[AT] Update: '47 B - First starting attempt

[Dean VP]

Steve,

Good progress getting the 47B running. I'm assuming the hole in the manifold
is on the exhaust side of the manifold. I doubt it would run at all if it
was the intake side. So....  does it really matter if it makes a little
extra noise temporarily?  Or just press something in there until later?   If
it was on the intake side then I'm surprised you got it running.   Now
relative to removing the nuts on the studs for the manifold.  Keep in mind
that even after removal of the nuts the studs will still have to be removed
to get the manifold off the head without having to remove everything above
the manifold such as the fan shaft gas tank and hood.  If you try to remove
the  studs while the manifold is still on the risk of twisting them off is
even higher than you might want to have.    Some people have been known to
lift the manifold up enough so that the studs can be cutoff high enough for
later removal and still be able to remove the manifold without removing
everything above it.  But drilling out the studs and getting the remaining
studs out while the head is still on is a real PITA.  If you can get the
nuts off without twisting the studs off and the studs look pretty good I
would recommend removing everything above the manifold.

 But.... Sometimes it requires removing the radiator too to slide the fan
shaft forward enough out of the governor to get it out.  In any of the
options you are looking at a lot of work to change the manifold.  Or pull
the head and manifold out together and work on the combination on the bench
which is what I did on my 1935 JD B.  The reason I took that route was
two-fold. I knew the manifold bolts were going to twist off since they had
been in there for 75 years AND the compression test results had shown a
difference of 55 vs 63 psi. I wanted to see what was causing that.  Turns
out it was a good decision as I found valves not seating properly due to
valve guides that were in really bad shape.  The Valves themselves were like
new. A PO had been in this engine recently.  Before you make any decisions
.... price out what ever gaskets you might need.    I was blown away by the
current cost of gaskets. The head gasket alone cost $79 for the 35 B.   

You made a couple comments that I hope are totally unrelated. I assume since
you are in cold country you were draining condensation out of the crankcase
oil that had not been caused your radiator to be low on coolant. 

BTW,   be a little careful how much pressure you put on the manifold stud
nuts since the studs may be rusted thin.  On my situation I wanted to try to
save the studs because I knew they were going to be broken off on removal so
I went out of the  way to avoid twisting them off by using an air driven die
grinder to cut off the sides of the nuts without ruining the threads and
then used a chisel to break off what was left of the nuts. That worked as I
saved all 4 studs. But when I got the manifold off the studs were in such
bad shape they have to be replaced anyway.  The borrowed shop I am working
in does not have an acetylene welding setup to heat and cool the studs so I
had to farm out their removal which is costing me an arm and a leg if they
twist off.   Which I would predict there will be a 99% chance of happening.
At home I would have talked them myself.  The owner of the shop I'm working
on is downsizing and the Acetylene torch was on the get rid of list. In my
shop it would be close to near the last thing I got rid of.   But he does
mostly cosmetic restations on N Series Fords and Fergusons.  He had a friend
who did all his welding. I don't weld much with mine but it is used often
for "convincing" duties. 

Good luck with you project and keep us informed with your progress. 


Dean VP
Apache Junction, AZ

-----Original Message-----
From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of STEVE ALLEN. 
Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2020 2:08 PM
To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Subject: [AT] Update: '47 B - First starting attempt

It has been a while!  My wife is slowly recovering from her broken
leg/ankle, and I am able to get outside the house a little more these days.

So today, though it is chilly and misty, the older boy and I got out and
finished prep on the B.   We began my mounting the sediment bowl and the
fuel line.  A small snag:  the bail for the glass bowl itself wouldn't fit
because of the intake, but we selected another bail from another bowl, and
it fit.  We put in fresh plugs, adjusted the wires, and fitted the new mag
cap.  We drained a little bit of water out of the crankcase, topped off the
oil, and put a gallon of coolant in to bring the level up higher.  We
temporarily stole the battery off the '49 A and hooked it up.  We put in
some gas, and the moment of truth was at hand.

We cranked some while playing with the choke, and it popped but wouldn't
catch.  We pulled the plugs out to see if it was flooding, but there was
some carbon crap on them.  We cleaned them off and cranked some more.  

The pops became continuous:  he was running!

I spent some time playing with the idle and power needle, working to dial
the carb in a bit, but the cold was against me, and we ran out of the gas we
had put in before I had them figured out, but we can't be too far off.  

We found one definite problem:  the manifold has a hole in it :-(  It's
about a 1/4' wide and 1/2" long on the inside of the curve on the flywheel
side of the tractor.  So we're going to find out if the anti-seize I put on
the stud threads all those years ago worked ;-)  Off course, we'll clean
them up and heat them first!

In the meantime, I wonder if I can contrive to put a temporary plug in place
with JB weld, at least long enough to be able to move (after we put the
battery box/seat and platform back on) out of the shed so we can do
something about the floor.  Has anybody had any luck with such a project?

Anyway, I was not convinced he'd start today, but he did, and that makes me
happy.  We have more work to do, but we can be fairly certain it won't be
wasted effort now.

A Good Tractor Day!

The "original" Steve Allen


_______________________________________________
AT mailing list
AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com