Dragster Mower Goes Up To 40 Mph
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You've never seen a riding mower like this "dragster" built by Mark Madson, Clinton, Wis. He built it out of two junked Deere 175 riding mowers, fitting it with a 3-ft. sickle-bar in front and "high speed" wings and wheelie bar on back.
"I built it mostly for looks but it works unbelievably well," says Madson, who of-ten takes the mower to hot rod shows. "I call it model 427 because many real dragsters use Chevrolet 427 cu. in. engines. The mower still has its original 11 hp engine and belt-drive transmission. However, I changed the primary drive ratio on the pulleys so it'll run at speeds up to 40 mph on the road and will even do wheelies.
"The sicklebar doesn't do quite as good a job of cutting lawns as a conventional deck but it's a lot more fun to operate. I paid only $65 for the two mowers and spent a total of less than $200. Most of that was for a new seat, chrome exhaust pipes, and paint"
Madson cut off one of the mower frames and flipped it upside down, then welded the engine onto it and lowered the hood. Next, he mounted four chrome exhaust pipes on each side of the engine and cut away the back part of the mower housing, replacing it with tall rear fenders along each side of the seat. He also remounted the steering wheel so it's positioned horizontally.
He cut 5 ft. off an 8-ft. tractor sicklebar and welded it onto brackets that mount on front of the mower. It's driven by a battery-operated electric motor hooked up to a pitman arm. A solenoid switch is used to start the motor.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Madson, 8729 E. Little Lane, Clinton, Wis. 53525 (ph 608 676-4283).
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Dragster Mower Goes Up To 40 Mph FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 18-4-18 You've never seen a riding mower like this "dragster" built by Mark Madson, Clinton, Wis. He built it out of two junked Deere 175 riding mowers, fitting it with a 3-ft. sickle-bar in front and "high speed" wings and wheelie bar on back.
"I built it mostly for looks but it works unbelievably well," says Madson, who of-ten takes the mower to hot rod shows. "I call it model 427 because many real dragsters use Chevrolet 427 cu. in. engines. The mower still has its original 11 hp engine and belt-drive transmission. However, I changed the primary drive ratio on the pulleys so it'll run at speeds up to 40 mph on the road and will even do wheelies.
"The sicklebar doesn't do quite as good a job of cutting lawns as a conventional deck but it's a lot more fun to operate. I paid only $65 for the two mowers and spent a total of less than $200. Most of that was for a new seat, chrome exhaust pipes, and paint"
Madson cut off one of the mower frames and flipped it upside down, then welded the engine onto it and lowered the hood. Next, he mounted four chrome exhaust pipes on each side of the engine and cut away the back part of the mower housing, replacing it with tall rear fenders along each side of the seat. He also remounted the steering wheel so it's positioned horizontally.
He cut 5 ft. off an 8-ft. tractor sicklebar and welded it onto brackets that mount on front of the mower. It's driven by a battery-operated electric motor hooked up to a pitman arm. A solenoid switch is used to start the motor.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Madson, 8729 E. Little Lane, Clinton, Wis. 53525 (ph 608 676-4283).
