Murray "Craptor"

So if either you have a sharp eye or you know me really well, you know I got a Murray widebody with the MTD last weekend.  Someone swapped an 8 horse in it, and it fired up, but leaked a lot of oil, and either the rings were stuck or they were bad, one starter bolt hole was stripped out, so I just swapped a spare 12.5 Briggs in it.  Then I threw some 20" ags on it, and some 22" mud lites.  I'm not sure if this deserves a thread but I'm going to do it anyway, LOL.



Exhaust from stuff I had laying around.



This probably will happen.



Video of it driving.



Side shift, not bad.  Super light.  I don't really like widebodys, so I named it the Craptor.  It's probably going to be the thing that I use when nothing else runs, LOL.  Anyway, I paid $50 for it initially, and I have $0 in it since then.

Future plans are pulley swapping it, I'd like 20, 25 out of it, and romping it till it dies.  I'd like an oppy on it, not sure if I can source one though.  Lemme know what you think.

They are not the worst thing in the world...

Red is a widebody.

Well I didn't mean for it to come out that way, yours looks really good. I just kinda like starting with a platform like a GT where it doesn't need practically anything.

Where is the fun in that! I've probably got an extra 25lbs in metal in mine to brace it up . LOL

Cuz I'm lazy, LOL. Seriously though, I don't have a welder.

Yeah I'd definitely have to agree with Mighty that modifying something to make it much better that it originally was is the best part of off-road "tractoring". All personal preference though I suppose, haha. Just depends what kind of builder you are.

Are those the front wheels off the JD?

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Yeah I'd definitely have to agree with Mighty that modifying something to make it much better that it originally was is the best part of off-road "tractoring". All personal preference though I suppose, haha. Just depends what kind of builder you are.

Are those the front wheels off the JD?

Yeah I guess, I'm just not the kind of guy to do that.

I knew someone would notice that....

I need to buy another set of tires, I have the rims for another set. Don't worry, I'm not parting out the JD. It needs new belts and points, so it's decommissioned, shall we say.

Oooo that one has the painted frame. Widebodys really aren't that bad. Just reinforce everything.

Is the front of your steering column tore off? The MM is the ONLY one I've ever seen without the front being tore off. Either way reinforce it good because that thing will get annoying. Frame is easy, just slap some steel on it wherever it won't be in the way. BTW all those self tapping bolts are crap and they rattle right out. So you should probably swap them out for ones with nuts.

Is the motor a Powerbuilt or is it a regular flatty? Powerbuilts don't last too long. They're one of those el cheapo kinds in my opinion.

Do you have an exhuast shop around there? I don't have a welder either but my exhuast shop does on site welding and for a good price.

6 to 4 pulley ratio should be good. I know I say that on everything but it's true. All that was just advice from experience with these things. It's your build. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Murraymountain wrote:

Oooo that one has the painted frame. Widebodys really aren't that bad. Just reinforce everything.

Is the front of your steering column tore off? The MM is the ONLY one I've ever seen without the front being tore off. Either way reinforce it good because that thing will get annoying. Frame is easy, just slap some steel on it wherever it won't be in the way. BTW all those self tapping bolts are crap and they rattle right out. So you should probably swap them out for ones with nuts.

Is the motor a Powerbuilt or is it a regular flatty? Powerbuilts don't last too long. They're one of those el cheapo kinds in my opinion.

Do you have an exhuast shop around there? I don't have a welder either but my exhuast shop does on site welding and for a good price.

6 to 4 pulley ratio should be good. I know I say that on everything but it's true. All that was just advice from experience with these things. It's your build. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

I'm probably not going to reinforce anything, I've got better ways to kill my time.

I'm not sure what you're talking about? Do you have a picture? I don't know much about these Murrays.

It's a powerbuilt, I think it's got pretty low hours. It runs great, starts right up. I've had a few and never had any issues, and I don't plan on driving this much.

I'm kinda happy with my exhaust, I've run this style of exhaust on several tractors and I've been happy with it.

6-4 is because that's all I have laying around. It's a Murray so it's going to be a pain to get all the various pulleys to fit and everything. Have to cut out the front, pull the steering column, work around the clutch, it's not like an AYP chassis, you have to pull the trans to get the rear pulley off. It's going to be a while probably.

I think he is talking about the 6 (4 big 2 small)self taping bolts that hold the steering and dash column.  3 of the 4(big) were broken on mine.  Here is a pic for reference.

Oh okay. I just ran out and looked, they're fine on this one.

Yes. Mighty's showing exactly what I'm talking about. That's the one thing I hate about widebodys.

What I meant by the exhaust shop was say if you want to weld that ATV rack to it in the 3rd pic then if the exhaust shop does on site welding then they will do it while you watch. I just took the MM tranny over there today and weld-locked it at the exhaust shop because I don't have a welder either.

Whoa... It's not that hard. Yes you do have to drop the tranny every time you want to change the pulley but you'll eventually get used to it. Now for the steering column, no disrespect but that's being extreme. just the steering rod has to be pulled. And if you get tired of pulling the rod then try to find a hydro murray and there should be an idler pulley beside that rod that you can just swap over to yours. As for the front being cut that is very true. This ticks me off because I actually got metal in my eye when cutting it on my first one. But if you want to make it easier on yourself then you'll need to flip the tractor, remove the steering arms, and use a sawzall with a metal cutting blade. There's 2 holes that you can fit the blade in and make some really good cuts that give a lot more room to work under it if you ever need to. Here's what I did...



Was your 1st mower an AYP? If so that is probably why you like AYP better than MTD. I wanted a craftsman back when I Was like 9 and didn't even know how to change a spark plug, But ended up with a murray. Wasn't much of a fan until I started working on it. They're really a simple machine. But I've said it before, you like what you like and you hate what you hate. Craftsmans are just not my thing anymore. Every once in a while I'll pick one up and sell it for a profit but I've never torn one down and built it so what do I know.

MightyRaze wrote:

Where is the fun in that!  I've probably got an extra 25lbs in metal in mine to brace it up .  LOL

When I reinforced my Murray Pan Frame, I welded so much flat stock & angle iron into it, it2 3 times as heavy as before now LOL

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Cuz I'm lazy, LOL.  Seriously though, I don't have a welder.

easiest solution: GET A WELDER!!!

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Yeah I'd definitely have to agree with Mighty that modifying something to make it much better that it originally was is the best part of off-road "tractoring". All personal preference though I suppose, haha. Just depends what kind of builder you are.

Are those the front wheels off the JD?

yes I agree too cuz just painting stuff thats stock & slapping an engine on isnt building...
Making something non reliable what looks cool reliable & cool looking is the Art of Modding IMO!! IKR I suck really bad in building stuff, but I try so thats better than nothing I guess...

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

yes I agree too cuz just painting stuff thats stock & slapping an engine on isnt building...
Making something non reliable what looks cool reliable & cool looking is the Art of Modding

Yep, pretty much hit the nail on the head there.

But as I said, it's all personal preference. To each his own!

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Where is the fun in that!  I've probably got an extra 25lbs in metal in mine to brace it up .  LOL

When I reinforced my Murray Pan Frame, I welded so much flat stock & angle iron into it, it2 3 times as heavy as before now LOL

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

Cuz I'm lazy, LOL.  Seriously though, I don't have a welder.

easiest solution: GET A WELDER!!!

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Yeah I'd definitely have to agree with Mighty that modifying something to make it much better that it originally was is the best part of off-road "tractoring". All personal preference though I suppose, haha. Just depends what kind of builder you are.

yes I agree too cuz just painting stuff thats stock & slapping an engine on isnt building...
Making something non reliable what looks cool reliable & cool looking is the Art of Modding IMO!! IKR I suck really bad in building stuff, but I try so thats better than nothing I guess...

AllisKidD21 wrote:

SebastianAlbrecht wrote:

yes I agree too cuz just painting stuff thats stock & slapping an engine on isnt building...
Making something non reliable what looks cool reliable & cool looking is the Art of Modding

Yep, pretty much hit the nail on the head there.

But as I said, it's all personal preference. To each his own!

I'm not trying to be rude here or anything but something I'm not sure you guys are understanding is I don't really give a crap about this thing.

Obviously I can't speak for everyone else, but I was just talking in general.. Not about this tractor specifically.

Either way, apologies for the thead jack. Let's get 'er back on track fellas!

Like I said. Either you like craftsman or you like murray. There's not much in between. And then again it might be cool to see what somebody who "don't really give a crap" like myself comes up with .

Murraymountain wrote:

Like I said. Either you like craftsman or you like murray. There's not much in between. And then again it might be cool to see what somebody who "don't really give a crap" like myself comes up with .

LMFAO! I like my Murrays, I like my Craftsman AYP, & I also like my Dynamarks!

So, going off of your post in Cheesedawg82's thread, murray clutches aren't that bad. I agree that the stock drive setup is junk but there is a built in adjustment to fix that. And if your not satisfied with that then hydrostatic murrays will have this setup. I don't see why you can't just swap it over. Anyway it probably needs some adjusting.

Murraymountain wrote:

So, going off of your post in Cheesedawg82's thread, murray clutches aren't that bad. I agree that the stock drive setup is junk but there is a built in adjustment to fix that. And if your not satisfied with that then hydrostatic murrays will have this setup. I don't see why you can't just swap it over. Anyway it probably needs some adjusting.

So there's just that 1 Idler Pulley added?
Cuz if that setup would kick I could save me 1 day of work of building me a new clutch!

I think so. I'll compare it to the MM later. Also I'll let you know what parts you'd need to get off of it to make this work. I'll respond in your widebody's thread 'cause I don't wanna jack his.

Murraymountain wrote:

I think so. I'll compare it to the MM later. Also I'll let you know what parts you'd need to get off of it to make this work. I'll respond in your widebody's thread 'cause I don't wanna jack his.

SWEET!
Thanks Buddy!

So I've decided to make this thing into just a mower and nothing more. Anyone know the belt size for the belt and deck drive? thanks

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

So I've decided to make this thing into just a mower and nothing more.  Anyone know the belt size for the belt and deck drive?  thanks

look under the seat, usually there is a decal with the model number somewhere, & then U should be able to find your manual online

Well TJ, the 4th has come and gone... I assume Craptor has to???