hitch. All that's left now is the rack!

Got the trailer hitch hole drilled!



Little flex test.... Pretty darn good.



And some videos of course...

Mountain Murray shooting flames...
DONUTS!!!

Cargo rack mock-up...

Going to be super strong!

Thanks.

Alright, the rack is being built! Should be ready by Tuesday.

@MightyRaze, when you lock this thread, can you keep it locked after the BO is over and everything?

Typically we keep build-off threads locked and ask that if you continue a thread about it afterwards to start a new one and link the BO topic.

Yeah I was going to continue the original thread. I was looking through some old BO topics from previous years and they were unlocked so I wasn't sure.

Okay, it's at the fab shop, and ALL they're going to do is make the mounts for the rack. We'll have it back sometime BEFORE the 26th. I'll get the pics and final video done then. Anyway, here's some pics and vids from the last couple days...

Jumping the MM

Alright, the rack is done. It's still at the fab shop. Gonna pick it up tonight I think. Gonna paint it and put it on after that. SO, tonight, the Mountain Murray will be complete! The weather is nasty though, so I won't have the final pics and video till next week sometime.

Well.

The rack is done!.......... But wait, the mower is STILL not complete.

So, the guy at the fab shop today tells me that my choke wire was arcing on something and staying red hot behind the GAS TANK causing a fire hazard. So he took the cable out. Well I'm thinking, "No biggie, just wrap the cable in electrical tape, put it back in, no problemo"......................... Yeah right. So we go pick it up at dark well after they're closed, and because it was dark, I turned the lights on. Ambers come on, foot board lights come on, try the headlights, nothing. Try the taillights, nothing. That's when I realize he must have accidentally torn out some wires. Great! Worst case scenario. Well, I get it home, go to start repairing it, take a quick look, and worst gets worse! 2 switches are missing prongs because they melted their way out, and the wires are just plain SHOT. The charring on the wires is absurd. The amount of damage that little wire caused is tremendous. And none of it would've happened had I just wrapped some tape around it in the beginning. Well, I have an all day job tomorrow... Take off the belly pan so I can remove the C-clip so I can remove the steering rod, remove the steering wheel, pop off the dash panel with all the switches in it so I can remove the gas tank, then replace the wires and switches, and then put it all back together. Simple, right? (Not when you're working on the MM). Anyway, sorry for all the complaining. Here's the rack.... I can sit in it without anything flexing and I'm about 110 pounds so. I should put some weight on the front though. It's gonna want to wheelie on bumps when someone sits in it.




Finally, I get to see both my widebodies mostly complete in the same picture!



One more day guys, one more day.

Thank God! She's done!

Working out the fried electricals...



What that little metal wire tore up...



The COMPLETED Mountain Murray!



Next time we get a nice day I'll do my pics and videos.

Great job! Nice to see you finished her in time

Thanks! I'm glad to have 'er finished!

Soon as you shoot us a link for video and maybe a current pic. I'll lock the thread and get it ready for judging.

Alright! I got all my pics and videos done. Got about 7 I need to turn into 1, then I'll start the final post... I've got a bunch of pics. My avatar is one of them.

Okay, so, the Mountain Murray, is,  COMPLETE!!!

Finally, I can enjoy driving it! But let's start from the beginning... December 2nd 2018, we come home from church and decide to ask these guys if they'd sell us a couple parts from his 2 Murrays sitting in his yard. "Nope", he says, "You can have 'em both". Well, right before we pick them up, we blew up the Hummer's engine, so we borrow a friends truck for a day and pick up mowers we had acquired all day. This one sat around 'til about mid January when I got it running and driving. Tore it down to frame the 1st of February with intentions of a "mild" off road build to have complete by April to sell. That all changed on the 20th when I entered it in the Build Off. Long story short, I didn't get much accomplished until June and from then on. Anyway, after a whole lot of pressure with this build, some misunderstandings, a lot of frustration, and sucking my wallet dry several times, we're finally here!

So, just to get an idea of how far she's come...

Before...





After...














So, the mod list:

-New orange and black paint
-Exhaust
-Brush guard
-Tow hooks
-Longer and lower hood mounts
-All new non self-tapping bolts throughout
-Many unnecessary parts cut off
-Horn
-Headlight
-Ambers
-Taillights
-Floorboard lights
-Brake light (also on dash)
-Cut turf tires
-Front axle locker
-Hood latch
-New clear light lens
-Hood scoop with guard
-Easily removable hood
-Painted engine cover
-Pull start option
-Reinforced hood, steering column, and front end
-Moved solenoid location
-New choke setup
-Gas pedal
-New foot mats
-Audio system
-Hand brake
-Adjustable double pulley clutch
-Tool box
-Easily removable solenoid door
-Skid plate
-Belly pan
-Welded clutch pedal on
-Trans grease fitting
-Trans vent tube
-Painted trans casings
-Pulley swap
-Doc locked trans
-Rear bumper/guard
-Winch
-Everything got labeled
-Homemade cargo rack
-Mud flaps
-Covered deck height hole
-Rear wheels held on by cotter pins (not E-clips)

I would like to thank:

-Noah for helping me get some welding done without charging me (we're still going to pay you,  ).
-Noah at the fab shop for getting major parts to the build done for great prices and on time.
-My grandfather for helping me get the thing running, and especially working on the Doc Locker being that I most likely would not have been able to complete that without your help.
-My dad for taking it all over the place to get something done, or just going to buy a part. 20 minutes to town one way in a car that gets 16 MPG is a lot in gas.
-Joe at the junkyard for giving me the parts that I needed to complete this build.
-All you forum members for giving me good advice throughout the project.
-And of course the Admins that keep everybody playing by the rules, keeping everything up to par, and keeping the forum a safer place to be than most forums.

Thank you all very much!

Now, back to the MM...

The final walk around video...

Sorry about all the videos..... I couldn't splice them all together so I guess I'm left with 8 parts.

MM final action video 1
MM final action video 2
MM final action video 3
MM final action video 4
MM final action video 5
MM final action video 6
MM final action video 7
MM final action video 8

Final picture:




Well, that about raps it up... Good luck to all you finalist and may the best tractor win... See y'all on the other side.