Articulated 4-WD Mini 'Versatile' Tractor

Articulated 4-WD Mini Versatile Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 17-5-10 "My 4-WD articulated `mini Versatile' tractor works great for plowing snow or grading gravel. I built it in proportion to a big 4-WD tractor," says Jack Miller, Shellbrook, Sask. The chore tractor measures 4 ft. wide, 8 ft. long, and 6 ft. high and is equipped with a 5 1/2-ft. wide blade in front. Miller built the rig by narrowing up two Datsun pickup rear axles and connecting them with a home built articulation system that he made by welding together two spindles salvaged from the front wheels of a junked car. New 7.60 by 15 lugged swather tires are mounted on the axles. To power his "mini Versatile", Miller used an "Epic" 4-cyl., 40 hp gas engine from an old Chevrolet compact car made in England. He also used the car's 4-speed manual transmission. "It works well and is handy to use around my yard and feedlot. It'll pull a 2-bottom plow with ease. I spent only about S2,500," says Miller, who built the tractor six years ago. "I didn't build it to any particular scale and I didn't plan on making it look like a Versatile. However, as I put the tractor together it started looking more like one so I built a Versatile style hood and painted the tractor orange and yellow. The cab is small and lined with black leatherette to keep it warm. When I'm plowing snow I can work in my shortsleeves even when the temperature outside is 30 degrees below zero. It also has a radio and cassette tape deck. "The hydraulic system is off an old Massey Ferguson 4-WD tractor. There are two double acting cylinders on the tractor - one in front to angle the blade and one in back that controls the steering." The Datsun pickup differentials both work at the same speed ratio. Miller had to cut 1 ft. off each axle to make them fit the 4-ft. wide tractor frame. Contact: Jack Miller, Box 483, Shelibrook, Saskatchewan Canada SOJ 2E0 (ph 306 747-2806).

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