New to Me Farmall AV

[Stanton]

Pulled this one home Saturday. It's a 1942 AV with distillate manifold. Needs several items, but that's why they call them "project tractors". Will put this in the queue and see what happens when it happens. Owner took in on trade for another tractor meaning to get to it, but just didn't have time. He was very nice to throw in an extra hood, grille and radiator. Some features on it are right, some not so right. It was a fun road trip with my wife to Shawnee, OK and back.

[superman]

Congrats on the AV. Looks like a nice project.

[Bob McCarty]

I'm sure it will end up great just like your other tractors have.

Bob

[international 274]

I have a all most new all fuel manifold that I am going to put on my A. I have the starting tank on it now. will put the manifold on before spring I hope.

[Stanton]

The high-speed, Indy style steering wheel will have to go. So, I looked around the basement and found a stack of old Farmall steering wheels purchased at a farm auction years ago. Had a 15" one that wasn't too bad. Washed and lightly sanded wheel; blew off excess and allowed to dry overnight. Applied first coat of JB Weld to the cracks. Will apply as many as needed, then sand smooth, prime/paint. Have black vinyl dye (spray can) that I may use in lieu of paint. One of the painted wheels I did some years back is starting to flake.

A couple of deep cracks will take several applications of JB Weld.

[randallc]

Stanton, I can already see the shine of the new paint. Proud you had a good road trip. See ya in a couple of months.

[Stanton]

Missed getting my new front wheels welded up at the NEOK CubFest (thanks anyway, Mike), but found a local place that could do some nice welding. I made the tabs out of 3/8" steel. Thanks to LA Eric for the dimensions.

Got the holes drilled once the tabs were welded onto the rims. Used a pair of C-clamps to mount the rim to the wheel, then spun the wheel and could "eyeball" whether it was centered. Kept adjusting until I had it as true as could be, then marked the holes and drilled them. Shot with a couple coats of primer. It was getting dark, but wanted to get a pic anyway. I was really pleased with how they turned out. That white stuff is baby powder used to mount the tires/tubes. Smooth as a baby's bottom!

Now, I'm able to move it around the yard with relative ease. Tractors don't move too well when the front tires are shredded.

[superman]

Nice work, looks good...

[Stanton]

No compression on any of the cylinders. Removed valve cover; each cylinder had one stuck valve. Removed head and valves; cleaned up and lapped valves. First time lapping valves. Need to get the starter going next to more accurately check compression. By hand cranking, compression is: 30 PSI (#1), 70 PSI (#2), 49 PSI (#3) and 79 PSI (#4). I'm suspecting the rings on each, but especially on #1 and #3. Cylinders #2 and #3 were not smooth or shiny like #1 and #4. The whole engine needs an overhaul.

Soaked the manifold for a day in electrolysis, then power sprayed it. Looks pretty good, no cracks that I could see. It's a distillate manifold and the heat damper is frozen in the high heat position (which is good).

At least with the new front wheels/tires, I can easily move the tractor around the yard. Need to get that barn built so I can put this project inside and really work on it.

[superman]

Sounds like it's going to be as much fun as my Super AV project... LOL. It's definitely easier to be working in barn/shed.
Good luck with getting it together.

[Super A]

Soaked the manifold for a day in electrolysis, then power sprayed it. Looks pretty good, no cracks that I could see. It's a distillate manifold and the heat damper is frozen in the high heat position (which is good).

If you're just going to burn gas it really needs to be in the "cold" position. If you're just going to "play" it may not matter.

Al

[Stanton]

This AV didn't have a starter, so bought one from a local parts guy. Didn't look at it too close when I bought it, but later when cleaning it up, I removed the end cover and discovered the end was cracked in two. The PO had bolted a plate to the end to keep the whole thing together.

Had read about welding cast iron, so thought I'd give it a try (nothing to loose). Cleaned up the break and ground a V-groove on both sides. I put on a load of charcoal in the grille and put the pieces into a toaster oven set for 450 degrees F. Left them in there for about 10-15 minutes, then quickly stitch welded them running 1/2" runs, leap-frogging back and forth so the cast would experience as even heat as possible. Once both sides were welded, I placed it on the grille and left it that evening until the next morning when totally cool.

As of now, I'll call it a success. Seemed to do just fine with a Mig welder. I may not grind down the weld; may just leave it as a reminder to better inspect used parts before buying them.

[Stanton]

Dropped the oil pan to see what was inside. Guess I wasn't surprised.

I'd say it would be a little difficult for this to pick oil up.

[Stanton]

Here is the completed steering wheel. I used VHT Vinyl Dye instead of black paint, so will see over time how that holds up. Some of my painted steering wheels are starting to chip. Was happy how it turned out.

[randallc]

Yeah it looks really great.