«Previous    Next»
Utility Tractor Built Out Of Deere Riding Mower
I built a utility tractor out of a 1970 Deere 214 riding mower. It has a seat that's big enough for two people. I call it my Run-A-Bout because it really comes in handy for doing jobs around our farm. I use it around my place to pull a trailer and also a sprayer. It looks so good that some people want to know if I bought it at a factory.
  I made it primarily to take to tractor shows and parades. A lot of people take their golf carts to tractor shows and ride around on them. I use this tractor the same way. I mount a Deere umbrella over the seat when I'm riding around at shows. I gutted the muffler so that it sounds a little more like a tractor than a mower. It'll go 14 to 15 mph.
  I bought the mower used with the deck missing and a bad Kohler 14 hp gas engine. I overhauled the engine, then decided to convert the mower into a tractor. I cut the frame in half and lengthened it about 14 in. I also raised the frame about 12 in. I replaced the original wheels with 14-in. high Deere implement tires on front and 20-in. high rear tractor tires on back. To mount the front tires I split the mower wheel rims and welded the implement wheels onto them. I did the same thing on back except that I welded in the wheel rims off a 1935 Chevrolet truck.
  The tractor still has its original belt-driven rear transaxle. I replaced the belt with a longer one and installed belt guides to keep the belt in place. The tractor also still has the original hood and front end. The fenders are off a1950 Case VAC tractor and the drawbar is off a Farmall H tractor. I mounted an extension on the exhaust pipe, which comes out from behind a shield (original to the mower) at the front end of the tractor.
  The double-wide seat sits on top of the mower's fenders and is supported on back by a rectangular frame made out of angle iron and square tubing. The gear shift lever goes straight down to the transaxle and sets about 12 in. farther back than its original location. There's a hole on the mower platform, right under the steering wheel, where the original gear shift lever used to be. (Jerry Cotter, 921 Cauley Lane, San Angelo, Texas 76903 ph 915 655-3030)


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2001 - Volume #25, Issue #2