OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Ride-On Mowers Resto Notes: Murray ... with Overhead Foxtails

Sorry I lied, I haven't really got overhead foxtails (yet) but it is iPhone compatible, automatic, runs on unleaded and is VERY shiny!.

My latest finished project...

It started with this


The original 15hp engine was run without oil after its first service, BANG!! then a 12.5hp was grafted in and blew smoke like a Metalica gig so the mower was replaced with a new John Deere and this one was consigned to the hay shed for 8 years. That's when I got it. My intention was to sort the 12hp out but thought I'd try one of those cheap clone engines, I had nothing to lose so I began preparing. My neighbor who loves to come over and help (he's never done anything mechanical and just loves it) was excited so I said "let's do something special"

So, we ended up with this..



I'll show you what we did and how we did it.
In the next few days.

It joins the collection of refurbed and restored that I already have so this was not my first rodeo.


Of course you can't do good mower stuff without proper supervision and management. Meet the boss and her sidekick....

We stripped it down to the chassis.
photographing each stage to help with re-assembly and to indentify faults or things that could be improved.
Of course all work was correctly supervised by our talented management team.

And of course our stoic management team insisted on safety precautions.

Being the cool, funky, groovy bosses they are. They insisted on cool tunes all the time. Also being modern, forward thinking, technologically aware management also had to have bluetooth for the phone and FM for the footy. To go with the SD card player.




To use this whilst mowing the lawn could be considered ridiculous so it had to be switched so that you can park and enjoy a beer and tunes when you've finished all that mowing.

More soon.
I need to sort through a LOT of photos and maybe take some more.
Stay tuned.

Bill

I'll walk through the rebuild and note some issues and problems we had and how we solved them. Also maybe show some potential conveniences you all could add.
There are still a few things I'd like to do.
The stereo now has a knob and we have an AUX input and a cigarette lighter 12v socket.
I'd like to do a sunshade (don't laugh I'm follicly challenged, bald).
A Caterham style side pipe, for the look.
An hour meter and a rear light.
Please ask any questions but try to keep on mission, divergent dialogues we should move away to more relevant threads.
I'd like to keep this going with the rebuild stream.
Thank you for reading, join my journey.

To be honest, we did very little. Just solved problems that our upgrades presented us with and did a stereo and some upgraded wiring.
I am sure that the wiring solutions will be the biggest boon to our fans as it seems to be one of the most common issues presented on the forums.
When we get there We'll go off to another thread and see about that but DO NOT do wiring questions here. I'll ignore them and when you repeat them in the correct forum I'll delay the reply because you insulted me by ignoring this simple request.
Are we all on the same page?
Thanks.
If your questions belong in repair, I'll set up a linked thread, if it's about paint, welding or premature ejaculation then I'll give a brief synopsis and a link if I have it.
It's a timeline to rebuild a mower and some nice bits of info, keep it on topic.
Luv you guys
we should have a party
B

My management team completely authorised the previous statement.
But will not testify to my sanity.
You can't win them all.



WOOF !!

Did you get that?




Thanks

Back to the mower...
One of the immediate issues was the engine.
It was not tapped so you have to have a 7/16 UNC tap.
No worries, we did that.
If you are new. Try to ensure you begin the tap as close as possible to square. (I'm actually lying here, it must be perfect) Singer oil or WD at all times. Try and flush the tap. Rotate through about 60 degrees and backpedal about 120 degrees and repeat. This needs touch, be slow and patient. I use a large drill press for normal threading but the locations here demand a steady hand.
When you've done this for each then thread a blt of a bolt in to pat yourself on the back.
I did well and all were perfect. It's hard to send "feel" on the internet but that's as good as I'd venture, but be square and be gentle.

then set the engine into the mount.
Easy, but get used to it.
you may mount-unmount assemblies several times to check clearances and adjustments. Don't assume that when you put it in it's final.
Final happens after many checks and balances.
An old chassis will have flexed, and distorted.
Here is my most vital advise.
Relax, do not hurry, think about the machine. It should do it's job effortlessly for years so if it is not smooth and has to move..
IT'S WRONG.
Go back and re work the assembly.

I'm impressed, very nice work there.

I'll add some pics soon but let's just move on.
The pulley...
I'll give my details but you'll find almost identical issues in all vertical shaft engines.
they are a 1" shaft (25.4mm) and have a keyway (we'll get to that spec soon)
Then onto a pulley hub.
Typically the upper hub is for drive and the lower is the "PTO" or power take off which drives the blades assembly.

Now, to your deck..


Does it spin nice and clean?
Yep... Move on
No... We have a problem. Fix it? Repair it or replace it?
Your call but we were OK
So we move to our belts..
I'll do spindles elsewhere so leave it for now.
We did all new belts and we'll do the threading and setting soon. If you need new ones, order them now. Typically a drive belt will outlast about 4 deck belts so keep a spare deck belt on hand.

If you weren't so ugly I'd think that a compliment

We took all of the abutments and after seeing obvious faults made corrections.
One was the mounts of the dash turret to the base.
Everyone pushes a mower by the steering wheel ???
Well, you do, don't you?
This broke the lower folds in in the turret assembly.
Not good for the factory design but not a big ask from our super management team..



who made the snap decision to weld some re-enforced brackets in there

Watch for our next highly charged episode where we weld new mounts to the turret, veiw our new engine and discover that the hood won't fit. I'm so excited i could just pee.

WOW!!

OK, we're back whoo Hoo!
We stripped the mower to just the chassis, verified all the pulley's and levers were good and stripped the steering, and most of the connections. (the previous pic shows the front end partially broken down) As it was original only to be e rebuild we didn't completely dis-assemble the chassis. It was in very good condition and would have been a waste. We did of course take to it with a toothbrush and many miscellaneous cleaning implements to make sure it was as clean as the rest of unit.
Many hours and much frustration.
Any shafts were slid out and tested, if needed greased, cleaned, lubed or spaced with the correct washers for good tolerance and minimum play.

We pulled the wiring loom, and traced the wires.
Just to double check where we needed to patch anything.
Next we set up all of the chassis tinware and checked for faults.
The nose cone was dented and some minor twists we hammered out on an anvil.


All removed parts were treated similarly, they were washed in degreaser, washed in petrol (gently) and then spray and wipe (yep) with a scouring pad.
Then we rubbed them all with #320 W&D before repainting with epoxy.
Every assembly was washed in solvent, usually diesel and the petrol, scrubbed in a degreaser bath and then washed with car wash, rinsed and left to dry in sun. We of course had spots of rust on some of the exposed metal within days so we knew we'd got it right.
I'll show you my washer setup soon (I need to take some pics) but it's simple and effective. Also a pressure washer is handy (essential).

We'll jump a bit here as at this point we'd tapped the engine and wanted to test fit it.
Here's a little trick to tap the holes properly.
Drill a hole almost exactly correct (smaller) in a piece of 19mm MDF only about 75-100mm sq using a drill press and offer the tap through this into the case. This provides a guide to keep the tap square to the cases. Once the tap has taken into the case, remove the guide and flush the hole and resume the procedure.

Any way we dropped the engine in and found that we had a few issues...
The exhaust didn't line up, (no surprise there) and that the engine was longer and the bonnet wouldn't fit. A bit more interesting. We'll look at that soon.
And... the inevitable wiring issues. I'll go into those again but they are relatively simple whe you get down to it.
(I suppose anything is simple after a full switching 32 bit microprocessor).
Here's the engine offered up for initial measurement.
Be prepared to fit and remove the engine several times during the whole thing, I keep a pallet etc. so it's less effort than doing a battery.






Of course all of these procedures were stringently observed by our diligent management team...

WOOF

Feel free to ask any questions about anything except wiring.
I'll do a new thread soon as soon as possible so that anyone can trace and wire a chassis to almost any engine. That's not for this thread. Any engine questions, paint, screws, etc. no worries.
Hope you're all enjoying so far.

WOOF!

My previous comment was ill considered and insulting, I apologise.
I was on a run with a manic diatribe and just barged through any comment without thinking. OOPS
It happens to me often, (BiPolar) and IQ aren't good for making friends.
Sorry

And as we continue with our build we stop, blow a spliff and chill.

Oh yes..

Cool tunes, where would we be without cool tunes...



Then we may become raucous. the best is yet to come...
I'm forking with single barrel EFI..> Won't that be SO cool.

Here's a little close up of two of the issues that we had fitting the larger engine.
Firstly the engine was longer.
Secondly the exhaust spat straight into hood. It really kills the paint.
Here I'll show the extension and later some better pics and much later (when the rain stops) I'll outline the exhaust solution.


Here you can see where the bonnet hinges and further back a bolt.
Just forward of the bolt in the original tinware was the mount for the bonnet (hood if you're a yank).
I made a pair of brackets from some scrap 2mm plate which moved the hinge point 65mm forward and 20 upward.
I used the rear bolt holes to hold the brackets to get perfect position and then welded through the original hinge holes to the brackets.
Then of course I dressed the welds and primed, prior to final paint.
In the top left you can see the problematic exhaust ('zorst if you're a yob). The small spot welds holding the baffle were dressed back clean with a Dremel (I love my Dremel) so the deflection pipe would would fit cleanly, I'll show that in the near future.

You can also see here the selective use of the chrome plated bolts.
They give a bit of bling (is that REALLY a word?).
This machine will remain a work in progress for an example of the ridiculous things you do with a Lawn Tractor . I like the term "Lawn Tractor" better than ride-on mower for the lager engine in front machines. Ride-on always throws images of old Rover Rangers in my head (My 3rd resto from now)here it is.



My current work in progress is a Lawn Tractor by Victa which shares the same chassis and setup with our iPhone build but I don't have a deck so I'm building an ungoverned 15hp with a carby from my old school Yamaha 250XS a tuned exhaust and a foot throttle. It goes well. So it will become the tow car for the trailers and implements and in top gear a bit of fun.
Here it is from the original ad. We have it running around with a hand throttle and a (really) dodgy exhaust.




The following project (research, parts acquisition and resources are well advanced) is a 42" Husqvana. I'll be offering this for sale as I only have 2 acres and 1/2 an acre per mower is approaching overkill
I've got some great ideas for this and I'm torn as which I'll keep. I've learned a lot from the Murray so the Husky may be better?



Anyway, I can see it, but to you guys it's just piece of yard trash.
This one I'll thread here as I do it. I imagine about 6-8 months as winters here are not fun for playing outside.

Next, we'll do some colour matched bolt heads.
Both cheap and easy but very good and very good but will piss off the missus to no end.

Now, we'll talk about paint.

In this job I used Eleven (11) different paint products.
Each had a particular advantage or suitability to the job and in some cases was the only choice. Remember that each can was $15-20 then the right paint will add nearly $200 to a resto. Of course if you're doing several the cost get diffused but these thing if not accounted for can be unreasonably expensive. Also add paint thinners solvents spray guns, masks etc. Consider.


Unfortunately, there is no shortcut here.

Always use the right paint for the right job. I understand that most of you are servicing small engines and restoring smaller implements. These rules apply and this will be a long and boring diatribe. I've restored classic cars, race cars and maintained all sorts of machinery, I fly R/C planes where the weight is critical, I've run a successful hobby shop where the applications for paint are beyond imagining.

Let us talk paint, the difference between a winner or a loser.
On this particular job I was a total loser, did'nt get the epoxy thinned right and had some runs. But I learned a lot and will never suffer those particular indignities again.

Let's do one method every 5-6 posts, that will help the interested and I my ego can pretend you care about my mower

Application #1
A random sheet metal item that's scratched and some minor rust is appearing.

Wash, I use a strong household cleaner first and if it's REALLY dirty, a solvent bath with kero or petrol.
Toothbrushes are good as are scouring pads, there's no real need to go to specialised "auto shop" products, common household stuff and simple solvents are good.
When the piece is CLEAN. Examine for chips and faults. Now is the time to tap out any dents and to check for flaking paint.
If you have flaking and loose paint this is the time to halt degradation. Using course paper, either a random orbital or by hand rub the loose paint until the good paint blends with the underlying metal. we want a SMOOTH surface not smooth with an edge that may have some oxides waiting like cancer.
Apply a primer, if we have minor imperfections, use a filler primer, if not just a good metal primer.
It will dry quickly but leave for 24 hrs on a good day and 72 on a bad to let it shrink back. Sand then with a 400-600 grit paper and ensure all imperfection has been addressed. If you have issues the repeat but only in the areas needed. I use a course airbrush or touch up gun for 90% of my painting as it's mainly smaller areas on mowers and my Brother is a total ace on bodywork so I only really play with the smaller areas.

Then using about 30psi in my gravity feed touch up gun (see below), float 3 coats onto the object. Usually I'd do in batches so when I'm done with all for one coat, I'm ready to start again.
I't's very important to do all this in one session, going back after a few hours will bubble and lift the previous cats and the only solution is begin again. (I've been there trust me it's a real headfuck).
The last coat thin a little more.
I use about 20% for the initial coats but at the end thin to about 40%, in acrylic terms it's called a "flash" coat but the reasoning and result is the same that the thinned coat melts the ones below and the surface tension smooths the finish.
Epoxy dries slow so either awarm day or an oven for small bits for a good finish.
One of the many reasons I remain a bachelor .

I'll assume you have a compressor ?
Then grab a few of these...
I have both and they work well but have different feels.
The suction gun is more subtle but finer





and the gravity feed is closer to an adjustable rattle can.



I use this gun for more than 80% of the work so if only one than I'd use it for most things.

It's junk compared to an Iwata and I have those but compared to industrial work and hobby work it isn't worth me getting those guns out.

Keep it clean, look after it and it delivers 1000's of times the investment. As with all good tools, maintain and be familiar and they become good tools. I'll pick up my cheapy touch up gu now and surf the settings and get to incredible standards.

PLAY, PLAY, PLAY some more. make it comfortable is more important than its cost.

I airbrush with a Passche but won't get it dirty for a mower.

I use Dulux metalsheild for chassis stuff and VHT for specific Hi-temp applications but use Automotive acrilics for some body mork but this job was done with epoxy everywhere, harder to do but tougher and more suitable for an outdoor machine.