HOMEMADE TRACTOR START

[Johndeere3720]

Nicely done. Have you decided what color to paint it in the end?

 

[cranker]

thanks jd, i am going to go yellow and black(cat). I live in iowa so verywhere i look it is green..LOL Which i am guessing that you are a big fan of... So am i just wanted something to stick ot a lttle.

 

[o2batsea]

This is just me, but I'd suggest that instead of mechanical drive you go hydraulic. There's about ten gazillion different ways to do it, all of which will allow you far more room in the chassis than a C4 and Xfer case. In addition to the drive component you'll have hydraulic power to run implements. Use the chassis rails as your tankage.

If you insist on a transfer case set up, you should look into the Terra Low kit for the Dana 300. It will give you like a 4-something to one low range. Your gearbox should be an NP435 with granny first. An underdrive might serve well too. Advance Adapters has all this stuff. It costs a fortune.

I can't figure out why you didnt source an actual tractor and refurbish it.

 

[cranker]

o2, i have always wanted to build a compact tractor just to see if i could. i have no desire to refurb one. I have always liked the 2.3 ford and have always thought it would be a good engine for a small tractor. I have done most of my fabrication the the 4wheel drive scene so i am familar with advanced adapters stuff and also the cost(wow) but it is really nice stuff. The np435 would not fit my motor and i am not willing to spend the amount of money on an adapter not to metion the overal size of the drivetrain. hence the small sammy tcase. The hydraulics would be great but alot more thenwhat i have in my drive train. I work in the automotive field so i have some connections for that kind of stuff.

Crank

 

[HarleyScooter]

Crank, I like where you are going with this build. After reading all the input you are receiving I have a couple of comments. The more you add to the drive line the less your build will look like a tractor and more like a Top Fuel Rail but with the addition of a front end loader your longer frame would have less need for a large rear counter weight. Another option on the drive train would be sprockets and chains, we used them a lot back in the day building race Jeeps some guys did not even use a transfer cases, and gearing is almost unlimited. A spool in the rear diff will make it very hard to turn and cause some damage to the ground surface, a good posi unit may be a better choice. As far as hydraulics my belt driven log splitter has a 16 gpm pump and my tractor only has a output of around 5-6 gpm so you should have no problem getting enough flow running a pump off of the front belts on you engine. Great build, and I am looking forward to more pictures.
Scott

 

[cranker]

Scooter, thanks for the compliment. I know it looks like it should be doing some sand drags or something. and the header doesnt help either. I have thought about chains for the gear reduction. The guy i got the drive train from uses those in his pulling tractor but i just dont like them. That is the only reason i just dont like the looks of them. I now it sounds weird but it is just one of those things i cant get past. If i absolutly had to use one i would but so far i dont so i wont. As far as the spool goes i have deceided to go with an open diff. If i have problems with that i will check into a selectable locker. Stock I believe this 2.3 puts out a little over 80hp so i am just going to put another pully on the crank and run the pump off that i think. Atleast that is the plan for now the way everything else is going that will probably change too.

Thanks Crank

 

[carpenter383]

If you use individual rear brakes you may not even need a locker as bad as you think. Those air lockers are pretty nice, but not cheap and of course you need an air supply too. I don't know if a normal limited slip diff would last very long in a tractor. Maybe a heavy duty one that's made for racing would be ok.

 

[cranker]

yeah i was thinking about putting cutting brakes on it and i still may. I think eaton or auburn makes an electric one for it not sure though, i am hoping that the open will be okay.

 

[racingmodracer]

BOY have to say it looks like your doing a fine job there, and of couse if something does not work as you wanted you can change it. looks like it will be a pretty mean machine when your done. good luck and will look forward to seeing more pictures of it as you go along.

 

[Redneck in training]

Here is a homemade tractor my brother bought recently. It has 1300 cc gas engine of about 50 HP. Two transmissions in series. The second one has only 1st and 2nd gear.

 

[joes_427_vette]

Crank;
Your doing an excellent job. Love the tig welding. Bet it takes practice. You have to leave room for the tall gearing for burn outs and high speed touring ( ha ha ) . The only thing missing is four whel drive. I bought two new tractors and wouldn't be without it.
Your shop is way too clean and the open spaces...... how do you manage? I have a 40x72 two story building with too many tractors, cars and trucks. I have a car stacking unit for four almost ready to assemble which should leave me a little more wandering room. I like my lincoln digital MIG. I see alot of TIGs for sale lately. I guess many wanted to be an offshoot of Orange County Choppers.
I'm waiting for the sheet metal design. I'm counting on you to make it cool. Great pictures and post many more! jr

 

[David Devuono]

two things, great project and I would keep the auto tranny because the torque convertor gives you slip so you can move very slowly just off idle but will use your brakes alot to control speed on hills and such. Second thing is, when you plan to work your tractor and want to keep a certain speed, it will bog under load unless you have a method of adding more fuel. You will get tired of using the gas pedal. I had a gas Unimog and it had a hand trottle but no Governor and if you hit the clutch the engine would overrev. I received a neat homemade tractor. It has a very small 4Cyl, 4spd, gear reduction box with the output driving a chain to a ford 9" diff faciing backwards. It has a governor so I set the RPM and it stays there whether I step on the clutch or go up a hill. Can't find too many pictures as I robbed the Alternator for my MF135 a couple years ago. I added fenders, a hood and bumper, grill guard and a go-cart style disc brake on the Diff.

 

[cranker]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I have been busy with some other things so i have not had a lot of time to fiddle with the tractor. I should be working on it more this weekend so i should have some more pics.

Thanks Crank

 

[cranker]

Well i had a little time to work on the tractor. Didn't get as much done as i wanted but still made some progress. I got the frame lengthened about 11" to make room for the tcase. Got the drive shaft made and assembled. You can also see the tank mount but i am not sure if i will leave it there.

Here is one of the tcase mounts. I think between the two of them it sould be plenty strong.

Also got the time to hook up some ignition wiring and actually got it fired up. It sounds pretty good. not as loud as i thought it would be coming straight out of the header. Dont worry this is just temp wiring so i could figure out everything i need to have hooked up so it will run. It will all be redone once i figure out where i will mount the ignition module,coil and starter snd.

Here is a close up of the patch i put over the but joint.

And the last pic of the whole tractor.

Thanks Crank

 

[carpenter383]

Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[DRL]

I love it!!
One question, unless I am not seeing right, you have rubber engine mounts and solid trans' mount at the tail. also solid mount for transfer case with no U joint. Seems like a lot of stress on the trans tailshaft and TC input shaft.
Keep up the good work.

 

[cranker]

Thanks carpenter.

Thanks DRL. Yeah you are correct. I am to alittle worried but i am going to go with it and see what happends.Plus the motor mounts are basicaly solid rubber disc so there shouldn't be much movement.

Thanks Crank

 

[CavinMan]

Is this creation eventually going to be sporting a ROPS ?

 

[mjncad]

I just stumbled across this cool project and I'm looking forward to seeing it through completion.

Out of curiosity, could you have done some sort of flange to flange direct connection between the transfer case and rear axle to keep the chassis length down?

Are my eyes playing tricks on me; but are the u-joints between the transfer case and rear axle 90-degrees out of phase? It shouldn't matter in this case since there is no rear axle suspension.

 

[cranker]

Cavinman, Yes i will make some type of rops for it.

mj, they are out of phase i believe, i just quickly put it together to make sure it fit. this is all just a dry run while building. i will tear it all apart and paint and then final assemble and take care of little details like that.