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<div class="rteDiv"></div><p class="MsoNormal">I can't believe it has been since July that I last
updated. Time does get away from one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Let's see: The steering shaft on Old Reliable has
been fixed. If you get Green Magazine, you may have read a short
article on it, but, to summarize: I followed the procedure I
outlined last time by cleaning up the ends of the tube, purchasing a steel rod
that fits inside, and having my friend weld the whole thing back
together. When reassembled, everything seems to be in order. So our
'51A is back in service.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I put the borrowed shaft back in Big John, the '49A.
In removing and reinstalling it, I found that both of the tapered bearings
around the worm gear were trashed. I have purchased replacements, but I
haven't installed them yet. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>My son took the clutch apart on the '47B, we inspected it,
and reassembled it. Everything seemed to be in good shape, including
the crankshaft splines. The bearing felt good. We readjusted it,
and Old John awaits a test drive. We have not yet gone into the
transmission to find out why the overdrive side won't engage. Given the
way our temps went directly from August to November last month, that job may
wait for Spring. I don't like to get all greasy when it's cold if I don't
have to.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>But we're doing another job on him: my son bought a
pair of fenders--pretty good shape. But, to mount them, we have to remove
the studs in the axle housings. There were four that needed to come
out. The first came out just peachy. The second snapped off:
we had to drill and retap. The third snapped off, too, but we are having
real trouble drilling and tapping it. I am about ready to suggest a
Helicoil. The fourth is not coming out, either. I need to get the
tanks filled on my torch, but I have to scrape together some pennies for that.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>On a brighter note, we launched November by doing something
we have wanted to do for years but have never gotten to: we hitched up
the 4B plow to Old Reliable, cleaned up the shares and moldboards, and went
down to the bottom ground and plowed two patches, one for corn, one for
veggies. We'll disk the patches after the ground dries out a bit, and
then we'll disk again in the spring. I'd like to find a spike harrow for
final prep.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Now, understand: neither of us had ever plowed
before. I have read the pow's manual, and we have watched some
videos, but nowhere near us does anyone plow or hold a plow day. so
we were facing a steep learning curve. Still, things went surprisingly
well. We had to make some adjustments early on, and, about a third of the
way through, we had to raise the plow up a bit, but we are learning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>We were busting sod, and the 4B plow is not really the best
implement for that job, but we made some very nice furrows by the end.
The safety release tripped twice because of roots--it's good to know it
works! And we faced a LOT of roots, including Hedge Apple/Ozark
Orange. The trees are long gone, but nobody seems to have told the root
systems. Well, they got the update yesterday :-D And, boy!
Did we ever make that tractor bark! Eight inches deep in heavy soil and
vine-laden sod with lots of roots!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Tough sod in the best dirt in our neighborhood along
our creek bottom--some of it pitch black. It grows tough plants, and it
remains moist even in dry times--like this past summer. I can't wait to
see how it grows for us!</p><p class="MsoNormal">Yesterday, we got out the B to do some disking with our old Case Model R disk. Old John handled the disk just fine--would have been happier if we had remembered to push the choke all the way in after he warmed up. The rich mixture made him stumble a bit, but that's just our inattention at work. We did have to break off early, however, because the gas tank has begun leaking, and it started drip, drip, dripping, one drop at a time, onto the exhaust pipe. Not gonna take *that* chance! And a squeal showed up the mag for the first few minutes. At least, we think it was the mag. It sounded and *felt* like it was the mag. But it went away. Odd. Anyway, since we have to pull off the steering shaft to get the hood off, it will be a good chance to pull the transmission cover off and see it what might be amiss there. </p><p class="MsoNormal">If it ain't one thing, it's another, as my mother used to say. The really impressive thing is, given all the problems that keep cropping up, the tractor still runs and works better than we should expect.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Anyway, that's it for now. I'm a little late with
these updates, but I just know everyone has been waiting for them
with bated breath-lol! Still things are slow on the list, so I thought it
was high time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The "original" Steve Allen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">'47 B 207862 (eagerly anticipating more fixes)<br>
'49 A 641033 (feeling cranky wanting his new bearings)<br>
'51 A 670397 (feeling good!)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br type="_moz">
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