Yep 0pen chains and sprockets. Makes it easy to oil the chains or get a foot caught in it. tiller steering. Its a engineering Marvel!!! I like it also. Actually I have part of a home brew reactor in my hoard that is built along the same concept. I think went I go feed the cows over at my other place I will take my wrecker and drag it home. Those guys used what they had available and built what they needed. Mine also has tiller steering. I think that was so it could be steered with one hand. leaving the other hand free to do things like hold a spray wand?
Old Wolf, my Dad made a tractor kinda like that in the fifties. I drove it all over when I was a kid. It first had a Wisconsin engine similar to yours, then he put a two cylinder engine he got off a cement mixer, I think it was a Lee Roy. He cut down an Oldsmobile rear end and a three speed top shifter transmission. The odd thing I remember about this engine is , it turned the wrong way. I quit driving it when my Dad gave my uncle the rear tires off it, in about 1968. It still sits on the ranch where they took the rear wheels off. Would love to get it running again, but could probably never find any parts for that water cooled engine. Bones
Hey Bones, That sounds like a great project, you should definitely get that going again. It's a family heirloom! Even if you have to go back to a Wisconsin (or similar) engine if the Lee Roy cant be revived, it would still be a really cool machine. Any pictures of it?
It’s down on the ranch, when I get back down there , I will post some pics. Also I forgot to mention, my Dad built the tractor in Oxnard, Ca. And we hauled it to Oklahoma in 1957, In a four wheel trailer pulled by this truck. Bones
Well, got down to the ranch today and took a couple of pics of the tractor my Dad made and I drove most of my childhood.
That's very cool Bones, I love it! You should definitely get that going again! If you don't want to I'd be happy to be its next care-taker.
View attachment 4232065 I know I should sell it, as I will probably never restore it..... but there’s always that chance that I might.... and it being such a large part of my childhood, I could never part with it. I also have our 34 WC Allis, my 1937 Ford tonand a half,my three Cushman scooters, my Bronco, my 65 Galaxie, my Harley Davidson golf cart, my 900 Kawasaki, 79 FXS, and 75 others, that I need to restore...... think I just have another beer! Bones
I know I should sell it, as I will probably never restore it..... but there’s always that chance that I might.... and it being such a large part of my childhood, I could never part with it. I also have our 34 WC Allis, my 1937 Ford tonand a half,my three Cushman scooters, my Bronco, my 65 Galaxie, my Harley Davidson golf cart, my 900 Kawasaki, 79 FXS, and 75 others, that I need to restore...... think I just have another beer! Wow, I'm feeling a lot better about my project list about now. I think I need to do a road trip to visit you and Wolf, you guys have some cool stuff! Damn, my timing sucks though, went right by you guys last Fall; flew out to New Mexico to meet up with my son and do a road trip back to MA after his summer internship. Bones[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] Come on out.. we can drink beer and look at old cars and shoot some guns. We’ve got a mile shoot. Bones
I added to my tractor collection yesterday. There was a H with a stuck engine for sale about 15 miles away. I really wasn't wanting a H . However I couldnt resist. So I bought it and hooked the front wheels to my wrecker sling and pulled it home. There was water in every housing. water in the transmission water in the hyd . even a bit came out when I cracked the engine drain plug. The side of the exhaust manifold is busted out fron water freezing in it! I pulled the spark plugs ad blew crap from the cyls not a lot of water evidence.. pulled the valve cover and its a bit rusty on the rocker arms. several stuck shut exhaust valves several pushrods bent. I pulled the valve springs and heated the guides with the fire wrench. they loosened up. put diesel in the cyls and stuck the torch in the plug holes and burned the diesel and evaporated any possible water. with the valves closed I used a tool made from a spark plug and air fitting to charge the cyls with 150 PSI of air pressure. No leaks into the water jackets. I refilled the cyls with diesel. I need to get some auto trans fluid and acetone. Using a starter nose and a socket welded to a starter drive. I attempted to turn the engine . no luck. I pulled the settlement bowl and a rancid varnish glopped out. I think some one had it running on stale gas. and after they shut it off the exhaust valves stuck closed. then the pushrods bent on the next attempt to start it. then it rained in the exhaust and since the exhaust valves where stuck shut very little water got into the cyls. but the exhaust manifold filled and froze and busted the side out. I do have a engine that is a power unit if I cant get this one running. So I now have at least one of every letter series Farmall Tractors that where made. Tomorrow I will get some trans fluid and acetone. Burn the diesel out and refill the cyls with my preferred mixture. and pull the oil pan. and let it set for a few months. I got garden to plant. fence to build. and get my 55 ready for the May event at George Rays. For Me its the greatest fun not work at all.
Bones, within the Antique Tractor hobby, your tractor is known as a “Doodle Bug”. Old, home built tractors are very popular right now. Many were powered by Model T and Model A engines. Often times with more than one transmission to get the gear ratio low enough. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I’ve seen several home made tractors in my travels and some that were actually manufactured, but kinda looked home made! Gibson comes to mind. People from my dads generation didn’t buy everything.... if they needed it they just made it.... some times because nobody made it. Maybe we can get some more pics of some “Doddle Bugs “. Bones
Come on out.. we can drink beer and look at old cars and shoot some guns. We’ve got a mile shoot. Bones[/QUOTE] That sounds like fun, thanks! Maybe I can combine it with a trip to the HAMB drags this summer.
I have a 1956 Terratrac crawler with a loader on the front and a 1979 Case 480c loader backhoe. Denny
Hey Denny, I had a 57 Terratrac 320 crawler loader, what a beast for a small crawler! What model do you have? I have a ton of sales Literature, manuals, factory photo's, etc. for Terratracs, as well as an original metal dealer sign for ATC (American Tractor Co.) the maker of Terratrac crawlers.
Love to hear there are some small Terratrac/Case crawler guys out there. I have gone thru about 15 smaller Case tractors over the last 20 yrs........300.....430.....VAC.....only one left is my current workhorse 1968 Case 530 with a loader. I still lust after a small crawler......maybe someday
Hard to believe however I don't ever remember seeing a single Terratrac crawler tractor in my life. I suppose they wherent many sold in my part of the world. I do own a Cle Trac crawler. For some reason folks tent to call them a Oliver? however they are Cle Trac's Manufactured by the Cleveland Tractor Company. They don't have steering clutches. They have a spider gear differential and steering brakes however power is still applied to both tracks when turning. they have two piece track pins. there is a steel pin that attaches the track links together. and separate free turning bushing that can turn freely around the pins. you never need to press them apart to turn the bushings like other rails.
That's a AD Gm cab on that little ford. They could have got a ford and wouldn't have to narrow it. Ive actually toyed with the idea of installing a truck cab on one of my M Farmalls. Be kinda nice to have heat and Air Cond.
Well its almost dark. and my day is ending. Mounted a old 8 ply 16.5 tire on a 8 hole tubeless rim. had a devil of a time getting it to bead out and hold air. Left it for a hour and messed with the H Farmall. I had drained the oil. it has a little amount of water. then dirty oil. and the last soft goo glopped out. So I have been soaking the cyls. I decided to pull the pan and see if there was any seepage below the pistons. The oil pan is bent and had pockets of the type of sludge that occurs with cold starts and not running for a long enough time to evaporate condensation. I think that's where the water in the pan and rust on the rockers came from (simple condensation. I didn't see any seepage around the pistons. I pulled the side cover and the lifters where rusty and stuck only two where loose. So I squirted diesel on them and managed to drive the upward from the bottom with a slender brass drift. So I got all the lifters out. Still stuck engine no movement at all. I suppose I will let it soak some more.
My Terratrac is a model 556 Which became the Case 310. In 1956 Case bought out Terratrac (American Tractor Company). That all came about because ATC was the first to develop the backhoe. See in 56 there was a tractor show ATC and Case engineers were there with their latest tractors. Well the ATC and Case engineers got to bullshitting and decided the backhoe should bolt on to a Case tractor. So they did without the powers to be's permission (ATC used a lot of Case parts) well people at the show went nuts for it and shortly there after Case bought the company. Mine is worn out with a bad engine, but before it went it was one working little bastard. I'd fix it but I blew some discs out in my neck and can't afford it right now. Anybody got a spare Continental f162 engine they would like to donate out of a forklift? Denny
Hey Wolf, that's interesting, perhaps you've seen Case 310 or 350 crawlers, they are what became of the Terratrac after Case bought the Co in '57. Maybe you've heard of the Clark-Air dozers used during WWII by the SEABEEs to build air fields in the Pacific theatre, The first Terratracs evolved from and used many of the same parts as the Clark. Another interesting note is, the Terratrac used the same planetary trans-axle as the Oliver so the steering brakes etc are all the same. There's a co in PA, Zimmerman, that still sells many of the parts for Oliver/Cletrac crawlers.
Hey Denny, you should be able to find a good F162, they are around, I found a rebuilt one a few years ago for really short $ to go in mine. Unfortunately, I don't think I have any manuals or sales literature on the 500 series (I'll double check though) just the older GT25-GT30, and 200-300, and case 310 machines. In addition to my early GT25, I also have one of the factory tilt trailers like in the brochure below. It's functional but ugly, I use it mostly around town to move my OT Kubota. Someday I hope to have time to restore it and the Terratrac, they would look pretty cool behind my '46 Chevy 2 ton! I've also found a rear PTO and most of the parts for the 3pt hitch. About 10 years ago I found a Terratrac Dealer binder that was full of brochures, factory photos and a couple booklets for salesman on how to demonstrate the loaders and dozers.
I often see Case 310 & 350 crawlers for sale around here, they're out there. I've loved crawlers since I was a little kid, I used to ride my bike over to where they were building a new neighborhood and sit and watch a guy running one for hours. In fact, I still have my first dozer...……. my son used it for years, now my 5 year old neighbor is trying to wear it out, man they sure don't build them like that anymore!
Even though they were built in Cheribusco Indiana they are few and far between here. Believe it or not the F162 has pretty much disappeared from this area also. Like I said due to my neck injury and being out of work for over 6 months I'm pretty much broke and have a ton of doctor bills. Denny
Sorry to hear that Denny, best wishes for your continued recovery. If I come across a usable F162 in my travels, I'll keep you in mind.
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