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Tim Sweeney And His Amazing Deere 60 Crawler
Tim Sweeney, Springfield, Ohio, built what he calls a “John Deere 60” crawler that draws big crowds wherever it goes.
    The idea for the crawler was not a new one. Sweeney, a Deere mechanic, had been thinking about it since he was a teen. Growing up on the farm his dad had a Deere 420 crawler used for both farm chores and logging. They also had a Deere 60 wheeled tractor. When Sweeney was 14 he and his father dynamited an elm tree, then attempted to move it off the field and to the woods. While doing this, he told his dad, “If we had a 60 on tracks that would be a real machine.”
    That day the idea for his creation took root. “I drew it out on paper for two years and worked on it for another two.”
    The framework is from a 1955 60 that he found in a barn 20 miles away. He used a Deere 2010 crawler track and steering clutch assembly.
    Sweeney shared his progress while building the crawler on Youtube and many fans followed along. Comments from Sweeney provide insight into the work he put into the machine. “I spent a couple years researching and drawing the design, had some axles re-splined and worked out the gear ratio’s to make the working speeds near the same as a regular 60,” he says.
    “I used the tracks and final drives from a Deere 2010 crawler, I fabricated the transmission case/adapter from a 1-in. steel plate, made the gearing and altered the rest to make it come together.”
    For details about how Tim put it all together check out the February 2013 issue of Green Magazine, where Tim talked about the detailed steps he took to create his masterpiece (www.greenmagazine.com).



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2014 - Volume #38, Issue #6