Homemade Tractor Small In Size, Big In Business

Homemade Tractor Small In Size, Big In Business TRACTORS Antiques 19-1-22 A few features of "Buzz" Wilcox's tractor might look familiar, but don't be fooled. Wilcox built the little three-wheeled tractor from scratch. "I've always been interested in old trac¡tors, but living in town, I didn't have room for a full-size antique tractor and I couldn't find a small one," explains Wilcox, of Colorado Springs, Colo. "When my wife suggested I build a small one of my own, I did. I used all `recycled' parts from junk yards and made it to look like a late 1930's tractor." The tractor's wheelbase is 43 in. It's 6 ft. long, about 40 in. high and weighs just over 1,000 lbs. "That's with me on it," Wilcox notes. A Milwaukee 2-cyl. 18 hp. engine off an old hay baler supplies power. Wilcox made his own exhaust system by bolting 1 1/4-in. dia. pipe to the engine's manifolds and then welding 2 in. dia. pipe to the outside of the smaller pipe. The 4-speed synchronized transmission is out of an early 1970s Ford Pinto. Wilcox modified the transmission so its gear ratio is 120:1 in low gear for heavy pulls. Heavy-duty rear differentials, complete with mechanical foot brake and emergency hand brake, came from a "Georgia power buggy" used in construction to haul wet cement. Rear fenders are wheel wells out of an old International Scout cut to size. Rear 15-in. wide tires mount on Ford chrome wheel hubs, as does the tractor's front 8-in. dia. tire. Mounted in a U-bracket, the front wheel turns with a steering gear out of an early 1970's model Ford Mustang with a steer¡ing wheel made from a wheel from an old safe. The single front wheel permits nearly 90 degree turns, good for snowplowing in tight places or for maneuvering through obstacle courses in competition, according to Wilcox. Wilcox sits on an old perforated metal Deere implement seat fitted with a spring from an old scissors jack with a clutch spring under each side. The tractor's hood, rounded on top like an old Oliver, is made out of an old school bus hood, as is its grille. A hood ornament off an old Mercedes-Benz truck hangs in the middle of the grille. Wilcox made a 52-in. wide steel blade that's hinged in the middle for pushing snow. Rubber-tipped for extra durability and better cleaning, the blade can be used in a V-shape, straight, or slanted to the left or right. The blade mounts on the front of the tractor on two arms made out of an old truck parking brake running from the rear of the tractor to the front. The little tractor has lots of power. Wilcox won third place in a Colorado Springs-area tractor pull in 1993, the year he built it. Last summer he won second place in a tractor obstacle course competition, where contestants pulled a 16-ft. long wagon through 64 pylons, then backed the wagon into a stall. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roland "Buzz" Wilcox, 2315 Sage St., Colorado Springs, Colo. 80907 (ph 719-633-6209).

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