MOTHER'S MINI-TRACTOR (PART I)

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Now you may well wonder why he didn't simply buy a used tractor at a reasonable price . . . and the answer lies in the fact that the great majority of the previously owned equipment that was available was either far too big (even a 28-horsepower mid-sized unit would have overwhelmed his garden), still too expensive (late-model diesel minitractors command a sizable amount in the resale market), or just not up to the work that lay before it (some socalled garden tractors are little more than glorified lawn mowers and simply can't take the abuse that comes with working even a small farmstead).

Additionally (Clarence figured), a workhorse made from a collection of readily available components would have the decided advantage of being easy and inexpensive to repair. For example, one of the key parts of Goosen's mini-tractor is a Volkswagen beetle transaxle . . . a dime-a-dozen item which should be available, at reasonable cost, from salvage yards across the nation.

NUTS AND BOLTS

SPINDLE AND STEERING DETAIL
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Uppermost in Clarence's mind, as he designed MOTHER's mini-tractor, was his desire to keep everything simple and functional. The machine was built around two main components: the VW transaxle mentioned before . . . and a Kohler horizontally opposed, two-cylinder, air-cooled engine (Model KT17) rated at 17 horsepower. (Information about the Kohler powerplant is available from the Kohler Co., Dept. TMEN, Highland Drive, Kohler, Wisconsin 53044, or from your local dealer. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Engines-Gasoline".)

Both of these fundamentals proved to be excellent choices, too. The transaxle is low in cost, serviceable, and compact . . . while the engine's design, low profile, and reliability seemed almost made for garden work. However, should you decide to alter either of these components (perhaps because you already have a powerplant or a conventional differential drive on hand), you'll find that even though the body parts will most likely have to be redesigned, the basic chassis will work without modifications (it may require some minor "stretching", though).

Because of space limitations, we can't provide step-by-step details on every aspect of the tractor's construction (that'd likely take up a goodly hunk of this issue), but we can give you a pretty fair idea of how it was put together . . . and point out some areas in which we saved money or fabricated a custom part from common hardware.

The frame consists of 16 feet of 1" X 3" tubular steel, and the motor mount crossmembers are made from 1-1/4" square stock. Our tractor's front axle assembly—which is simply more 1" X 3" cut and welded into a bow shape and strengthened with additional 1-1/4" tubular steel—pivots on a central longitudinal axle to allow for the uneven terrain that the tractor will surely encounter.

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