Truck-Tractor Combo Built "Just For Fun"

Kenneth Leahy, Pleasant Plains, Ill., got the idea for this "trucktor" and asked Don Moss of Tallula, Ill., to build it for him.

"It gets a lot of attention at every parade or tractor pull I take it to," says Leahy.

It consists of the back half of a 1940's Farmall H tractor and the front half of a 1960's Chevrolet 2-ton truck.

Leahy brought both ends to Moss and let him figure out how to marry them together. "It was fairly complicated to build," says Moss, who spent about three weeks on the project.

"I made a plate of 1/2-in. thick steel to fit the bell housing of the truck transmission and flared out both sides so they'd fit just inside the truck frame. I added 1/2-in. thick gussets to form a box to add strength. I then bolted the plate to the tractor and welded the boxing to the truck frame.

"I made a 1/4-in. thick adapter plate for the clutch by forming two 'donuts' the same size as the clutch plate. I took the yoke off the driveshaft of the truck and welded that to the donuts."

The driveshaft connects directly to the tractor driveshaft. Only the truck clutch is used when in operation since the gear of the trans-mission on the tractor, which acts as high/ low range, is set before the truck is started.

The one-of-a-kind gearing is ideal for "slow races" often held at tractor pulls, Leahy notes. "It'll run at a snail's pace 'creep.'"