Farmall M Repowered With Chevy V-8 Engine

Farmall M Repowered With Chevy V-8 Engine TRACTORS Modifications 29-1-19 Put a Chevy 454 V-8 engine into a 1950 Farmall M and you have a nice, smooth-running combination, says Jim Michealis of Glencoe, Minn., who did just that. The tractor comes complete with a pair of chrome-plated mufflers. "Years ago I used a tractor just like this one to haul silage wagons and to operate a silage blower. I spent a lot of hours on it. I always thought it would be great to repower one with a Chevy engine," says Michealis. "I tried to keep the tractor looking as original as possible." The engine came out of a 1974 Chevy and had about 250 hp. He had to lengthen the tractor frame by 6 in. in order to make room for the new engine. The water pump on the Chevy engine sat lower than the one on the original IH engine, so he had to mount it facing downward. He had a small adapter plate made to fit between the crankshaft and the tractor's original flywheel. The tractor still has its original flywheel and clutch. At first he used the tractor's original belt-driven fan but later he replaced it with an electric fan. Otherwise all parts, including the alternator, came off the car. He used steel pipes to make the mufflers and had them chrome plated. "It took about three years to get everything made and adapted. The only modification I made to the engine was to trim away a little cast iron on the back corners of the engine block to get it to fit inside the frame. The hardest part was getting all the pulleys and brackets made for the alternator and power steering. It makes a nice, mellow sound. I have the governor set to keep the engine running at 2,000 to 2,500 rpm's," notes Michealis. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim and Dustin Michealis, 16201 411th Ave., Glencoe, Minn. 55336 (ph 320 864-3420).

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