Farmall “H” Repowered With Chevy V-8 Engine
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“When I was a young kid my dad took me to a county fair tractor pull and I saw a Farmall M pulling way more than what it normally would because it had a big V-8 engine in it,” says Pennsylvania farmer Jerry Bukovitz. “I told my dad I wanted something just like it some day, but he said that’s going to really take some doing because the name of that tractor was ‘Mission Impossible’. You’ll have to work really hard .”
More than 40 years later, after repowering a Farmall H with a 350 V-8 from a Chevy pickup, Bukovitz has finally realized his childhood dream. “It’s an H so it isn’t exactly the same rig that I saw all those years ago, but I’m really proud of it,” Bukovitz says. He and friends, who helped him make the engine conversion and rebuild the tractor, spent the better part of one winter on the project.
“We started with an old H that looked like it had really been through the ringer,” says Bukovitz. “The motor didn’t run, all the paint was faded or rusted, and it had a bad rear end and bad tires. We tore it all down, put in a new rear end and added about 5 in. of channel iron to the frame to accommodate the V-8. I had a driveshaft made for it and put in a 1-in. plate for the bell housing. The driveshaft connects right to the transmission and we used the same gearbox.”
Bukovitz and the friends who helped him install the V-8 used the original radiator and water pump for cooling. The original fan from the tractor motor wouldn’t fit on the V-8, so they used an electric fan instead. Initially they used the original starter, but found it didn’t have enough power to turn the V-8, so they put in a larger starter and a 12-volt battery. The lights, switches, amp gauge and driver station are original equipment. The headers extend outside the hood with straightpipes used for the exhaust. Five inches of sheet metal were added to the hood to accommodate the longer V-8 motor. New tires rounded out the project.
After all the mechanical changes were complete Buskovitz had the body cleaned and then painted it Farmall red. “With the shiny paint it looks just like it came from the factory,” says Bukovitz. In the past year he’s taken it to area tractor shows and a county fair where people ask him when Farmall built an H with a V-8. “I tell them the V-8 is from a Chevy pickup and they’re amazed by how it looks and sounds.”
Bukovitz says the motor purrs like a new one and provides enough rpm’s so the tractor will go more than 40 mph in 4th gear on a straight road. “I don’t really use it for work because the gear ratio isn’t right for that,” says Bukovitz.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerald Bukovitz, 158 Bukovitz Farm Rd., McClellandtown, Penn. 15458 (ph 724 737-0691).
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Farmall “H” Repowered With Chevy V-8 Engine ENGINES “When I was a young kid my dad took me to a county fair tractor pull and I saw a Farmall M pulling way more than what it normally would because it had a big V-8 engine in it ” says Pennsylvania farmer Jerry Bukovitz “I told my dad I wanted something just like it some day but he said that’s going to really take some doing because the name of that tractor was ‘Mission Impossible’ You’ll have to work really hard ”
More than 40 years later after repowering a Farmall H with a 350 V-8 from a Chevy pickup Bukovitz has finally realized his childhood dream “It’s an H so it isn’t exactly the same rig that I saw all those years ago but I’m really proud of it ” Bukovitz says He and friends who helped him make the engine conversion and rebuild the tractor spent the better part of one winter on the project
“We started with an old H that looked like it had really been through the ringer ” says Bukovitz “The motor didn’t run all the paint was faded or rusted and it had a bad rear end and bad tires We tore it all down put in a new rear end and added about 5 in of channel iron to the frame to accommodate the V-8 I had a driveshaft made for it and put in a 1-in plate for the bell housing The driveshaft connects right to the transmission and we used the same gearbox ”
Bukovitz and the friends who helped him install the V-8 used the original radiator and water pump for cooling The original fan from the tractor motor wouldn’t fit on the V-8 so they used an electric fan instead Initially they used the original starter but found it didn’t have enough power to turn the V-8 so they put in a larger starter and a 12-volt battery The lights switches amp gauge and driver station are original equipment The headers extend outside the hood with straightpipes used for the exhaust Five inches of sheet metal were added to the hood to accommodate the longer V-8 motor New tires rounded out the project
After all the mechanical changes were complete Buskovitz had the body cleaned and then painted it Farmall red “With the shiny paint it looks just like it came from the factory ” says Bukovitz In the past year he’s taken it to area tractor shows and a county fair where people ask him when Farmall built an H with a V-8 “I tell them the V-8 is from a Chevy pickup and they’re amazed by how it looks and sounds ”
Bukovitz says the motor purrs like a new one and provides enough rpm’s so the tractor will go more than 40 mph in 4th gear on a straight road “I don’t really use it for work because the gear ratio isn’t right for that ” says Bukovitz
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gerald Bukovitz 158 Bukovitz Farm Rd McClellandtown Penn 15458 ph 724 737-0691
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