1,000 Hp Tractor Wows Crowds "Down Under"

1,000 Hp Tractor Wows Crowds "Down Under" AG WORLD 32-1-24 This new Australian-built tractor boasts a whopping 1,000 hp. The gigantic machine was built by Neville Dunn, who operates a general engineering shop in Holbrook, New South Wales. One of his interests is unusual tractor restorations and modifications. Dunn calls his new tractor "æOl Rusty" because it's powered by an English-built Ruston Hornsby 1,000 hp engine of 1940's vintage. The turbocharged, 6-cyl. diesel engine has 7,328 cu. in. displacement and originally came from a standby power plant. Dunn decided to build it into a tractor that a big farmer of that era might have wanted - if the farmer had deep pockets. The tractor had to be true to that period as far as its components were concerned. Nothing on it could be later than 1960. That meant the tractor had to run on drum fuel, because bulk fuel delivery didn't come to Australian farmers until after 1960. The tractor should also have room to take the family on board comfortably and protect them with a shade roof. After a couple of years of hard work, the result was æOl Rusty, complete with a bronze plaque identifier up front. The tractor is equipped with triple wheels on back and is more than 20 ft. wide and 30 ft. long. The drive is through a triple plate 18-in. B&B clutch to a 1957 English Centurian tank driveline, with five forward gears and two reverse. The final drive ratio is 7:1. The tractor's tandem front end steering system was assembled from two 1958 Foden truck axles. Dr. Graeme Quick provided this article for FARM SHOW. The tractor is featured in his latest book, "Remarkable Australian Farm Machines" that's available from Rosenberg Publishing. For more information contact David Rosenberg at rosenbergpub @smartchat.net.au. For information on the tractor itself, contact Nifty Engineering at 011 61 2 60363153.

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