Holder A12 engine swap

Got this 1960 German Holder A12 from a friend of mine back in February. The Sachs 2 stroke diesel was completely worn out. Did get it to run but had very low compression and a very noisy bottom end. After many weeks of searching the internet I discovered that parts for this engine are just about nonexistent her in the US. So I decided to swap it out for a 14hp Kohler that I had in the shop. As you can see by the photos it took a little bit of redneck engineering but I made it work. I made all the parts here in my shop with a torch, welder, drill press, lathe and a small milling machine. I have run it quite a bit this weekend and so far it seems to work fine. Little tractor has live hydraulics, three point, and 6 speeds forward and 3 reverse. But 6 gear is a lot faster than I want to drive it. I know a lot of you will say that I should have stayed with the Sachs motor but I haven't done any thing that would keep me from putting it back in if I ever find the parts or the time to rebuild it. Only cost about a $100 in parts to make the swap and I saved another old piece of iron. Maybe a little modified but saved non the less

Great job. Always thought these were pretty neat. One popped up on CL with bad motor and I really wanted to pick it up but not sure about finding parts. Next time I'm going for it! Have you put it to work with a plow or under a load yet? That's a real nice looking tractor. mike

Haven't put it under a heavy load yet as I just got everything put together yesterday. Next I'm going to build the parts for the three point hitch as they were not with the tractor. Engine swap was not that hard. I had a 20 up Kohler V twin that I thought about using but it wouldn't fit without cutting the sides of the hood. The single fits right in there. Only had to relocate the coil

Nice job! Looks like a heavy duty little tractor!

Great looking swap! In a situation such as yours I totally agree with swapping engines, especially since you can restore it to original with minimal effort. Paint the engine to match the tractor and only a purist would know the difference.