335 HP 4WD Tractor

335 HP 4WD Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 14-3-10 Joe Honig, Weyburn, Sask., and son Dave built their own 4-WD tractor using parts from another "made-it-myself" tractor they built more than 20 years ago. The "Honig 2" uses the same 335 hp Cummins turbocharged engine and 13-speed Fuller transmission as the tractor built in 1969 by Joe and his father, Joe Sr. The drive train, with the exception of new S34 Eaton axles, is also the same. How-ever, the new tractor has a "state of the art" cab, an extra-heavy frame, and easy access to drive train and hydraulic com¡ponents. The Honigs use the tractor to pull a43-ft. airseederand a 53-ft. cultiva¡tor. "We built the cab from 14-ga. steel, insulated it with foam padding, and mounted it on rubber mounts so it's much quieter than the old cab. It also has tinted glass, air-conditioning, and a stereo," says Joe. "The tractor frame is built from 5/8-in. steel. The tractor weighs 29,000 lbs. with no ballast. The dual wheels are equipped with 30.5 by 32 inside tires and smaller 18.4 by 38 outside tires. We wanted duals for better traction, but we didn't want to pay for two sets of 30.5 by 32 tires. The smaller tires cost 1/3 less. Altogether we spent $30,000 to build this `rebuilt' tractor. A new comparable size commercial tractor would have cost about $120,000." The universal joints and hydraulic lines on the home-built tractor can be easily serviced. "On many new tractors the frame around the transmission is clut¡tered up with hydraulic lines that leave little room to service the universal joints or other drive train components," says Honig. "We positioned hydraulic lines between the frame and the cab where they're easier to service. Greasing uni¡versal joints is also an easy job." The tractor has 3 hydraulic outlets which put out 25 gal. per min. at 2,000 psi. It operates at speeds from 2 to 20 mph, and fuel economy is 5 to 9 gal. per hour. The 260-gal. fuel tank is mounted behind the cab and between the rear wheels where it blocks the driver's view of the drawbar. To solve the problem the Honigs installed a 31/2-ft. long, 8-in. dia. steel tube diago¡nally through the tank. "The top of the tube is in line with the operator's line of sight, allowing him to look through the tube and see the drawbar," notes Honig. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Honig, P.O. Box 356, Weyburn, Sask., Canada S4H 2K1 (ph 306 842-5710).

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