Our Tractor Story

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February, 1999

2-1-99:  Carolyn got two oxygen cylinders at Ace Hardware, so I am back in business with the new torch.  I brazed the spark plug conduit, which was broken in the center where the wire clip is bolted.  This is a very weak spot, and the metal is not very thick.  After brazing, I sanded it down, primed and painted it green.  Finished brazing the hood patch.  I need to grind it smooth, sand it, then get the rust off of the bottom of the hood and fuel tanks.  Painted the crankcase vent pipe green along with some bolts that hold the radiator in and the air cleaner bracket onto the radiator.

Click here to see the hood patch fix

2-3-99:  Painted and bolted the air cleaner onto the bracket.  Finished connecting the air intake system and crankcase breather tube.  Ground and sanded the hood patch brazing bumps.  It looks pretty good, so a little body putty will make it smooth with the rest of the hood.

2-4-99:  Picked up a few stove bolts at Ace Hardware.  These bolts will be for the spark plug wire conduit.  Also got some new bolts for the muffler, exhaust pipe flange and the fan support plate, as one of those must be 3 inches long, and needs to be 1 1/4".

2-5-99:  I removed the steering spindle top bushing, and found the outside diameter is worn about .020", and that the inside of the pedestal is worn about the same.  I can not add metal to the inside of the pedestal to make the hole smaller, but I can add extra metal to the bushing to take up the wear.  Dan and I look the hood and spark plug wire conduit over, and we find the conduit is not brazed as well as I thought, so I fired the torch up and hit it again, then I ground it down, but not as much as before.  I hope it holds Ok now, but it will be bumpy, and not look as good as it should.

2-6-99:  I went over to my friend Bill Peak's truck repair shop to see if he had any ideas about the spindle bushing.  He looked it over, and said that he could braze the outside to build it up and then turn it down to whatever was needed to fit the pedestal hole.  So we did just that. He has an old 1940's vintage 9" South bend bench lathe, which he asked me to teach him to use a long time ago, as I was a machine shop major in high school, and have worked as a machinist for about 30 years.  He and I then brought it home and tested it in the pedestal hole, touched it up a little with a file and sandpaper, and it fits like new.  I cleaned and greased the steering shaft bearings, put in the new seals that I got at Circle W Tractor, and put it back together, and will adjust it and fill it with oil when I get the hood on, as the steering shaft goes in last on this job.  I used the body grinder with an extra coarse knotted wire cup wheel to remove all the paint from the front frame and upper part of the pedestal, inside, outside, top and bottom, as well as the bottom of the head and block, then I gave it a coat of red oxide primer.  I will paint it green, later when it is dry.

2-7-99:  I removed the fuel strainer and three-way valve, then cleaned the fuel and gasoline tanks with the wire brush on the body grinder.  I found three small holes in the fuel tank, and there is no way I am going to weld on that!  I do have some epoxy that is intended for steel, and the label says it is it is fuel proof.  I mixed it up, put it on and let it set a few hours, then sanded it off with my belt sander.  I used very fine lapping compound to improve the fit of the valve in the valve body of the three-way valve, and cleaned it extra good when finished to get all of the lapping compound out of the parts.  Carolyn got me a new extra coarse cup wheel for the grinder.  I have worn three of them out so far.

Pat Noonan came over after lunch and helped paint the tanks with "Naval Jelly Rust Neutralizer" to stop the rusting and act as the primer.  I will paint it green later.  While Pat was painting the tanks, I was putting body putty on the brazed-in muffler patch, and used the belt sander to smooth it out.  I used the belt sander to strip the paint off of the hood on the outside and the rotary wire wheel on the inside, then used the "Naval Jelly Rust Neutralizer" on the inside, and will paint it green later also.  I removed the front wheels and put a jack stand under the front end.  I need to repack the bearings and clean and paint the wheels, spindles and the lower pedestal.  Pat brought over three old Two Cylinder magazines that he has the cover the unstyled and early styled model B tractors.  I am going to read them now, and will update the history page with the new information that I discover in those magazines.

2-10-99:  I painted the inside of the hood and the fuel tanks with the quart of Farm & Fleet John Deere green paint tonight.  I really "gobbed" it on, and smoothed it out to make sure that it got into all of the "nooks and crannies", to help seal and protect where they had rusted.  I will repaint with the spray can to get into and under where I can not get with the brush.

2-12-99:  Carolyn and I drove down to Louisville, Kentucky for the weekend  to see the National Farm Equipment show.  Two of her brothers and their sons went with us, along with her mother.  We saw two Model M two-cylinder John Deere tractors and lots of new ones.  Wow! these new guys are big, and cost a whole lot!  While we were in town, we visited with two of her aunts who live down near Mammoth Cave.  When we got back to Louisville, we went out to dinner with almost all of her brothers and their families.

Click here to see the model M at the show.

2-16-99:  I started cleaning the lower pedestal with the wire brush on the body grinder.  I made a center plate for the pedestal, and installed it with the new bolts from Correct Connection after priming and painting green.  I painted the three-way valve and the fuel bowl assembly (except for the glass part).  I also touched up the inside of the hood and the tanks, and they look pretty good.

2-17-99:  I looked all over for spark plugs, and nobody has this size except at the dealer, so I bought four D-21 Champion plugs at Circle W Tractors.  I bought four plugs so that I will have a spare pair if I need them.  These things cost $8 each!!  I installed the plugs and wires, but did not hook the wires to the plugs.  I installed the spark plug wire conduit with all new stove bolts that I got at Ace Hardware last week.

2-20-99:  I noticed that one of the nut retainers for the end cap hardware was messed up due to the outside metal being torn away, so I brazed a cut washer in place.  I then installed the fuel tanks into the hood with the new carriage bolts and nuts from Correct Connection.  I went over to Ace Hardware to get a can of black "high-heat" for the muffler and a can of red spray paint, as well as two new belts for the belt sander, and a roll of pipe thread sealant tape.  I stopped by Circle W when I saw Pat's car there in the lot.  He said he will come over tomorrow to help put the hood on.  I installed the oil pressure and temperature gauges in the end cap and put the end cap on the hood.  I hooked the shutter rod to the bell crank and touched up everything under the hood with green spray paint.  I cleaned the muffler with the wire cup brush and painted it with the high-heat black paint and bolted it to the muffler bracket on the radiator, and I painted the gas tank cap red.

2-21-99:  Carolyn and I drove out to Morris, Illinois to the Super Wal-Mart to do some shopping, and I picked up a few supplies while we were there.  I got a spray can of the rust converter to make sure the hood has not rust damage, a package of 30 shop towels, and some radiator and cooling system heavy duty rust remover.  Pat Noonan came over and we built a workbench out of some parts that were in my basement, and we lag bolted it to the wall studs, so it sure is sturdy.

Click here to see the new workbench.

We put the hood, complete with the fuel tanks mounted, onto the tractor.  I sprayed it with the rust converter.  I will sand it down and then fill the sanding scratches with spot putty in a few days.

Click here to see the hood in place again.

2-27-99:  Started removing the paint from the front wheels with the wire brush on the body grinder.  When I got all I could, I soaked the wheels with Easy-Off, and let them sit.  I will check them tomorrow, and finish them tomorrow.  I painted the lower pedestal and hubs, as well as the bottom of the engine and frame.

2-28-99:  The wheels look pretty good after hosing them off, just a little wire brushing and scraping with a putty knife to get all of the old paint off.  I sprayed them with the rust converter, and after they dried, I painted them yellow.  I mounted them and resprayed the hubs yellow.  Pat Noonan came over and we rolled the tractor out of the garage, filled and drained the cooling system, then added some rust remover and refilled it up.  I put some gasoline in the gas tank, and ... it started up!  We ran it for a while to heat it up, and decided to check the Power-Lift, which has not worked at all from day one.  We checked the oil, and it was low, so we added a total of 4 quarts until it came out the side plug, which the book says is the capacity, so it must have been completely out of oil.  We put the power shaft in gear and it still does not work.  Drats! In a few weeks, we will take the control unit off and check it out, then the pump, and the cylinder.

Clickhereto go to March.