Getting the old girl going

[daugen]

Sharing a barn with my equipment is the farm owner's Allis Chalmers B, which was restored to some degree many years ago.
Basically needs a good bath, and then I'd like to run it. But the rear tire went flat, no one noticed it, and it damaged the sidewall.
Hope it still holds air, the tractor is basically an ornament and won't get used hard ever. Neat tractor, though I've never manually started a tractor before.

I think I've figured out most of the controls by just looking at them and thinking things through. Not sure of the choke yet.
And think I might just drain all the gas out as best I can before doing anything else and put fresh in. And some carb cleaner.
The owner of this delightful old tractor knows how to run it, just getting older and not up to climbing aboard any more.
I was hoping to work on it over the winter and fire it up in the Spring. Unfortunately the shed is open in the front, so unlikely I'm going to have much heat.

I love the way the old oil filter was painted over. Likely time that filter got changed, and any others too.

I've done this sort of thing before, but have zero experience with this tractor. Might like to get new cutters for the sickle also. Interesting that Japan is stamped on part of the blade assembly.
Lot of moving parts for sure. Open to all advice and appreciate it. Drew

 

[flusher]

Nice old tractor. Draining the gas tank is a good place to start.

I'd pull the plugs, spray a little engine oil into the cylinders, and try to spin the engine with the starter to check if the engine is stuck. And check the oil gauge while you're doing this to see if there's any pressure. There should be at least 5 psi. You can also check each spark plug wire to see if you're getting fire. If not, check the output of the coil for fire and check the distributor points.

 

[Soundguy]

a fram c159 is likely what screws on.. though looks like a napa on there now.

when you remve the old one.. make sur ehte stem stays on the base and is not tossed with the old filter.. or you will have no oil pressure.

ditto on putting some atf downthe plug holes and cleaning the plugs.


after the oil treatment, I';d see about rollingte engine over by hand a few times, plugs out.. etc.

 

[284 International]

when you remve the old one.. make sur ehte stem stays on the base and is not tossed with the old filter.. or you will have no oil pressure.

That is an important and handy tip, and likely tough to isolate if one isn't aware it is possible.

 

[svcguy]

That is a lovely old tractor. Getting harder to find farm fresh originals. Although the tire looks bad, it could last a long time. If crank starting, make sure you have the owner show you how to hold the crank so you don't have your thumb dislocated. You want your thumb with your fingers (not your normal handle grip).

 

[daugen]

I've looked at this carb picture closely and it looks like the choke is a lever with nothing attached, between the carb and the intake, where it should be.
The old fashioned oil bath cleaner will go into a degreasing bucket. One of these days I'm going to splurge and get a small degreasing machine.
Will pull, inspect and likely replace plugs unless they look like new.

Does this tractor have points if it has a magneto? Haven't had a magneto since a JD B a long time ago. Are there any ignition parts that need a point file device
cleaning off contacts?

Going to haul a larger air compressor up to this barn, and a portable gen, and put some serious air into these tires. The compressor in my not inexpensive battery jumpstarter
is utterly useless on larger tires. Need a bigger wrench...

Was the paint used the correct AC color? It still looks in decent condition.
thanks

 

[Little Red Tractor]

There may be a drain on the bottom or that carb. If so, it would be a good idea to clear that. I believe that the magneto will have points, very similar to a distributor if I recall; but it's been a lot of years since I've been inside one. They might be OK, so check the spark before you take anything apart.
If that had no electric starter, there probably wouldn't be any connector from the choke to the operator seat. The little lever is all there likely ever was.
Ditto the advice on the holding the crank the right way...I only got bit lightly; but it hurt for a while.

 

[Soundguy]

I know some fords that came with magi's had front facing choke pull rods..

 

[kensnelling]

My 2 cents worth.

Pull all the plugs and fill the cylinders wth Marvel Mystery oil. Do this for a few days then. with the plugs still out, crank the engine a few times to get the excess oil out. This will help remove any corrosion in the cylinders and free up any stuck rings.

I didn't see a battery in your pictures so I presume you have a magneto ignition. Check your points/cap. etc for corrosion, clean/replace as needed.

Cleaning the fuel tank is a step in the right direction. plan on cleaning the carb to get the varnish out of it also. Check the fuel hoses for rot, personally I'd just go ahead and replace them.

When it comes to cranking it, the one thing I've not seen anyone menttion is to NEVER try to start it by pushing down on the crank. If the engine kicks back you could break a wrist! Always pull up using a the palm of the hand, not a tight grip. Same problem, only possible broken fingers.

When you go to actually start it have the owner there to advise you on throttle and spark advance lever settings. He'll probably get a kidk out of seeing it run again, and an "event" like that is always better when shared.

Ken

 

[DJ54]

NAPA number on that oil filter should be FIL 7011. Rather pricey, as they show $16+ each. I bought 6 through Fleet filter(Wix), for about $6 each. They also fit the V series Case tractors, and on up through the 310B I had. Soundguy changed the filter on his VAC a while back, if not a NAPA, that may be the crossed number he posted for Fram. Those are known as partial flow filters. Don't get real excited if it doesn't show a lot of oil pressure.
Mag is a Fairbanks-Morse. Either a FMJ4B3 or FMJT4B. Parts still available.
Those are pretty powerful little tractors for their size. 125 cu. in engine compared to the IH C-113 in A''s B's & C's, and C-123's in the Supers.
Carbs were either Zenith, or Marvel-Schebler.
A buddy of mine has been getting into the A-C C's and CA's, so I'm learning a little about them. We had dealers around, but just never seemed to be a popular brand around here. Mostly IH, J.D. and Massey.