Combine Into Grain Cart: Not Fancy But It Works

Combine Into Grain Cart: Not Fancy But It Works COMBINES Conversions 24-3-7 FARM SHOW has featured some pretty fancy self-propelled grain-hauling carts over the years but we recently came across one that was put together in a very simple way. Steve Reinhardt, Russell, Kan., simply doubled the size of the grain tank and left most of the rest of the machine intact. "We cut wheat with old Massey 750's, and I'm always looking for old combines for parts. A couple years ago, I paid $1,400 for one with a blown engine. I stripped off all the grain-cleaning parts I thought I might use on my other combines, but still had a machine with a grain tank, cab, and engine, such as it was." Steve pulled the head off the old 6-cylinder engine and found the rings had blown off one piston, leaving a hole in the piston. There was no damage to the sleeve or block, so he made the necessary repairs for not much money and got it running again. "I didn't put much into it. It probably could have used a major overhaul, but I didn't do that. It runs fine and does what we need it to do," he says. "The air conditioner works, too. That's a real plus during wheat harvest." With the engine more or less fixed, Steve cut the back out of the grain tank and, with a few sheets of 1/8-in. thick steel, extended it out over the back axle, essentially doubling its capacity. He left the unloading auger and controls in place, so he can auger off a load into a truck at the end of the field. "It holds two dumps from a combine. It's easy to handle. And it saves us from running all over the field with a truck," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Reinhardt, 18032 Fairfield Road, Russell, Kan. 67665 (ph 785 483-3815).

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