Hot Rod Allis-Chalmers Lawn Dragster Runs on Nitromethane and Screams
It sports Yamaha ATV running gear underneath and has a wheelie bar out back for good measure.
I never knew I wanted a hot rod Allis-Chalmers lawn tractor until I saw one. Specifically, I saw this one that's being auctioned on Bring a Trailer. It nails the aesthetic with slick tires, a wheelie bar, and a (non-functioning) parachute; plus, it runs on nitromethane. That's enough to draw me in but there's plenty more if you aren't convinced it's worth spending your hard-earned money on.
The orange bodywork, white hood, and all that chrome sit atop running gear that's actually taken from a Yamaha Warrior ATV. That means it has a 348cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine that makes an undisclosed amount of horsepower. Either way, you can bet it's more powerful than whatever engine it came with from the factory. Power is sent to those big slicks out back through a chain drive and six-speed manual transmission, which even has a Hurst shifter in true hot-rod fashion.
You can make the argument that much of what you see here is decorative, but let's not pretend this isn't impressive. The top fuel-style scoop that protrudes through the hood isn't functional, but by golly, those butterfly valves open up when you stomp on the Moon accelerator pedal. And it may not be fast enough to need that aluminum rear wing, but who cares? You'll also never find me complaining about a Pro Werks steering yoke on an old-school build like this.
The independent front suspension with adjustable coilovers proves this thing means business, as do the front disc brakes with drilled rotors. Those wheels are 10-inch steel rollers coated in chrome with 100/90 Kenda K-418 front tires and Mickey Thompson 19.0/80 rears. It also has line lock and burnout sprayers, for goodness' sake. Watch this video of the rig in action:
It's anyone's guess how much a contraption like this is worth. There's also no telling how much it will sell for when the auction ends Thursday afternoon. The current highest bid is $7,500, which is a lot for an old lawn tractor and still more pricey for a mid-size sport ATV. I honestly don't care, though, because it's undeniably slick. I'd drive it every chance I got.
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