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He Restored Imported Tractor, Trailer From Portugal
Kevin Moules of Turlock, Calif., recently sent FARM SHOW photos of an unusual tractor that originally belonged to his grandfather in Portugal. He shipped the tractor home to the U.S. in 2009 and it may be the only one of its kind in North America.
  “It’s a 1978 Italian Bertolini walk-behind tractor coupled to a powered trailer,” says Moules. “I used to work the ground with this tractor with my grandfather so I have a lot of good memories of it.
  “I spent 3 years restoring it to like-new condition in my spare time. I now use it for odd jobs as a parade tractor and have received many compliments on it.”
  The tractor is powered by a Lamborghini 18 hp. single cylinder, pull-start diesel engine and came with a rototiller attachment as well as a 2-way turnover plow.
  “The powered trailer was built in Portugal by Bertolini,” says Moules. “Machine shops there used junkyard car parts for the transmission and trailer axle. The tractor is all gear-driven and has a 540 rpm pto to operate the attachments, as well as a synchronized pto to operate the trailer. The ratios don’t exactly match because the shops in Portugal just used random parts.
  “My grandfather was a grape grower and wine maker but also grew sweet corn, squash, kale and other vegetable crops. The tractor pto-drives the tiller, and the trailer transmission is driven by the pto as well. I can go at speeds up to 10 mph.”
  According to Moules, these types of tractors and trailers are still very common in Europe today. “I love how the single cylinder diesel engine sounds and how it makes people stop and take another look,” says Moules.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Moules, 3140 Stern Way, Turlock, Calif. 95382 (ph 209 648-4223).


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2016 - Volume #40, Issue #1