The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Just looking back through my photos.
The title I gave this image is a little premature, methinks!
Best, Adrian.

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Just the man Adrian - I need to take the offside mudguard off as its broken in the box section and flapping. Took the re tyred wheel over yesterday which is for the nearside, the one I took off will go on the off once I've beaten the rims back into shape and put on a tyre, so I whipped the other wheel off and set about the mudguard bolts, managed to get the nuts off OK and while during that the front bolt moved and pulled out fine, the back one with the check chain bracket didn't despite a bit of beating side and end on, with a couple of foot of pipe over the socket bar I cant get the bolt to rotate at all, it was near dark and I've no power over there so put the wheel back on to continue another day.

Is the back bolt threaded into the check chain bracket? or is it not threaded into anything and just rusted up?? if not I'll jack up on the bottom of the bolt and welt it between the flanges some more

I think its very clever that two bits of threaded rod have finalised your job - I've seen the ploughing videos to prove it

Hi Rick
You're encountering a common problem. Mud builds up in this area, trapping moisture, which rots the stays from the outside. Soil also manages to winkle its way into the stays, again trapping moisture, which leads to the stays rotting from the inside.
The bolts are not threaded into the casting or the check chain bracket. They rust where they pass through the lugs on the casting. This makes them very difficult to get out, as you are experiencing. I had the same fun you're having getting mine out. The bolts almost certainly won't survive the experience. I bought zinc-plated replacements and greased the bores and the shanks of the bolts when fitting them so that I can get them out more easily next time.
Best, Adrian.

Thanks for confirming that Adrian, I thought it was unlikely to be threaded but equally, Sods law etc etc

I'll get the weight of the tractor on it and have another bash with the hammer to loosen, I started squirting the odd spurt of diesel on it months ago along with the wheel nuts, (which all cracked with just a bit of pipe on the (correct issued) spanner) I'll take the gas torch over as well.

Given some of the tinwork we see resurrected in the comics, the broken box section and resultant floppy wing are the only significant tin things wrong with the old girl, (I suspect the old boy probably picked up a bit of stump between wheel and guard). I don't have MIG but hope to either braze or stick weld a couple of short bits in to cure this, may have to daub a bit of new paint on afterwards but its pretty concealed and after the result of linseed oiling the cleaned up wheel, I've decided to try and do this all over and preserve the rest of the original paint if possible.

Sounds like a good plan, Rick.
Happy Easter.
Best, Adrian.

Likewise Adrian,

No shooting they Easter bunnies in front of the kiddies !

I seem to be hijacking your thread Adrian BUT ... to work off a slight surplus of egg this afternoon I set about removing the tyre from the previously mentioned somewhat battered rim only to find that despite applying less effort than the previous one, the rim edges were bending like putty under my (not exactly over rated) levers, so much so that I'm going to have what was to be the spare off its rim which is in better condition.

This rim is on the old disc centre and having separated it from the centre (bless you air ratchet and the VAT free day I bought you!) the paint seals show it has never been off before, so this is a 1958 original wheel, the other two being on scalloped centres have obviously come from later tractors.

While there was a bit of rust around the wall, not enough to reduce the strength this much and no sign of being in a fire or heated which did cross my mind - do these rims just vary in hardness ? I hope after worrying the other one off and swapping tyres and centres I'm not going to end up with another 'pie crust' edge