Articulated Tractor Patterned After An Allis Chalmers 440

Articulated Tractor Patterned After An Allis Chalmers 440 TRACTORS New Tractors 27-3-23 Marvel Nelson's little articulated 4-WD Allis Chalmers is a head turner. "It looks just like the 440 articulated steering tractor that Steiger made for Allis Chalmers back in the late 1960's," says Nelson about his 1/3-scale model. Although Nelson just built the tractor a couple of years ago, he had been thinking about doing it for two decades. "I collected most of the parts to build this tractor about 20 years ago," says the retired Mineral Point, Wisconsin, farmer. "What I needed was something to pull firewood out of the timber. It needed a low center of gravity and good traction. Because I was busy with farming, it just never got done." The drive axles are from two 1-ton Chevrolet trucks with vacuum 2-speed rear ends. The engine is a Chevy 6-cylinder 292. He used an automatic transmission and transfer case from a 3/4-ton Chevy 4-WD pickup. The steering console, grill and radiator were salvaged from a 190-XT Allis. He put the two truck axles together so they pivot in the center and used a hydraulic cylinder mounted on one side of the frame to steer. A hydraulic pump mounted on the motor provides power for the steering. The tractor also features hydraulic brakes. And with the automatic transmission and transfer case combined with the two-speed axles, he has 12 forward gears and four in reverse. "The slowest speed is between 1 and 2 mph, and top speed is nearly 70 mph," he notes. Once he had the tractor together, he had a new hood, fenders and body sheet metal shaped by a local metal shop. The 1/3-scale 440 has been at many other shows and parades. But it hasn't been out into the timber to drag out firewood. "That's just not going to happen," Nelson says. "I don't want it dented or scratched." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marvel Nelson, 592 County Hwy. U, Mineral Point, Wis. 53565 (ph 608 967-2256; email: mbnlsn@chorus.net).

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