Antique tractors
The 1909 Happy Farmer, Manufactured by THE HAPPY FARMER TRACTOR COMPANY, Minneapolis, Minnesota with a 2 cylinder opposed Gile engine 5' bore 6?' stroke, 8-16 HP oiled by a Madison Kipp drip oiler operated by a Pitman and crank on end of camshaft, drips oil into pipes to main bearings, cylinders and rods. No oil level maintained in crankcase. In running it sounds much like a steam engine with its long 7' diameter steel pipe frame and muffler. It has I forward and I reverse gear under 3 MPH. Battery ignition with an Atwater Kent Unisparker distributor and Bennett carburetor; no fuel pump. 750 RPM the engine is 'cranked' at the flywheel, between engine and transmission, with a hook-type handle or lever to edge of flywheel face. They say if it kicks it will either pull you in over the tractor or crack your arm out of joint. No brakes other than pulley brake, so when you are out of gear you are out of brakes. No drivers platform. The lone front wheel tracks with right rear wheel. This tractor was in a dealer's shed new, never sold until 1955 at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania when a gentleman bought it from Montoursville, Pennsylvania for show purposes. It was not learned who hid it under the red paint, but somebody wanted it painted and ignored all decals and orginal colors of orange and yellow. The children call it the 'Candy Tractor'. Last spring from this gentlemen's sale, my two friends Mr. John Fenninger and Mr. Elias Beiler helped me to obtain this tractor. My desires to own a Happy Farmer were gradually built up by the stories dad used to tell of one he owned prior to 1918. It was sold to him by a LaCrosse dealer who recommended burning kerosene; but this was no success, with all special attachments, because of its long cold intake manifold. I can see now where it is not successfully vaporized.
Amos B. Stauffer Ephrata, Pennsylvania
A selection of antique tractors and images. See our account of the Willem Prinsloo Museum
Frank and George Jelbart registered their business in Ballarat, Victoria in 1911. They had been working on their air scavenger engine for some time and took out a patent in 1909. They produced one of Australia's first combustion engines and within a few years had several models available. Around 1914 they fitted one of the engines to their first tractor and continued producing them until the mid 1920's. They were all basically the same but were fitted with a variety of their innovative engines. A peculiarity of one of these engines was the stepped piston that was used. The firm had its financial problems but continued for several years in a small way after tractor production ceased in about 1926.
Jelbart Tractors - Built in Australia
A trial of a Jelbart oil tractor at Mr C.H. Ensor's White Rock Station [26 Feb. 1916]
The tractor is shown from the front, showing the automatic stearing gear and patent grippers on the driving wheels. Along the straight stretches no attention had to be paid to either the motor or the plough and only one man needed to work. The Jelbart tractor was built by the Jelbart brothers who originally emigrated from Cornwall, England in the 1800s and established a foundry in Ballarat, Australia
The tractor is shown from the front, showing the automatic stearing gear and patent grippers on the driving wheels. Along the straight stretches no attention had to be paid to either the motor or the plough and only one man needed to work. The Jelbart tractor was built by the Jelbart brothers who originally emigrated from Cornwall, England in the 1800s and established a foundry in Ballarat, Australia
Their engines were of the two stoke principle and in 1909 they applied and were granted a patent applicable to what was known as the Airscavenger engine. Rather than bore you with precise mechanical data, sufficient to say that the two-stroke engine is just that, induction and power, as against the Otto principle which is of four-stroke design
GP Tractor Parts is a registered company in South Africa : Reg no CK 2009/028052/23
Registered Office: 121 Honingklip Road, Protea Ridge Krugersdorp South Africa
Original equipment manufacturers names and parts numbers are quoted for reference purposes only
and are not intended to suggest that our replacement parts are made by the original equipment manufacturer.
Registered Office: 121 Honingklip Road, Protea Ridge Krugersdorp South Africa
Original equipment manufacturers names and parts numbers are quoted for reference purposes only
and are not intended to suggest that our replacement parts are made by the original equipment manufacturer.