It's official..

[weldlady]

I posted back in January for the first time. A week ago, I closed a deal I made with my mother, and became the owner of a 1951 Farmall M. This used to belong to my grandfather, and was the first tractor ever on the farm where I was raised. Looking forward to giving it some life, as it's been sitting for a few years.

 

[davesl708]

Great news. Glad it is staying in the family.
What are your plans for it?

 

[deerseeker001]

congrats have fun with it.

 

[KevT]

What a beast, I would love to have one like that to restore.... in all of my free time. Take good care of it and it will do the same for you. :thumbsup:

 

[DJ54]

That's a nice looking original M..!! Looks like he got a few options, with the wide front end, and Mason Jar pre-cleaner.

Maybe I'm weird, but if I found one like that with what looks to be original paint, I'd leave it like that, if I were going to show it. Yeah, they look nice all painted up, but love the original work clothes. Gives them a little character.

He must have taken very good care of it. That is the straightest PTO cover I've ever seen on an older tractor like that. That's a fine piece of family history right there...

 

[boblibido]

Mmmmmmmm

Nice M.

If it ain't red, leave it in the shed.

Congrats!

 

[jaotguy]

before even trying to start it .... pull the plugs , drop in some transmission fluid or diesel fuel in the cylinders and leave it set for a day ... this will lube the cylinder walls and free up the rings on the pistons ... if you try to start the motor without doing this , the aluminum pistons / steel rings have corroded and the rust on the cylinder walls will lock up the rings and you'll have to do a rebuild .

once the unit has set for the day , spin the engine over ( without the plugs ) to pump the extra oil out ... then install the plugs and try to fire it up.

I too vote for keeping the battle scars / paint as original as possible ... try some tranny fluid on the paint and see what it will look like if you just wash and wax it ....

 

[weldlady]

At the moment, my goal is just to get it running. It's been sitting for a few years. The distributor was rebuilt in January, it had a new battery, plugs and wires this weekend, and we found out the carb is gummed up as well. I'm working on getting a kit and solving that problem soon. Jaoguy, My better half did put some oil in the cylinders and let it sit a good while before we turned it over. We've been messing with this thing about every other weekend for the last two months. The paint is completely gone in a few places like around the fan shroud so I don't know how much tranny fluid on the paint will help it. Boblibido, I agree--- If it ain't red, leave it in the shed. And I guess my first post was March instead of January.. too busy of a life.

 

[boblibido]

I pretty much spend every weekend working on an old Farmall.

My mower is a 51 super a and it always needs attention.

Enjoy the process!

 

[jaotguy]

the tranny oil will show you how well the remaining paint will turn out if you wash and wax it .... it also helps ****** the rusting of exposed metal ...

if you want to stop the rust in its tracks ... simply brush on shellac ... then use alcohol to remove the shellac later when/if you decide to paint it ....

to see it run , have someone set the throttle to 1/2 speed then turn the ignition on and crank the engine while someone squirts a blast of carb cleaner into the intake while it is turning over ... it should fire up , run , then quit as it runs out of fuel.