"Snowbine" Blows Snow, Runs Auger

"Snowbine" Blows Snow, Runs Auger COMBINES Conversions 23-3-27 "Folks around here call it my æSnowbine,'" says Garnet Love about the workhorse "tractor" he built out of an old combine to power a snowblower that mounts on front. He also set it up to run a grain auger and do several other jobs as well. The Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, farmer started with an International 203 combine he bought for $600 from a neighbor. The header, threshing units and other grain cleaning components were worn out and the International 4-cyl., 153 cu. in. engine needed a few repairs. After stripping the combine down, Love had the valves ground and installed a new radiator core. He also shortened the frame 11 in. and reinforced it with 3-in. channel iron. He moved the engine to a lower position on the frame and installed a shorter belt between the clutch and variable speed pulleys. He uses the original header hydraulic lift cylinders to raise and lower the shop-built front-mounted 3-pt. Besides the snowblower, the 3-pt. also accommodates two 42-in. long forks Love built out of 3-in. channel iron. He uses the forks for heavy lifting chores such as hauling railroad ties or his combine chopper. He also added a pto on front driven by a belt pulley attachment off an old tractor. "The gearbox originally slid onto the pto drive on back of the tractor," he says. "I mounted it underneath the combine frame and extended the shaft 4 ft. I mounted the gearbox so the belt pulley was direct driven by a pulley on the engine." Love uses the pto to power a 40-ft. long (8-in. dia.) Sakundiak grain auger. The trickiest part of the project was moving the operator's platform to the center of the combine. "I had to modify linkages on the steering, brake and motor controls," he says. "I also changed the clutch over from steel rods to a cable and pulley system to make it easier to shift gears." In the future, he also plans to mount a mower deck on front. "It's a real handy machine to have around the farm and I hope to make it even more so," he says. Out-of-pocket expense was about $1,600, excluding the price of the new snowblower. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Garnet R. Love, R.R. 1, Box 38, Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada R1N 3A1 (ph 204 857-8120).

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