WVHillbilly520H 10,376 #26 Posted January 16, 2018 @PeacemakerJack, Josh sorry I'm late to the party but I was going say it was a "Johnny Cash" tractor, close but I reckon we ain't playing horse shoes, @cpete1 there's a few little things that can be improved upon but with anything one manufacturer has this the other that...then WE take what we see as better and adapt it, I have one of those in mind for the snow plows anyways enjoy the forum, Jeff. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #27 Posted January 16, 2018 Nonsense Jeff! You aren’t late to the party—we’re just about to start. I honestly was testing the waters to see if there was any interest in reading/hearing the story of this awesome homebuilt by you guys. Obviously, this tractor is in a league all it’s own and it’s “story” has never been recorded anywhere to my knowledge. You guys are awesome and can appreciate this thing for what it is and even—dare I say—what it could be?! As I dig into this story, please feel free to comment about the things that you see...things like “that’s really cool” or “why did he do it that way?” 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 69,710 #28 Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, PeacemakerJack said: As I dig into this story, please feel free to comment about the things that you see...things like “that’s really cool” or “why did he do it that way?” Oh you can bet on that Josh... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpete1 332 #29 Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) I was trying to figure out the controls on the dash. Push button for starting, one of the knobs for a choke, I'm guessing the t-handle is a pull out with lock for the throttle. The gray knob is ignition switch. Other knob for lights.... I even noticed the front axle support also acts as a hood stop. He kept the dimensions of this thing very restrained. Zerk fitting on the pivot of the front axle.... Give us a run down of the controls.... Steering wheel even has significant fabrication. Damn Sam I'm impressed with this thing, sorry to be a pain... Chris Was hoping some day to build a tractor so I don't have to be concerned about specialized parts. Brakes.... must have brakes but I can't figure that one out from the picture, maybe on the one pedal, half-way clutch,all the way brake?? Edited January 17, 2018 by cpete1 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aldon 4,828 #30 Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) Very cool. I’m late to party. So most of what I could Glean has already been covered. Love the idea of the rear and the differential.... Edited January 17, 2018 by Aldon 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 56,742 #31 Posted January 17, 2018 I'm curious what the heavy duty front axle came from? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #32 Posted January 17, 2018 Ok guys—I spoke with Uncle Ken on the phone for about 30 minutes tonight. He told me a lot of things about this tractor that I never knew. Rather than trying to include it all here at once, I’m going to break it up over several posts especially when I have more pics to add. I know that we all love ! A little more Background history: Uncle Ken push mowed grandpa Stertz’s yard for about five years. It would take him the better part of a day to get it done. He told me tonight that he would dream about having a riding lawn mower all the while he was pushing a 21” mower. Ironically, when he was about to get into the work force and turn the mowing duties to my dad, grandpa bought the WH REO mentioned elsewhere on the forum! I don’t think that he has ever let my dad live that one down. So, he started to watch friends and neighbors and their tractors and noticed that they seemed to spend as much time fixing them as they did using them. Thus he began to birth the idea in about 1968 of building an “indestructible” garden tractor. He wanted every component to last a lifetime and so the drawing began. The cost of good quality new GT’s was also a problem. He desired to build it as inexpensively as he could with what he had around him. After all, he was saving all his extra money to buy a brand new car, which turned out to be a 1969 GTO Judge! Pics of that coming soon... The engine was important and nothing was tougher at the time than a Kohler K series. Uncle Bob worked for the local Case dealership and was able to get Ken a K301 brand new for $150–still expensive in 1969 dollars. As previously mentioned, Bob also scored a hood for the tractor. Ken told me that it had been damaged at the factory and he was able to purchase it for $25. We will have more about the story soon... I know this picture is on the previous page but I want it here to for reference. The “dash tower” on this tractor is actually a sealed gear reduction housing. It contains a #50 roller chain and sprockets with gearing to cut the speed as needed. Of course it hooks directly to the tranny input shaft sending the power through it. On the output side is another gear reduction housing that connects directly to the rear end (more about both the tranny and rear end in a future post). I asked Uncle Ken about the tube running from the lower gear reduction housing up to the upper one. He told me that he wanted to have an indestructible setup and so he bathed the whole thing in oil. He knew that all the oil would end up in the rear and lower housing and so he created a system by which it would circulate. A plunger pump was needed and so he made his own to work off of the turning of the rear end! It pumps the oil back up to the top of the housing where it slowly works its way back to the bottom again. Apparently, it is a slow pump moving about a cup of oil every 10 min or so but that is enough to keep that system going strong for almost 50 years! Problem solving at its finest. Stay tuned for lots of more stories and a bunch of vintage pics! 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpete1 332 #33 Posted January 17, 2018 Keep the info coming Josh, very much enjoying this... Chris All the more impressive if he was so young when he started the build! 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 69,710 #34 Posted January 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, cpete1 said: Keep the info coming Josh, very much enjoying this... Chris All the more impressive if he was so young when he started the build! Yeah, Josh. What Chris said. Roughly what age was your uncle when this began to take place? 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #35 Posted January 17, 2018 20 years old—hard to imagine! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpete1 332 #36 Posted January 17, 2018 I'm hoping he is enjoying telling us about it as much as we're enjoying hearing about it. If I'm getting this right, this tractor was before he became a fabricator as his occupation. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #37 Posted January 17, 2018 That is correct. He was working for Rockwell at that point in his life but I’ll have to ask him what he did for them. I know that it wasn’t too much later that he went to work for Oshkosh Truck. However, he is one of those guys that was given a gift in designing and building stuff. My grandpa was a tinker when it came to metal projects and wood projects. Whatever needed fixing around the farm, he would fix it but Ken was very much into designing and building stuff. He is a very intelligent guy who enjoys reading and he retains and unbelievable amount of what he reads. He also is very observant and inquisitive about how things work. For instance, if you take a close look at the steering box in the above picture—he noticed that the steering in many GT’s began to get sloppy after only a handful of years of usage. He wanted something better and so he studied over the old tractors they used on the farm and patterned his design after them. He picked up two sets of 90 degree bevel gears. Fabricated a box to house them that would attach to the upper gear reduction housing. Because the gears were built for a high speed application, he figured that they would last a long time sealed in lubrication. So, he welded the box shut and saved the extra set, figuring that in 20-25, he could make another box and use the second set. He completed the tractor in about 1972 and the original set is still going strong with no visible signs of wear! @953 nut he completely fabricated the front axle with parts that he had left over from a buddies 1950 Chevy car that they parted out. That is also where the rear end came from. More detailed pics and write up on both in the future! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 17,193 #38 Posted January 17, 2018 23 hours ago, PeacemakerJack said: The mower deck is also completely fabricated by him. Much of this machine is not simple to make and would cost a fortune to mass produce but it has lasted a lifetime and will continue on in the future. The design and fabrication of this machine is VERY impressive. Built like a tank and 1000 years from now it will be the modern Antikythera mechanism since it will probably still be around. Thanks for sharing this! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maxiblue 352 #39 Posted January 17, 2018 I agree it looks like a case, one time had one something like that but not the same 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris G 3,311 #40 Posted January 17, 2018 Very cool machine. Thanks for posting this. Cause as much as i love my horses, it is still fascinating to see the oddball machines out there and especially the homemade ones. Its amzing the contraptions that people build with just what they have and how well it last and stands up to time. thanks again 2 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #41 Posted January 17, 2018 These just in from Uncle Kens old photo albums... This is spring of 1979-that is uncle Ken holding one of my hero’s—my Cousin Paul. He is a 20 year veteran of the Navy having served several tours in the “sandbox”. Please note the rear tires—those baldy tires were the originals that came on Ken’s Judge from the factory. They were too worn to use on the car but they worked fine for turfs on that tractor for more than 30 years! Here’s Aunt Tricia (circa 1985) cutting away. Note the Plymouth Horizon in the background—those things were everywhere in the 1980’s and early 90’s. Also—check out the wooden box on the back of the tractor. It was a carryall box that worked great for all kinds of things—even giving the kids rides! I stand corrected: Uncle Ken told me that the deck on there was not made by him, he acquired it in a trade with a friend. He adapted it to fit on his tractor. He doesn’t remember what type of tractor it is off of although he thinks it might have been a simplicity. He said that it has Timken bearings and that was why he wanted it. He greases it regularly and it hasn’t failed him in 40 plus years. As you see more pics, feel free to ask questions. I’ll ask him and get answers for you—he seems to be enjoying sharing with you guys, especially since he is laid up right now following rotator cuff surgery. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
19richie66 17,542 #42 Posted January 18, 2018 (edited) Well it does have the “Case” eagle on it. I love it. At a quick glance you could mistake it for a 444 or 446. Edited January 18, 2018 by 19richie66 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #43 Posted January 18, 2018 True! I should have a set of custom decals made up for it. He repainted it about four years ago and so it really looks nice right now. Some custom lettering would look sharp on there... 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 56,742 #44 Posted January 18, 2018 24 minutes ago, PeacemakerJack said: Some custom lettering would look sharp on there If you want to go with the Case decals you can get them at Steiner. https://antique-tractor-parts.steinertractor.com/search?&UID=&w=gase+decals&view= 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 49,919 #45 Posted January 18, 2018 Say Josh how come you don't talk him into bringing that rig to one of our local shows? Or a certain plow day?!?!? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,743 #46 Posted January 18, 2018 That would be super fun to bring to Portage! Could you imagine all the people crawling all over it trying to figure out what it was??? He should bring it to J&C PDIII. That would be fun... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 49,919 #47 Posted January 18, 2018 Portage, Plainfield, Berlin show heck even Symco. I'm sure Dan or I could help out with hauling help if need be. Would be great to see guys scratching their heads trying to figure out what breed it is. Be prepared to answer a lotta questions tho! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 69,710 #48 Posted January 18, 2018 18 minutes ago, WHX14 said: Portage, Plainfield, Berlin show heck even Symco. I'm sure Dan or I could help out with hauling help if need be. Would be great to see guys scratching their heads trying to figure out what breed it is. Be prepared to answer a lotta questions tho! Boy would I love to see that! Makes me wish we lived just a bit closer.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 49,919 #49 Posted January 18, 2018 What was that game show....... EB ......COMEON DOWN ! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 28,190 #50 Posted January 18, 2018 56 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: Makes me wish we lived just a bit closer.... It's just a short 20hr drive @ebinmaine 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
