Deja Vu.....

During August of 2010, a friend gave me this 1937 Farmall F-20. It was nothing but the frame, gas tank, and a "pile of parts". My wife didn't think much of it when she saw it being dragged off the trailer, and even less while it was sitting outside in the yard - in full view from her office....



Well, after several long hours cleaning, repairing, priming and some paint, the old girl actually RUNS! I still have some work to do, but it is a good feeling to actually hear the thing run. It got too cold to paint, so that will need to wait for spring.



I've also spent some time on other tractors, but this one is my favorite.....

Or at least it is my favorite NOW.

Since my birthday is in a couple weeks (January 22nd in case anyone wants to send gifts....), the same friend gave me another tractor. He ran across one that had more original things on it, had a better motor, and a few other things, so he asked me if I wanted it.

It took me a few nano-seconds, but I told him "If I GOTTA...." (Right).

So, he brought it over the other day, and unloaded it with his Skidsteer.

Deb was summarily impressed with the condition of THIS tractor, too - although, she's adapting rather well to seeing old iron being dragged in. She actually LIKES this tractor - it's a 1928 McCormick-Deering 10-20 - one of the style she has deemed "cute".

I'm not sure the designers back in the teens and 20's ever thought to put "cute" into their machines, but I guess it happened anyway.

There is a story that, when John Deere redesigned their line of tractors in the 1930's from "unstyled" to "styled" they realized that a farmer's wife had more input into what tractor he bought, then most of them would admit. Hence, the better LOOKING the tractor, the better it sold.

International Harvester also found out the same thing when they changed from grey paint to red paint - red just sells better.

This particular tractor has a LONG way to go before it lives again, but at least it is a start:



It's like "Deja vu all over again...."

I get a frame and a "Pile 'O Parts"



Now, I just gotta figure out what I need, clean some parts, dream a little (lot), and gradually get it back on it's "feet".

I might even convince Deb to drive this one.....

Gideon's Cat

I've noticed this tom cat we have doing this several times over the past few months. Every time I take out some milk for them, he's opposed to getting his whiskers wet, and decides to "scoop" up the milk, and lick it from his paw.



I've also noticed that he's training the little yellow kitten right next to him in the video....

It' reminded us of how God chose Gideon's Army to fight the Midianites in the Bible (Judges), by having them go to the brook and take a drink of water - those who scooped it up with their hands were chosen (300 of them), those who lapped it up with their mouths, were sent home.

I have been trying to get a video of this cat for over a month now, but he keeps avoiding the camera - especially if I started to talk (that's why there is no "narration" to the video...).

This time, though, I kept silent, and he held up his end of the bargain, and started dipping.

I just hope I'm not in store for another 299 crazy cats for a furrball "army" -

I have enough goofball critters around here as it is....

Reached A "Sticking" Point....

Well, as you know, I got the old Farmall "C" to fire over (FINALLY) So there was tinkering fun to do this past week. One of the first things I did was to evict Mr. Jungle Mouse from the torque tube of the tractor.



He had to be some sort of acrobat - this hole is on the underside of a slick, round tube, and is about 30" in the air (depending on how much air is in the tires....).
I can envision a furry little creature in a loin cloth, swinging on a piece of baling twine, yelling "AHHHHAAAAAA", as he swings from the brake pedals to his "tree" house.



One small misstep, and he'd plummet the equivalent of about 30 stories (in mouse measurements), only to dust himself off, climb back on, and try again.

I'd imagine that his "Jane" probably stayed home all day to tend to the little "Cheetahs"......

Going over the edge from the top would have pretty exciting for him. It would have been a fun, head first slide of about 12" straight down over a cliff, then a 6" jump through the air back UP to the inside of the tube.

At any rate - they've been evicted now. I dug in there with "Chinese Fingers", a screwdriver, and a wire with a hook on one end. I pulled enough "bedding" out of there to STUFF a large coffee can - not to mention all of the dirt, dried grease, and other crud. No WONDER the tires were flat.....

Then came the big day - the first "test drive" of the "C". I dreamed about it the night before (when I wasn't laying awake, waiting for daylight so I could go DO it....). I did chores, a few other things around the house, then headed out to see what I could see.

I climbed into the seat, pushed the clutch pedal down, Put the transmission is 1st gear, and pulled the starter rod (I left the switch OFF, just in case)....and the tractor started to roll forward with the clutch depressed.

Speaking of depressed - it was not a GOOD feeling when I realized the clutch was stuck. It wasn't unexpected, but depressing, none the less. The problem is - on these tractors, to do any clutch work, except minor adjustments, the tractor usually has to be "split".

On this size machine, that's not ALL that hard, but I sure as heck didn't want to do it. There MUST be another way.

I called a friend, and asked what he'd do.

He promptly told me to "run into a tree". Well, that's not too bad of advice - gently bumping a tree CAN dislodge a stuck clutch - BUT - the tractor was still in the barn, and hadn't had it's "maiden voyage" yet. I for SURE didn't want to run it into the wall or the barn.

His next suggestion was to :

Jack one rear tire off the ground
Block the clutch pedal down
Put the transmission in 4th gear
"Bump" the tire over by hand

Well, I was skeptical, and SOMETHING didn't seem quite right, but I got the tractor jack out, and proceeded to try it - I was game to try pretty much anything before splitting the tractor...

It was pretty easy to turn (bump) the tire over, and I kept watching the fan blade turn as I did it. All I was doing was spinning a tire and having the cats laugh at me. Other than that, nothing.

I was running out of options, when a little light bulb came on over my head (I turned on the trouble light hanging from the ceiling....), and it dawned on me - this was just turning the motor, what it NEEDED was something to "break torque".

I climbed back on the seat (with the rear tire still off the ground), put the transmission in 1st gear, held the clutch pedal down, and pulled the starter rod (switch was still off). The airborne wheel started to turn slowly....

As the wheel turned (sounds like a soap opera..), I stomped down on the brakes as hard as I could 4-5 times. All of a sudden, the wheel STOPPED turning. At that point I KNEW the clutch was free. My depression had just turned to elation.

Since it was too late in the day for a test drive, so I settled for a "forward and back" maneuver 3-4 times inside the barn.

It was the first time in 30+ years the tractor had moved under it's own power!

I was happy, the tractor was happy, the cats had lost interest -

And I didn't feel ONE BIT of remorse at evicting Tarzan....

Daisy Want's A Kiss....

Any takers?

Air, Fire, Gas....

A few months back - if you recall - I happened upon a 1949 International Harvester "C" in a barn nearby. I talked with the owner for 2-3 years before he finally decided to let it go. It was COVERED in - for lack of a better, usable, term - "Pigeon Paint".

A friend of mine hauled it home for me, and I proceeded to scrape and even SAND the years (and many coats) of the thickly applied coating left behind by the birds. It was not a "fun" task....

After a few weeks, I had it in fairly good condition - at least it was good enough to work on without coming up with Pigeon Paint on me or my clothes - so I set about trying to get the thing running.

As everyone knows, the things needed for a motor to start are:

Air
Fuel
Compression
Spark and
Timing

The first thing I did was take off the carburettor and clean it out. Nothing too in depth there - it was pretty clean for sitting 30+ years. Next came the distributor. I pulled the condenser, filed the points, and cleaned everything up. Even the plugs came out for cleaning and inspection.

Online, I found an electrical schematic that was close to what I needed, and replaced every wire on the tractor (ok, there are only 5 or 6....), complete with soldered ends.

Then the day arrived - the first attempt at bringing the beast back to life after all those years being abused by birds. I hooked up the battery, pulled the switch, hit the starter and......


RRRRRRR.......RRRRRRR.......RRRRRRR......

A whole lot of spinning, but no STARTING, no coughing, no sputtering, no nothin'.
Nothing except a lot of aggravation.

A friend came over, and we made sure the timing was right, the points were right, the plugs were right, and ran through everything 3-4 times. Still, the tractor was playing it's game with us - and WINNING. We couldn't get the thing to fire of for nothing.

So, over the past week or two, I've been tinkering with it an hour or two a day, in between everything else. I've gone over EVERYTHING a couple dozen times, to no avail. It all came down to this afternoon.....

I put a rebuild kit in the carb, tried another set of points, different plugs, and a whole lot of words to make a sailor blush. All did NOTHING toward getting the thing to "pop".

I even resorted to threatening to paint the thing green and setting it out for "yard art" (it shivered a bit at the green paint, but remained stubborn....). I decided to just pack it in for the day - even though it was only 2:30 - and go inside and check a few things on the computer, and text a friend.

It was somewhere around this point that I recalled an old skit that Cheech & Chong did in the 1970's - one about trying to start a car.

Cheech is grinding the starter saying "Come on baby, come on baby....", and Chong asks him if he has any gas. "We can't be outta gas - I put 59¢ worth in two days ago"!

Then the "great epiphany" happened.....

"Did you CHECK THE AIR IN THE TIRES"?

Well, that there was about the only thing left I DIDN'T check! I texted my friend that I was going to go out and air up the rear tires, and see if it made any difference. He probably thought I was nuts, but that's a whole nuther story....

The floor in my barn has never been smoothed out, so it has a nice "bump" about half way in from the front door. Naturally, the fully inflated front tires were sitting dead center on top of this bump - and the two rear tires were flatter than a super model.

So, I get out the air compressor, plug it in, and proceed to air up the tires. Once they were full, the tractor set CONSIDERABLY less "nose up".

The main thing was - the fuel line actually had a DROP in it, instead of forcing the fuel to "climb" to get to the carb (I suppose, if I could afford to fill the tank, it would feed better, too).

Well, I said a quick little prayer, laughed a little to myself, and pulled the stater rod.......

And she fired up after a couple spins. She didn't run LONG, but she RAN! I still need to "tweak" things, but at least I know she does run!

I guess the moral of this story is - don't let anyone tell you that checking the air in the tires won't help you start whatever it is you are trying to start!

It might not be the "air" you'd think of when you list what it takes to start an engine, but it was worth the time it took to check on it this time!

Good luck, and go check your tires.......

Hooves, Paws, Teeth, Tractors and Cuds....

I had some help this past week - some actually "helpful", and others annoying, but all of it unsolicited.

The "annoying" part came from the cats and cows. The cats didn't really join in, they just sat back and told us how to do things, then zipped across in front of us a "opportunistic" times when we least expected it. They also rearranged parts on the workbench.

I wish they'd CLEAN it while they were there, instead of playing with stuff....

Mostly, they holler about wanting fed more than twice a week......

The NERVE of some people.

Then, the cows got into the act. They all stand outside of the barn door, waiting (impatiently) to get in to be fed. If I am taking too long (in their minds...), they start knocking at the door.

"Knock, knock...."

"Who's there"?

"The COW....".

"The cow, WHO..."?

"Don't mess with me - I weigh 900 pounds, I'm hungry, and I can squish you like a grape".

If I am too slow at getting the door open, the offending cow (take your pick, they ALL have it figured out) bounces the door, causing the chain and hook to dislodge, and allowing the pointy faced cow to stick her nose in, open the door, and waltze right in.

I snookered them this week, though - I installed a different door latch - one that holds the door tight against the barn.



So, now they knock on the door, pause, knock louder, then LOUDER, then.....

Grumble because they have to wait.

Poor bovine.

I DID actually get some GOOD help from Honey the other day, though. I still can't lift much, so I wheel a bale out to the cows with my "Bale Buggy" cart. I just roll it up to the feeder, cut the twines, and put it in. I've gotten to the point where I can even just roll the bale off the cart, and into the feeder - then cut the twine.

Honey saw me rolling the bale one day, and decided to lend a hand....er...hoof....er CUD. I had one end of the bale, and Honey grabbed the other end. She lifted most of the weight straight up. All I had to do was flip my end over the feeder. When she let go (with a mouthful of hay), the whole thing dropped right into where it belonged.

I wish she'd help every day....

A couple days later, Yani lent a paw - or teeth. There I was, minding my own business, skinning a deer in the barn, when I feel a huge tug on the fur.



She sure was adamant about getting the skin off. I suspect her motivation was me taking too long, and her wanting a good, fresh bone to chew on.

I also had help on my tractor! Last Saturday, I got a phone call about 2:00 PM. It was a friend who said he was in town, and wondered if I needed help on anything, he said he'd be going right by, so it was no problem to stop.

We went to the barn, and tore into the F-12, and took the transmission completely apart. Right down to "bare bones". I just need to clean the "muck" out of the case, clean all the parts, make some gaskets, then start putting it back together -

if I remember how....




Now I have more parts laying on the bench for the cats to play with....

It's Alive, It's ALIVE!

Yesterday, a friend wanted me to go along for a "tractor inspection". It WAS going to be a "tractor HAUL", but his brother ended up borrowing his trailer so that was the end of that....

It all worked out in the end, though, because the tractor we went to look at was a BIT over priced for it's condition.



The gentleman had several other tractors, but only a couple that would be worth "delving" into (unless you have LOTS of money....). He ended up making a deal on a pretty large Disc Plow, but that was about it. He'll just have to pick it up when he gets his trailer back....

Of course, on the way home we stopped to look at 3-4 other old tractors we spotted on the way up. It's probably a good thing we didn't have a trailer.

When we got home, there was about 2 hours to kill before supper, so Kirk ended up getting voluteered for a couple odd jobs around here - one was fixing the light in Deb's office - she was tired of trying to see in the dark. The other - and more important, I might add - was to finish installing the magneto on my 1937 F-20.

Since it was REAL close to seeing if it would start, we decided to go ahead and try. Of course, by "we", I mean "HE", because I can't even hardly turn the crank, let alone actually CRANK it. When my back gets back together, I'll be able to, though.

We scrounged up about a 1/2 gallon of gas, and dumped it in the tank. It promptly ran out the bottom where a small plug was. We tried several times to seal the thing, but nothing worked. We ended up scrounging some more for a piece of 3/8" gas hose to attach directly to the fuel line.

Now we needed a "funnel" that was small enough to go inside the hose. I THOUGHT about using one from the kitchen, but realized stating the tractor wasn't worth the pain I'd have when Deb found out about using her funnel..... We ended up using a small plastic cup that we could "squeeze" into something we could pour out of.

It was almost an afterthought to get the camera out (I was lucky to have it with me), so the video is kinda dark, but this is the first start of the F-20:



It sure is a FAR cry from last August (2010) whe I started with this, and a pile of parts: