Snow Machine Made From Crown Victoria Station Wagon

Snow Machine Made From Crown Victoria Station Wagon FARM HOME Cars When it comes to plowing deep snow in the coldest winter weather Matt Stafford has all the bases covered He built a self-propelled track-mounted snow mover with a dozer blade and a blower that will grind through 5-ft drifts He rides in comfort in a cab the size of a small kitchen that has thermostatically-controlled heat a 40-amp stereo sound system a backup camera and a gorgeous Cherry dashboard “I guess I’m a little eccentric when it comes to building things ” Stafford says “I started with a few simple ideas for this rig and just didn’t know where to stop ” His three daughters all pitched in to weld and build various parts with him “Now they all know how to weld and have a stake in this machine ” he says Stafford decided to build his own rig because his Ford pickup and blade was difficult to maneuver in deep snow and often got stuck The chassis and drive train for his one-of-a-kind creation are from a 1987 Crown Victoria station wagon He installed a 351 Windsor engine and built the cab and bogey wheel suspension out of scrap steel Six wheels and tracks on each side support the machine Stafford and his daughters wrapped the wheels with custom made tracks that are 18 in wide and about 14 ft long Stafford says “the guy who sold them to me wondered out loud what I was going to do with 1 000 lbs of belting I think he thought I was crazy ” The tracks are driven by cog wheels made from old steel tractor rims Stafford made rubber cogs for the rims that extend through holes in the track between the cleats Small wheels at the rear of each track are fitted with air shocks on a sliding wedge As air is pumped into the shocks tension is applied to the tracks Stafford and his daughters cut and formed all of the steel cleats for the tracks out of 1/8 by 2-in flat steel Cleats are bolted onto the tracks about a foot apart creating a rugged track that negotiates the toughest snow conditions The tracks are held in place by a 1/2-in cable that’s strung through four lengths of chain connected to each cleat “It’s a home grown system that’s for sure ” Stafford says “but it sure has great traction and plenty of flotation ” The rig has a custom-built cab that has all the amenities of a modern pickup There’s a comfortable bucket seat insulated walls and ceiling thermostatically-controlled heat and insulated windows salvaged from an old Ford van His daughters insisted on a “state-of-the-art” sound system so his stereo even has a sub-woofer The 351 Windsor delivers plenty of power to push and blow large amounts of snow The engine is mounted at the rear of the machine and the transmission at the front The engine weight helps offset the 6-ft Loftness blower mounted on loader arms on the front Stafford converted the machine’s 540 pto drive to hydraulic power The blower and blade mount on lift arms that Stafford bought from the Surplus Center www surpluscenter com They’re similar to those on a tractor loader The arms are raised and lowered with 4-ft lift cylinders and also have a 2-ft tilt cylinder The arms pivot on brackets welded to the top of the reinforced cab Hydraulics are powered by a motor that’s mounted in place of the car’s AC compressor The reservoir has a 50-gal tank Oil flow scavenged from the rig’s power steering turns the snow blower discharge chute Hydraulics are controlled by valves mounted inside the cab “The drive train works like the old Bombardiers ” Stafford says “I have two floor pedals that I push to steer left or right The transmission has three forward speeds and one reverse I control engine speed by a throttle cable mounted to the dash ” The machine has two sets of high intensity lights on the cab and a yellow emergency beacon Stafford says “building this was like therapy for my girls and I The old car where they learned how to drive is now a really unique snow mover ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Matthew Stafford 5358 Darrow Ave N E Buffalo Minn 55313 ph 763 682-0118; staffmj@dwig net

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