It may never have fired a shot on farming soil, but Ol’ Rusty sure has the looks to attract attention wherever she goes.
With a 735 kilowatts (that’s 1000 horsepower in the old language) Ruston Hornsby powerplant under the hood and a drivetrain dropped in from a tank, this is a breathtaking beast.
And it could be yours with Ol’ Rusty set to go under the auction hammer in Holbrook, NSW in late August,
The realisation of local engineer, Neville Dunn’s extraordinary imagination, Ol’ Rusty all began when Mr Dunn spotted the monstrous motor for sale.
After outbidding the scrap merchants, the enormous engine - all 14 tonne of it - was soon converted into a 26t, diesel dirt turner.
Now Mr Dunn has decided to unload an assortment of engineered gear before a move to Wentworth, NSW.
He’s sad to see Ol’ Rusty go.
“The engine reminded me of the powerplant that ran the town and timber mill where I grew up and I thought it would be a bit of fun to keep it alive.”
The 10 metre chassis is fabricated from old bridge beams, and the 1940 engine is complemented by an equally enormous drivetrain - a Centurion tank diff, gearbox and clutch and Foden truck front end.
“The power to weight ratio is pretty special, it should really have been a bigger but we couldn’t cart it around,” Mr Dunn said.
“The Centurion gear was the only thing I could find that was old, affordable and suitable to the engine.”
Ticking over at 500 rpm at full throttle, the turbo engine is 120 litre capacity (that’s 20L per cylinder), has a two tonne flywheel and is fitted with 264 millimetre diameter bore, 355mm stroke and a 60,000 hour life expectancy.
Classically understating a run at a Naracoorte, SA, tractor pull a few years ago, Mr Dunn said “it was pretty powerful”.
“When all the other boys finished with their sleds fully weighted, we hooked on and could still change up gears - it didn’t phase it much.
A 12 person cabin will make long seeding hours pass in the blink of an eye, and so too the old fashioned 400L mechanical fridge.
“When you think about it, the only thing the engine really does is drive the fridge,” Mr Dunn said.
“I’m sad to see it go, but you can’t have everything and you reach a point where sometimes life needs to change.
“It's all been a bit of fun.”
