My "new"toy pic heavy & long winded again

[Horse'n Around 22]

Well as I was packing my things for our move to PA. I looked at my 15 yr old Kenwood rack stereo system which I never, ever use anymore and thought to myself... "Self, you dont use this anymore and it will take up valuable space in the moving truck" So I talked to a friend of mine who has "neat" stuff and I saw the very thing that required the space the stereo would take up (and then some) so I traded the Kenwood for it. I don't know if it was a good trade dollar wise but I just love this thing so it doesnt matter to me. The Wisconsin engine is origional or seems to be from all indications, it even has the orig paint on it. The tractor(?) itself has been repainted but it was done pretty well. The Wisconsin was mounted temporally on a pull behind type tiller contraption. It was running a year ago and I see no reason why it wont after a oil change, carb cleaning/rebuild and a new muffler. Im not going to mess with getting it up and running until after the move,I just dont have the time. The front part with the engine of it has a downward attitude but when you push down on a pedal it levels out. I dont have the drive belt for it and I have no idea how to use it, but it just looks so darned cool I had to have it. It was extremely well taken care of. It might be missing some parts but untill I can either see another one in person or detailed pictures I wont know for sure. A piece was cut off the frame (see pic) but I dont know if that had been added and removed or not. The only other thing I see that is damaged is a piece of sheet metal that is bent from contact with the plow which will dolly out nicely. The machine is hinged in the middle and steers from the back and it feels really strange.it steers really fast (when pushing it) and because it steers by the rear wheels it feels rather awkward and in sure it will take some getting used to. The only info I found on it is that it seems to have been made in 1955 and that its called a Power Trac Rider or something to that effect. There were also walk behind models also.

Well here's some pics, please let me know what you think of it. If anyone here owns one or has any experience with one please let me know. I would love to know more about it.I just think its sooooo cool looking I had to have it

PS I Love the ags on it. I have been fighting the temptation to put them on my 702 but I'm going to leave them on it and buy a set for the 702. I'm going to need to find out what size drive belt it takes. If I can get my hands on an owners manual that should help immensely.

Enjoy

John

[d180man 5]

Hi very cool !! :D

[Nick 13]

We had a ward plow track for years. Liked that 3 speed. They were built by Simplicity.

http://www.simpletractors.com/walkers/walkers.htm

[DMK855 15]

Very nice trade John!! Need to touch base with you soon!! Are you still making the house hunt trip in January??

Dwayne

[Horse'n Around 22]

Very nice trade John!! Need to touch base with you soon!! Are you still making the house hunt trip in January??

Dwayne

PM sent

John

[dclarke 4,032]

Way cool John, mabey you better start looking for a snow blade for that.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,339]

Very interesting lookin tractor John. I would definitely have traded an 8 track player for that .

Good trade in my opinion!

Mike..........

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Nice trade for sure.... I don't know how high end your stereo was, but I can't see how you possibly lost out in that deal. Those are pretty collectible units back here in the mid-west.

[rickv1957 72]

Nice machine there!!!

[Horse'n Around 22]

Its going to be fun working on it. Its going to take a while to figure out what does what and why. Thanks for the link and the information Nick. I had no idea who actually made it. Im pretty sure that I know why it has thee nose down attitude,....its because of that big ole heavy weight attached to the very front of the frame forward of the engine. Ill add it to my list of fun projects when we get moved. My number one priority is the Wheel Horses, but I just could'nt pass this up.the Kenwood was actually fairly high end system that I traded but it was'nt doing me any good since I never used it anymore. Plus the guy that had this was going to tear it apart and sell it for scrap minus the engine.

John

[Raider 2]

That is a really neat tractor. I have a set of bar tires off a Wards just like yours. I believe that is supposed to ride nose down while the plow is transported, once you sink the plow it will ride level. Looks basically like a walk behind tractor with a ride-on conversion. Pretty cool to see something like that in such nice shape, glad you saved it!

[Horse'n Around 22]

Raider, I never thought about that. Your right, with the plow biting in it would definitely level it out. Thanks!Here's a sales brochure for it. I think I found this on the simplicitywalkingtractors forum. This is a neat find now I know when it was made, or at least roughly since it was probably made for more than one year.

John

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,048]

Montgomery Wards sold the Midland produced Power Trac Rider 1955-58. The plow does look like a Simplicity model as does the front weight.

There is a manual in the Files of

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplicity_walking_tractors/

The Folder is named Midland Manuals

The File is named Midland Tractor OM ipl.pdf

The Midland model number is MR50A

Be real carefull with the shift indicator plate - some cleaners will disolve the paint leaving it blank. What is the printed model number?

Garry

[Horse'n Around 22]

Montgomery Wards sold the Midland produced Power Trac Rider 1955-58. The plow does look like a Simplicity model as does the front weight.

There is a manual in the Files of

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplicity_walking_tractors/

The Folder is named Midland Manuals

The File is named Midland Tractor OM ipl.pdf

The Midland model number is MR50A

Be real carefull with the shift indicator plate - some cleaners will disolve the paint leaving it blank. What is the printed model number?

Garry

Hi Garry,

Thank you for the information on this and the link to the forum.If I remember correctly it is 5055A. I will double check in the morning and make sure. Thanks for passing on the information on the shift indicator plate. It looks like someone might have used something harsh on the aluminum plate on the engines flywheel housing. The only legible markings are those that are stamped into the plate,all the black paint is missing.

Thanks,

John

[4xfourfun 30]

Wow, that is just weird enough to be cool.

Good score!

[bitten 134]

That is really cool, but dont think you are going to save space on the truck with that :ychain:

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Good trade!

Looks really neat!

[Horse'n Around 22]

Thanks for the comments. I know I should probably have my head examined getting something this bulky mere weeks before I'm going to move 2100 miles but I just couldn't let him tear it apart and sell it for scrap. That and to be honest I had never seen anything like it and it just caught my eye because it looks so neat and different. I removed the weight that is bolted to the front of the frame and the plow to make it easier to move and I noticed that a single bolt holds the front section to the rear section. Taking it out allows the two parts to separate just behind the front wheels. Now it will be a snap to find room for !!

Does anyone have a big shoehorn that I can borrow for a while??? This is gonna be fun

John

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,048]

John,

Would you have room to take a very large file with you on the move? PM me your email address so I can send.

Forget how I figured this out but the 5055 is the power unit. A 5056 added handle bars to make it a walking tractor and 5057 added the sulky to make it a rider. These may have been Midland numbers because the Montgomery Ward catalog numbers are different.

The PowerTrac Rider was sold by MW 1955-58. They got new brakes & steering ratio in 1956.

The serial number on the engine may date it.

Garry

[Horse'n Around 22]

According to the serial number on the engine, it was built in 1955 and its a 7 hp. After looking at pictures of other power tracs here seems to have been a few slight variations.

John

[Anglo Traction 761]

Excellent Find John !. Love the Skeletal look. No Sheet Metal, Rear Wheel Steering.

A bit of Plowing in the AZ desert before you leave will clean up that Plow Shear to shiney. Just need an MP3 and headphones while using it and you'll never miss the other Sound System !. Cool project.