Super Charge Older Tractors With 12-Volt Conversion

Super Charge Older Tractors With 12-Volt Conversion FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 32-6-39 Ronald Hodsdon's 1956 Deere 420 tractor used to be a bear when it came to cold weather. All it wanted to do was hibernate. Now he hits the starter for half a turn, and it's off and running, no matter how cold it is. "I changed it from a 6-volt system to a 12-volt, but I kept the old 6-volt starter," says Hodsdon. The change was easy. He bought a new 12-volt battery and pulled an internal resister coil and an alternator out of a couple of old Volkswagens. "The alternator fit the original generator mount with minor changes," says Hodsdon. "I installed a flexible cowling over it to keep it dry." The larger battery was more of a problem. Hodsdon fabricated a battery box out of angle iron and sheet metal and hung it on the right side of the bell housing. The old battery space became tool storage. Hodsdon made the change 30 years ago and says he has had to overhaul the old starter a few times over the years. "But that's a small price to pay for the quick starts," he notes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ronald Hodsdon, 255 Hodsdon Rd., Pownal, Maine 04069 (ph 207 688-4469).

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