Stretched WheelHorse

Stretched WheelHorse FARM HOME Novelty Items Tony Henderson Columbus Ind needed a way to get around farm shows with his father He turned a pair of WheelHorse garden tractors into a stretched-out tractor that measures a full 9 ft long     “I collect old WheelHorse garden tractors and built it last year just for the challenge It doesn’t turn very short but it’s fun to drive ” says Henderson “We call it the Big Hoss ”     He started with a 1972 WheelHorse B80 garden tractor equipped with a Kohler 10 hp engine and hydrostatic transmission He “stretched” the tractor by unbolting the rear end and then using a homemade mounting plate to bolt the frame from another identical tractor on behind it     He replaced the tractor’s original drive belt with a new one that’s 155-n long and replaced the original belt guard with a much longer one He used sheet metal to fabricate new running boards and he also added the seat off a Bush Hog riding mower on back To make everything look more proportional he replaced the tractor’s original rear wheels with 14 1/2-in wide ones     “It’s a real eye catcher and draws a lot of attention at shows ” says Henderson “My dad and I put it together because he has back issues and it was getting hard for him to walk around at farm shows It took about 1 1/2 years to build in our spare time It was fun to build and brought dad and I closer together     “We painted the tractor the same red-orange color that’s found on the new Ford 8N tractors We also lined the top of the tractor’s frame with cherry wood all the way from the dash to the rear seat ”          Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tony Henderson 6460 E 600 N Columbus Ind 47203 ph 812 320-7591; lori henderson@mscompanies com

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