Electric Starter Hidden On Farmall F-12
Kirk Unzelman’s F-12 Farmall was great to take to antique tractor shows, but tough to start with its crank. With the help of a friend, Mike Intlekofer, he added an electric starter. Their goal was to keep the starting system hidden as much as possible so it would not be noticeable at a medium distance, such as in a parade.
“We decided to mount the starter motor inside the frame rails, mounting the ring gear on the transmission shaft and mounting the battery inside the left rear wheel,” says Intlekofer. “It needed to be sized right to fit. We found a 1974 Pinto starter motor and flywheel at a junkyard.”
The first step was to drive the ring gear off the flywheel. Holding the starter motor and ring gear in various positions, they decided the best location for the ring gear would be behind the yoke of the flexible joint that mounts on the transmission input shaft.
They machined an aluminum disk to fit the ring gear, adding a central hole to clear the shaft nut, two holes to bolt to the flexible joint, and a circular groove to clear the oil seal boss on the gearbox.
“We used a rotary table on a small mill to machine the groove into the disk,” explains Intlekofer. “Then we heated the ring gear and pressed it onto the disk.”
The disk was mounted on the driveshaft by bolting it behind one of the yokes of the flexible joint. A spacer was placed on each bolt between the yoke and the disk.
The starter motor was positioned for proper engagement by fabricating two brackets to hold it inside the frame rail. The brackets and motor were mounted on the right hand side of the frame rail, adjusted for clearance and bolted tight. The solenoid was mounted to the left frame rail.
“We used a curved channel iron to cover the ring gear and formed sheet metal shrouds to cover the aluminum disk and the transmission shaft for appearance sake,” says Intlekofer.
The last step was to form a battery tray using strap and angle iron. It mounts just ahead of the left axle, next to the brake drum. The starter switch was mounted on the left side of the tractor so it can be started when standing beside the engine.
“This lets us operate the throttle, choke, and starter button conveniently,” adds Intlekofer. “Starting is quick, reliable and easy. Several coats of primer and paint finished the job. We not only had an easy starter, but we also had a good looker.”
Unzelman and Intlekofer first described the starter project in the March/April 2010 issue of Red Power magazine. They have put together an information packet with 14 pages of dimensioned drawings and photos describing the project in detail. They’ll send it out for a fee of $10 to cover copy and mailing costs.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Intlekofer, 4472 119th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, Wash. 98006 (ph 425 641-8471; mikeintle@comcast.net) or Kirk Unzelman, 4635 130th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, Wash. 98006.
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Electric Starter Hidden On Farmall F-12 TRACTORS Accessories Kirk Unzelman’s F-12 Farmall was great to take to antique tractor shows but tough to start with its crank With the help of a friend Mike Intlekofer he added an electric starter Their goal was to keep the starting system hidden as much as possible so it would not be noticeable at a medium distance such as in a parade “We decided to mount the starter motor inside the frame rails mounting the ring gear on the transmission shaft and mounting the battery inside the left rear wheel ” says Intlekofer “It needed to be sized right to fit We found a 1974 Pinto starter motor and flywheel at a junkyard ” The first step was to drive the ring gear off the flywheel Holding the starter motor and ring gear in various positions they decided the best location for the ring gear would be behind the yoke of the flexible joint that mounts on the transmission input shaft They machined an aluminum disk to fit the ring gear adding a central hole to clear the shaft nut two holes to bolt to the flexible joint and a circular groove to clear the oil seal boss on the gearbox “We used a rotary table on a small mill to machine the groove into the disk ” explains Intlekofer “Then we heated the ring gear and pressed it onto the disk ” The disk was mounted on the driveshaft by bolting it behind one of the yokes of the flexible joint A spacer was placed on each bolt between the yoke and the disk The starter motor was positioned for proper engagement by fabricating two brackets to hold it inside the frame rail The brackets and motor were mounted on the right hand side of the frame rail adjusted for clearance and bolted tight The solenoid was mounted to the left frame rail “We used a curved channel iron to cover the ring gear and formed sheet metal shrouds to cover the aluminum disk and the transmission shaft for appearance sake ” says Intlekofer The last step was to form a battery tray using strap and angle iron It mounts just ahead of the left axle next to the brake drum The starter switch was mounted on the left side of the tractor so it can be started when standing beside the engine “This lets us operate the throttle choke and starter button conveniently ” adds Intlekofer “Starting is quick reliable and easy Several coats of primer and paint finished the job We not only had an easy starter but we also had a good looker ” Unzelman and Intlekofer first described the starter project in the March/April 2010 issue of Red Power magazine They have put together an information packet with 14 pages of dimensioned drawings and photos describing the project in detail They’ll send it out for a fee of $10 to cover copy and mailing costs Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Intlekofer 4472 119th Ave S E Bellevue Wash 98006 ph 425 641-8471; mikeintle@comcast net or Kirk Unzelman 4635 130th Ave S E Bellevue Wash 98006
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