1948 Farmall Repowered With V-8 Olds Diesel

1948 Farmall Repowered With V-8 Olds Diesel REPOWERED EQUIPMENT Repowered Equipment 18-5-25 Putting a V-8 diesel engine in this 1948 Farmall "M" actually cost less than it would have cost to rebuild the original engine and the converted tractor has much more horsepower yet uses 3 to 4 times less fuel. John Jones runs Odon Machine in Odon, hid., and may be familiar to FARM SHOW readers as the innovator who put a V8 gas engine in a John Deere "A" two years ago (see Vol. 16, No. 6). He had tremendous interest in his original conversion of the Deere 2-cyl., with farmers driving hundreds of miles to his shop to check out the repowered two banger. Jones expects to have just as much interest in his rebuilt Farmall. He removed the original engine and fitted the tractor with an Oldsmobile 350 cu. in. diesel that's governed at 1,800 rpm's, which is about 200 rpm's above the tractor's original specs. Horsepower of the engine has been reduced by half - it tests out on the dynamometer at about 60 hp. Although he has done no fuel tests, Jones is sure fuel economy is 3 to 4 times better than the original engine. The original Farmall radiator provides sufficient cooling. A high torque starter was needed due to the higher compression of the diesel engine. The original flywheel, clutch and throttle were used. The water pump had to be completely redesigned to accommodate the radiator shroud. "It looks like it could have come from the factory with this engine installed. We made no modifications to the sheet metal on the tractor. It's a great way to give new life to a great old tractor. The combination of increased horsepower and better fuel economy is hard to beat," says Jones. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Jones, Odon Machine, P.O. Box 382, Odon, Ind. 47562 (ph 812 636-7781).

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