Industrial Equipment Repowered For The Farm

Industrial Equipment Repowered For The Farm REPOWERED EQUIPMENT Repowered Equipment 31-2-29 "I like to bring old equipment back to life," says Rodney Baker, Brainerd, Minn., who repowered an old road grader with a 6.2-liter diesel engine and a 3-speed automatic transmission out of a 1984 Chevrolet 3/4-ton pickup. It's equipped with a 12-ft. blade. "I spent a total of less than $1,000 and now have a perfectly good grader that I can use around the farm," he says. Baker found the 1960's Adams grader setting in the woods with trees growing up through it. It had originally been used by a township in northern Minnesota. He already had the 6.2-liter diesel engine. He made a driveshaft to connect the 3-speed transmission to the grader's original 4-speed transmission which, with high and low gears, results in 10 forward speeds and six reverse. He used sheet metal to make a new hood, and he modified the exhaust muffler to come out behind the cab. "I use it to grade my mile-long driveway. It really works good," says Baker. "The entire project took about four weeks. It has a lot more power than the original engine. I paid $500 for the grader, which included delivering it 100 miles to my house. The tires were worn out so I replaced them with ones off another grader. "Installing the new engine and transmission was quite a job. I had to lengthen the frame by 14 in. I also added two coolers - one for transmission fluid and one for engine oil. "Lining up the two transmissions was the hardest part of the job, because I couldn't get the engine low enough to line up the input and output shafts. So I made a separate driveshaft that connects to a gearbox." Baker rebuilt another piece of industrial equipment for use on the farm. He found an old Hough end loader at a junkyard and repowered it with a 350 cu. in. gas engine and turbo automatic transmission out of a 1987 Chevrolet 1/2-ton pickup. A homemade driveshaft connects the new transmission to the machine's original 3-speed transmission. The machine rides on big 4-ft. high wheels and is equipped with a 4-in-1 bucket that can be used as a clam, grapple, or dozer blade. A snowblower powered by a Chevrolet 350 cc engine and 4-speed transmission can be quick-tached onto the bucket. The snowblower mounts on metal brackets that attach to the bucket with 1-in. dia. pins. He lengthened the frame by 10 in. The new engine was lighter than the original one so he moved the counterweights farther back. The glass had been shot out so he installed new glass. He didn't want exhaust behind him whenever he turned around looking out the rear window so he installed a horizontal muffler. "I use it to haul gravel and to maintain my driveway. I'm happy with how it turned out," says Baker. "I paid $1,000 in a trade for the loader and $700 in labor for the engine and transmission." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rodney Baker, 1426 Imm Drive, Brainerd, Minn. 56401 (ph 218 764-2464 or 218 838-7743; rmbbakertoolman@yahoo.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.