The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Thought I'd share a few pics of this afternoon's noodling with the Major, could become a new sport









Yerrs, 'Father Jack' is the organ donor for my main mode of transport (aka 'The Blue Haze' - top end job long overdue) and having put in a new propshaft bearing last winter without the benefit of pit or hoist I've been working on a cunning plan to at least make removal of the parts a not laying on the ground spitting out rust and other debris job, today the cunning plan was executed, the dear old Major rolling the car into near vertical position on little more than a tickover.

Obligatory safety warning - do not try this at home, Mummy might not like it

NB, my lad was most impressed when, having left the key behind, I started the Major without it 'did you just hotwire a tractor ??' Oh boy you have to make the most of these rare moments of adequacy in the eyes of the next generation when you can

Hi Oehrick
hope you got the project done and everybody is safe . Ok so you got your boy impressed with the hot wire skills ,so now we ask him where is one place you never attach a tow rope or chain to the rear of a tractor under any circumstances, and why . If he does not know you should set the good example, and tell him why, if you don't know, I would suggest finding out and then informing him . good examples are set by the leadership of others, from the way i was raised. I would not want either of you being hurt in a tractor accident .
Regards Robert

rope on the top link

At times you have to make a choice when doing the best you can with the tools availabe if you are going to get a job done.
The major was going to roll the Volvo much more easily pulling from the top link than from the drawbar, its a mathematical fact. Achieving the result without mishap while being aware of the risk is how the boy will learn and remember when he comes to turning Volvo`s over himself, whats the problem?

I’m thinking the main point here is….ya don’t mess with a Fordson that carry’s an ax!!!

Pat

I have to agree with Robert and Chris.

You should NEVER try towing anything from a point above the line of the back axle drive shafts. There have been many drivers killed in the days of tractors without roll bars when trying to tow from the top link attachment. The tractor could quite easily flip over backwards before you got your foot anywhere near the clutch pedal!!

Life is too precious to take these sort of chances.

Daves rusty bits wrote:At times you have to make a choice when doing the best you can with the tools availabe if you are going to get a job done.
The major was going to roll the Volvo much more easily pulling from the top link than from the drawbar, its a mathematical fact. Achieving the result without mishap while being aware of the risk is how the boy will learn and remember when he comes to turning Volvo`s over himself, whats the problem?

Hi
in the case of the volvo yes it did and quite possibly would with anything like that, The problem comes when the tractors doing another job and something goes wrong pulling that high up. it may be the boy thinking it worked for dad ill put the chain up high. I have seen pictures of the day these things did not work out well. I know guys have seen the actual evidence as well finding the victim
One of my friends summed it up pretty well buy saying if you mess up, with machinery and get killed. He could guarantee the view through 2 pennies and the lid of a pine box was not gonna be good .
Just work safe and smart and everybody including the safety clip board attendants will be happy .
Regards Robert

Well that's put the cat amongst the pigeons - thanks for your concerns for our safety Folks, neither of us were injured or in any significant danger due to understanding the operation required, 'planning' it over a couple of months and executing it in a methodical manner, explained to co-pilot, who was acting as banksman well out of the way.

Strops & shackles used were inspected before use and of adequate capacity (Unknown qty was car jacking point strength which I shackled to and crush strength of windows, roof pillars etc)
Orientation of side restraint angle iron stakes was reversed after hammering commenced as I wasn't thinking when I first positioned them
Car was raised onto stillages on drivers side to give some mechanical advantage at start of roll (to avoid damage to superstructure)
Top link was chosen as point of attachment for the same reason (not a 'live' link BTW) - the simplest analysis of the forces / moments involved should put your minds at rest.
Practical test after hooking up showed no sign of front end lightness, horrible crunching or rending sounds from strops or car
Car propped by timbers while working...............

For the avoidance of doubt, no it is not generally safe to use the upper link as an anchor for traction for the reasons described, I don't use it to pull trees down or stumps out or anything else which might unpredictably present enough resistance to cause the tractor to rear up.

At the first Tunstead Rally of the NICE Society in September 1974, I witnessed from a few yards distance the owner of a Standard Fordson giving someone a driving lesson, he was stood on the towbar as the clutch was dropped in hard by the pupil causing it to rear, as it dropped, he lost balance and went round with the rear wheel and was run over, I don't recall how many months he was hospitalised - never regarded tractors in quite the same light since then !

Now about this unqualified use of NEVER

Delighted to advise that the parts from the rolled donor have enabled the recipient 'Blue Haze' to squeeze through its MOT test today

BTW, the emission tests, nickname Blue Haze and gradually increasing oil consumption ARE related, sadly 'tis not just E1a's that mark their territories, I may need some better grade sawdust in the sump before the next test

It never dawned on me to complete this little saga, the blue haze was not as I and the garage assumed, valve stem &etc blowpast but the gradual deterioration of the turbo bearings, the cloud coming out more and more rapidly smelled of hot rather than burned oil and I did eventually cotton on.

Buying a new turbo core from Germany (the sellers, unusually, not speaking English) through Google translate and Ebay was another voyage of discovery............