Murray Widebody Build "Ol' Yeller"

Wow, that paint looks great!

Awesome job on the paint and the dual exhaust ! looks great.

Thanks, worked on the console and wiring today.




I picked up some tail lights and a light strip for the back today. Going to install them and make my hitch tomorrow if I get some more time. I have a larger (2.8gal) fuel tank soaking in some cleaner....going to replace the little 1.4 gal tank that was in this.

Looks great!  I'm going to steal your idea for painting spindles different. 

MightyRaze wrote:

Looks great!  I'm going to steal your idea for painting spindles different. 

That fine ...no patent on it yet

Got the lights and hitch done this evening..waiting on paint to dry to install the hitch. I made it so there is a receiver on the tractor and I can change out for different sizes. I normally use a 2” ball but want to attach a spray rig if needed....that’s another project. I have some time tomorrow and should have a pic update.

Tires came in and now mounted. They have some serious grip. Tested in my back yard and it will stand up on the back wheels before spinning... very impressed. Most all mechanic stuff is done except the front wheels and hubs. Still need to paint the hood and work the front lights. Also need to cover the deck lift hole and put down the floor mats.

Wow, it sure is comin' together nice! May have to steal some of your paint scheme ideas.

How's that seat? I had a Murray with that type seat once... It was insanely uncomfortable.

Murraymountain wrote:

Wow, it sure is comin' together nice! May have to steal some of your paint scheme ideas.

How's that seat? I had a Murray with that type seat once... It was insanely uncomfortable.

Thanks, the seat itself is pretty good...has nice padding. Don’t like the spring setup they use though. The 2 rear springs barely contact the seat unless you recline back a lot. The front spring with bolt in it bottoms out way too soon even in its lowest setting. I think I will try a shorter bolt and maybe a spring there to see if it helps. Not sure if this was the original bolt in there when I got this but the way it tilts forward with no weight don’t seem right.

Mine does the forward tilt too as you can see in my pre-teardown.  



I would like to shorten the bracket height, but that would mean more tilt. 

Been a couple weeks since my last post. Went on a vacation for a few days which was needed. I did a little before I left but never updated and worked on it some yesterday.


Front wheels came off a snapper RER and welded to the old hubs.















Put some Velcro on the hood to pad the hood/console contact area. Still need to make a front bumper and maybe paint the hood grill area black. Need to adjust foot throttle position and reroute the cable. Also need to tune the motor..got a little popping from one side..believe the carbs need a cleaning.

I'd put some mud guards on it. If ANYTHING is wet when driving in high gear you WILL get wet. I'd also put some better front lights in... I dunno, maybe that's already in the plan, but they sure do help! I'll be watching to see how that brush guard turns out....

That engine is a sight to behold sittin' under there like that! It's gotta make a very satisfying sound on startup!

What's the second pedal for? I thought the hydro pedal was the gas pedal...

I thought about mud flaps of some sort but going to wait till I replace front tires. I will be going with what we call smoothies on the front. They are similar to some of the tires on tractors...a few grooves and mostly smooth. This mower won’t see mud it will be for beach sand....dunes and trails. If I start eating a lot of sand I’ll put some kind of fender up there. Stock lights are pretty bright after cleaning the lenses so I think I’ll just leave these in for now....don’t plan on night driving as the riding area closes at dusk anyway. The hydro pedal is my brakes and the other is for the throttle. This build will probably end up being a work mower more or less. It has a lot of torque but not enough top end for me. I know I can gear it for speed but the mst wouldn’t be reliable. Going to build another one after this for some more speed. I got a couple peerless 700’s that will be much better for speed and was thinking on using a Craftsman LT4000 I have laying around for a build.

Oh yeah... I forgot about the brakes LOL...

Well, either way, it's built right. Nothing's gonna break that frame!

Got the motor running like a champ this week. Didn’t clock it but seems to run in the low 20’s mph. Plenty fast for the stock steering I believe. I’ve decided I am going to put a BS 15.5 in this and use it more for a utility/work tractor and use the Indian in another build. I came across a cheap MTD that I would like to build... more of a “hot rod” for some speed. I’ll log that build once I figure out what I want to do. As far as ol yeller I still need to make a front bumper and swap out motors.

Got a picture of the Murray with the 15.5?

I have the Briggs on the bench right now. It’s a good motor with nothing wrong with it. I still have to pull the motor from ol yeller to put it in. I’ll post a pic when I get it in there...maybe today being it’s going to rain...I work under a carport. I’ll have to redo the exhaust while I’m at it.

Here is a pic of my next build...I’ll be putting the Indian in here. I think this is a Yard Machine by MTD

It's definitely an MTD, but I'm betting it's a Lowe's branded one.

I meant the tractor. Is the hood like the Mountain Murray's? If so I might take it off your hands on a trip to FL. (if it's for sale of course.)

I don’t think hood is the same. This is the widest one for the Murray. It matches up to the consoles with the plastic scoops on the side. However I do have 2 more of the exact hoods in my scrap pile. The 15.5 motor came off a craftsman btw.

Oh okay. Yeah Ol' Yeller there is a first gen Widebody. I haven't built anything off a first gen, only second gens (first gens are more roomy though). I sold a first gen this past mowing season... That's the only one I owned.

I thought the 15.5 came off a Widebody since you said you got 3 frames. MM has a 15.5 so I kinda assumed the hoods were the same.