Twin Farmall Causes Double Takes

Twin Farmall Causes Double Takes TRACTORS Conversions 26-1-33 After seeing a couple of side-by-side tractors that other collectors made by putting two tractors together, long-time Farmall collector Clare Kerns, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, figured he could do it, too. The result is a tractor that is a real eye catcher at shows. Kerns worked out a design that allowed him to put two A Farmalls on the same rear end and have it powered by either engine or both. "Kerns bought two A's - one made in 1944 and the second from 1946. "Except for the year, the two tractors are identical." The transmission and differential are offset to the right on the A. This allowed him to cut into the axle housing on the left side and attach the transmission from the second tractor. "I used the original rear axle from one of the tractors. It had a gear on the side opposite the transmission. I had that machined off and splines cut on it to match the other side, so I could attach it to the second transmission," he explains. He centered the operator's seat and steering wheel. One clutch pedal disengages both clutches. With just one clutch pedal, he can power the tractor with either engine or both at once. He left both throttles in place. "I thought about trying to hook up one throttle so it would control the speed of both engines, but if you're using both, you can match the speeds just by listening to and matching the pitch of the engines," he says. Kerns made use of both sets of rear wheels by mounting duals on the rear axle. "I've used it for pulling and it does pretty well. Even with the duals, it runs out of traction before it runs out of power," he says. While either engine can be used to power the tractor, Kerns put just one battery and generator on his double tractor. "It doesn't take two batteries to run it and I didn't figure I needed the second one, nor the generator, either," he says. But he notes that if he doesn't use the engine with the generator on it, he could run down the battery. He says he did have to beef up the front end so it would be heavy enough to hold up both tractors. And he lengthened the drawbar. Overall width of Kerns' double A is only 7 ft., even with the duals in place. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clare Kerns, 870 D Menno Village, Chambersburg, Penn. 17201 (ph 717 264-9729).

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