Lewis I have been busy myself and hadn’t read through this thread before. Welcome to DOW.
I don’t know how easy they are to find outside the USA but an Allis Chalmers D17 or D19 gas would be an ideal candidate for a work tractor. They are still a little big for orchard work but they have live power through a second clutch pack on a hand clutch high low range lever. They have power steering the D17 is 65hp and I think the D19 is just shy of 100hp but I don’t remember for sure. They where about the last of the gas tractors AC made before switching over to diesel. They have a draw bar in the normal configuration later tractors in the serries have a 3 point hitch. Remote hydraulics are similar missing from the early tractors and added to the later ones. I had to add the remote hydraulics to my D17 which I use for haying.
Anyway just a tractor I know well and which I think hits the key points you want in a work tractor that might be easier to convert.
Being in Italy what do you think of the Pasquali tractors? Seems like one of the old ones from the 80s would be easy for you to convert. I have seen a few engine swaps on those as the tractor was designed with an adapter plate between the motor and the transmission anyway. But the older ones like mine does lack live power probably the single biggest disappointment on that machine.
Thanks for your kind words. AC tractors are not so common here. The biggest one I’ve found are some Minneapolis Moline and some 8N but are a) crap or b) shinny museum pieces. (most of that equipment was directly imported from US to serve in some US military bases we had (and some still have) here. Close to my hometown was a big one and was able to find some industrial type 8n, but awfully expensive and without a 3point hitch, just drawbar.
Nevertheless, what I’ve found is a small Renault e30 e for essence, the french word for petrol and 30…guess what… yes, 30 hp. Price is about 800 usd so there is not so much to lose there and probably is worth a try.
Have a look to the “beast”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHTUanEyp3I
Looks like a nice small tractor. No live power I would guess from the video. But it would still be nice and low for an orchard and you would be surprised by what a tractor that size will do. I have an old farmall h I need to restore was my grandfather’s he bought it new in 50 and rebuilt the motor once. After the motor was worked to death a second time my uncles never bothered rebuilding it just pushed it off into the woods. It is a mess but someday I will get the time to restore it. When I was a kid we used that old H to pull hay wagons and do tons of work around the farm. You get good at slipping a tractor without live power out of gear. If the one you are looking at is anywhere near as nice as the one in the video $800 USA would be a good deal atleast it would be a bargain around here.
The only reason I asked about the pasquali is the one I have has something like 3000 rpm on the 30 hp motor. Most old tractors are about 1800rpm so a pasquali would actually match up with something like a V twin Honda motor for rpm and hp. You would probably lose some torque but if the price was right it could be an option to find an old pasquali with a blown motor and do the swap. But I like that tractor you found it should prove very handy.