# Farmall 450 engine swap



## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

I've got a 450 I bought about 10 years ago to build into a puller, never got it done as I got married instead..... It needs a new engine (spun a rod bearing) and the crank was ground .020 already. So I've had this dumbass idea of swapping in a 4b Cummins engine and modify accordingly. The mechanics of it I'm fine with, I'm kinda handy with a wrench. It's the whole, is it worth it type deal. About $2500 for a good used takeoff engine, then I'm gonna have incidentals like new radiator, electric fan, and fabricating a faceplate to mount to the bell housing.

The idea is to have a nimble enough tractor to piddle around with on the yard, but hearty enough to run a double rotary rake. Maybe I'm just stupid. Thoughts?


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Somebody in this area did a 4B swap into a 300. I'm guessing the cost of the conversion components makes the deal financially impractical. One of my high school friends who was real handy with a wrench stuffed a CAT V-8 into an M. That made some suds till the rear end went clunk.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

If you're actually going to use it and will have fun building it, it's definitely worth it. Really, it's all about the fun. You could buy about any $5000 tractor to rake with.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

You know the answer Stack. Financials are irrelevant in a case like this.


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I like it!!
The 450 is a great platform from which to build. The rear end will hold a lot of horsepower easily. The torque might be the weak point as (if I am thinking correctly) as it is a roller type and requires a double split to repair. Getting on and off of the tractors are the only part that I don't care for...a pto lever on one side and the torque lever on the other. Those are pretty minor drawbacks for the tractor though.
A couple of hairs in the pudding that you might or might not have thunk out...

Will the flywheel diameter from the diesel fit within the bellhousing of the 450...if not, is there another option.

Can you manufacture a starter that will work with it...the 450's starter comes into the bellhousing from the back of the engine and points toward the engine. It will probably take some machine work to make something work

Of course, clutch linkage and input shaft. Neither of which should be too much problem, but probably more machine work

Is there a governor on the diesel or will you be running a foot throttle? If not, keeping a steady pull under varying conditions or trying to give more throttle after you notice a slight rpm decline is often too late to keep rpm where you want them. Varying rpms on PTO equipment is (in my opinion) detrimental and is no job for a governorless power plant.

You may have each of those flies-in-the-ointment ciphered out and there may be others that I have not considered to be problematic.

All in all, I say go for it and take/post pictures.

If you scrap the idea, I would think crankshafts would be plentiful. I think they work from an M, 400, or 450, W6, O6, U6, etc... in either gasoline or propane. Each is basically the same engine with different bore and rated RPM, I think.

Either way, the 450 would be going again...like I said, it's a great platform.

73, Mark


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

The Cummins has a gear reduction starter mounted on the LH side. If room allows in the framerails, I'd like to keep it.

The flywheel will be custom made steel from some tractor puller guys who build pullers for a living.

The engine I have spotted is governed.

I know the mechanical TA will be the weak point, and I already rebuilt that when I started building this into a puller years ago.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

For a raking tractor I like a canopy and a good seat...something lacking on a 450...


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

Give it a try and report back! I bought a bread truck with a 4bt last year with the idea of putting it in a Ford Ranger. So far, its still in the bread truck. A 4BT in a 450 Farmall would be sweet!


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

These guys will make it work!
http://leamantractorparts.com/766106614863x88adapterinternationalihcummins-1-1.aspx


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Leaman resells others stuff, he doesn't make it himself, so my guess is he might be getting it from the same place as Stack...


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Be sure and put a kiddie swimming pool sunshade on it!

Later! OL J R


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

One thought, comes from raking a zillion acres with an IH 686 in 5th TA, is that the IH 5 speed gear box is not my favorite for raking. Not enough ratios to pick from at raking speeds.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Guy here has a 656 with a cummins not sure of the model. So I can be done. He claims road gear is 30 mph

A 450 with a cummins would be pretty unique


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If you have the time ,energy and money to tinker with it ,probably be a blast but to farm with it no way. You're talking to a guy that cut his back teeth on one of those things. Me and Mom raked today hay with one of those things before I was even born. I cannot remember completely back into the 450 era, but I can remember just like yesterday when we had a brand new Farmall 460 delivered to the farm. When we got our first 656 even though it had that same crappy 5 speed transmission it felt and drove like so much more of a tractor I never wanted to drive one of those tractors again. When my wife and I were courting it seemed like whenever we wanted to go away somewhere in the evening I had to mow hay. After she got off work she would ride on the fender of that 656 and we often talked about how we could have gotten done so much quicker if there would have been a gear in between 3rd and 4th. I knew if I did get caught pulling that 469 in 4th gear I had hell to pay.... my wife always had a special smile when my son got old enough to drive the tractors and he would complain about those 5 speed transmissions in some of our old red tractors. After all me ,her and him we all cut hay together before he was even born.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Soooo, I'm back to looking at this project in the shop. The 4b Cummins I've found are pretty worn out for $2500, so I was back to the drawing board. Until.......

I found a 318 Perkins 4 cylinder diesel a guy would let go for $600. I know it's going to be a headache from jump, but have found some rejuvenated energy to devote to it. I kinda think it would almost be better than a Cummins, since it's physically a little more compact, leaving room for fan and radiator to be mounted like normal.

Please talk me out of this, or into it. Dad shook his head when he saw me with a tape measure and pad of paper....


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

stack em up said:


> Please talk me out of this, or into it. Dad shook his head when he saw me with a tape measure and pad of paper....


Na, with the amount of snow you already have and what I predicted for the remaining winter, this could help keep you occupied (and out of the house for awhile anyhow). 

Larry


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

r82230 said:


> Na, with the amount of snow you already have and what I predicted for the remaining winter, this could help keep you occupied (and out of the house for awhile anyhow).
> 
> Larry


Like I need more projects! It sure would be cool as hell though.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

> Dad shook his head when he saw me with a tape measure and pad of paper....


You make me laugh, stack! I suspect there has been much shaking of heads behind my back over the years. There was the Chevy Caprice with a flatbed, now long gone. Go kart that now has a Yamaha 600 V-Max sled engine in it and full independent suspension . . . not enough time to play with it any more, sadly.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Funny thing, Dad has no room to talk. He built a snowblower in high school shop class out of a Papec silage chopper (one that stands at the silo) This was maybe 1958? Was flat belt driven off the belt pulley of their 70 JD. Mounted it on the front of the tractor. Looked goofy as hell but worked great he said.


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