Three Of A Kind: Big, Middle, And Little Molines

2012 - Volume #36, Issue #1, Page #22

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Ike Martin has more than 100 tractors in his Minneapolis Moline collection but one tractor really stands out because he owns 3 versions of it – big, little and middle-sized.
  Martin bought the full-sized A4T-1600 and restored it. He built the other two from scratch, a 1/2-scale model he calls A4T-800 and an A4T-400, a 1/4-scale model.
  As a tractor parts business owner he had plenty of parts and scrap material to fabricate the smaller articulated tractors.
  He used a rear end from a Minneapolis RT as the base for his 800, and he powered it with a Cummins diesel engine. The base of the 400 model is a Steiner tractor and it’s powered by a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel engine.
  “It’s turbo-charged and sounds good in there,” Martin says of the Kubota engine.
  He spent about a year’s worth of his spare time on each tractor, making modifications and fabricating most of the parts. He took his time figuring out the scale and aligning the wheels to ensure the articulation worked well. The planning and work paid off.
  “I had the 1/2-scale (800) tractor at a Moline show and a man checked it out real close,” Martin says. “He was an engineer who had worked for Moline, and he was impressed with how I got everything according to scale.”
  Martin added all the details, including a working 3-pt. hitch, and his home-built versions attract a lot of attention when he takes them to shows.
  Fellow collectors tease him about running out of numbers for the A4T model. There likely won’t be an A4T-200, he says. But he does have a A4T-1600 toy tractor to go with his collection.
  He is pleased with how his scale models turned out. Though they were challenging, he notes a more recent project has been the most difficult.
  “I built a 1/2-scale Caterpillar D4 and plow,” he explains. “I fabricated the Caterpillar’s undercarriage, and building it took four years of work. It took a year to make the plow.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ike Martin, Martin Tractor Parts, 866 Green Spring Rd., Newville, Penn. 17241 (ph 717 580-0246 or 717 776-7542).

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Three Of A Kind: Big Middle And Little Molines AG WORLD Ike Martin has more than 100 tractors in his Minneapolis Moline collection but one tractor really stands out because he owns 3 versions of it – big little and middle-sized Martin bought the full-sized A4T-1600 and restored it He built the other two from scratch a 1/2-scale model he calls A4T-800 and an A4T-400 a 1/4-scale model As a tractor parts business owner he had plenty of parts and scrap material to fabricate the smaller articulated tractors He used a rear end from a Minneapolis RT as the base for his 800 and he powered it with a Cummins diesel engine The base of the 400 model is a Steiner tractor and it’s powered by a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel engine “It’s turbo-charged and sounds good in there ” Martin says of the Kubota engine He spent about a year’s worth of his spare time on each tractor making modifications and fabricating most of the parts He took his time figuring out the scale and aligning the wheels to ensure the articulation worked well The planning and work paid off “I had the 1/2-scale 800 tractor at a Moline show and a man checked it out real close ” Martin says “He was an engineer who had worked for Moline and he was impressed with how I got everything according to scale ” Martin added all the details including a working 3-pt hitch and his home-built versions attract a lot of attention when he takes them to shows Fellow collectors tease him about running out of numbers for the A4T model There likely won’t be an A4T-200 he says But he does have a A4T-1600 toy tractor to go with his collection He is pleased with how his scale models turned out Though they were challenging he notes a more recent project has been the most difficult “I built a 1/2-scale Caterpillar D4 and plow ” he explains “I fabricated the Caterpillar’s undercarriage and building it took four years of work It took a year to make the plow ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ike Martin Martin Tractor Parts 866 Green Spring Rd Newville Penn 17241 ph 717 580-0246 or 717 776-7542

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