Zoomi Life

I love tractors. I especially like older tractors as well as the tractors from when I was a kid and driving them regularly: International Harvester, Ford, and John Deer were the common machines in my area growing up.

Well, another of the old classics is the Allis-Chalmers G, which hasn’t been in manufacture since the mid-1950s. These are old workhorses, though, and are popular amongst small-scale farmers who prefer to buy old and refurbish and don’t need 3-point hitches. One farmer decided to go a step further and upgrade his organic farm to include an all-electric tractor.

He applied for an received a USDA SARE grant to do it and set to work. He took a couple of old Allis-Chalmers G, took the motor off it, and converted it to electric. He chose the Chalmers because he wanted the machine mainly for cultivating (which is what the G is made for) and easy access to the engine (which is mounted on the back of the Allis).

Ron says that there is less involved in putting this together than there was in assembling the porch swing kit they bought from Home Depot. I’d believe him, looking at the finished product.

The new tractor has been in service for over three years and the second one has been in service for over two. Both machines are working daily, all day, and have had few breakdowns and very little maintenance requirements. The complete details for making this conversion are available on the website, along with current listings of old Allis-Chalmers G’s for sale nationally. Cool!