[Farmall] Another O-12 project, part 1

Sun Feb 15 20:01:17 PST 2009

Karl, now I don't feel so bad about some of my purchases!
But at least yours is running...

Alan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Olmstead" <kolmstead4 at msn.com>
To: <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 8:24 PM
Subject: [Farmall] Another O-12 project, part 1

>
> A month or so ago, I told about hauling a couple more O-12s home.  One 
> ran, the other wasn't stuck.  I sealed up the intake and exhaust on the 
> not stuck tractor so that it would stay that way.  Today I finally found 
> time to take a look at the running tractor.
>
> Back when I bought it, I was impressed with how well it ran.  The fellow 
> who sold it to me was fed up with it because he couldn't hand crank it, 
> but it started almost instantly when pulled.  We got it going, and I drove 
> it around his yard and lined it up with my trailer.  As it sat there 
> idling, my friend warned me that it didn't have a fan belt installed.  The 
> fuel lines were all cut up, mostly replaced with rubber tubing.  My friend 
> had rigged a temporary fuel tank using a lawn mower gas tank sitting on 
> top of the O-12's fuel tank.  As I  backed the tractor up my trailer 
> ramps, the temporary tank slid off and fell on the trailer.  My friend 
> disconnected it from the rubber fuel line to keep me from running over it. 
> I finished positioning the tractor on my trailer just as the engine 
> sputtered and died.  Unloaded the tractor when I got home, and pushed it 
> into my shop the next day.
>
> I heated up my shop today and got out a pen and paper.  I've found that I 
> do a better job of fixing old tractors if I make a list of what the 
> tractor needs, and cross off items as I complete them.  Here's the list 
> for OS 2680:
>
> hand crank bushing broken  (as usual on O-12s)
> air cleaner needs to be reinstalled and plumbed to carburetor
> Wico magneto needs to be replaced with IHC unit
> magneto bracket should be replaced; somebody wallowed out the mounting 
> holes to fit the Wico
> engine oil and filter undoubtedly need changing
> hood needs to be reinstalled
> fuel plumbing needs complete replacement
> fuel pump needs to be rebuilt (always, on 12 series tractors)
> cooling fan needs bearing cleanup and refill
> fan belt is missing
> front tires are way oversized, and leak down in a week
> oil pressure gauge broken and disconnected
> radiator empty, hoses need replacing (my fault; I cut the bottom hose to 
> drain the radiator and prevent freeze damage)
> spark plug wires draped over exhaust manifold, and melted
> clutch covers on both sides missing
> exhaust pipe extremely crude; needs replacement
> fan belt adjustment bolt stuck
>
> I started removing parts.  Took off the radiator, the magneto, spark plug 
> wires and fuel tank and plumbing.
>
> In the world of antique tractor collecting, there exist a number of people 
> who are well-meaning, but should never be allowed to touch tools.  As I 
> worked on 2680, I was reminded of this.  The fellow I bought it from, who 
> I'll call Bill, is a wonderful guy. Enthusiastic and honest.  I've bought 
> three or four tractors from him, and sooner or later, regretted every one.
>
> There's no way to tell if all the work I saw was Bill's or not, but most 
> of it was consistent with his methods.  As I mentioned, the fuel lines 
> were butchered.  Little stubs left, with rubber hose slid over them.  When 
> that didn't work, he stuck on a temporary tank instead of rebuilding the 
> fuel pump, which was the real problem.  When he discovered the broken hand 
> crank bushing, he tried to weld the ears on the cast iron bushing to the 
> cast iron front frame of the tractor.  That lasted a week or two.  I had 
> to grind off the weld on the machined surfaces of the tractor front frame. 
> The bushing was installed backwards on the hand crank.
>
> The spark plug wires were cheap, stiff vinyl-covered wire, draped over the 
> exhaust manifold.  At the plug end, the insulators had been sawed off the 
> plug wires in order to fit under the exhaust manifold.  At least one spark 
> plug was so loose that I unscrewed it by hand.
>
> The original rear fenders were rough, so Bill cut them off and welded new 
> rolled steel panels in their place.  Of course, the new fenders aren't 
> ribbed like the originals.  The rear tires needed replacement, so Bill 
> used a cold chisel to undo the big nuts that hold the rear wheels onto the 
> axles.  The rubber steering wheel was pretty rough, so Bill goobered on 
> some filler and painted it.  Never mind the lumps and remaining cracks.
>
> But the thing that really irritated me was the crankshaft.  After I pulled 
> the radiator, I decided to reinstall the hand crank, with a newly 
> refurbished bushing.  As I looked at the nose of the engine's crankshaft, 
> I was puzzled by how beat up the pin was that the hand crank engages.  The 
> nose of the crankshaft extended all the way through the front motor mount, 
> which looked wrong to me.  I checked another O-12, and then went back to 
> Bill's tractor.  A flash of horror hit me.  Bill welded a two inch stub on 
> the nose of the engine crankshaft.  Because he had installed the hand 
> crank bushing backwards, the hand crank wouldn't reach the engine 
> crankshaft.  So he extended the crankshaft!  In keeping with Bill's 
> abilities, the extension is five or ten degrees out of alignment with the 
> rest of the crankshaft.
>
> At this point, I could rant some more, but I think my previous statement 
> covers it all.  Some people should not  be allowed to use tools.  Tools 
> simply increase the amount of damage that they can do.
>
> If the engine hadn't run so well, I'd just give up.  But I think the best 
> way to proceed is to support the front of the engine, pull the motor 
> mount, and saw off Bill's extension.  Then I'll try and clean out the 
> screw hole that normally would secure the pin that goes through the front 
> of the crankshaft in order to engage the hand crank.  I just realized that 
> I didn't see the hole the pin goes through.  I hope Bill didn't weld it 
> shut!  I'd probably have to replace the crankshaft if the pin hole is 
> ruined.  Cleaning up the crankshaft nose would be straightforward on a 
> lathe, but doing it in place is a different story.
>
> When I drove down to get the tractor, Bill told me that the reason the 
> engine was so messy was because he had been running it with the rocker arm 
> cover off.  I didn't ask why he felt the need to run the engine with the 
> rocker arm cover off.  That's just the way Bill works.
>
> This little O-12 needs a lot of work.  Ordinarily I'd seal up the intake 
> and exhaust, park it and choose one that needs less attention.  But I'm 
> thinking about challenging myself with this one.  I think what I'll do is 
> try and get it ready for the Tulare, CA antique farm equipment show in 
> mid-April.  Bill will be there; I could show him a little different 
> approach to tractor restoration.  I'm probably just being silly.  If I do 
> get the tractor fixed up, Bill will figure that he did most of the work.
>
> Oh, yeah, one more thing... with the crankshaft extension in place, 
> there's NO WAY to install a fan belt, short of removing radiator and front 
> motor mount.
>
> -Karl
>
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