1/16 tractor conversion

[Acadieman]

A while ago, I bought a 1/16 Ertl tractor on Kijiji for $10 to try my hand at a conversion.
I disassembled the tractor, and started to build a frame to mount the motors and steering servo.
Here are picture of where it stands.





Next will be the wheels, and mounting the body.
I'm working with limited tools and knowledge, but I'm liking the experience so far.
My work area is our kitchen, I have a 7x12 lathe, a hand drill and a dremel. My MIG welder is 3 hrs away, so I had a friend stick weld the steering knuckles. Its a bit rough, but for a first project I'm OK with the progress.

[Dieselchopper]

good start

[Acadieman]

Front wheels:

[Acadieman]

Finished off the wheels. Next on the to do list is attach the body.

[Izzy]

Great start.

Q- why did you not use the tractor front steering mechanism as a basis?

Izzy

[Acadieman]

Originally Posted by Izzy

Great start.

Q- why did you not use the tractor front steering mechanism as a basis?

Izzy

Thanks!

Good question concerning the front axle. There's a few reason. The first being that it was an old toy that I bought for $5 and the front axles and craddle had loads of play. The second reason was that I originally wanted to do a adjustable front axle, which I may still do before the end of the project.

The project is more complicated than it needs to be, but its been a good learning experience for future projects. I learnt the basics on running a lathe, and using the milling attachment for the mini lathe as well.

[anthonymcc]

Nice build. Cool wheels and tires.

[Stuart]

Great start!
Any updates?

[Kingcam2]

Great work so far Acadieman, can't wait to see more updates.

[Acadieman]

Kingcam2, thanks very much! With what I learned, I'm already starting to plan my next project. Going to finish this one first.

A few more pictures for now:








I need to do a front bumper, relocate the turnbuckles for the 3pt hitch, and do alot of body work.

[Stuart]

Looking real good, wheres the battery and radio gear located?

[Grainfarmer]

Nice MF! Which type is it?

regards
Frank

[Stuff]

awesome!

[Acadieman]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Stuart, I managed to stuff the electronics in the hood and under the floorboard. I may run a bigger battery later on, which I'll simply put in the cab.
There's actually a BEC, ESC, battery, and steering servo in all that mess.





Grainfarmer, its a MF 698. When I bought the toy used, it had dual wheels in the back, but after looking online I only every saw it with singles. The 698 was built in France, and I don't believe any of them make their were to North America. I almost switched the decals to a 275, but it wouldn't look right with the cab.

[Acadieman]

A few videos of a test run:

http://youtu.be/uRpl0gRRlDM
http://youtu.be/gxDJlzyIY70
http://youtu.be/7jC2XV-liww

[Grainfarmer]

Runs well! Maybe you find some new decaös here:
http://www.dakotahtoyparts.com/web/index.php?siteid=313
...or here:
http://www.bossenimp.com/

[Acadieman]

Originally Posted by Grainfarmer

Runs well! Maybe you find some new decaös here:
http://www.dakotahtoyparts.com/web/index.php?siteid=313
...or here:
http://www.bossenimp.com/

I got a set of decals from Dakotah Toys, and I'm planning another order soon for other needed items.

[Acadieman]

Tractor is finally done.
I did a few mistakes at the end as I was rushing to get it done.
Notheless I'm happy for now. I'll put a SMV sticker on the back, and take a video of it running shortly. I'm moving this weekend, so the video will be a while!

Here are a few pictures. Cabriolet version:





With Cab:



Close up of the 3 pcs wheels:

[egronvold]

Looks good!

[kaptain Jack]

Nicely done