"One-Lunger" Garden Tractor

One-Lunger Garden Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself It s definitely one of a kind says Loren Etter Mora Minn about the one-lunger garden tractor that he built by stretching out an old Wheelhorse garden tractor and mounting a 1912 vintage Cushman model C 4 hp engine on it The Cushman black binder engine was originally designed to operate horse-drawn grain binders It s equipped with a flat belt pulley on one side and a big flywheel on the other A big screened water tank is used to cool the engine As the water drips down the screen it s cooled and a water pump cycles the water back through the engine Etter cut through the tractor behind the front axle then lengthened the frame by 12 in and built a metal platform to mount the Cushman engine on He then remounted the Wheelhorse s nose cone and front axle The engine s clutch pulley is used to belt-drive the tractor s transmission gearshift lever via a chain-driven jackshaft He relocated the tractor s battery box behind the nose and replaced the original seat which was worn out with a cast iron seat off an old McCormick Deering implement I often take it to antique farm equipment shows and drive it in parades It s a real attention getter says Etter Top speed is 15 to 20 mph but I usually go in first or second gear at a slower speed It looks so good that some people think it s a commercial model One guy told me it was the oldest Wheel Horse tractor he had ever seen I bought the Cushman engine from a collector The engine rotates at only 400 to 600 rpm s and makes a æputt putt sound It s not a hit and miss engine but is throttle governed so it runs steady and fairly quiet There s no muffler on it I added a kill switch on the dash that s used to disconnect the battery To start the tractor I connect the battery to make contact and put the transmission in neutral Then I get off the tractor turn the gas on and then turn the flywheel by hand says Etter Once the engine is running I get back on the tractor and put it in gear by pulling on a long lever that s connected to a clutch lever that was already on the engine According to Etter the Cushman engine was built from 1910 to the mid 1930 s The Cushman model C engine was designed to replace the grain binder s bull wheel and operate all the binder s mechanical systems All the horses had to do was pull the binder The same engine was also sold as a stationary model mounted on a small cart for operating a feed grinder It could also be used to power a butter churn cream separator old washing machine and other tools and implements Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Loren Etter 1921 130th Ave Mora Minn 55051 ph 320 679-5500; nika1@ecenet com

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