Something you don't see anymore

[sparkwizard]

I found this behind my neighbor's shop. It has probably been sitting there at least 20 years. This was all his family's farm until about that time.
Since I play with old tractors and small engines, I decided to put this thing back into service. It had a single cylinder engine with a gear reduction, a hand operated belt clutch to a big pully on a jackshaft and a chain to the wheel. This should be fun, and I can use it to pull weeds in the garden. Much more fun than using a hoe.

 

[sparkwizard]

 

[enginecrzy]

One wheel Tote Gote? It's the Unigote

 

[RobertC]

Hot dang !... a one wheeled tractor.

That oughta be fun to ride !

I bet it'll be a great worker.

 

[sparkwizard]

I have all of the plows and points that bolt to the front of it because my old Massey Harris uses them.
Since I finally got the ability to post pictures, would any of you folks like to see the progress on this project?

 

[Augiedoggie]

We called them one legged mules. Awesome piece of equipment

 

[Triley41395]

I have all of the plows and points that bolt to the front of it because my old Massey Harris uses them.
Since I finally got the ability to post pictures, would any of you folks like to see the progress on this project?

Heck yes, any old cool equipment you work on I'd like to see the progress.

 

[sparkwizard]

Tire height and gear ratio, if I put a 4 inch pully on the engine and spin it at 3600, WFO, I think 3 MPH is possible. That is pretty fast.

 

[RobertC]

Yes, for sure.

Thanks for asking Dave.

I have learned so much from this forum, and am thankful folks are willing to share their knowledge and experience !!!

 

[sparkwizard]

The primary garden tractor.
1947 Massey Harris Pony

 

[RobertC]

Oh yeah...that's nice.

Is it diesel ?

Granddaddy's neighbor Mr. Caldwell used to run white gas, aka kerosene in his manual 'start with the flywheel' skinny front wheeled John Deere.

 

[sparkwizard]

One liter of screaming flathead Continental gas. I think it is rated at 10 horsepower . Trust me, them horses was bigger back then!

It needed an oil pump when I bought it. It is more reliable than my truck.
I have hooked to things much too big for it and it just keeps on working.
I have been planning to paint it since I got it about 8 years ago.
My lawnmower is a 1960 Ferguson 35 with a 5 foot estate mower.

 

[sparkwizard]

Oh yeah...that's nice.

Is it diesel ?

Granddaddy's neighbor Mr. Caldwell used to run white gas, aka kerosene in his manual 'start with the flywheel' skinny front wheeled John Deere.

Did that old tractor pop and sound like it was about to die?

 

[RobertC]

Did that old tractor pop and sound like it was about to die?

Yes sir...as a matter of course !

 

[RobertC]

I'm sorry Dave, I've gotta highjack your thread again.

This conversation reminded me...

Mr. Caldwell also had a 4 legged 'tractor'. That mule must have been over 7 feet tall, and would pull Mr. Caldwell standing on top of a plow the mule was hitched to, that looked like a big wooden skid with plow blades on the bottom.

Well that mule happened to be best buddies with my pony 'Frosty' that my Granddad gave me.

The last time I rode Frosty, my legs almost touched the ground...bless his heart.

We were doing fine until Frosty's buddy started braying from Mr. Caldwell's barn. Frosty broke into a run, headed for the barn, running alongside a barbwired fence.

I wasn't liking the look of the barbwire, and bailed out. Frosty didn't slow down till he got to the barn !

Thank you for allowing me to digress...

 

[Augiedoggie]

Oh yeah...that's nice.

Is it diesel ?

Granddaddy's neighbor Mr. Caldwell used to run white gas, aka kerosene in his manual 'start with the flywheel' skinny front wheeled John Deere.

We called unleaded regular grade gasoline "white gas"
Never heard it used to describe kerosene.
Dad used to send me to gas station for white gas for the mowers and outboard motor back in the day. Hope I wasn't bringing him kerosene instead...
He'd probably still kick my ass from the grave

 

[RobertC]

We called unleaded regular grade gasoline "white gas" Never heard it used to describe kerosene.

Hope I wasn't bringing him kerosene instead...

I think you are good...this was pre unleaded gas days in the late 60s lol.

 

[sparkwizard]

I think my Dad had a Coleman camping stove that drank white gas. It came in a one gallon metal can like paint thinner. He poured it into a tank on the stove and pumped a little brass rod to pressurized it. I still don't know what white gas was. Robert, John Deere made a tractor that had a weird engine that sounded like a hit and miss engine. They would coast along with a big flywheel and only fire often enough to maintain RPM. They would pull like crazy. They called them POPPIN JOHN.

 

[Augiedoggie]

When I was a boy there was an old 2 cylinder tractor that looked like it was from the Civil War era. Thing had a huge concrete flywheel on both sides about 4 foot diameter and 18 inches wide. Thing sounded like it sputtered instead of ran. Motor was enormous and had huge spark plugs and was liquid cooled dinosaur. Motor sounded like it only ran a few hundred RPM and the big flywheels turned very slowly. Old farmer ran that thing up and down the hills of his farm at crawling speeds. You could hear the engine labor a bit on steep hills but it kept chugging up the side of the hill. Wouldn't be surprised if the damn thing still runs now after 60 years when I first saw it

 

[Triley41395]

Picked up a lawn mower this weekend, she doesn't run but for 5 bucks I couldn't pass it up. Something I'm sure I'll probably never use, but it will be neat to see it run at least once. Don't know the age but guessing early to mid 50's