Made-It-Myself Gator

Made-It-Myself Gator ATV S ATV S It was my first project after retiring from teaching high school shop for 30 years says Gary Parsch Hope Mich about the lawn tractor he turned into a gator     He bought a 16 hp White lawn tractor for $50 from a former student It wouldn t start and the mower deck was shot It just needed some tender loving care he says     Parsch stripped off the mower deck and sheet metal parts and used the rear rack from a 4-wheeler to support the steering wheel He moved the gas tank and battery and added linkage allowing easy access to the hydrostatic transmission lever Parsch also switched the foot brake into a hand lever It can be locked in case I want to get off the machine while it s running     He made a 42 by 36-in wooden cargo box that s 12 in deep The tailgate is hinged on the bottom like a pickup bed and the sides come off for use as a flatbed hauler The box can also be manually tipped up to about 80 degrees     Parsch says the hardest part was getting the steering right because with his weight on the front wheels it needed to be geared down to work smoothly           I used the front and back sprocket and chain from a dirt bike to gear it down he says I mounted each sprocket on two of the old mower blade bearing housings so it works smoothly      When I made it at first my wife said it was Frankenstein because I was creating it from spare parts Then it just ended up being called æThe Beast      My intention was for her to drive it because it had an electric start - but she really didn t want anything to do with it he says laughing     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gary Parsch 5276 N Dublin Rd Hope Mich 48628 ph 989 689-5719

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