The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

I fear I may have crossed the line rescuing this old tractor. All I can say is the price was really right as in "take me away." It has belonged to a very good old friend of mine who is now in his eightys who would like to see it run again someday. Looks like I am self appointed as his only hope. Man o man, is it ruff. Best not to mention the make here, but the the color is rust on rust... Dandy Dave!

Dandy Dave to the rescue!

You did a great job to not let this tractor go to the demolisher.
What's the original color of the tractor? I doubt between red of yellow/green.

And you know what's the nice thing about working on tractor from other brands? That you really appreciate the blue ones....

When did she last run?

Last ran 35 or 40 years ago. I rescued an Allis Chalmers K-35 bulldozer from this same place when I was a young feller of about 14 or 15 and the tractor was sitting there then. It is a, (Dast I say it here???)...a 1952 John Deere A. The tractor was bought new by Helen Highland whos former farm is a stones throw from where I now live. My old friend drove the tractor when it was new. It was purchased at, Bunett Implement, who also sold Caterpillar at the time and was located in Hudson, NY. USA. He bought the tractor around the time the Highland farm was sold. It had a flat and he pulled the wheel and never got back to getting good tires on it. The serial number is 700208 which makes it the 9th tractor off of the production line with a water pump of 3,185 equiped so the last year of production. (How Cool is that!) I now have it home and I pulled the oil plug from under the engine and nothing but water came out of it. I also pulled the plugs and the cylinders are full of rust. This will not be the first ruff one I have revived and I do love a challange. She may make a decent parade and show tractor someday. But we all know who comes out of the shed when there is work to be done. If it was not for knowing all the history of the tractor I would have let someone else have it. You could say that the tractor has come home. I can't wait to get some photos of the old A on the former Highland farm after she is up and running and in a new coat of Green and Yellow. Dandy Dave!

Considering how long she's stood, looks in remarkable condition.

Any prob getting parts?

Bensdexta wrote:Considering how long she's stood, looks in remarkable condition.

Any prob getting parts?

Actually most common parts are not that hard to get for these. A lot of stuff is still available from "Mother Deere" as they say back here. And there is a lot of reproduction stuff out there.

I pull the top crank cover today and considering the amount of water that was in it, the crank case was not that bad. The rear of the right cylinder has some light rust but not as bad as I imagined with the amount of water that came out. The right piston is all the way forward, and the left all the way back. Also pulled the head and the rustiest cylinder was on the right and with the piston all the way forward the cylinder should clean up. The left cylinder had some oil in it that helped save it. It also has some rust but I have cleaned up worse. I'll have to do a valve job on the head. Critters had the air intake full of dirt, trash, and nuts all the way to the carburetor. Thankfully the throttle was all the way closed so they could not get farther in the engine. Looks like we are on our way to being restorable. Bottom photo shows the waterpump.

good luck dave

keep us posted how you get on , be nice to see the old girl running again

Great pictures, Dave.

Please keep us posted.

Here she is home and I now have the engine stripped.



Two of the oil lines are rusted thru...







She is a little crusty, but I am certian now I can save her. The cam bearings are shot and need to be replaced. The first reduction gear hub has been run loose and the splines are worn but not to worry. eBay is still good for something sometimes as a better one is on its way. The crank and bearings are OK. A little polishing and it will be good as new. It is not as easy to work on as our Fordsons. Nor is it as powerful, but it will be worth it in the end. Dandy Dave!

Blimey dave, bit of a challenge here! Although I have to say you arent hanging about! What size stroke is that?

5-1/2 Bore X 6-3/4 Stroke. 38.2 Belt HP. Nick, This is not the first rusty and dead JD I've brought back from the dead so a lot of this is old hat for me. Dandy Dave!

all the best with it m8

every credit for saveing her.

Thanks. A few ebay parts are trickling in. Still deciding what to do with the crack in the cylinder. I dont have the capability to bore and sleeve such a deep hole myself. Looking into a price from a shop that has done some similar work for me in the past. There is a reconditioned block on eBay, but it is rather pricey. Not sure I want to spend that much. Dandy Dave!

Great Crusty Critters! The head was loaded....

How do you clean it all up, DD? Acid bath, or what?
Me, in the past, I've got rid of the oil and carbon and then soaked the lot in a bath of diluted molasses for two weeks to de-rust it. It does a very good job -- but must admit I did it in our summer when temps were in the 30Cs, whereas I believe it's a bit cool where you are.
Pavel

I've used different methods different times. Oven cleaner works good to get rid of old paint and some rust followed by high pressure washing the parts. Also I have a sand blaster pressure pot and cabinet for some stuff. "Tanking" The stuff also works which is lye and water in a vat. Basically does the same thing as the oven cleaner. Electrolisis is another method I have seen done, but have not tried it myself yet. I have a green house attached to a garage door that leads into my cellerway of my house. It is very delightful to work in this time of the year as the sun warms it to very comfortable temps. Also, it gives a lot of light to see with durring the day and keeps the wind off. Dandy Dave!

Electrolysis is something I've used for de-rusting objects that do not have internal channels, such as cylinder heads, as they are laborious to set up with internal sacrificial anode probes that need covering in perforated plastic to stop contact with the metal of the head. Another problem is that you often have to use a scourer to remove loose, flaky rust particles -- a bit difficult for inside channels, which is why I prefer the molasses method. But electrolysis is quick [a couple of hours or left overnight for heavy rust] and not labour intensive.
But, what ever method you use, I/we look forward to seeing the finished labour of love.
Pavel