Cub Runs Again

This evening at twilight I opened the doors to the Tractor Building. The Cub started right away and with a little adjusting of the carburetor and throttle it warmed enough to keep running (on the third try) so I backed out of the building. I took a few pictures of the tractor as it ran. Among them is a good picture of the carburetor showing the choke on the left and the idle adjustment on the top right. Even more important is the one showing the oil pressure gauge with its pointer to the far right. Seems like plenty of oil pressure. Actually it is enough that it forced a bit of oil around the copper washer on top of the oil filter case. Another important picture shows the ammeter indicating the generator is charging the battery. Note that the generator and light switch is set on H for “high charge”. When set on L “low charge” it was not noticeably charging at the particular engine speed. The other three pictures show the running Cub (engine is running, anyway). The makeshift bracket for the coil is clearly visible. The left front view seems to indicate the fan is not turning; however, the reddish blur below horizontal fan blade is another fan blade. That engine is running right along.

 

Shifting into second gear I drove to the side of the property where I have a few gas containers. A near tragedy happened there. I shut off the engine to add gasoline to the little plastic lawn mower tank mounted above the clutch housing. When I began to pour the gasoline, I noted a split in the neck of the pout spout – just as gas splashed onto the hot exhaust pipe with a loud hiss as it met the pipe. Quickly I stopped pouring and waited for disaster. When it did not catch fire, I removed the neck off the gas container and poured directly into the little gas tank. Once that was done, the Cub started up and I drove it through the front yard, around the West side of the house, and back to the Tractor Building. Slipping the gear shift to first gear and advancing the throttle, the little Cub easily climbed the incline and returned to its place beside the bigger cousin 8N. Shutting off the ignition, I climbed down from the platform and shut off the fuel line. Except for the near disaster it was a great experience. The more I use this Cub the better I like it.

 

Tractor Boy

Sunday is Cub Day

Last Sunday afternoon, just before going off on my last TDY trip as an Army officer, I decided to adjust the carburetor on the ’49 Cub. The manual states it to be a simple job. Just turn the adjustment to one revolution, run the engine until it is warmed up, retract the throttle and then turn the adjustment either in or out until the Cub engine runs smoothly. Advance and retract the throttle to check the adjustment. Simple; however, the engine died and was difficult to start. Once again I had forgotten to pull on the ignition switch. Finally, after fiddling with the adjustment a while and getting the engine to stay running, I drove the tractor into my Tractor building and shut it down. I was quite concerned that I was going to have to push the Cub into its parking place which is difficult to do. Usually I use the 8N Ford to push the Cub into the building. Fortunately I did not have to.

 

Today, a week later, I had charged the battery, tightened the negative cable on the battery, and was ready to try again. Instead of pushing the tractor out of the building, I decided to start it in the building with the sliding door open. I pulled the ignition switch, pulled the choke to full on, and pulled the starter ring. The Cub started up in about four seconds. Putting the choke at half choke (the carburetor is designed for this) helped the engine to run as it warmed up. Then I pushed the choke off and listened to the engine run quietly under no load. No smoke from the exhaust and no roughness in the sound. I shut it down, happy as can be. We are approaching the end of the refurbishing. In the near future I will push the tractor into the yard, run the engine until it is warmed up, and again adjust the carburetor. Once it is okay, then the Cub will go to the radiator repair man for soldering the overflow tube into its place. Once that is done, he can flush the radiator. Only then will the hydraulics be put on, filled with hydraulic fluid, and tested. The fuel filter will go on the tank and the hood will be put back on the Cub. Finally, decals will be put on and the front lights will be tested. I may have to use the ground wires on the electrical cable if the lights are not adequately grounded though the hood and frame (hood supports?). I am about ready to find some implements!

 

Tractor Boy

Farmall - More Finishing Touches

Yesterday morning I removed the Cub carburetor and carefully bent the part of the float which lifts the fuel needle valve. That stopped the fuel leak later when I started the engine again. After the carburetor tweak, I removed the gasket from the oil filter case and made a new gasket from some gasket material. I have three types and used the fiber material which is not spongy. That stopped the oil leak from the top of the case.

 

Next I received two packages with mostly electrical parts. The dust cover for the distributor came so I put that on. Light bulbs came so I decided to put them on. At the same time I cleaned the reflector edges more so good ground could occur. When I turned on the rear light, nothing happened. Using a multi-meter, I found the switch was good and the negative side of the circuit was good. It turned out to be the ground connection. Eventually I found that the post from the battery box on which the rear light mounts was grounded so it had to be somewhere on the light itself, probably the collar which attaches to the post. With sand paper and a round metal file, I removed rust and paint from mating surfaces and finally had a tail light working when the switch was turned on. The wires to the front lights are good. So far I have not determined whether the ground connection of the front lights is good although I can do that without mounting the hood on the tractor. I will probably do it just to be sure.

 

Today the spark plug wires will be removed, painted red, and inserted through the grommet atop the engine where they are supposed to be. Also, my home made battery box hold down devices will be painted – red, of course. The clutch may need adjustment, and the Cub needs to be lifted at the rear so I can test the brakes and adjust them properly. The Cub uses band brakes which should be easy to adjust. I have decided to let an expert silver solder the radiator over flow pipe.

 

Tractor Boy

Farmall Carburetor and Ignition Knob

The carburetor was dripping gasoline yesterday after I stopped the engine. The leak is somewhere among three parts – the float, the needle valve which the float moves, and the seat for that needle valve. I drained the gasoline from the carburetor and cleaned the seat, the needle, and then adjusted the float so it has a bit more upward pressure on the needle. When I run the Cub again I will find out whether the adjustment was enough. The idle adjusting needle (there is only one adjusting needle on this simple carburetor) is open 1 ½ times. I will check the manual to learn whether that may be too much. I recall reading it is opened one full turn and then adjusted once the engine is warmed up.

 

Today I remembered to put the ignition knob on the ignition switch. The operating instructions are written on the face of the knob using an indelible marker. The knob screwed right on and I snugged it by holding the stem of the switch with needle nose pliers as I rotated the knob. It is tight and works just as it should.

 

The fuel line was too close to the curved tail pipe so I used a couple of twist’em ties to move it along the engine away from the exhaust pipe. I do not want the hose to lay against the exhaust and melt thus spilling hot gasoline on the hot exhaust. That might be too exciting.

 

Once I can borrow a trailer, I can take the Cub to Oscar the radiator man in town who can silver solder the over flow tube from the radiator. I am not ready to use a torch myself. Too many bad memories from the Vietnam war. I will have Oscar flush the radiator too. I could do it myself; however, he has 25 years experience and likely has access to chemicals and knowledge which I do not have.

 

In the next two days electrical parts will arrive so I can replace the light bulbs and lens gaskets for the three lights on this old Cub. The tail light will be the first to be tested as it is on the tractor. The other two lights are on the side of the hood which will not be put on until the radiator is repaired and the hydraulic system mounted. That last requires the hood to be out of the way.

 

Tractor Boy

 

Driving the Cub

Today I DROVE THE ’49 CUB!

After I made the knob, but before I put it on (more about that) I pushed the Cub out of my Tractor Building and put some gasoline in the test tank. I climbed onto the seat, pulled out the choke ring, put the throttle at about 1/3, and pulled the starter ring. The engine turned and turned, but no starting. After a while I remembered that I had not pulled out the ignition switch! As soon as I did and pulled the starter, the little Cub started. Smoke poured out the exhaust and soon oil poured out of the top of the oil filter case. I shut it down and got a ¾ inch wrench to snug the bolt on the oil filter case, then climbed back on the seat. The Cub started as soon as I pulled out the ignition switch and then the starter ring. Putting the gear shift in reverse, I backed away from the Tractor Building, then put her in second gear and drove about 250 feet before the engine stalled. Once I increased throttle, that did not happen again and I drove around the yard a few times, trying various gears. Since I had put a safety cover on the PTO, I asked my five year old granddaughter to tell me whether it was running. As I engaged and disengaged the PTO she told me whether it was turning. It turned when it was supposed to.

 

With a bit of more driving I took the Cub back to the Tractor Building and drove in. There is fuel dripping from the bottom of the carburetor and I probably need a new gasket for the oil filter case. The radiator over flow needs to be soldered back on. Water did come out there at the top of the radiator neck. The smoking engine is not yet a concern since I had put a tablespoon of Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder and that may be what is causing the smoke. I am very happy that my old Cub which is just four months shy of its 60^th birthday is running once again. Later I will put that knob on the ignition switch. My wife wrote the instructions on it – Pull On  Push Off.

 

There was no ignition knob on this Cub when I bought it. I could buy one, but decided to make one today. I cut off a 1 inch diameter piece of 6061 aluminum, chucked it in the lathe, faced it, and turned the end down to about 0.45 inches. Then I center drilled it and using a #25 drill bit, drilled about 3/8 inch deep. Using a 10-24 tap and a centering guide I threaded the hole. Following that I used a long file to round the edges and used a cut off tool to cut the end off. Once that was done I reversed the knob and faced the big end then used a file to round the edge. Nancy wrote the words on the knob. I will put it on tonight.

 

Tractor Boy

 

 

Test Fuel Setup and Coil

The test fuel tank was in place and now the line is on the tractor. I put a petcock in the line so I can control fuel availability to the carburetor. On the carburetor itself there is a 5/16 threaded end to a ¼ inch hose attachment. Tomorrow I will add gasoline to the tank and start the Cub.

 

The coil on this Cub was attached to the inside of the hood. Since the hood is off, I cleaned the mud from the two 5/16X18 threaded holes on the distributor and made a mount for the coil. I had some left over 5/16 thick aluminum which I milled a bit to make it look nicer and get rid of some very ugly edges. I used an end mill to cut holes for bolts, then used a tap to clean out the two holes on the distributor and attached the mount and then the coil.

 

Original spark plug wires were dirty as well as yellow. I used a Dremel tool to clean inside the part which goes on the spark plug, and sand paper to clean the other end. The ohm meter showed the wires have about the same resistance. I will give them a try. To help further, I put dialectric grease on the threaded portion of the spark plugs and on the top of the plugs too.

 

 Water was low in the radiator so I added some up to about a half inch below the neck of the radiator. The over flow tube is broken away from the radiator. My soldering gun was not hot enough so the tractor will get to a local radiator mechanic. He can solder the tube and flush the radiator too.

 

The seat was reattached, tools were put away, and the charger was put on the battery. It is an automatic charger and probably has the battery fully charged by now.

 

Tractor Boy

Farmall Touch Control and test fuel tank

Much of the day was occupied creating a test fuel tank for the ’49 Cub. I used a piece of 2X4 for then base, then discovered the ½ inch bolts were too short so I sliced the 2X4 in half. Ultimately that resulted in the tank being almost ¼ inch too low so it rubs the throttle. I could shim the base, but it is easier to just raise the tank a tiny bit. Tomorrow I will run some fuel line and add the petcock to shut off fuel. The little lawn mower tank is plenty big enough for testing the Cub.

 

I cleaned the points in the distributor and used some white lithium grease to lubricate the cam and the pivot point of the points. I ordered the cover and gaskets for the points – they were missing. I do have a spare kit to refurbish the distributor. If need be I will use it.

 

The Touch Control is cleaned (a relative term), primed, painted, and now installed on the Cub. I cleaned the bolts and the sockets they enter using my taps and dies. Then, typically, I grease the threads using good lithium grease. It certainly makes it easier to remove the bolts later when I need to. The hydraulic lift is operated by the Touch Control. Once the engine is running, I can remove the test tank, put the hydraulic lift on the Cub and fill it, then put the Cub hood and its fuel tank back on the body of the Cub. I have a few electrical parts coming to refurbish the lights. Not more than an hour’s work – maybe.

 

Tractor Boy

Farmall Cub lights, distributor, hydraulics

The past few days I have been busy with the end projects for the 1949 Farmall Cub. I cleaned and painted the hydraulic lift. It took two days of fairly steady work with two steel brushes, a screw driver, a rotary paint scraper, and finally washing with kerosene. Then I primed and painted the lift.  The screw driver was used to scrape away some of the old dirt and grime. Everything else was too. I ordered the two gaskets needed for the other parts. Finally I attached the Touch Control frame to the steering column post at the throttle location.

 

The Touch Control lever goes just beneath it. The Touch Control lever stops both had broken off wing bolts stuck in them. I soaked them in Kroil over night and thought I could center drill the bolts and use an easy out; however, in the past I have never been able to use that tool successfully and today was no exception. Finally I chucked the stops in a my machine vice and used my milling machine to center drill through the bolts using a #25 drill bit. I was right on center with one and slightly off with the other. A few seconds with a 10-24 tap and the holes were re-threaded.

 

The lights have been challenging. All three bulbs were burned out and I was unable to find the six volts bulbs here in town so I have ordered them. I also ordered the rubber grommets which go between the glass and the reflector, and one center wire and spring because one spring seems broken. I re-threaded the 8-32 screws which hold the light collars in place, then primed and painted the collars. Finally I cleaned up the contact surfaces inside and outside the light housing, getting rid of as much rust as I could.

 

The distributor has corrosion on the center post where the cam is. Also the gap between the points is greater than the .020 it is supposed to be. I could replace the points; however, they look okay. I want to use a point file to dress the points a bit, then the proper gap will be set. I ordered the missing parts which are all related to covering the points to protect them from dust and dirt.

 

Finally I made a wooden frame to attach where the hydraulic lift goes – on top of the clutch housing. I found some fairly soft steel and used the metal band saw to cut two pieces so I could slide the auxiliary gas tank onto tabs and hold it in place. The whole stand is drying after being screwed together over Gorilla glue. Maybe later today I can attach the fuel line, fuel shut off petcock, and try to start the engine. SEARS had an automatic battery charger in 6 and 12 volt and, after adding filtered water to the new battery, it charged the battery in a few hours.

 

Tractor Boy