It started life as a Workhorse 700 but came to me with a 3.5 Honda in it. the first engine I put in it was a BSA unit 420cc- but that was rope start not recoil. That was removed and replaced with the current engine- a Honda 390 13hp unit and was still belt driven. This was approximately 2001/2 and I used it for landscaping jobs with an adapted Barford cultivator pulled from the tow hitch. Not happy with this situation- Namely belt drive- gearing- no implement lift, and the narrow rear track. I brought her back and dismantled it- out went the 3 speed box- the rear seat pan chassis- the lower half of the steering column mount. On went a 8 speed box- the Honda 390 engine moved forward to accommodate a 4 speed box tucked in behind the engine- sprocket drive from engine to gearbox/clutch- secondary drive chain down to sprocket now fitted to 8 speed box. Bottom half of steering column mount was replaced with a double acting pump from a hand stacking unit and steering column fits back on top. New seat pan/ three point hitch was fabricated from 3/16 sheet- an old trolley jack was adapted for the lift arms, hydraulic cylinder fits inside seat pan- taken from a trailer braking system. All linkages were then made up for the three point hitch including a PUH working separate from the lift arms.
To the engine sprocket was added a pulley to drive a PTO on the front of the tractor for various attachments Rear wheel spacers were made to widen the track so she stands "square". The fuel tank is made from 3/16 steel and is blended into the instrument console. Due to moving the engine forward a make up piece as welded to the tank to meet the bonnet. In a nutshell- she's stable- has plenty of power- (ask Digger James!)has gears for every job- benefits from the three point hitch and is capable of running front mounted attachments.
