Antique trencher - Any info???

[jones and son 6]

I picked up this old trencher at auction the other day. I was wondering if anybody's ever seen one of these or might know anything about it... Who made it? What year? It has a Wisconsin motor on it.

Any info or helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

Never seen one of those before,Very cool looking! JAKE

[SousaKerry 500]

maybe an early ditch witch????

[AMC RULES 36,957]

Who made it?

[COMMANDO1 23]

MAD MAX............

[jones and son 6]

who made it , is what i wanna know, there is a metal tag on the side with only 1-56666 legible.

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Are you planning on making it operational?

[jones and son 6]

well yeah, i got the motor running, ordered a bearing for it today and ordered a sproket from the local

deere dealer, i did have it actually running but the sprocket that drives the trencher only has 2 teeth left (out of 8) so it didnt run smoothly and a bearing was smoking hot after 30 seconds run time. i need to get a flat chain to run the wheel drive part of it,will try to get a pic 2moro of the wheel drive set up on it , its pretty interesting how it drives the wheels. I did find out the trencher chain is a ca550 chain, which is still readily availble,

[VinsRJ 721]

Now do you ride this thing or stand along side it? Either way don't trip :angry-nono:

[jones and son 6]

its a walk behind

[Rollerman 290]

We used to have one of these at work.

As I recall you walked backwards ahead of it with the trencher trailing behind it, one step up from a shovel.

It went to the auction a long time ago...it became outdated with all the new mini track hoes that they have brought in at work.

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 136]

I've looked around and haven't been able to find anything similar yet. Are there any numbers on the engine? Sometimes you can find the origin searching on the engine info. It doesn't look home made to me. It's definitely an interesting contraption you got there. It's got a medieval look to it where it could lop off a limb if you're not careful.

[jones and son 6]

you do walk backwards ahead of it, one step up from a shovel is fine with me, i got the sprocket and hub in today

with a little maching and welding its back together, might get to test it 2moro!its a wisconsin with a magneto,

the tag reads 3x31/4, i'll get the serial # 2moro.

[AMC RULES 36,957]

I'll bet it's a beast too...would love to see an in action video once it's up and running. :teasing-poke:

[SousaKerry 500]

Wisconsin Motors is still in business but they think their parts are made of solid gold.

If you call them they may be able to track down the spec number but records are sketchy at best Wisconsin changed hands many times and records were lost and so on...sound familiar????

Try looking for aftermarket parts for the engine epay is a good source for common parts also try

McDonald Carb & Ignition - Parts and remanufacturing for Carburetors, Magnetos, Distributors, Generators, Starters, Alternators, and more!

http://www.carburetor-parts.com/default.asp

rings and pistons are available from Hastings, Federal Mogul and such but you have to find a dealer that will actually look it up in a book not just look at the computer and says "I never heard of that"

I called a JD dealer the other day for WICO magneto parts and the kid who answered the phone said whats a Magneto? Apparently he never seen a JD built before the 60's

I called their sister dealership and got a hold of someone who actually looked it up in a book and found it. Imagine that.,

[jones and son 6]

Got it running... I have a video, but I don't know how to upload it... Can anybody help?

[AMC RULES 36,957]

PM sent. :thumbs:

[jones and son 6]

here's a video of the trencher at work-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7cY7uQCY34&feature=youtu.be

[jones and son 6]

here's another one-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olglr5uEraE&feature=youtu.be

[CRE1992 135]

That's pretty cool, however it is far outdated... I think I could move faster with a shovel and pik =P

Congrats on the find,

Charles

[jones and son 6]

it might be outdated, but i stood around talking on the phone while it dug a trench, sounds way better then a shovel to me :)

[AMC RULES 36,957]

Does do really nice work, effortlessly, and it's fun to watch too.

[coldone 35]

Even at that speed, way better than a shovel!

[Jim_M 178]

You shouldn't plant potatoes quite that deep.

[corn53 4]

:banana-rock: That thing is really cool!!! It runs awesome and its fun 2 watch :banana-rock: