A couple of new toys
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:35 pm
Willy and I headed out today to pickup a John Deere Hit n Miss engine that I had purchased. The gentleman (Max) that I bought it from kept wanting to through in a 1948 Economy tractor to sweeten the deal. I finally relented and the Economy was also loaded on the trailer as well as a set of Farmall A wheel weights.
The Economy tractor starts right up. The clutch could use a little adjustment and I need to work on the fuel bowl. It takes about 3 acres to turn it around. Even though it is the same year as my Farmall Cub the cub is light years ahead in engineering and comfort. The Economy tractor does have a neat background to it. It is mostly assembled from WWII surplus parts. The front wheels are aircraft tail wheels. The transmission is WWII surplus T92 transmission and clutch from jeeps. The rear tires are the same size as a cub. I believe the driveshaft and rear diff are Model A Ford. Brakes were an option. Later on they changed the name to Power King and Jim Dandy.
I know the man that had owned the John Deere engine previously. His brother said that it was always hard to start. Max told me that he had never run it since he had it so I should change the oil before I started it. Well there was no oil in it. I filled it with oil put some gas in and nothing. I felt inside the mixer and it wasn't getting any fuel. I pulled the fuel line to check it and it was blocked. One of the fittings had two ferrules and one had turned sideways blocking the line. I also found that the slot for the needle valve wasn't horizontal. I removed the ferrule and put it back together and it fired the second time I cranked it. Before long it was running like a top. After awhile I noticed oil dripping out of the mixer. So now I know why there wasn't any oil in the sump. It had leaked into the gas tank. That will be a project for another day. Not bad for never running a Hit n Miss before. I just found the Instructions and parts list on-line and followed them. The cart that it is setting on is cracked and Max gave me another cart to fix up.
Doug
The Economy tractor starts right up. The clutch could use a little adjustment and I need to work on the fuel bowl. It takes about 3 acres to turn it around. Even though it is the same year as my Farmall Cub the cub is light years ahead in engineering and comfort. The Economy tractor does have a neat background to it. It is mostly assembled from WWII surplus parts. The front wheels are aircraft tail wheels. The transmission is WWII surplus T92 transmission and clutch from jeeps. The rear tires are the same size as a cub. I believe the driveshaft and rear diff are Model A Ford. Brakes were an option. Later on they changed the name to Power King and Jim Dandy.
I know the man that had owned the John Deere engine previously. His brother said that it was always hard to start. Max told me that he had never run it since he had it so I should change the oil before I started it. Well there was no oil in it. I filled it with oil put some gas in and nothing. I felt inside the mixer and it wasn't getting any fuel. I pulled the fuel line to check it and it was blocked. One of the fittings had two ferrules and one had turned sideways blocking the line. I also found that the slot for the needle valve wasn't horizontal. I removed the ferrule and put it back together and it fired the second time I cranked it. Before long it was running like a top. After awhile I noticed oil dripping out of the mixer. So now I know why there wasn't any oil in the sump. It had leaked into the gas tank. That will be a project for another day. Not bad for never running a Hit n Miss before. I just found the Instructions and parts list on-line and followed them. The cart that it is setting on is cracked and Max gave me another cart to fix up.
Doug