Narrow front end 953

[953 nut 55,771]

I have always thought a 953 would look good with a narrow front end and finally decided to take the plunge. The tractor is more maneuverable than with the wide front end and steers great. This 953, which I bought from @Mike'sHorseBarn, has the Ross Steering box but the same thing could be done with the later models with a Fan Gear 953/1054 or GT-14. The entire steering system bolts in place with holes that were already in the frame and the entire process is reversible if I were to decide to go back to stock.

I started with a foot long piece of 3/4" round stock (an old steering shaft) and bent it at the center to fifteen degrees so the tires would be canted in like they are on an old farm tractor.

Then I made a fixture to hold the axle in place while welding it to a piece of one inch round stock (an old one inch axle).

I mounted the tires (Deestone 3.50-6) and wheels and they looked great! Shaft collars were added inside and holes for cotter keys were drilled on the outer edges of the wheels. The excess 3/4" axles were cut off.

Once the axle and pivot were welded together it was on to the bearings and attachment fabrication. I used 3/16" X 4" flat bar and driller and tapped them to secure it to the frame. Having a 963 frame hanging around made the job easier.

A four lug one inch trailer hub is used as the pivot point.

With the bearings in place I could determine the location for the snap ring groove to hold everything in place and cut off the rest of the axle.

Next a steering arm was fabricated and welded in place. It was a tight fit between the frame and tire.

Now it was time to fabricate a drag link between the steering box and the steering arm. I bought the ball joints from Lowell https://www.wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/steering.html#!/3-8-x-7-16-Ball-Joint-2-Tie-Rod-MTD-Cub-Cadet-Toro/p/84788581/category=23548038 and fabricated the drag link from 5/8" round stock. I drilled and tapped the ends and used 7/16-20 threaded rod to join the ball joints to the link.

This was a fun project and I am pleased with the way it came out. Looks a lot like the image on my tractor crossing sign.     

 

Edited March 22, 2019 by 953 nut
fat finger

[Achto 27,756]

Excellent work!! That looks great on there.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,353]

You did an excellent job. 

[Mike'sHorseBarn 3,014]

Man that looks top notch!!

[formariz 11,988]

That front section tapered towards the bottom looks ideal for that set up. Looks like it was always intended to be like that. Very nice.

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

You found a hobby that you can sell.

Make up some more and sell at the Big Show Richard.

[Mikey the Monkey 697]

love love love it

[JoeM 7,874]

Lots of head scratch n!  

Real nice! Well engineered.

[rjg854 11,475]

Excellent job, Richard, looks great 

[dclarke 4,033]

Very well done, Richard! 

[wallfish 17,079]

NICE!

It looks good tucked in the front instead of extending out past the front of the frame. And that trailer hub idea makes for some smooooth turn'n

[The Tuul Crib 7,337]

sweet!!

Edited March 23, 2019 by The Tool Crib

[SylvanLakeWH 25,927]

Very nice job!

 

Looks factory!!!

[Chris G 3,296]

Great job, looks pretty sharp.

[PeacemakerJack 10,739]

Richard—can’t wait to show this one to dad! You did great and it fits the body lines of the first “Big Wheel” so well.  Great engineering and thanks for the good write up

[Ed Kennell 38,637]

Great design and workmanship.   It looks like it rolled off the assembly line like that.

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

Looks great Richard, and thanks for all the photos and description of the build process. I've thought several times about doing the narrow front on a tractor, your pictures made it easier to see how it all goes together in my mind

[AMC RULES 37,134]

 Calendar shot.   

 

 

[19richie66 17,522]

Very nice job Mr. Nut. As said before, looks like it was made that way. 

[Aldon 4,827]

Very nice! Thanks for the pics and documented process.

[Tractor boy 239]

18 hours ago, BOB ELLISON said:

You found a hobby that you can sell.

Make up some more and sell at the Big Show Richard.

Or you could make a kit and sell it for a couple hundred bucks and have the person put it on them selves. 

[cschannuth 3,816]

1 hour ago, Tractor boy said:

Or you could make a kit and sell it for a couple hundred bucks and have the person put it on them selves. 

 

Yep 

[953 nut 55,771]

20 hours ago, BOB ELLISON said:

You found a hobby that you can sell.

Make up some more and sell at the Big Show Richard.

           The minute I did that the Chinese would violate my intellectual property rights and flood the market with cheap quality knock offs and I would be out of business!    

[Pullstart 63,096]

Wow, that looks just right!  Did the steering radius improve any?

[953 nut 55,771]

49 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Did the steering radius improve any?

The steering radius improved significantly, I haven't measured it yet but it will. The trailer hub bearings make it steer soooo smoooooth.