All-Terrain "Buggy" Made From Jeep Station Wagon

All-Terrain "Buggy" Made From Jeep Station Wagon FARM HOME Cars 26-1-43 Mike Koontz, Clare, Mich., recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a one-of-a-kind 4-WD rig he owns that was built by his brother Tim. It's a shortened up 1974 Jeep Wagoneer station wagon equipped with a yellow plastic body, two bench seats, a big steel rollover cage, 15-in. high lugged radial tires, and front and rear steel bumpers. A tractor exhaust muffler and a combine air breather extend out of the hood. There are steel brackets on front for mounting a snow blade, and a hitch on back for pulling implements. Koontz has used the all-terrain vehicle to pull an old 2-bottom plow, an 8-ft. disk and culti-packer, a set of drags, a firewood trailer, and to push a 6-ft. snow blade. "We call it æThe Buggy' and use it for both work and play. All our neighbors have stories about it," says Koontz. "It has parts from Ford, GM, International, Toyota, and Deere vehicles." The rig is powered by an in-line 6-cyl. gas engine, which Mike and his father overhauled, and has a manual 3-speed transmission. The rollover cage is made from 2-in. dia. steel pipe and supports a pair of 50-watt Halogen headlights. The body, including the fenders and hood, is made from heavy duty, 350-gauge extruded yellow plastic. The rig was shortened up about 4 ft. from its original length. "I use it a lot on my small farm, where I have a lot of woods and also grow wheat," says Koontz. "The lugged radial tires really dig well, and because they're so big (they're 12.5 by 33's) they slow down the ground speed and give the rig surprising power. Also, the rig weighs 3,100 lbs. and is well balanced which helps a lot. One time I used it to move a 14 by 70-ft. mobile home off its pad so a new cement foundation could be built. "I think of it as a poor man's sport utility vehicle. It looks somewhat like a military vehicle, but it cost far less to build. My brother bought the original Jeep for $100. "It doesn't have a pto or 3-pt. hitch, so anything I pull behind it in the field has to be on wheels so I can transport it," says Koontz. "The implement also has to be ground-engaged. The plow I use is a 1938 IH model. To lower it to the ground I yank on a rope from the driver's seat. When I'm done plowing I get off the rig and go back toadjust a lever on the plow so that it comes up all the way out of the ground. I plow with the transmission in first gear, low range. The plow really flings out the dirt. At first I tried using a one-bottom plow, but it didn't slow the Jeep down enough so the plow tended to sling dirt too far out of the furrow. If I'm plowing and I get into an area with hardpan, I just step on the gas pedal. The exhaust muffler was designed for an International Harvester M tractor. "We replaced the original exhaust muffler because it would have tore off when going over tree stumps or mud holes," says Koontz. The Buggy's two seats are from old Ford and Subaru cars. Koontz slipped seat covers over them so they all match. The steering wheel is off a Subaru car. The Jeep's original driveshaft kept twisting, so it was replaced with one built out of 2-in. sq. tubing. The yoke that connects the transmission to the driveshaft is off an old Ford truck. The radio, alternator and a booster cooling fan are off an old GM car. The fender lights are off an old Chrysler. The fuel tank is made from 10-in. dia. pipeline casing. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Koontz, 8671 No. 2 Clarabella Road, Clare, Mich. 48617 (E-mail: Mikek@glccom puters.com).

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