This little guy followed me home a few weeks ago. It was advertised in the local Craigslist as Yard Art (!). Well, I suppose it is pretty far gone, but that's not going to deter me from trying to get it going. This first photo below shows it in its natural habitat, waiting patiently for someone to come along and give it a little TLC. The lady who owned it said her late husband (Ron) built it on the farm in the Key Peninsula area of Pierce county.
These next few photos show the thing being plucked from the ground that was swallowing it up, then the loading/unloading process.
One front wheel and both rear wheels did roll somewhat, so that was good. Once home, I slathered penetrating oil on the one stuck front wheel and the chain drive, as it was pretty rusty and crusty. With some persuasion, things got unstuck. I was anxious to see if the thing would move under its own power so I crudely plopped on the small 1947 Onan BH two-cylinder engine I recently picked up from a tractor swap meet. I had to run to the parts store to buy a belt for it. The little guy actually putzed around the yard after temporarily attaching the engine.
I knew there was water in the transmission, as some ran out of the front seal while I was loading/unloading the tractor, so I pulled the drain plug and only water and chunks of goo came out. Good news, the gears and shafts were in fairly good condition for the transmission being full of water. Below are before and after photos of the mess. Incidentally, the transmission and differential are ~1932 Chevrolet items. I think the transmission is from a car and the differential is from a truck, but I'm not positive. The transmission even looks to have synchromesh in 2nd and 3rd gear. Pretty high class for a small tractor.
The next installment for this tractor will be the fabrication of a belt tensioner to act as a clutch.
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