When This Tractor Smokes, It's Really Cooking

When This Tractor Smokes, It's Really Cooking TRACTORS Modifications 27-6-3 There's a restored antique tractor in Hazel Green, Alabama that does more than just look nice. The 1941 Farmall "H" fools some people into thinking it's a pulling tractor because it looks a bit customized, but they couldn't be further from the truth. What's actually hidden under those mysterious sheet metal sides is a barbeque grill, says its owner Henry Carter. The original motor on the tractor was bad, so it was converted by Carter's friend, Charley Mason. The oil pan from a Cummings diesel engine slides out to put charcoal in, and a large grill sits above it. "The grill is made from six standard size gas barbeque grills. The cooking area is 46 in. long, 44 in. wide and 24 in. deep," Carter says. "The grill metal is 3/8-in. plating so it will last 50 years. The tractor is standard size - we didn't stretch it out." Dennis Donahue of Indiana saw the unique rig when traveling through Alabama, and called FARM SHOW about it, he was so impressed. "One of the gauges on the dash is actually a thermometer that tells you the temperature inside the barbeque," he says. "The smoke comes out through the muffler exhaust pipe. It looks very nice. The tires are on it and it looks like a running tractor." In fact, the engineless tractor is rigged up with a half horsepower electric motor with a 30/1 gearbox to chain drive the original five-speed transmission. This lets Carter "drive" the tractor up onto a trailer for transport, or move it around the yard. Carter says it took 100 man hours to build the tractor barbeque. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Henry Carter, Box 91, Hazel Green, Alabama 35750 (ph 256 828-3816; fax 256 828-6755; email: hjcarter@bellsouth.net).

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