2000 - Volume #24, Issue #6, Page #31

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Home-Built Tractors Work Great For Small Jobs

Home-Built Tractors Work Great For Small Jobs TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 24-6-31 "They took a lot of time to build but it was worth the effort," says Elmer Kisinger, Morris Run, Pa., about the two small tractors he built from scratch. His 2-WD tractor is powered by a 1963 Mercedes diesel engine which he took from his car after the body rusted out. The Mercedes' original 4-speed transmission hooks up to another 4-speed transmission from a Ford 250 pickup. The two transmissions give him 17 forward speeds and four in reverse. The tractor is equipped with a 3-pt. hitch and pto. A chain drive between the rear transmission and the tractor's rear end powers the pto at four different speeds in either direction. He puts the rear transmission in neutral when running the pto. "The slowest reverse speed works great for removing my pto-driven post hole auger from the ground," notes Kisinger. He used part of an old house trailer to build the tractor frame. The 15-in. high front tires are off a forklift while the 3-ft. high rear tires came from a Kubota tractor. The seat is off an old hay rake and the steering wheel from a 1959 Ford car. A rollbar with flashing lights on top mounts behind the seat. "I use the tractor to plow my neighbor's garden, operate a snow blade and drive a pto-driven wood splitter. I've taken it to antique tractor shows where it's a big hit." He also built a 4-WD articulated tractor that's powered by a V-6 engine and transmission out of a Chevy S10 pickup. The tractor rides on two rear ends off 3/4-ton pickups û one a Ford and the other a Chevy. The automatic transmission chain-drives a transfer case off a Ford 250 pickup. Kisinger cut 2 ft. out of each axle to narrow them up. The automatic transmission went a little too fast so he made a gear reduction box for the transfer case to slow the tractor down. He used steel from a small house trailer to make the tractor's frame and cab. The cab roof is an old refrigerator door. He used aluminum sheeting to make the sides and installed plexiglass windows. "I made the front hood from some kind of steel box that was full of holes which I welded shut. The 7.50 by 17 tires are off a pickup," says Kisinger. The hitch on front can be used to operate a snowplow. The tractor has two separate hydraulic pumps - a steering pump off an old Ford that's used to operate the snowplow, and another pump that's used for steering. "I used a couple of hydraulic cylinders off a bulldozer to make the articulation joint. The cylinders are hooked up to an old Volkswagen steering gear and are operated by a hydraulic valve," notes Kisinger. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elmer Kisinger, Box 67, Morris Run, Pa. 16939 (ph 570 638-2620).