Kinkade
Garden Tractors
Last
updated 23 March 1999
This page
is Copyright 1999 by Mark Bookout. You may not reproduce this text, or
the images linked to from this page, on your web site, or print and sell, or
distribute, the text or the images, though you may print it for personal use at
any time, and you may link to this page from your web site if you notify me in
writing that you wish to do so.
Between 1920 and
1952, American Farm Machinery company built no less than 5 major designs of one
wheeled, engine driven, walking cultivating tractors. In spite of major
differences in design, all of these tractors were called Kinkade garden
tractors.
All of the
Kinkades were one cylinder air cooled machines, however the designs ranged from
quite primitive to very sophisticated. All parts of the engines and tractors
(except carburetors and magnetos) were designed and built by American Farm
Machinery company people. On all tractors, the engine was mounted inside a
hollow steel wheel. The patent for this concept was filed in 1919 and granted
in 1921, and was one of the main reasons that the Kinkade tractors were leaders
in the one wheeled market for so long.
A significant
competitor to the Kinkade line was the Gravely model D, also a one wheeled
machine. If you have a good picture of a "D", either water or air
cooled (or both), I would like to put one here for others to see.
The Kinkade
tractors, in progression, were as follows:
The Kinkade (1920 - 1922) This tractor can be distinguished by the use of
overhead valves and pushrods, twin brass stacks (air intake and crankcase
breather) topped with Danco canister type air cleaners, an open (solid)
flywheel and front mounted red brass and aluminum blower. This tractor also has
external oil pipelines and a sight glass to determine crankcase oil levels. A
separate oil tank is mounted behind the cylinder, inside the wheel, and a brass
Schebler carburetor (DX275) is used. This tractor used red brass twist grips,
the left one controlling the clutch, and the right one controlling the
throttle. Solid wire linkages attached the grips to the engine. Red brass rod
guides, bell cranks, levers, and attachments were used on this engine, along
with brass pushrod tubes, air stacks, and screws to attach various parts. The
engine was available with either gear driven magneto or battery ignition.
You can identify
this tractor from the casting codes, all of which are 3 digits long, and all of
which begin with a 6. Not all parts have casting codes, though, so you may need
to remove the flywheel for positive identification. The serial number plate for
this tractor is soldered to the gas tank. The serial number is NOT stamped into
the engine or tractor castings.
Serial numbers
for this tractor appear to have been 11xxx and were apparently sequential in
nature.
Colors: Two color schemes have been uncovered for this tractor. You can see a table of the colors here.
See some basic specifications on the first generation Kinkade here.
2nd Generation Kinkade (1923-1927) Though called exactly the same name as the previous
tractor, this Kinkade was a significant upgrade over the previous model. (In
a effort to standardize some terminology and provide some clarity at the same
time, I have adopted the "2nd Generation" identifier for
this tractor.) An improved crankcase was designed, the oil plumbing and
sight glass were replaced with two petcocks on the crankcase to check oil
level, and a plunger type pump to move oil up to a cast-in-place splash pan
from the bottom of the crankcase. A Zenith Detroit carburetor (later just
Zenith) was used instead of the Schebler, and the front mounted blower was
largely redesigned. The engine utilized an F head cylinder with an atmospheric
intake valve. There is not nearly as much brass and red brass on this tractor
as the original one. This tractor was also available with either gear driven
magneto or battery ignition.
You can find the
serial number plate for this tractor on the inside of one of the handlebars.
Serial numbers
appear to be contained within the range from 13001 to 19999, and appear to have
been sequential
NOTE: The engine
on this tractor was also used to power the first Standard Garden Tractor,
manufactured by a sister company, the Standard Engine Company. The entire
Kinkade engine was used, except for one casting. This was changed and some
additional castings were added to support the axle. These are illustrated by
this picture.
The K Kinkade (1928 - 1935) This tractor was an engineering marvel compared to it's
predecessors. It used a one piece crankcase casting, flywheel blower for
cooling, a smaller F head cylinder, an improved oil pump, improved clutch
system, improved drawbar attachment system, improved implement attaching
system, a Tillotson (later Zenith) carburetor, an improved air cleaner, a
improved crankcase vent, a coupling driven magneto, and a host of other,
smaller, improvements. This tractor was similar to the other Kinkades in that
it had one drive wheel, two handles, and was made by American Farm Machinery
co. Other than that, it was a new ball game.
The serial
number plate on this tractor is nailed to the inside of one of the handlebars,
and is stamped into the top surface of the engine crankcase casting, in front
of the oil filler plug at the very front of the engine. You may not be able to
read this with the wheel on the tractor.
Serial numbers
for this tractor ranged from 20000 to 55500 and were not consistently
sequential.
The L Kinkade (1936 - 1952)
This Kinkade was the big daddy of them all. The
engine on this tractor utilized very advanced design features for air cooled
engines of 1936, such as valve lifters and easy crankcase access. The plunger
pump idea was retained, but improved again, and the F head was abandoned in
favor of the L head design. All parts of the engine were enclosed, and an
improved blower and housing were adopted. A more robust clutch was designed and
incorporated. This tractor was the first of the Kinkade line to use metal handles,
and was the first to go away from the grip controlled throttle and clutch
system. A wider wheel, aggressive pyramid shaped lugs, and more power made this
a very sellable tractor. Some of these tractors were sold with a hard rubber
tire instead of the pyramid lugs. You can see a picture of an L Kinkade here.
1936 and 37
models of this tractor incorporate some different systems than the later
tractors, though you have to look close to discern them. An example of one of
these would be the throttle cable routing.
The L Kinkade
serial number tag is riveted to the handlebar stretcher. It's serial number
follows either the yyLnnnn or y0yLnnnn pattern, where yy is the year and nnnn
is the serial number in production sequence.
The Kinkade Suburbanite (1950 - 1952). Also sold as the Viking Suburbanite, as well as just
the Suburbanite, this tractor was a cost cutting exercise in that ultimately
did nothing to help the Kinkade reputation. This tractor was small, two cycle,
and poorly designed. It used a lightweight rubber lugged wheel, and sold for
$99. Company records indicate that many of these tractors required frequent
rebuilding of the cylinder/piston/rod components. They sound like a chainsaw at
full throttle when operating, and in spite of the low price did not save the
company.
The Kinkade
tractors are a valuable part of our agricultural history, when they were
introduced they and tractors of similar design/capability changed the truck
farming world forever. While the machines seem primitive today, undoubtedly if
you were using a wheel hoe in 1925 to keep the weeds under control in your
market garden, and you had the option of using one of these machines, you would
take it in a second. I know I would. I have reference to a letter from a grower
who grew 51 acres of onions in 1926 with only a 2nd Generation
Kinkade to help. Even with the tractor, that would be quite a chore, not one
many of us would attempt today.
Collecting Kinkades is a satisfying thing for me to do. If you have questions or comments about this page, please feel free to drop me a line here.
