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This is the second narrow front tractor I built. I used 15 inch Dodge caravan spare tire rims with 6.70x15 ag tires on them. This raises the tractor enough that you can put the narrow front on them and still have the tractor sit level. The B-10 has a heavy plate bolted under the engine to help support the frame and front end so I used one of these plates to weld my narrow front end to. I welded a 1 inch shaft straight down from the plate. I use a piece of 1 inch I.D. heavy wall tube over that. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the tube to put my axle through and then welded an arm at the top of the tube to attach my steering to. This tractor could be put back to stock by putting the original rear rims on it and unbolting the narrow front and putting the factory wide front back on.
This is the build story for this tractor.
Here is a picture of the 1964 B-10 Allis that I started with. It was in good running condition. This shows how it looks after putting on the 6.70 x 15 rear tires. The rims are from Dodge caravan spare tires. This is a narrow rim and fits the 6.70x15 ag tires well. To use the Dodge rims you have to cut the center flange out of the rim. I just take my torch and follow around the outside of the raised ring in the center and torch it out. The rim has the correct 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern and will bolt right up to the tractor hub. I got the tires from several old irrigation system towers.
Here is the narrow front end I built for this project. This heavy 3/8 steel plate bolts under the front of the frame to provide support for the frame and the wide front end. I drill a 1 inch hole in the plate to insert a 1 inch shaft and weld it in place. I also use a 1 inch bearing collar on the bottom side welded to both the plate and the shaft for reinforcement. You can't see this shaft, only the collar welded to the bottom of the plate. I then take a 1 inch inside diameter piece of heavy wall tube and drill a hole cross wise in the bottom of it to put the axle for the front wheels.
The front tires are 3.50 x 6 inch tri rib tires. For front rims I used wheelbarrow rims with the center support tube cut down to the same width as the rim itself. I then put the bearings back into the rim and mount them to the axle.
This is a picture of the tractor just sitting together while I figure out how to build the steering for it. Normally the steering rod runs alongside the left side of the frame and goes to the left front spindle. By putting the 6 inch tires under the front of the tractor and using the taller rear rims and tires the tractor still sits level but is about 2 inches taller than stock.
Here is a picture of the steering linkage that I came up with. The steering arm originally would have come out to the left side. I removed the arm and remounted it 180 degrees from the stock position. This brought it under the frame and pointing to the right side. To get the correct turning action I welded an arm to the top left side of the 1 inch tube that supports the axle. This gave me the correct direction of the front wheels to the turning of the steering wheel and also hid the linkage all under the frame. If you get down to ground level you can see it but otherwise it doesn't show. I built the linkage to get about 35 degrees of left and right from center travel. The tractor has a short wheel base and turns more than sharp enough.
In this picture the tractor is getting painted and reassembled. One thing that I do on these old briggs engines is to convert them to an automotive 12 volt coil and resistor setup. The original magneto system sometimes still works well but if it fails you have to pull the engine to change it or change over to this coil setup anyway. I just figure I'll wire it in to begin with and I will not have to worry about it later. I use the original points and condensor setup which are not hard to get to if they need to be serviced. You can see the 12 volt coil mounted to the top of the engine shroud.
The finished project! I put an upright exhaust with the rain cap on it to give it some more "real" tractor looks. I used " old caterpillar yellow " for the paint. A new seat and some decals and the old girl is done. I have been building several custom tractors over the last couple years and enjoy the challenge of taking an idea and figuring out how to actually build it. They do make a good conversation piece at tractor shows. I hope you enjoyed this tractor's story.
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