Home Built Replica of 1919 "Grain Belt" Tractor

Replica of 1919 GrainBelt Tractor TRACTORS Antiques 17-2-18 Although Wayne Ebright, Worthing, S. Dak., has never seen an authentic 18-36 Grain Belt tractor in person, he had photos of one of the machines which was built in Fargo, N. Dak., in 1919. He talked to a former owner and to a collector of antique tractor manuals and managed to pull together enough information to build a nearly exact half-scale model. He made the drive wheel rims out of flat sheet steel cut and rolled into a circle by a local steel fabricator. The hubs are made of 3/4-in. steel plate cut and drilled for the rod spokes. He made the lugs out of short lengths of angle iron set into a herringbone pattern and bolted to the 9-in. wide rear tractor rims. The rib on the front wheel was hand formed in place by welding the end of a strip of flat iron to the flat rim, then heating it to bend it around the rim. Front wheels are 20 in. dia. and rear wheels are 31 in. The engine is a Hercules ZXB with a 2 5/ 8-in. bore and 3-in. stroke. The transmission and differential are made up of modified John Deere B gears. "It doesn't have enough power to pull a tillage tool but we use it to pull a small hammer mill at antique tractor shows and threshing meets." It weighs 1,400 lbs. and is 77 in. long, 45 in. wide and 40 in. high, not including canopy. The replica took Ebright 1,200 hrs. to build. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wayne Ebright, Rt. 1, Box 112, Worthing, S. Dak. 57077 (ph 605 372-4144).

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