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Front-End Loader To 1970's Deere 400 Tractor
Here's a project that might interest some of your readers. I rescued an early 1970's Deere 400 tractor from a scrap pile after a lifetime of hard use.
Then, with some help from my Uncle, Lyle Williams, we added a front-end loader to make it more useful. The loader has just one arm so it only requires two rams - one on the lift arm and one on the bucket. The loader is made from 3-in. sq. tubing and slides into a piece of 4-in. tubing mounted under the tractor like a receiver hitch. The frame mounts ahead of the brake pedals and then wraps back above them to the pivot point to keep the lift arm as close to the tractor center as possible. The pivot points are 1-in. pins riding on replaceable bronze bushings.
I found the bucket in a salvage yard and got the rams at an auction. The rest of the parts were off-the-shelf items we got at a local supply store. The entire loader project only cost about $250.
I also built a 3-pt. hitch for the tractor using mostly odds and ends from the scrap pile. It operates off the original mower lift. (Brad Wentzel, E6001 Evanswood Rd., Weyauwega, Wis. 54983)


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2000 - Volume #24, Issue #3