smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
Tell em it's a rat tractor....[P Nice job on the housing repairs Mac!
Old Tractor, Twin City.
- Thread starter MercuryMac
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Old Iron
Well-known member
I read from start to finish. Not being a tractor guy, it kept my attention very well, thanks [cl
[P[P[P
Oh yea, the part about turning over the engine with the flywheel and snapping mag, brought up a memory.
When I was 13 (1964), Dad bought a 1939 John Deere and restored it. Naturally, I tried to start it when he was gone, wore myself out spinning the flywheel as hard and fast as I could, to no avail
Dad gets home and I asked him to start the engine, he gets hold of the flywheel and slowly turns it till it clicked and released it, bang off she went[cl
[P[P[P
Oh yea, the part about turning over the engine with the flywheel and snapping mag, brought up a memory.
When I was 13 (1964), Dad bought a 1939 John Deere and restored it. Naturally, I tried to start it when he was gone, wore myself out spinning the flywheel as hard and fast as I could, to no avail
Dad gets home and I asked him to start the engine, he gets hold of the flywheel and slowly turns it till it clicked and released it, bang off she went
[cl
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smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
My old neighbor had a small dozer that started the diesel motor with a small gas pony motor. It was always harder to get the gas motor running than starting the diesel. My old Case VAC was pulled from a pasture where it had been sitting for 8 years. Block was cracked at the waterline. No problem. Wheels were so rusty you could see thru them. I winched it up on my trailer a hauled it home. Took the tires off and tubes. Got new tubes. Fiberglassed the rims along with welding strips between the inside and outside rims because they were mostly separate now. Wrapped the inside of the rims with tape and put the new tubes and old tires back on. I didn't even change the plugs. Went in cleaned up contacts, fuel tank and carb. Never charged or changed the old 6 volt battery. Flip the switch. Had a crank handle. Rolled the motor till I felt compression and pulled it thru. It popped. Couple more pulls and it ran just fine. Put 5 years of hard work on that guy before I changed tractors.
Wrapped the inside of the rims with tape and put the new tubes and old tires back on. I didn't even change the plugs. Went in cleaned up contacts, fuel tank and carb. Never charged or changed the old 6 volt battery. Flip the switch. Had a crank handle. Rolled the motor till I felt compression and pulled it thru. It popped. Couple more pulls and it ran just fine. Put 5 years of hard work on that guy before I changed tractors.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Thanks for the memories, Guys.
Joe, maybe we're all more purist in the old tractor club, but we're not pure purist. I, for one, really don't like to see an alternator on an old tractor. I wonder if the reason there is less finger pointing and whining in the tractor clubs, is that most of the old tractor guys built their own tractors so they know what it takes to get some old rusty iron up and running. My impression of old car 'cognoscentis' is that most of the more vocal ones have only got coffee-shop wisdom. Lots of coffee-shop wisdom,-----and no life in the real world.
My response to a 'cognoscentis', problem pointing is, "You just bring your car up beside mine, sir, and I'll start judging it." Usually there is no adequate response from the judgmental blowhard.
Joe, maybe we're all more purist in the old tractor club, but we're not pure purist. I, for one, really don't like to see an alternator on an old tractor. I wonder if the reason there is less finger pointing and whining in the tractor clubs, is that most of the old tractor guys built their own tractors so they know what it takes to get some old rusty iron up and running. My impression of old car 'cognoscentis' is that most of the more vocal ones have only got coffee-shop wisdom. Lots of coffee-shop wisdom,-----and no life in the real world.
My response to a 'cognoscentis', problem pointing is, "You just bring your car up beside mine, sir, and I'll start judging it." Usually there is no adequate response from the judgmental blowhard.
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MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Here are some starting devices;
Hand crank on a 1927 Twin City.
Hand crank on a 1946 Cockshutt, [An Oliver painted red, sold by Cockshutt]
Turn this big flywheel and start the 1928 John Deere 'D'
The last two pictures are a cute little V-four gas engine sitting on top of the crankshaft housing and able to engage the flywheel and start the big diesel motor. This is on a 730 John Deere, the last year of the two cylinder JDs.
Hand crank on a 1927 Twin City.
Hand crank on a 1946 Cockshutt, [An Oliver painted red, sold by Cockshutt]
Turn this big flywheel and start the 1928 John Deere 'D'
The last two pictures are a cute little V-four gas engine sitting on top of the crankshaft housing and able to engage the flywheel and start the big diesel motor. This is on a 730 John Deere, the last year of the two cylinder JDs.
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Dr Crankenstein
Rocket Surgeon
No cognoscentis here!
PM sent, Mac.
.
PM sent, Mac.
.
amen to that! I quit going to local (and not so local) shows because of all the loud mouths who havent ever held a grinder or built anything walking up and telling me "what ya shoulda done is" or even better "what I woulda done is".
I always tell them to get busy and I will see them next year.
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
That probably raises most of our hackles....
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Thank you to Dr. Crank, he has saved the day. I've been trying to put a little video on here to no avail but it is now on youtube at
There are two short videos, together; one of the tractor running, near the first in probably 60 years and the second is it's first test drive outside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slP3NpDEPu8
There are two short videos, together; one of the tractor running, near the first in probably 60 years and the second is it's first test drive outside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slP3NpDEPu8
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Skip
Well-known member
I tell them it could be yours for $XX,XXX.XX. Then you can fix all my mistakes.amen to that! I quit going to local (and not so local) shows because of all the loud mouths who havent ever held a grinder or built anything walking up and telling me "what ya shoulda done is" or even better "what I woulda done is".
I always tell them to get busy and I will see them next year.
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
When you put a 100 year old tractor back to work, you couldn't have done much wrong....great work Mac!
Torchie
Well-known member
^^^^ Al of the above^^^^^ [cl
Including the comments about the know-it - all's [ddd
Every time i see some one driving an old tractor the theme song from "Green Acres" pops into my head.....
Torchie
bob w
Still crazy after all these years!
Don't know much about antique tractors. There's one tractor/car show every fall near me and I spend my time looking at the tractors. Spent my youth on my Grandpa's turkey farm running a John Deere B cultivating and hauling feed to the turkeys in the field. Good times.
I'm glad you're keeping that heavy metal alive.
I'm glad you're keeping that heavy metal alive.
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
After a little test drive at Darren's place, we worked it by hooking onto a John Deere 'R', pretending to pull-start it. [pic 1] We actually pulled that other tractor up and down the county road for a mile. Then I loaded it up and brought her home, [pic 2]. Here is my son-in-law, Rodney and me driving it into my shop, [pic3] to start the next part of the saga, painting.
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von-zipper
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2011
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- 384
Wow, that is a very cool tractor, thanks for sharing! [P
Zipper
Zipper
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Thanks guys.
And Smallfoot, you could call it a rat tractor up until this point in the story, but, I still prefer Undead Sled. After running it into my shop, I have spent a lot of time and cursing, slicking this rat up. Don't ever try this at home, guys. Sand blasting a whole tractor with a little pot sandblaster is horribly painful. If you leave the air pressure between 70 and110#, you will get sand coming out, but the track it creates is about the width of a blunt crayon. Imagine colouring a whole tractor with a crayon. If you crank up the air pressure to 150# to where the safety valves are popping off, then turn it back a couple of pounds, you will get double the production. Anyhow, save a lot of time, money and stress, just go to the professional sandblaster and get him to do it and pay the bill, happily. I probably used over two thousand dollars worth of sand. Here are some sandblasting pictures.
And Smallfoot, you could call it a rat tractor up until this point in the story, but, I still prefer Undead Sled. After running it into my shop, I have spent a lot of time and cursing, slicking this rat up. Don't ever try this at home, guys. Sand blasting a whole tractor with a little pot sandblaster is horribly painful. If you leave the air pressure between 70 and110#, you will get sand coming out, but the track it creates is about the width of a blunt crayon. Imagine colouring a whole tractor with a crayon. If you crank up the air pressure to 150# to where the safety valves are popping off, then turn it back a couple of pounds, you will get double the production. Anyhow, save a lot of time, money and stress, just go to the professional sandblaster and get him to do it and pay the bill, happily. I probably used over two thousand dollars worth of sand. Here are some sandblasting pictures.
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smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
$2000 worth of sand? Man, some things you just don't realize about other places until another person brings it up. I have a bucket with a screen. I go anywhere around here I don't mind digging in and whatever is not covered with concrete and dig all the pure silica sand I need to blast with...never purchased any blasting media of any kind. I used to blast from a pot but usually use one of the cheap single blasting guns with a built in can...looks like a paint spray gun. Got it at Tractor Supply for about 20 buck snorts. I don't generally have to do large jobs though.
Bamamav
Well-known member
Old tractor is looking good Mac![cl
I spy a 70's W-900 KW in the background.....
I spy a 70's W-900 KW in the background.....
MercuryMac
Builder Junky!
Smallfoot, I had to screen two thirds of the sand I used, too, but I didn't make a small screening plant so I had to screen it by hand. I had got a better deal on 12 cubic yards of sand that had oversize pieces in it, but I bought a thousand dollars worth of bagged sand, also. We have no natural sand on my farm, and my pile of partly oversized sand got wet every time it rained and then froze solid in the winter.
Your right to think it's OK to sandblast small pieces. I do carbs, other castiron things and even tin stuff. Oh, and you can't call my tractor a rat after this far into the story.
Bama, Thank you and yes that is a '79 Kenworth, a good old girl called Baby. [One driver that I had on it thought I babied it]. This is the thirty-ninth year I've been running it. I have put the bulk of the hours on it but I had two other guys driving sometimes. [35,000 hrs].
Your right to think it's OK to sandblast small pieces. I do carbs, other castiron things and even tin stuff. Oh, and you can't call my tractor a rat after this far into the story.
Bama, Thank you and yes that is a '79 Kenworth, a good old girl called Baby. [One driver that I had on it thought I babied it]. This is the thirty-ninth year I've been running it. I have put the bulk of the hours on it but I had two other guys driving sometimes. [35,000 hrs].
