The mechanicals are all functioning. It had been rebuilt by the prev. owner in 1992.. so that's almost a fresh engin ein antique tractor terms. No smoke, and just the lightest puff of blowby out the breather tube.. no oil inthe water/water inthe oil.. starts easy. I did attentd to a few minor mechanical and wireing issues.. but mostly maintenance items.. Funniest part was changing the fan belt.. it was ratty-tatty, and had a studebaker part number on it!
It also needed front tires.. etc.
Yes.. the mower is 100% operational, but looks like a pile of rubbish. All the spindle bearings are good as well as the mainpulley and blade carrier and ORC. The bulk of the metal is sound, and all the 'load bearing' supports are sound. There's some rust thru on the deck in a few spots I can cut and stitch, and I need to address a few splits inthe side where 'runner' rails were attatched, and the bolts loosened up and wallowed out the holes in the side of the mower.. etc. That will be my leisurely project... no rush... I've got 3 other cutters for tractors, plus a riding mower and a push mower.. so I am on 'no' timetable for the mower rebuild. However.. I have had a inkling of turning the mower into a belly mower for my 8n... it is a 60" woods mower.. I know the 8n would pull a 72".. but this would make it more agile. frame and bracketry would be easy.. I'd just need to come up with a pulley... shouldn't be too hard? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I hope.
Thanks for the kind words. Something just got into me about this little tractor.. and i wanted to finish it to make at least one of the shows i attend this year.
I got about 3 hours on the G today, and got the fenders installed, removed the cobbled up battery tray the previous owner made.. cleaned up the battery and terminals, and installed the new box, and lid. My welded up new floor for the battery box fit perfectly and hold the battery good.
I opted to go with 1/8 metal dowel rods to re-create the choke pull rod and the starter pull rod that go thru the fenders. The both work great. I used a large 1.25" piece of round stock as my bending template for the finger loops. I got them as close to 'matched' as possible. if you look them over close you will see minor differences.. but what the heck.. I couldn't find originals anywhere. I had previously primed and painted the rods, so all I had to do was touch up the paint were the bend was. I installed a 6v headlamp on a cir-clamp bracket where the upright steering column support meets the steering tube. Wired it up to the OEM headlamp switch and it worked great! I thought about adding a tail lamp.. but with a quick check of the ammeter, the ignition and 30w 6v lamp draws 8.5 to 9 amps. My service manual says that genny is capable of 9.5a max.. so I'm at the limit with the single headlamp. I see pics of a small bullet style lamp inthe rear as well as a headlamp.. so my gues sis the oem headlamps must have been like 20 - 25 w instead of 3.. and the rear lamp must have been just a 5-10w red bulb.. cause the genny wouldn't do any more than that.
I mounted the last rear rim and center that I painted this weekend, and pulled the jackstands out, so she's standing on all her own rubber now.
At this point all she lacks is some touch up paint ont he lugnuts, and fender bolts, some on the headlamp bracket nut, and then decals, and then the padded orange seatcushion. Perhaps wednesday will be the 'finish' day?
In any case, I'll get some pics then, finished or not.
Soundguy
