1951 Baird Beaver - New Front Tires and Implement Lift Repair

The front tires on this tractor are in sad shape. Holes in the sidewalls kept me from pumping them up very much. I ordered two new tri-rib tires off the net and today is the day to install them. With the wheels being a two piece design. I thought it would be a simple matter of removing the bolts, splitting the halves, and getting the new tires on. Nope. Firstly, the bolts fought me the whole way. One problem is, the head side of the bolts (screws?) have a slot for a screwdriver, so I couldn't use a wrench on that side. Secondly, the nuts were so tight on the threads that even with a vice-grip clamped to the screw heads I barely got the nuts off with an impact driver (I actually broke an adapter too). Once the bolts were removed and the old tires were off, I noticed both wheels had rust holes. Bummer.

1955 Ferguson TO-35 Hydraulic Pump Installation and Other Maintenance

I didn't end up disassembling the hydraulic pump like I'd planned. It didn't really seem to need it after looking things over. I cleaned up the outside, made sure the control valve was free, installed a new relief valve, then slapped it back in the tractor. Prior to doing that though, I got sick and didn't feel like doing much of anything. I did manage to install a choke knob.....

1951 Baird Beaver Garden Tractor

Joining a tractor club has its benefits. It also has a downside. Namely, tractor club members usually have excess tractors taking up space at their residences. To that end, I bought two tractors in two consecutive days, from two tractor club members. I've posted about the Ferguson TO-35 but not about my new 1951 Baird Beaver. Just look at this cute little thing. The funky piece of steel poking out the front of the tractor is for a blade, which unfortunately didn't come with the tractor.

1955 Ferguson TO-35 Hydraulic Pump Removal

Ok, it's not as bad as you might think. It took me less than two hours from start to finish. Rachel Gingell on Youtube has a video about taking the pump out of a Ferguson 35, and that is what I basically followed. This first photo is of the fairly unmolested tractor before its guts were yanked out...

1955 Ferguson TO-35 Comes To Life

Yes, the new tractor project lives. In the last entry I mentioned that the carburetor was not installed when I purchased the tractor. Not knowing its condition, I proceeded to take it apart. It was clean inside but some bits were not tight, so I just put the thing back together and tightened up anything that was loose, then installed it on the tractor. I didn't feel comfortable putting gas in the tank yet since it hadn't been cleaned, so I just squirted some gas into the carb inlet, hooked up a battery, and let 'er rip. Here's a video of the process:

What's This, Another Tractor? 1955 Ferguson TO-35

Yep, another tractor. So that makes how many? Six? I may have a problem.