Project: Rat Rod Tractor

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

Welp, i finally got the time to peice the "rat rod" tractor together out of spare parts coming from far and wide lol, the the from is from a 1075 and trans on it right now is a 8 speed 1" axle tran, but i have decided if im usuing this trans or the "hydramatic" one, it will also have some sort of twin engine on it, probably a kohler magnum twin.

Thought you guys would like to see it, lemme know what ya think

[rickv1957 72]

Looks like you have a great start,Rick

[rmaynard 15,854]

Did you flip the front axle up-side-down? Great idea to lower the front end. Did you have to modify the tie rods?

Bob

[bustedglass 1]

Already looks "BAD" ............. Can't wait to see it finished .

[Dw Andy 0]

Hey, I like that "rake" Pretty cool looking rust patina too, I would leave it that way. Does it steer funny with the spindles angled the wrong way? I want to fab my own droped axel someday.

[sscotsman 186]

What does "Rat Rod" mean exactly?

does it mean "cobbled together from misc. parts?"

if so, that sounds like a good idea for a Tractor rebuild!

espcially if parts are hard to come by..

but if "Rat Rod" is just another form of "Hot Rod", like with Hot Rod cars..

then please dont!

I have seen photos of a few "Hot Rod" tractors..ugh.. <_<

IMO, its a travesty!

Same with Hot Rod cars..I hate to see a beautiful Ford Model A turned into a Hot Rod, its a disgrace! but I will always be against hotrodding..I think it ruins classic cars..just my opinion..

Of course people are free to do whatever they like with their own possessions..

I cant be against that..but still, doesnt mean I have to like it!

so what does "Rat Rod" mean exactly?

I have never been sure..

thanks,

Scot

[CasualObserver 3,410]

Fun project, two other members have also built similar units over the last couple years. Check out their threads here....

Kelly's Rat Tractor

TT's Drags-tor (part 1)

TT's Drags-tor (part two) (TT... there's some broken pic links in there if you have time to fix them)

[sscotsman 186]

huh..interesting..

well, "to each their own" I guess!

personally I will never "get" the Hod rod appeal..

but thats just me..

but no hobby can be said to be "right" or "wrong"..

so I will just drop my anti-hot rod opinions!

This is just new to me, (hot-rod tractors) so im curious what its about..

never knew such a thing existed before..

Scot

[Rollerman 290]

Scot actually I think Hot Rod tractors have exsisted since kids got on there dads tractors & did there first wheelie....& kept doing it when he wasn't looking.

Most of the Hot Rod tractors you see here are old parts & peices being put together for fun or a cruiser at the tractor shows....or in TT's case "pure evil"

I don't think anyone here is going to cut up a vintage Horse to soup it up.

Most of us who have been in the hobby awhile have ended up with a lot of spare parts & it's pretty cool being creative with spare parts.

I myself have a Lawn Ranger "Hot Rod" I need to finish.....one of these days.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,146]

In defense of what I did with a pile of parts and three months of being laid-off from work with nothing better to do.........

I hauled my little black creation to the 2008 WHCC show and had a blast with it - not only from driving it in the Friday night cruise, but also from the million conversations I had with people who stopped to look at it.

It was a conceptual MS Paint "drawing" that I posted on here (LINK) and it eventually came to life.

The only measurable money that was spent was on the two front wheels and the four tires, along with a new set of rings. Considering what some guys have tied up in these tractors, I think I "got a lot of bang for my buck".

To start with this.......

then to this.........

and finally this........

is an accomplishment that I am very proud of - no matter what others think.

I've had one request to build a copy for an acquaintance, and several offers of rather large amounts of American dollars from people wanting to buy this one.

Some guys are stuck to barstools, others are sports nuts, and unfortunately(?) - I'm a Hot Rodder, dude - through and through!

@Stress Test Pullin: You have my !

[TT-(Moderator) 1,146]

I forgot to add that there's not much room on a short frame for an opposed twin.........

You might want to think about a V twin instead. :wwp:

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

first off, yes this tractor does have a stock cast axle that has been flipped, and those are stock tie rods(the models of the tractors of these parts... who knows ) but it steers quite diff and i plan to add a couple stops to the axle to prevent "oversteer"

sscotsman, yes this is your true deffenition of a "rat rod", deff not a beauty queen here, i see it more as character

TT, those onans are just massive, i think a magnum twin may fit i think lol, ill check tomorrow, ill pull one outta the "stock pile"

but thanks all for the input and keep it coming, ill take suggestions too

[Dw Andy 0]

So what if you turned the motor so the flywheel faced out the front , and you'd have a cylinder sticking out both sides of the hood . The older Cubs had that setup with the crankshaft running paralell to the frame. And a drive shaft to the rear end just like the cars have been for years. I know it would be a lotta work. I'm just hav'in a pipe dream this morning :thumbs:

[Dw Andy 0]

And if you ran a hydro, the pump could couple directly to the crankshaft and run somo hoses to the differential

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

That would deff be quite a bit of work Dw Andy, but would indeed be cool

i rolled it out this morning a sat a kohler magnum block on it to see what it would look like and heres what i got

[bell 11]

I REALLY like it! The weathered original paint does look AWESOME!

I built my own version of a "rat-rod" tractor... I call it psychobilly.

Here's the buildup thread...

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?...&hl=psychobilly

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

bell, i just read the thread and build up of you tractor and good work she looks mean with that black paint and all

i hope to have mine together and somewhat operational by the club show, but i have finish my...shhh...cub original restore first

[whfan74 2,068]

It's great to see all of the tractors in the same thread! You guys do some great work!

Maybe some day I will get all of the other projects squared away and try to work on something like this as well! :banghead:

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

whfan74, i think speak for TT and bell in saying that these tractor really consist of spare parts, but i like seeing the parts being put to use

[canam1991 2]

When i made my pulling tractor i had it made to sit just like your with the axle flipped over but i could not do it because my engine did not have an oil pump so make sure you can run that engine at that angle...

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

ill be making a plate to make the engine sit level, i had that thought lol

[Stress Test Pullin 0]

howdy all heres an update, today i got the steering fixed and most of the play out, and put the hydro trans i had back on, and sat a set of fenders on it and heres how it looks

but i dont know if i like it, im thinkin some sort of round fenders would look better but im not sure

heres the trans

and btw, what does this lever do here and the bottom?

[jusjeepn 59]

Progress is looking good! I do want to point out that your spindles were not designed to be run this way. You will be putting alot of stress on a very small clip that is not designed to hold weight of any kind. I'm not being critical, just don't want to see you take a nose dive and destroy all your work and possibly inflict bodily injury.

This was my solution,

I still had to rebuild the complete steering setup to make it work, but it works awesome!

[Sarge 3,464]

That lever at the bottom is the parking brake.

Sarge

[rickv1957 72]

Good point Pat,maybe a guy could drill and tap spindles,place thrust bearing and hardened flat washer on bottom Rick