Great Depression Tractor Build

Several years ago, I bought the 1919 Avery 5-10 tractor. The 5-10 means 5 drawbar hp and 10 belt pulley hp. The original engine was an inline 4 cyl. The major design flaw with it was there was only two main bearings. Best I could tell from the remains, the crank shaft got to bouncing, broke and blew out the side of the block. At some point, the farmer cobbed a 1933 Willys model 77 engine and transmission in.

The tractor didn't roll or steer when I first got it, but I freed all that up a couple of years ago. The willys transmission does shift, but the original Avery one does not. I'll have to free that up still.





So now its my turn to do a great depression build to it. I had a spare L head that turns, and I scrounged up enough parts to make it run. Looks like the only parts I'll have to buy is a pilot bushing and a lower radiator hose. I'm hoping the Model 77 transmission will bolt up to the CJ2A engine. My plan is to build it and make it work with what I have just like it was originally done sometime after 1933.

 

That's a great idea! My grandpa grew up in the depression and had a couple home-made tractors. Shortened car frame rails, double stacked transmissions for gearing, a car/truck axle rigid attached to the frame, and tractor rims welded to car wheel centers. He used them for years. One had a Wisconsin V4 and the other had a Chevy stovebolt.

 

That is a cool idea. A period era correct modification. Saving history right there.
Sounds like a great project. Should be useful also.

Dave

 

Never saw a home made tractor as a kid but there were dozens of home made Hay trailers. The farmers would take a heavy car frame or pickup frame and add as large of wooden platform bed as they could and a reach and a few of them even retained the steering front axle. I filled up a lot of those bucking hay as a kid. The 60lb bails were nothing when I was 13-14 then they came out with 90lb bails and the job got way less fun real fast.

 

There's a little "one of everything" place at the bottom of Cheat Mt in WV called Cool Springs. They have a resturant, trinkets, etc. Outside they have too many to count, early iron tractors, in various stages of decline. We go there often in the fall for the fall colors and apples as it's near Romney. I never get tired of looking at those tractors and early empliments. Cool beans.

 

Round here they were called Doodlebugs, usually built from Model T and Model A Fords. Lot of people got killed trying to pull logs with them, when they flipped over backwards.

 

My wife and I took off today for a drive and went through Cool Springs, got a couple pics for you. 2 of many tractors and early equipment. It looks like I'm floating on the orange one but my leg is hiding the seat spring/mount.

 

First tractor is a Wallis, which I just bought one of those, and I see a steamer in the background of the second pic!

 

Nate,
This would be a great story for the Farm Collector magazine. Take lots of pictures!

 

Oh I will be when start working on it.

 

Ours was made from a model A ford..

 

This will be fun to watch, I love seeing old tractors getting rebuilt.