Scale-Model Antique Tractors

Scale-Model Antique Tractors TRACTORS Antiques 20-6-36 FARM SHOW readers might be interested in these two scale-model antique tractors I built a couple years ago for my sons, Dwayne, 15, and Cotey, 9. Both tractors are built out of an assortment of old parts I've re-machined, and they really work. In fact, the Minneapolis Moline will pull 5,400 lbs rolling weight, while the B.F. Avery will pull 3,500 lbs. The Minneapolis Moline BF is patterned after an early 1950's vintage tractor. It's powered by a Model 14 Briggs and Stratton 7 hp engine coupled to a 3-speed Wheel Horse transmission. It has V model Avery steering and fenders. The front tire is 400 by 8-in. off a riding mower; rear tires are 15-in. dia. tires off an old skid steer loader. The hardest part of building the tractor, which weighs 440 lbs and has a 6 ft. wheelbase, was getting the steering right because there isn't much bracing up front. To solve the problem, I put a carrier bearing in the middle of the steering shaft and braced it to the motor. I've got about $250 invested in the project. The B.F. Avery is patterned after a late 1940's Model A Avery. It's powered by a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton engine coupled to a 2-speed Bantam transmission I got at the local dump. It has a 400 by 4-in. front tire and 1200 by 8-in. rear tires off a riding lawnmower. The hood is made out of a 25-gal. gas tank off a 1937 Minneapolis Moline J. Like the Minneapolis Moline BF, the hardest part of building the B.F. Avery was the steering. We've taken both tractors to seven or eight antique tractor shows a year and everyone says they've never seen anything like them. (John McCall, Jr., 4602 Crooked Creek Rd., Carlisle, Ky. 40311; ph 606 289-5647).

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