This is an Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractor dragster that’s powered by a nitromethane-fueled 348cc four-stroke single cylinder engine, sending power back through a 6-speed manual transmission.
Some may question the purpose of such a vehicle, but those people have never driven a nitromethane lawn tractor on drag slicks and it shows.
Fast Facts – An Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractor Dragster
- This vehicle started life as a standard Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractor however not a lot of the original vehicle remains – other than the modified bodywork of course.
- The vehicle now has the chassis and running gear from a Yamaha Warrior ATV which has been highly modified with a wheelie bar, a rear wing, Mickey Thompson drag slicks on the rear, burnout sprayers, uprated suspension, a Pro-Werks steering yoke and a non-functional drag chute.
- Power is provided by a fire-breathing, nitromethane-fueled 348cc four-stroke single cylinder engine which sends power to those rear drag slicks through a 6-speed manual transmission. The amount of power being produced isn’t listed, however in the video below you’ll see that it has absolutely no trouble doing burnouts.
- This unusual Allis-Chalmers 416 is now being offered for sale out of Thousand Oaks, California. It comes with a bill of sale and there’s no reserve price, so it’ll be interesting to see what it goes for when bidding closes.
The Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractor
In its mid-20th century heyday, Allis-Chalmers was one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of machinery and a conglomerate before the term had even been coined. The company produced steam engines, flour mills, agricultural equipment, power generation equipment, and equipment to transmit that power.
This is undeniably one of the fastest Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractors ever, though to be fair not much of the original Allis-Chalmers vehicle remains under the distinctive white and orange body work.
The average American consumer would have been aware of the existence of Allis-Chalmers but would only indirectly use any of the companies products – the most famous of which were the bright orange tractors and silver combine harvesters that could be seen out in the fields when passing through the countryside.
The company also produced a line of more consumer friendly equipment, including lawn tractors like the Allis-Chalmers 416. For the uninitiated, a lawn tractor is essentially a larger and more versatile alternative to a normal ride-on lawn mower. Some lawn tractors have no cutting blades at all, and instead tow a removable cutting assembly behind them to mow the lawn.
Lawn tractors also typically have attachment points at the rear that allow them to operate other machinery, like snow throwers for example. Lawn tractors (and garden tractors, which are usually larger still) can be seen cutting the grass and working in the gardens on large private estates, golf courses, country clubs, and with local councils.
The Allis-Chalmers 416 Lawn Tractor was a popular model that remained in production for a number of years. Most were powered by a 16 bhp 588cc single-cylinder Kohler gasoline engine fed by a 3.5 gallon fuel tank and sending power back through a 4-speed shuttle transmission.
The 416 was essentially a mini farm tractor with a power takeoff (PTO) at the rear that could power accessories like mowers and snow blowers. It could also be used for hauling small trailers carrying garnering supplies like fertilizer, rolled turf, mulch, and more.
The Nitro-Powered 416 Lawn Tractor Dragster Shown Here
There is a growing automotive subculture in the United States, and a handful of other nations, that involves modifying lawn tractors and ride-on mowers for racing. Some are designed for circle track racing, some for racing on courses, and some for drag racing.
Above Video: This footage shows the lawn tractor doing burnouts and some speed runs on the street. As you can see it’s a handful to drive, but it looks like an awful lot of fun.
There’s even a U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) that oversees the STA-BIL® Lawn Mower Racing Series. Funnily enough, the USLMRA was founded on April Fools Day, 1992.
The modified lawn tractor shown here was built for drag racing, and as such its fitted with Mickey Thompson drag slicks on the back as well as burnout sprayers, and even a non-functional drag chute.
The original Allis-Chalmers 416 frame would never have been up to the task, so a Yamaha Warrior ATV chassis was used, it has independent front suspension with adjustable coilover shock absorbers, and tubular upper and lower control arms.
It’s fitted with twin front disc brakes and a single disc on the rear, and power is provided by an air-cooled Yamaha 348cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine modified to use nitromethane fuel, and fitted with an MSD ignition
It rides on chrome 10″ steel wheels with 100/90 Kenda K-418 front tires and Mickey Thompson 19.0/80 drag slicks on the back to ensure plenty of traction off the line. The cockpit is fairly simple, with a single black seat, a Hurst shifter, a Moon accelerator pedal, and a Pro-Werks steering yoke.
Given the relatively high height of the seat and the lack of a roll cage or protection for the driver, it’ll take a brave person to climb onto this thing and properly send it. But I suspect there’ll be no shortage of folks lining up to have a go down at the drag strip.
This lawn tractor dragster rides on chrome 10″ steel wheels with 100/90 Kenda K-418 front tires and Mickey Thompson 19.0/80 drag slicks on the back. It’s powered by an air-cooled Yamaha 348cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine modified to use nitromethane fuel, and it sounds fantastic when being driven properly.
In the video further up you can see the tractor in action, and I encourage you to make sure your sound it on as there’s something glorious about the sound of a single-cylinder engine running on nitromethane.
The good news is that this very unusual Allis-Chalmers 416 is now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer. It’s being offered for sale out of Thousand Oaks, California with no reserve, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
