His Shop-Built Tractor Looks Factory Made

2017 - Volume #41, Issue #1, Page #31

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“One day I looked around my shop and at the junk pile and couldn’t believe all the spare parts I had laying around,” says Michigan handyman Jerry Buskirk. “I realized I had enough stuff to build my own tractor.”
    Buskirk says he must’ve done a nice job on the finished rig because people tell him that his home-made tractor looks like it was built in a factory. The 7-ft. long and 4-ft. wide homemade rig is painted green and yellow to match Deere colors. “Everyone who sees it asks what model it is, and I just tell them it’s experimental,” Buskirk says with a laugh. He drove it in several parades in the summer of 2014. “It has a top speed of about 15 mph, so I can keep up with anyone out there,” Buskirk says.
    Buskirk built his home-made gem from the ground up. He made the frame out of 2-in. channel iron that he doubled and welded together for extra strength. The transmission was salvaged from a Model FG Speedex, a high-clearance garden tractor that was built in Ravenna, Ohio. He adapted an old 18-hp. 2-cylinder Kohler engine to power it. The engine has 2 flywheels from an old hit and miss Economy engine. The motor doesn’t have a radiator, so Buskirk built a grill out of steel mesh to give the tractor a more authentic look.
    Buskirk used 42-in. spoke wheels on the rear and 18-in. spoke wheels on the front. The tractor rides on ribbed rear tires and smooth rib front tires. “I wanted to make the tractor look somewhat like an old Deere, so I made a nice hood out of sheet metal, with a smooth top 12 in. wide and 45 degree angled sides,” Buskirk says. The seat, steering wheel and steering mechanism are from an old Deere tractor.
    “I’ve had the tractor in several parades and people really enjoyed looking at it,” Buskirk says. The tractor has a small fuel tank under the hood, a 12-volt battery, electric start and floorboards to round out its authentic appearance. Buskirk uses it around his yard for summer jobs, including grass mowing with a 60-in. trail mower that he built from a 3-pt. machine. For that project he installed a 15 hp Briggs motor with a vertical motor in the center of the platform and made a carriage with 4 wheels so the mower glides easily over the lawn. He uses the two homemade rigs to mow his own 1½ acre yard and also mowed a 20-acre field for the Big Rapids Antique Farm and Power Show. “The 3-blade mower does a nice job, and my home made tractor works great pulling it.” Buskirk says.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerrald Buskirk, 20924 175th Ave., Big Rapids, Mich. 49307 (ph 231 796-2834).

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His Shop-Built Tractor Looks Factory Made TRACTORS Made-It-Myself “One day I looked around my shop and at the junk pile and couldn’t believe all the spare parts I had laying around ” says Michigan handyman Jerry Buskirk “I realized I had enough stuff to build my own tractor ” Buskirk says he must’ve done a nice job on the finished rig because people tell him that his home-made tractor looks like it was built in a factory The 7-ft long and 4-ft wide homemade rig is painted green and yellow to match Deere colors “Everyone who sees it asks what model it is and I just tell them it’s experimental ” Buskirk says with a laugh He drove it in several parades in the summer of 2014 “It has a top speed of about 15 mph so I can keep up with anyone out there ” Buskirk says Buskirk built his home-made gem from the ground up He made the frame out of 2-in channel iron that he doubled and welded together for extra strength The transmission was salvaged from a Model FG Speedex a high-clearance garden tractor that was built in Ravenna Ohio He adapted an old 18-hp 2-cylinder Kohler engine to power it The engine has 2 flywheels from an old hit and miss Economy engine The motor doesn’t have a radiator so Buskirk built a grill out of steel mesh to give the tractor a more authentic look Buskirk used 42-in spoke wheels on the rear and 18-in spoke wheels on the front The tractor rides on ribbed rear tires and smooth rib front tires “I wanted to make the tractor look somewhat like an old Deere so I made a nice hood out of sheet metal with a smooth top 12 in wide and 45 degree angled sides ” Buskirk says The seat steering wheel and steering mechanism are from an old Deere tractor “I’ve had the tractor in several parades and people really enjoyed looking at it ” Buskirk says The tractor has a small fuel tank under the hood a 12-volt battery electric start and floorboards to round out its authentic appearance Buskirk uses it around his yard for summer jobs including grass mowing with a 60-in trail mower that he built from a 3-pt machine For that project he installed a 15 hp Briggs motor with a vertical motor in the center of the platform and made a carriage with 4 wheels so the mower glides easily over the lawn He uses the two homemade rigs to mow his own 1½ acre yard and also mowed a 20-acre field for the Big Rapids Antique Farm and Power Show “The 3-blade mower does a nice job and my home made tractor works great pulling it ” Buskirk says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jerrald Buskirk 20924 175th Ave Big Rapids Mich 49307 ph 231 796-2834

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