HUH, did I get this right? This is a Ford Model-A tractor and your welded in pieces are Chevy bowtie logos.
Really nice work by-the-way.
They sure look like it don't they.
Free tractor
- Thread starter jdcrawler
- Start date
They sure look like it don't they.
The frame splice is finished on the other side and here is how they look from the back.
The back of the frame ends at the rear axle.
I took about 10 inches of the two pieces of frame that I had cut out of the center and added them to the back of the frame to extend it out to about even with the back of the rear wheels.
Pushed it outside to get a couple of photos.
The weather is going to start getting colder tomorrow so that will stop the work in the garage for awhile.
The back of the frame ends at the rear axle.
I took about 10 inches of the two pieces of frame that I had cut out of the center and added them to the back of the frame to extend it out to about even with the back of the rear wheels.
Pushed it outside to get a couple of photos.
The weather is going to start getting colder tomorrow so that will stop the work in the garage for awhile.
Back to work on the Toro for awhile. ............
The Ford model-A steering column has both a throttle lever and a spark advance lever on it.
Originally, the model-A also had a foot pedal to operated the throttle.
Because this is a tractor, I'm going to use just the throttle lever on the steering column and not the foot pedal.
I made up a bracket that bolts onto the engine. It holds a right angle lever arm for the throttle linkage.
The linkage rod from the steering column attaches to one side of the right angle lever.
The rod that is attached to the other side of this lever runs back to a lever that is mounted on the back of the engine.
This photo is with the throttle closed.
This is with the throttle full open.
This is the original model-A throttle linkage bolted on the back of the engine.
Originally, the lever on the left was bent down and had a round metal pad on the end for the foot pedal.
I cut the round pad off and heated the lever up so I could bend it so it is now sticking up with the throttle rod attached to it.
The lever on the right has the throttle rod attached to it that goes to the carburetor.
This is the rusted up clutch linkage.
I used my torch to heat the parts up so I could get them separated.
Then I sand blasted them to clean them up before I primed them.
The finished parts are re-assembled.
The Ford model-A steering column has both a throttle lever and a spark advance lever on it.
Originally, the model-A also had a foot pedal to operated the throttle.
Because this is a tractor, I'm going to use just the throttle lever on the steering column and not the foot pedal.
I made up a bracket that bolts onto the engine. It holds a right angle lever arm for the throttle linkage.
The linkage rod from the steering column attaches to one side of the right angle lever.
The rod that is attached to the other side of this lever runs back to a lever that is mounted on the back of the engine.
This photo is with the throttle closed.
This is with the throttle full open.
This is the original model-A throttle linkage bolted on the back of the engine.
Originally, the lever on the left was bent down and had a round metal pad on the end for the foot pedal.
I cut the round pad off and heated the lever up so I could bend it so it is now sticking up with the throttle rod attached to it.
The lever on the right has the throttle rod attached to it that goes to the carburetor.
This is the rusted up clutch linkage.
I used my torch to heat the parts up so I could get them separated.
Then I sand blasted them to clean them up before I primed them.
The finished parts are re-assembled.
Nice work
This tractor does not have any brakes on either the rear axle or the front axle.
The only brake it has is this drum brake on the front of the rear axle pinion.
A linkage rod from the hand operated parking brake lever will come back thru the hole in the frame and attach to the left side of the right angle bracket.
Pulling back on the parking brake lever would pull on the linkage rod and cause the right angle bracket to push on the ben-tover brake operating lever.
This whole system is really loose right now and in the process of moving the right angle bracket several times to engage the brake, there were a couple of times it wouldn't work unless I lifted up a little on that bent-over operating lever.
I'm guessing that whatever truck this rear axle came out of had a the operating linkage for this brake mounted directly above it so it pulled that bent-over bracket up rather than trying to push it sideways, like it is now.
I have modified that bent-over bracket so it sticks up now.
You can see the linkage rod from the parking brake is fastened to the left end ot the right angle bracket.
The left end on the rod that now engages the brake lever is adjustable to get the correct tension when using the parking brake.
Before I can go farther on the brake, I need to make and mount a dashboard.
Then angle iron brackets are made up and mounted on each side at an angle for this part of the footboard.
The upper half of this footboard is mounted in place.
Both the clutch and brake pedal come up and rest against the underside of this board to keep them in place.
This is a better view of both the parking brake linkage and the brake pedal linkage.
The end of the linkage rod from the brake pedal ( on the left ) is adjustable get the correct tension when using the brake pedal.
Because both of the operating linkage rods pull to engage the brake there has to be a provision for each linkage to float when the other linkage rod is used.
Here I have pulled the parking brake lever back to engage the drum brake.
You can see that the metal tube on the brake pedal linkage rod has slid forward on that rod.
With the brake pedal pushed down, you can see that the long bolt that is attached to the left end of the right angle bracket has slid out thru the metal tube that is on that linkage rod.
The only brake it has is this drum brake on the front of the rear axle pinion.
A linkage rod from the hand operated parking brake lever will come back thru the hole in the frame and attach to the left side of the right angle bracket.
Pulling back on the parking brake lever would pull on the linkage rod and cause the right angle bracket to push on the ben-tover brake operating lever.
This whole system is really loose right now and in the process of moving the right angle bracket several times to engage the brake, there were a couple of times it wouldn't work unless I lifted up a little on that bent-over operating lever.
I'm guessing that whatever truck this rear axle came out of had a the operating linkage for this brake mounted directly above it so it pulled that bent-over bracket up rather than trying to push it sideways, like it is now.
I have modified that bent-over bracket so it sticks up now.
You can see the linkage rod from the parking brake is fastened to the left end ot the right angle bracket.
The left end on the rod that now engages the brake lever is adjustable to get the correct tension when using the parking brake.
Before I can go farther on the brake, I need to make and mount a dashboard.
Then angle iron brackets are made up and mounted on each side at an angle for this part of the footboard.
The upper half of this footboard is mounted in place.
Both the clutch and brake pedal come up and rest against the underside of this board to keep them in place.
This is a better view of both the parking brake linkage and the brake pedal linkage.
The end of the linkage rod from the brake pedal ( on the left ) is adjustable get the correct tension when using the brake pedal.
Because both of the operating linkage rods pull to engage the brake there has to be a provision for each linkage to float when the other linkage rod is used.
Here I have pulled the parking brake lever back to engage the drum brake.
You can see that the metal tube on the brake pedal linkage rod has slid forward on that rod.
With the brake pedal pushed down, you can see that the long bolt that is attached to the left end of the right angle bracket has slid out thru the metal tube that is on that linkage rod.
Cool engineering there.
Figuring out how to mount the gas tank.
I have it blocked up in place so the top of the tank will sit up against the underside of the hood.
Here is the finished tank mount.
This has to have two upper radiator supports so I made the front gas tank mount so it bolted onto them.
While I have it sitting outside, it would be a good time to do the wet test.
I figure this radiator would work better as a shower head then it will as a radiator.
I have it blocked up in place so the top of the tank will sit up against the underside of the hood.
Here is the finished tank mount.
This has to have two upper radiator supports so I made the front gas tank mount so it bolted onto them.
While I have it sitting outside, it would be a good time to do the wet test.
I figure this radiator would work better as a shower head then it will as a radiator.
I like my shower better
Finishing up the angled floorboard and got new rubber pads on the pedals.
This has a foot operated starter switch mounted on the side of the floorboard.
Cable going to the starter.
The battery is mounted under the floor on the right side.
Started fitting the flat floorboard in place.
I'm going to have to cut a hole in the floorboard for access to the battery so I have added a piece of angle iron to support the floorboard on the left side of the battery.
Here is the finished section of floorboard.
This has a foot operated starter switch mounted on the side of the floorboard.
Cable going to the starter.
The battery is mounted under the floor on the right side.
Started fitting the flat floorboard in place.
I'm going to have to cut a hole in the floorboard for access to the battery so I have added a piece of angle iron to support the floorboard on the left side of the battery.
Here is the finished section of floorboard.
Added some more wood to the front part of the floor.
This is the underside.
Got to thinking about the factory location of the battery being under the floor on the passenger side.
The exhaust is also on this side and the pipe runs right under the battery with about 1-1/2 inch clearance between it and the bottom of the battery.
This works fine on a vehicle that is driven down the road because there is plenty of air movement to keep the battery from being overheated by the exhaust.
However, on this tractor, there won't be that air movement so I have decided to move the battery.
Here is the finished floor with the hole for the battery filled in.
There is a metal cover for the hole over the drum brake on the front of the rear axle.
There is angle iron fastened around the outer edge of the floor to strengthen it.
Now for the new battery location .....
I have cutout and bent a piece of .090 thick stainless steel to start building a battery box.
This is the back and the bottom of the new battery box.
Then I formed a wrapper out of regular thin sheet metal to go around the other three sides of the box.
These two pieces are welded together to form the battery box.
The new battery box is bolted to the back side of the dashboard.
There will be a cover made up that will fit on top of the battery box.
With this box mounted up on the dash, it gives me a place to attach the mounting bracket for the choke / mixture control rod.
This control rod goes down to the carburetor.
This is the underside.
Got to thinking about the factory location of the battery being under the floor on the passenger side.
The exhaust is also on this side and the pipe runs right under the battery with about 1-1/2 inch clearance between it and the bottom of the battery.
This works fine on a vehicle that is driven down the road because there is plenty of air movement to keep the battery from being overheated by the exhaust.
However, on this tractor, there won't be that air movement so I have decided to move the battery.
Here is the finished floor with the hole for the battery filled in.
There is a metal cover for the hole over the drum brake on the front of the rear axle.
There is angle iron fastened around the outer edge of the floor to strengthen it.
Now for the new battery location .....
I have cutout and bent a piece of .090 thick stainless steel to start building a battery box.
This is the back and the bottom of the new battery box.
Then I formed a wrapper out of regular thin sheet metal to go around the other three sides of the box.
These two pieces are welded together to form the battery box.
The new battery box is bolted to the back side of the dashboard.
There will be a cover made up that will fit on top of the battery box.
With this box mounted up on the dash, it gives me a place to attach the mounting bracket for the choke / mixture control rod.
This control rod goes down to the carburetor.
I like it looks like they were made to go there
Got the top made up for the battery box this morning.
Next project is the radiator.
Here you can see that the radiator has been " repaired " by brazing some metal to bottom and up the sides a little ways.
This metal is fit over the original side panels.
That piece of metal has been removed.
The lower part of both side panels are rusted away.
That is why the other metal was attached to it.
Next is to cut the back of the top tank out.
The critters have made a nice nest inside here over the years.
The radiator core is cut out and the shell is cleaned up.
I have cut the rusted ends off the side panels.
Then I bent up two replacement sections for the side panels and welded them on so they are flush with the side panels.
This is the radiator that I'm going to use.
All the fittings have been removed.
The Toro radiator shell will slide down over the new radiator.
Next project is the radiator.
Here you can see that the radiator has been " repaired " by brazing some metal to bottom and up the sides a little ways.
This metal is fit over the original side panels.
That piece of metal has been removed.
The lower part of both side panels are rusted away.
That is why the other metal was attached to it.
Next is to cut the back of the top tank out.
The critters have made a nice nest inside here over the years.
The radiator core is cut out and the shell is cleaned up.
I have cut the rusted ends off the side panels.
Then I bent up two replacement sections for the side panels and welded them on so they are flush with the side panels.
This is the radiator that I'm going to use.
All the fittings have been removed.
The Toro radiator shell will slide down over the new radiator.
I'm going to put the top center hose fitting from the Toro radiator onto this radiator.
However, there are indentations in the side of the tank on either side of the hole so there isn't enough flat surface to solder the Toro fitting onto.
I have made up a flat brass plate that will fit over those indentations.
The flat plate is soldered in place.
The old fill neck hole off to the right has been plugged.
The Toro fitting is soldered onto it.
The original bottom hose outlet fitting hole on the right side has been plugged.
A new hole is cut into the left side for the new outlet hose fitting.
This fitting is soldered in place.
There are two 3/8 diameter pins welded to the bottom of the radiator.
Those two pins fit into the rubber grommets on the bottom mounting plate to locate the radiator and hold it in place.
The radiator is painted.
I still have to put on the overflow tube and the fill tube fitting.
The fill tube fitting will go in the center of the top tank and it will line up with the fill neck hole in the old Toro radiator, which is now a radiator shroud.
However, there are indentations in the side of the tank on either side of the hole so there isn't enough flat surface to solder the Toro fitting onto.
I have made up a flat brass plate that will fit over those indentations.
The flat plate is soldered in place.
The old fill neck hole off to the right has been plugged.
The Toro fitting is soldered onto it.
The original bottom hose outlet fitting hole on the right side has been plugged.
A new hole is cut into the left side for the new outlet hose fitting.
This fitting is soldered in place.
There are two 3/8 diameter pins welded to the bottom of the radiator.
Those two pins fit into the rubber grommets on the bottom mounting plate to locate the radiator and hold it in place.
The radiator is painted.
I still have to put on the overflow tube and the fill tube fitting.
The fill tube fitting will go in the center of the top tank and it will line up with the fill neck hole in the old Toro radiator, which is now a radiator shroud.
Jd what do you use to do the soldering a large electric or a flame unit I have to say your solder jobs are outstanding