Pedal Tractor Seats Eight

Pedal Tractor Seats Eight AG WORLD 30-5-21 Harlen Grovom of Park River, N. Dak., got the idea for his F20 International pedal-powered tractor from a similar C Farmall he saw in FARM SHOW (Vol. 28, No. 1) With the help of some fellow members of the Northeast North Dakota Pioneer Machinery Association, Grovom modified a 1924 or '25 model F20. It still has the original gearshift and flywheel, and has a working clutch, three-speed transmission, and brakes. Grovom used the pedals and sprockets from eight 3-speed and 5-speed bikes he found at a local scrap dealer. He also got a supply of drive chain at the salvage yard, taken out of old electric door openers. Four riders sit on each side, back to back with a rod to hang onto instead of handlebars. "Both pedaling banks supply power to the transmission, but because they're going in opposite directions, there are two drive shafts," Grovom explains. "One pulls directly to the transmission, and the other is reversed by a gear sprocket. It was quite a challenge to get the right-sized sprocket. We wrecked about four bikes before we figured that out." He says they got the sprockets they needed out of a 71 Deere corn planter in his scrap pile. "We had to extend the frame by about 30 inches, and didn't use any seats off the bikes," he explains. "Instead, we made bench-type seats out of lumber and padded them with upholstery foam." The sharp-looking unit is painted red, with white boards and seats. "I don't think I've got more than $100 in it. Besides helping me put this together, Association members helped produce some of the parts. Quite a few guys worked on it, so it was nice to have the extra help. We spent a good week on it." Grovom says two people can move the pedal tractor around on the shop floor pretty easily, but pedaling down the street gets a little tiresome after about a block so they have to change crews often. He got the chance to try it out at the Dale Hawk Museum at Wolfert, N. Dak. in June at their yearly show. "It was pretty neat. I didn't know if we'd get anybody to pedal it or not, but word traveled fast and the kids were all eager to try it." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harlen Grovom, 12643 Hwy. 17, Park River, N. Dak. 58270 (ph 701 284-6528; hlgrovom@polarcomm.com).

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