1950 A-C WD Resurection

[PlumCrazy]

Good to see progress! We got the our 41 C project fired up last week. Put new rubber on the back and started prepping for paint last night. Bought the thing this spring and it came in boxes.lol. 75% of it came home in the backseat of the crew cab.lol

Sent from XT1030 using Crapatalk

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

See an ol wd 45 brought up memories of my grandpa. his free time was spent collecting old farm equipment and restoring Allis Chalmers . I grew up hearin there's nothin like a allis chalmers. Cant wait to see what you do to her. Good luck

Thanks!

Good to see progress! We got the our 41 C project fired up last week. Put new rubber on the back and started prepping for paint last night. Bought the thing this spring and it came in boxes.lol. 75% of it came home in the backseat of the crew cab.lol

Good to hear. My C is hibernating in the barn for the winter.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Didn't get as far as I wanted but did manage to cover a lot of ground yesterday.

Dewired it, starting over with a clean slate.

Kinda surprised to find this, I have seen them on other B/C tractors but tucked inside the frame I have never noticed them on a WD before. WD's originally had a magneto, the idea was the engine was easier to hand start with the clutch locked down so you were not turning the transmission in neutral through cold oil.

New legible oil pressure gauge. Not "correct" but it will work fine for what I am doing.

It is a little easier to make out over the probably original gauge. Looks like it was white face and said "Allis-Chalmers" on it.

Manifold gaskets are on. Manifold and carb are on and hooked up, didn't get a pic.

The lower hose is on which is a bugger being so far back in there and the modern stiff wrapped hose didn't help any.

Then comes the snafu, the alternator. Dang that is tight, the belt is still just barely snug and I am out of adjustment in the slot.

Well I will just slip that bolt out and try moving the bracket up to the water pump mounting bolt... nice.

Water pump bolt must have a bad habit of coming loose, we have three lock washers on there for extra security.

And it won't go low enough to reach the alternator and is already interfering with the throttle linkage. Dead end.

Modified it with the vice for a little more reach. Then it hit really bad.

Hated doing it but gave it a little more clearance with a grinder and smooshed it shut a tad with the vice. Belt is snug and everything clears.

Also changed the oil, torqued the rocker arm shaft down, set the valve clearance, put the plugs back in and put the wires on. New switches and ammeter are in dash and set the battery box on so I can start wiring. Getting dangerously close to starting it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I was feeling pretty good about my little project last night, even stuck the muffler on for a photo op.

Then I put coolant in it and started working on wiring... grr.

I am crying green tears now too...

I pieced together a headset from parts of partial gasket sets at work, the headgasket I used was like what was in it with metal on both sides and cardboard in the center. Just like what it had it in. I see most new ones now are like a normal headgasket with cardboard on the outside, maybe these had problems?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Showed the pics to dad. He proclaimed it is either something didn't get cleaned good enough, wrong gasket or a massive crack somehow opened up.

"I had the head ready to go on, did you get the block clean enough to eat off of?"

Think for a moment.. butter side up toast sure... "yeah"

"Emory cloth the studs?"

" "No..."

It never crossed my mind, in my defense the only engine I have changed headgaskets on in recent history was the 302 in my Ranger... and I used new Ford Racing headBOLTS. Yeah, I helped with the C but that was in 1998, I don't remember if it has bolts or studs at this point let alone how we cleaned them.

Coulda swore we just left this party...

Oh well, live and learn. Won't happen again.

Mounted tail lights, need to see how they will work out with the lift arms yet. My '45 has one on the fender and it shines in my face too much for my liking. No holes in these fenders aside from the red bullet tail light so I don't really want to drill more.

And about 3/4 done with wiring.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Everything cleaned again and going back together, studs were a pain. They are kinda pitted in places and the pits like to trap debris. Head and HG are back on, this morning before work I threw the pushrods and rocker arm shaft back on. I watched carefully for debris as the HG and head came down to make sure we didn't have a repeat. Alternator and dizzy are wired. Headlights are not hooked up, not sure they will make it for this trip.

If it doesn't work this time it is getting dragged into the barn for the winter. My Ranger has sat out through two ice storms, rain and snow so far while this thing is in the garage. It is supposed to cool off again and rain this weekend, its now or next spring as its options.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Wiring is 95% done, just need to hook up the lights.

All ready to go outside and see what happens...

It RUNS!

(after running and pushing it back inside)

Pulled it outside with my pickup, tried to start it several times, it wouldn't say a word. Start probing with my test light, we have power were we are supposed to. The points have spark. Unhook the coil and it will arc the prettiest blue flame against the block. Scratch head and put it back together... cranked it again and it tried to start. The third try it took off. It was only hitting on three, the fourth one was starting to hit halfway regular and it ran out of gas. Battery was about flat and it was getting late so I pushed it back inside. Need to check the plugs and see if one has something in it. It had great oil pressure and was oiling the top end which I am thrilled with. Lower radiator hose is seeping which isn't surprising given how easy it is to get at it so I dropped the coolant out of it for the night.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dad came over and we pull started it to let it work bugs out with a starter that won't give up... the WD-45. He decided we didn't need the straight pipe and took it off. Didn't take it more than 100' and it was hitting on all four nice and smooth with a open manifold. We traded tractors (I was on the '45 initially) and I drove it back to the garage and stuck the '45's cheap Stanley work muffler on it (that always leak as opposed to the $120 agco muffler it wears when not working hard) and it sounded great, just like any other A-C with no smoke. Backed it into the barn for the winter under its own steam. Governor was right there, snappy like it should be, considering I haven't checked any fluids behind the engine everything ran fairly quiet. Ammeter was even a tad over to the right.

Then the B being the B had to photobomb the A-C's.

Going to go out and retorque the head and throw the sheetmetal on it for the winter in a minute. Kinda thrilled to have my whole fleet running.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I hate the camera on my phone sometimes...

Head is retorqued, fuel tank and hood are on to keep stuff off engine for the winter. Dropped the coolant out of it too.

I am going to let it hibernate there for the winter, tune in next spring when I try to wake it up!

 

[PlumCrazy]

Is that a C in the right side of the picture?

If it is, could you take a few pictures of the hydraulic controls? We are missing a bracket or something for the lever and are trying to figure out what it should look like.lol

BTW check out my Ranger thread for some updates on our little orange project.

Glad to see all that rusty orange in an out of the weather!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yeah, that is the '47 C the cultivator was on earlier.

The one on the seat frame that holds the lever?

 

[PlumCrazy]

Yeah, that is the '47 C the cultivator was on earlier.

The one on the seat frame that holds the lever?

I think? We only have the small linkage rod from the valve to the leaver and we have the lever with the ring bent around on one end (similar to the PTO, but lighter duty)

We don't have anything to mount the lever to/with and Im not sure what it looks like.

The bracket for the C's with the steel pan seat mounts off the bolt on the axle tube by the brake drum. But our C is like yours with the bench seat.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That's all there is for linkage. The link without the loop goes to the hydraulic pump. The other one mounts to the bottom of the seat via two bent straps (IIRC) so the loop is to the fender.

I will have to get you a pic.

If you go here, search as guest and look up B (C will catch every tractor, combine and anything else with "C" in it, C and B share the parts book) and look at hydraulic controls near the bottom they have a picture of the two bent pieces (part# 70213479) in the parts book. For some reason I think they are shown on the wrong side of the shaft though. The curl of the bend wraps around the shaft and pins it to the angle iron of the seat frame.

http://www.agcopartsbooks.com/PartsBooksN/login.aspx?region=NorthAmerica

The lever comes out in a very nice location, kinda like the side console later tractors that are all the rage. Me and my pump have had a lot of words though...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The hydraulic pump is on the bench so use your imagination there. The lever obviously isn't sitting how it would be if the pump was on the tractor (and it let my cultivator down like a good little hydraulic pump)

Ruler was going the wrong way, didn't notice at the time (phone in one hand, pliers in the other and flashlight in mouth, I had a lot going on)

The pump wouldn't hold the cultivator up so we cleaned it up a few years ago and didn't get around until hanging the cultivator back on it until '14. Then it wouldn't let it down. Would hold it up for a week and not creep at all in the down position. Put new balls in it last summer and tried to lap the seats (rebuild kit is like $250+ with new seats you drive in) and it worked perfectly... for half an hour. Then it wouldn't lower the cultivator again, apparently a floater in the trans got stuck in the valve again. Not as bad as before, it was hard but from the seat I could put a hand on each side of the rockshaft and pushed it back, did that a couple times and I was getting sore so I quit.



I loved the layout and handiness of it with a cultivator... but if it doesn't behave this year lets just say I have acquired a plan "B" Grandpa gave me his cultivator he is so proud of he ran on his '41 JD B. I need to find one more lever and arms to put it on my '46 JD B with power lift.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Thanks!