Re: Putting different engines in old tractors.

Posted by john d - Go for it! on July 26, 2001 at 16:27:41 from (152.163.197.52):

In Reply to: Putting different engines in old tractors. posted by rod on July 26, 2001 at 03:44:57:

All the previous posters make some points worth considering. It appears to me that there are far more old tractors out there than will EVER be restored, so unless the machine is extremely unusual, rare, or has some sentimental value, I'm in agreement with you that it's better to see it modified and running than junked!

There two points made previously that I think merit the most consideration. One concerns the engine often being part of the structure of the tractor, and thus not up to the stress of rough use. The other, about the useable rpm range, is also very important.

Within the last couple of years on one of these boards, someone had a picture of an F12 or F14 with a little 4cyl (Jeep?) engine in it. Looked really nice!

You can put almost any engine into almost any vehicle if you have enough time, determination, imagination, and $$$$.

Going back about 20 to 25 years, there were lots of tractors being run in pulling contests with other engines. It used to be common to see Farmall M, Massey 44, and Oliver tractors with Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler engines in them competing in 5500-pound pulls. A guy with whom I attended college had a little summer business going back in the early 60's putting Ford engines in Farmall tractors. As I recall, his dad ran one dealership, and his uncle the other. He had a little space in a corner of one shop and was putting Ford 390 V8 engines in various M and SM, and (I think) at least one W9. These tractors went right back out on the farm and kept working.

My only advice in this endeavor would be to do a lot of research and measurement before starting. Just because an engine is within reach and cheap doesn't meant it's the best choice for your application. Years ago there was a paper-back book from Peterson publishing on engine swapping which gave dimensions of most of the popular engines for putting into smaller cars, pickups, and jeeps. Lots of us are old enough to remember the fun of cramming a Cadillac engine into an early 50's Mercury, or similar swap. At that time there were companies making adapters for such swaps. It's likely you'll end up having to make your own mounts and adapters for this job.

If you go for this (and I kinda hope you will) please post back with some info on what you ran into and accomplished.

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