Murray Widebody Build "Ol' Yeller"

Been lurking on and off the forum and finally have some time for a build. Working with a 2002 Murray Widebody I've had for about a year. It has a Mst206 and a 20hp Tecumseh V-twin. it will have a 7 - 5 pulley swap. I have it torn down to the frame now ready to start bracing the frame up. I'll be welding in some 3/4" square tubing inside the rails and also bracing the steering shaft and tower.

I'd weld up the front end, steering plate, and engine plate too. Helps with them self-tapping bolts rattling out. And also replace that brace in the rear right there with something stronger... It's a piece of junk.
Definitely reinforce that column, those are the worst thing on widebodies.

By the name I take it you're painting it "yeller"?

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you made up a build thread!

Is your Teccy V-twin a dual carb model? Those are pretty cool!

Just what I had in mind murraymountain. I noticed the weakness in the whole tower when I had it running. Why they never added a simple brace there is crazy. I have in mind what I want to do for it. And yes I decided on the name for the color yellow and the future exhaust.
Alliskid... it does have the dual carbs....definitely a strong motor but weighs right at 100lbs.
I managed to tack weld in the reinforcements this evening and I can tell already it going to be pretty solid. I’ll post some pics tomorrow with the progress.

Nice.  Welcome to ATLTF.  Looks just like my 89 that I am redoing right now!  Mine came with an opposed not a Tech V-Twin.

Good to see you working the build out here!

Those larger teccys are kinda hard to find. I’ve seen tons of Tecumseh push mower engines, had one 14 horse single in a Murray like yours, but never a v twin. I’d love to get one to play with. Never even seen one in person.

Welcome to the forum anyway! What size tires you hoping to run? The dual tie rod setup is also known to be a bit flimsy as well, so some beefy tie rods may be needed depending on your terrain

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

Those larger teccys are kinda hard to find. I’ve seen tons of Tecumseh push mower engines, had one 14 horse single in a Murray like yours, but never a v twin. I’d love to get one to play with. Never even seen one in person.

Welcome to the forum anyway! What size tires you hoping to run? The dual tie rod setup is also known to be a bit flimsy as well, so some beefy tie rods may be needed depending on your terrain

Yeah they're not that common, I'd imagine they'd cost a pretty penny to repair. I've only seen one in person and that was in a MTD.

The dual tie rod setup has never given me a problem... Yet.

I've about worn out the bolts steering gear side. One of the reasons I am changing mine up..

I will keep all the steering and linkages stock for now, seem to be more rugged than other models I've seen. The mower will probably never see mud as there it none around...just sand and clay in my area so undecided on tires right now. I was considering using some golf cart rims and some hubs for bearings staying with 8". Being hard sand where I plan to ride I don't need to go aggressive with tires.

   I have most of the frame supported now but still need to weld in the engine plate and trim the steering plate for pulley clearance.






I made a steering shaft support out of 3/4" stock and a 5/8 bearing and carrier. This will be bolted down through tower, floor pan and to a 1/8" flat steel piece welded to the frame. Getting the angle right was a PITA but turned out to fit nice and tight in the tower. I needed to make this removable for future servicing. Hoping this will firm everything up.

Clean steering job!

Worked on the mower some today and made a little more progress. I have the engine plate welded in and the steering plate trimmed and some paint on it. I also cleaned up and painted the trans. Next I’m going to work on the front end. Needs some welding around the seems and spindle yoke area for a little reassurance. I’m trying to make it a roller as soon as I can so I can continue on a lot of needed body work and paint.

Your weld looks better than mine!  LOL.  You've definitely braced that thing up.

MightyRaze wrote:

Your weld looks better than mine!  LOL.  You've definitely braced that thing up.

I doubt it...optical illusion like your extended front end lol. I went and purchased a new welding helmet so maybe it will help me some...I can never see the so called puddle. Maybe with this new helmet and my reading glasses it will be better.

Looks good none the less.  I need a helmet too.  Mine is about 10 years old if not older and it was a cheapo one at that.  No sense hurting the eyes and I am sure it is due for replacement.

Rerun wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Your weld looks better than mine!  LOL.  You've definitely braced that thing up.

I doubt it...optical illusion like your extended front end lol. I went and purchased a new welding helmet so maybe it will help me some...I can never see the so called puddle. Maybe with this new helmet and my reading glasses it will be better.

Was your old one an auto darkening helmet? Those should have adjustable darkness levels.

Just thought I’d check. You’d be surprised how many of my friends don’t know that’s a thing

Not to jack the topic, but mine is not autodarkening. What about you Rerun.

Mine was a Lincoln with no adjustment. Tiny little viewing glass which was about 20 years old also and pretty scratched up. I bought a Kobalt from Lowe’s now with a big 5” square glass and adjustable. What a difference side by side. Haven’t used it yet with most my welding already done now but I’ll try when I figure out a bumper plan.

I’ve got a kobalt. I don’t use that one if at all possible. Almost every time I flip it up it punches my ears something awful. It just doesn’t fit me well. I have a Deko or Deka or something and that one is great

Ok...finally got it as a roller.








My next task it to figure out exhaust. Original muffler is shot so think I’m going to run duels out the back.

Very nice touch with the spindles and steering rods! Very nice.

Holy engine! That thing's huge! You ain't gonna be lacking on torque and power, that's for sure.

Thanks for the compliment. Going to work on it tomorrow...this is what I have planned so far.

Things to do :
Cut more off steering plate for pulley clearance
Exhaust
Brakes
Tail lights
Paint body,hood and tower/console
Relocate battery
Wire it up
Get back tires
Get front wheels,tires and hubs w/bearings
Make rear hitch
Make bumper

Does anyone know if there is a better bushing replacement for the front spindles? Can’t see fitting a bearing in there....anyone have any tricks for the fix?

There is a way to add bearings, I haven't done it yet though.

I made some more progress. Made a exhaust system with 1 1/4” emt tubing. Cut the flanges off the old muffler and welded in the pipe. Also got the brakes done. I used a pedal from a Murray hydro and linked it to the brakes. This was easier said then done. Painted the body pan. I ordered some tires off eBay. 22x10x8 for the rear. Fairly aggressive so I can climb some sand dunes. Going to work on the tower next so I can get all the wiring done.

Wow, that paint looks great!