[AT] Update '47 B

[STEVE ALLEN]

As we wait for the weather to permit us to get back to the As, we have made progress on the B.

We finally have the carb all apart.  The nozzle came out as I started tapping threads in it to pull it.  It is in good shape, just needing a bare minimum of polishing.  

We had to drill a cast-iron plug out of the bowl.  I would have left it in place, but it was on the side the fuel should come in (many years ago, before we got the tractor, someone goofed that up, and we had rubber line on it way back when I was younger, and I want to do it right this time).  Heat just wasn't working--that plug was rusted solid.  The slot was messed up too badly.  I tried to true it up, but there just wasn't enough meat left to be able to apply torque.  So we pulled out the left-handed bits and started small and drilled up.  I had hoped that maybe, *just maybe*, the left turning would coax it out, but no dice.  So, we got to the proper size and then cleaned out the threads with a tap.  A hint of damage leftover from the process, but it looks like the plug will seal.  I hope so, nobody sells just the bowls, and whole carbs are pricey!

We got all the brass plugs, etc., out thanks to the hints to use a little heat.  No one in many miles radius does media blasting of any kind anymore--I was thinking of having the body and bowl bead-blasted.  Well, anyway, it's time to drill out he passages and otherwise clean out the crud.  We have the right size bits, the manual, and Robert Beaver's video (along with a bunch of new bits and pieces).   We had to order a new float; the old one had a crack in it.  Kinda strange.  I've seen the soldering fail on the seams and the plug hole, but I've never seen a crack in the brass.  

Most of this I am leaving to my son.  He wants this tractor to be his project, and I am offering advice, help, and the occasional caution.

My Dad bought this tractor back in the early '70s in Wisconsin while his MoANG unit was up there at summer camp , and his buddy bought a light duty trailer, made some modifications to it, and towed the thing (and the plow that came with it) home with a n early '60s Dodge Coronet (I think; I cannot find the pics anymore).  The chanciest operation I've ever seen on the road.  And these guys were VERY careful, VERY by-the-book airplane mechanics!  

Anyhow, this B was the family's first tractor, and my older son has kinda adopted it in honor of his grandfather (whom he barely remembers).  He is currently furloughed from his job, and he is working on the B, cleaning up the shop, and painting one of the bathrooms in the house to keep himself busy.

We've got new front tires on those 15" wheels (a pair of the right 16" wheels costs more than Dad paid for the whole outfit!).

Anyway, we can do the carb work in the shop.  We'll get back to the As when the mud dries up a bit (how I wish the shop were part of a garage with a concrete floor, four walls, and doors!).

The "original" Steve Allen