408 Birchwood Ct. Modesto, California 95350
These are photos of the John Deere I scratch built for my
grandkids after I retired in the spring of 1995.
It is powered by a 14 CC Ward’s Weed Eater engine. The drive
is via a cogged belt from a centrifugal clutch on the engine, to a
small zero-max gear box. The tractor has four shift speeds on one
lever and a second lever is for forward, neutral and reverse.
The body I fashioned using fiberglass. I used 16-inch bike rims
and tires for the rear wheels, with ?-inch round spokes and hubs I
turned. The front wheels are eight-inch lawn mower wheels.
The seat started its life as a pie pan. It is cushioned with a
V. W. valve spring. The steering wheel was a 6-inch milling machine
hand wheel, with an aluminum spinner knob added. Speed range is
from a creep to a fast walk.
We have participated in four Fourth of July parades since it was
built, pulling a tilt bed stake rack trailer I built, either filled
with grand kids or stuffed animals.
The tractor at first was to be a model ‘B,’ but with
only the exhaust stack through the hood it ended up a model
‘H.’ Of course, it doesn’t sound like a John Deere!
