DIY/Homemade Tractor Hacks w/ No Welding Required

[Green Power]

My thoughts exactly. Get a welder or make friends with someone who does!

I suppose the Original poster could trade tractor work for welder work?

 

[/pine]

Good luck with the tractor...if it does not have power steering think about that when considering a front end loader...
just sayin...again...good luck...

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

It has power steering. I made sure of it.

 

[hosspuller]

The best hack I've got is a piece of chain. About 6 feet long with a grab hook on one end and a slip hook on the other. Buy the hooks with clevis end to make it easy to attach. I Use it for grubbing bushes, pulling cars out of ditches, lifting stuff with the FEL, etc. The short length makes it easy to handle. I do have a 20 footer & 40 footer too... but the shorty is used most.

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

Welcome to the forum. I'd agree about buying a welder. I don't think you'll regret it. Also, congrats on the tractor. I like the old fords. However... what do you know about the Select-o-speed transmission? It is pretty poorly regarded and I guess the parts are nearly impossible to come up with. I don't know much about them myself, but would caution you about working it too hard. I don't know if there are any options for swapping the SOS with a 4 or 5 speed, but that may be in your future. Otherwise, maybe consider selling it before it breaks and buying a different powermaster. If it was recently redone, you may be fine.

Maybe send soundguy a PM, or start a new thread with the name of the tractor in the thread, I bet he'd bite on that. He seems to know a lot about the old Fords.

Don't know much about them at all. Although a web search seems to be mixed. Some say it's a nice tranny that is poorly understood, and if properly maintained holds up well. Others say not. I drove it thru most of the gears and they all seemed to function. The seller didn't use the tractor for anything besides driveway maintenance and had owned it for only 2 years.

What's involved in a transmission swap?

 

[dieselcrawler]

I agree... a farmer and/or equipment owner needs welder and ox/act torches.

But on the no-welding-mods list... my chainsaw holder. However... one made out of metal is in the works, with a plastic bar sleeve inside to protect the chain much like the wooden one pictured.

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

I agree... a farmer and/or equipment owner needs welder and ox/act torches.

But on the no-welding-mods list... my chainsaw holder. However... one made out of metal is in the works, with a plastic bar sleeve inside to protect the chain much like the wooden one pictured.

I like it. I'll have to study my tractor and see where a similar set-up could work. Mine doesn't have the roll bar that yours is attached to.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Little things like chain saw scabbards, hooks, and D-rings bolt on pretty easy. Bolting of items that are used for dynamic (things the rotate) stuff and ground engaging need to withstand varying forces from several directions. That tends to work the bolts loose quickly. I am always tightening the u-bolts that hold my disc together at the adjustable points. That is where welding comes in as the forces are distributed throughout the assembly as it it was one mass of steel.

If you get a welder please get some expert teaching or you will experience the same problems as bolting, the welds will crack if not solid steel well fused together through the whole piece. Pretty welds that are only on the surface are just that until they crack. Takes three times longer to replace a weld than it did to do it in the first place.

Ron

 

[cwh]

By all means get a welder. I found an old AC buzz box on craigslist the other day for $50. There is a ton of free info online now, and some of it is even helpful. Do a little research, maybe take a class, and watch some videos. Start sticking things together, and you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

That said, there was a chain carrier that someone posted here a while back. Basically a chunk of PVC pipe with a "floor" in it that was hosed clamped to the vertical support of the FEL. Seems very handy, especially if you are hauling logs.

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

I'm thinking you could take some of these trailer upgrades from Family Handyman and put them on your tractor somewhere.
Utility Trailer Upgrades: The Family Handyman