Cub Hood on finally

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, I have the hood back on the Cub for the first time in months. It looks good from a distance. This is the hood for which I have the fuel tank cleaned and relined. That was done with a torch so the entire hood needed to be repainted. The front of the hood attaches to the front uprights with a bolt on each side. The right side was easy enough, but the left side was off enough that I needed a third arm to align the bolt with the hole in the upright. My daughter started the bolt while I was using a hammer to push the upright back and at the same time holding the hood up a bit.

 

The grill is back on too. I had painted it some weeks ago. Something did not look right still and I realized I have used hex bolts instead of the flat head screws which were used originally. I have a set of them and they can be put on tomorrow. They go on the rear of the hood and on the grill sides. One the grill was on and the hood fastened down, I tried the head lights both on low and on high power. They work just fine as does the tail light. I wonder how many years it has been since this sixty year old Farmall Cub had working lights?

 

I started to remove the battery and measure for a notch at the rear left side of the box for the copy of an original seven foot negative battery cable. Perhaps tomorrow it will get done. I need to buy another strap so I have two to remove the battery from the box when needed. Wow, it is almost time to put decals on the Cub! Hmm, after I put the fuel filter and a fuel line that is, then put hydraulic fluid into the hydraulic lift and bleed the air from the lines. Almost done.

 

Tractor Boy

Cub Hydraulics and Electrical

The past few days and evenings I have been working like a bear to get the Cub operational again. First I removed the auxiliary fuel tank so the hydraulic lift could go in the location where the wooden base of the fuel tank was bolted. Once I had the auxiliary tank off I lifted the rather heavy hydraulic lift onto the space and slid it under the throttle rod instead of removing the throttle rod along with the choke rod. That was a mistake! In taking a short cut I managed to disrupt the electrical system so the lift had to be removed while I sorted out and fixed the problem. The rear light and the front light circuit did not work anymore.

 

After a long time of fiddling and tightening, the light circuits worked again; however the ignition switch refused to pass through any electricity. It had died. I ordered a replacement along with a metal fuel line and two wing nuts to secure the touch control lift stops. Actually I thought I had purchased those expensive wing nuts earlier and found them when I was putting gaskets on the hydraulic line and hydraulic pump. Before putting the new ignition switch on the Cub I used a trusty ohm meter to ensure the switch was working. Then I screwed the ignition switch onto the dash and attached the wires.

 

Having become wiser with experience, I removed the throttle rod and put the hydraulic lift back in place. This time, before retightening bolts too much, I made sure everything was working electrically. Then I snugged the ½ inch bolts to the Cub body and re-attached the throttle rod. It is a whole lot easier to write about than it is to do. A trained monkey with small hands would help a great deal on this tractor.

 

Once the lift was on and the throttle rod on it was time to attach the hydraulic pump. It goes at the base of the front left side of the Cub. There is a cover plate which was removed. A gasket was added to the front of the pump and it was attached to the Cub. The hydraulic lines will only go on if the exhaust pipe is out of the way. I remembered reading that somewhere and heeded the advice this time. The front of the exhaust pipe came off the exhaust manifold easily and by loosening a clamp around the muffler, I was able to move the pipe aside to attach the hydraulic lines. There is a gasket between the lift and the lines, but not gasket between the lines and the pump. I was able to buy the right bolts for the job as I was not given enough of them to complete this phase. It is remarkable that everything fit since this Cub never had a hydraulic lift in its nearly sixty year life. If the exhaust pipe heats the hydraulic lines too much then I will go back to a vertical exhaust which this Cub had for years until someone changed it. Of course I will need to remove the hood to do that work.

 

The Cub is ready for the hood to be re-attached, front lights hooked up, and fuel filter attached to the hood. Then the metal fuel line can be cut to size and attached. I have two flexible fuel lines too and may start with one of them just for fun. I think I will get a proper sized pipe tap to freshen the threads in the fuel tank, or maybe I will not bother and just use plenty of good liquid sealer to prevent leaks. Once the hood is on and the fuel lines attached, I can fill the reservoir of the hydraulic lift and bleed the air from the lines. Then perhaps another coat of paint and a few days later, decals!!

 

Tractor Boy

Cub gas tank and hydraulic pump

Sunday I was going to put the fuel filter and shut off device onto the gas tank of the ’49 Farmall Cub. On the bottom of the gas tank which is an integral part of the hood, there is a brass hexagonal adaptor threaded on the inside. The fuel filter does not fit on this hexagonal adaptor. The shape is different and the size is different. I will ask help from some knowledgeable people to solve this. As soon as I have this solved, the hydraulic lift can go in place. The fuel tank on the hood becomes THE fuel tank for the tractor.

 

The hydraulic pump goes on the left side of the Cub engine near the bottom. A cover plate is removed so the pump vanes can be put in their place. Two bolts of 5/16X28 and 1 .75 inches long are needed to hold the pump together. Two longer bolts hold the pump to the tractor.  I need to buy the shorter one or cut a longer one off myself to fit.

 

 

Tractor Boy.

Flushing the Cub Radiator

This morning I got out and drained the Cub radiator, collecting the fluid in a big bucket from Home Depot. Once that was done I added the flushing chemical and filled the radiator with water then started the engine to run the stuff through for ten minutes. At about the ten minute mark the auxiliary gas tank (fancy name for a used tank from a small lawn mower) ran dry. I let the engine cool down some and drained that concoction into the same large “Homer” bucket, then added a gallon of antifreeze and enough water to fill the radiator.

This afternoon I drove it around for a while, managing to lose one of the battery caps for a time. I drove to the mailbox which is 600 feet from my house then drove to show one of my neighbors the Cub, all told about a half mile of driving. The Cub performed well so I put it back in the Tractor Building to rest while I begin the next phase. That involved painting the hydraulic pump which mounts to the front of the engine. After it dries it will get a second coat and then be attached to the Cub along with the hydraulic lift and the metal lines. The auxiliary gas tank is mounted right where the hydraulic lift goes so it will come off the Cub and the hood with gas tank will go on. I still need to put the fuel filter on the bottom of the gas tank and expect that to be straight forward.

The battery has been resting on a block of wood in the bottom of the battery box. The wood comes out and two straps will replace it so I can get the battery out since I have a one piece battery box instead of the open front which appears to be much more common. I can cut a notch for the correct battery cable which I have, then put all that on and put the top of the battery box in place. Almost done then. Decals to go on the tractor is about the last. Of course that depends on whether the headlights work which would be a fortunate surprise. It depends on the quality of ground between the hood and the hood frame.

 

Tractor Boy

Cub Rear Oil

Today I got out to my Tractor Building and put 90 weight gear oil in the two reservoirs near the rear wheels. Previously I made a simple device with a funnel and a large diameter piece of clear plastic tubing to facilitate getting the gear oil around the 90 degree angle of the plug and into the tractor. It surely makes the job less messy. Each half moon reservoir takes 1 ¾ pints of gear oil so that is nearly half a gallon. A long handled half inch wrench removes the plug quickly since the plug has a half inch square indent for just that purpose. I had already removed the hitch to get the half moon parts off and the left plug can only be accessed with the hitch off the Cub. Once the plugs were back on I put the step back on too then cleaned up the tools and wiped the few spills. Oh, it was below sixty degrees this morning so quite cool and the gear oil flowed pretty slowly. That is viscous stuff!

 

Tractor Boy

Rear Oil Pans

I went out to my Tractor Building and checked the gaskets on the half moon covers and found the seal is just fine. I do think the one on the new made gasket has a better sticking, but the other is on there good too. I will put the silicon on the top part of the gaskets this afternoon and put them back on the Cub. Then on Monday I can add the gear oil and hopefully have that part fixed. I still need to drain the radiator and put in some chemicals to flush the cooling system. No way of telling whether that has ever been done. The Cub will be 60 in mid January.

 

I bought some implements from a guy in Kinmundy, Illinois. I got a single point hitch for the rear of the tractor and then a plow and a carrier. The carrier is a box that attaches by the single point hook. The plow also hooks by a single hook. I decided to let the disc go as I cannot haul it back this trip. I still have my incomplete standard disc plow. I have been unable to find parts so far and may just make them. How is that for confidence?

 

Tractor Boy

 

Cub Rear Grease Leak

The gaskets I made for the Cub rear end which hold 90 weight gear oil were leaking. I decided to go ahead and remove the half moon gear cover and put some silicon grease on both sides of the home made gasket. This is the right side gasket and I tore it while removing it. I used rubber cement to attach the gasket the first time. After making a new gasket today I used an automotive (or tractor) silicon sealer. Tomorrow after it has dried I will cut out the center part and apply the silicon to the top side then reassemble to the tractor. After that the left side will be fixed. Once the silicon has had twenty-four hours to cure the 90 weight gear oil will be replaced and I hope all will be well. If this does not actually solve the leak then I may go to cork which was the original gasket material instead of the rubberized fiber material I used. Yes, I could buy replacement gaskets; however, I can make them too.

 

It has become cooler so it is easy to get out there in my Tractor Building and work. Fall is a good time. Deer season opens the first weekend of November and there is a nice (for Central Texas) buck which escaped me last year. Maybe this year he will be bigger and have a better rack. I hunt with a bolt action CZ 550 rifle in 6.5X55mm which is my favorite cartridge. Of course I load my own.

 

Tractor Boy

 

Fire is out; step is on

The fire is out! Today I decided to use a propane torch to solder the overflow pipe onto the neck of the radiator. Soon smoke was coming from the neck followed by flames; however, the solder was not going where I wanted it to. Using a trick I learned from watching my father handle a carburetor backfire in his automobile, I put my gloved hand over the neck of the radiator and stopped the flames by reducing the oxygen to the flames. Then I started up the Cub and drove it back into the Tractor Building where I used JB Weld to fasten the overflow pipe to the radiator neck. Starting was a real challenge until I finally remembered to pull out the ignition switch. Once I did that it started right up and I used the choke to adjust the fuel until it was running smoothly. Maybe I need a check list to remember the ignition switch.

The 8 inch step arrived today and I quickly figured out how to attach it. It does indeed make it easier to mount to the platform than it is to step that 8 inches higher. I like it already. Very well built too. I bought the step on eBay from Troy Peterson whose email address is farmallpair@aol.com

 

Tractor Boy

Temple Texas Tractor Show 2008

I took my granddaughter, Aleia with me to the tractor show in Temple Texas. It is held the first weekend in October each year. I saw many Farmall tractors as well as John Deere. There were oldies like the huge Case and the Oil Pull. There were more rare ones like the BF Avery. Watching the tractors drive by and hearing their engines was wonderful. Aleia wore out after an hour which was maybe one fourth of the sights to be seen so we went home. Still, it was a good day! I got to see some cultivators on Cubs. There was what looked like a reducer on one Cub PTO. The Cub PTO is opposite all others in rotation and revolves at 1800 RPM instead of 540 RPM.

 

Tractor Boy