The Story Of A Faithful Old Garden Tractor

The Story Of A Faithful Old Garden Tractor TRACTORS Cabs Larry Johnson Ontario N Y : About 30 years ago Johnson bought a used 1979 Ariens GT 18 hp 2-WD garden tractor equipped with a hydrostatic transmission He’s still using the “best buy” tractor “I do all my own repair work so the tractor has never been in a repair shop The most expensive repair I ever made to it was in 2004 when I paid $204 for a new front pto shaft bearings and pulley ” says Johnson “The tractor came with a lot of features that were way ahead of other garden tractors at the time such as a 3-pt hitch front and rear live pto and hydraulic lift arms It was designed more like today’s sub compact tractors than anything else ” The list of attachments Johnson built for the tractor include a 3-pt fast hitch adapter; an easy-to-install cab with wiper defrost heater and mirrors; and an offset drawbar for mowing Soon after Johnson bought the tractor he started using it to pull a drag in soft ground which led to an accident “While I was turning at the end of a field the tractor slid forward and hit a tree To keep it from happening again Johnson added a second brake pedal and modified the brakes so he could brake each rear wheel independently He didn’t like the tractor’s hand control shift so he converted it to a foot-operated system “I disconnnected the foot pedal that put the hand control in the ‘stop’ position and installed new linkage direct to the transmission I also added to the back of the pedal so the operator can push it down to go in reverse Now the hand control is used only to put the transmission in park start or drive ” He used masonite and wood to build the cab which he hangs from the rafters in his barn when it’s not in use “I lower the cab until the back part clears the tractor and then pin it onto a bracket on back of the tractor that supports the 3-pt hitch Then I slip a pipe through holes drilled into both sides of the cab and tighten down four bolts against the pipe The back part of the cab pins onto the 3-pt ” says Johnson He also made a big concrete roller for the tractor and a heavy-duty tongue to support it The roller rotates on a small pipe that rides inside a bigger pipe The tongue runs to both sides of the roller and is built with a pair of telescoping pipes “I back the tractor up to the roller slide out the small pipe and hook it up to the tractor Then I back up some more to slide the pipe all the way in and pin both pipes together ” says Johnson Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Johnson 1740 Kenyon Road Ontario N Y 14519 ph 315 524-8244; lejohnson35@icloud com

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