1/2-Scale 1922 Avery Tractor

1/2-Scale 1922 Avery Tractor AG WORLD 29-1-22 Using just photos and specifications that he got out of a book, Ed Rupp of Madelia, Minn., built this 1/2-scale model of a 1922 Avery 14-28 tractor. It's powered by a Chinese-built Sifang 8 hp, water-cooled diesel engine. The stamped seat on back is off a horse drawn implement. Just like on the original Avery, the 1/2-scale model is built with one steel frame that slides on top of another. To engage the gears, you slide the frame that supports the engine and radiator rearward. The tractor is equipped with an open teeth gear just like on the original, and as you slide the engine forward, a shaft with a sprocket meshes with the gear. "I like taking it to shows where I often run it in tractor parades," says Rupp. "I also use it at shows to belt-drive a shingle saw and a miniature sawmill. It does a nice job. It's surprising how much power it puts out. "I live in town so I don't have room for a full size tractor. My half-scale tractor lets me enjoy this kind of tractor without the expense of a full-sized one." Before building the 1/2-scale model Rupp bought a book that featured the 1922 Avery. The book had a chart that gave the tractor's dimensions, overall length, wheel diameter, rim widths, and so on. He used the photos to scale out the rest of the tractor's components. He bought the Chinese-made Sifang engine new from a guy who had been to China and brought back a whole bunch of the engines. "The engine runs at 2,200 rpm's so it runs at high speed. It's built heavy and weighs 275 lbs.," notes Rupp. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ed Rupp, 24 5th St. S.E., Madelia, Minn. 56062 (ph 507 642-8803 or 507 642-3714).

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