Who knows two cylinder john Deere's

[Mk42gunner]

One thing I forgot to mention. Every old tractor I can remember has needed the brakes worked on. I do not like the drop the implement method of stopping.

I don't know much about the fuel economy of farm tractors, but it should have enough capacity for at least a days work when the tank is full. My WD will hold 15 gallons, not that I have ever had need to really work it for a full day. I would imagine all other brands were the same. The Ford 9N I grew up driving had a two gallon reserve when it ran out of gas, so you didn't have to leave it in the field and walk for a gas can.

One thing about it there is no mistaking the sound of a two cylinder JD going by.

Robert

[Parson]

One thing I forgot to mention. Every old tractor I can remember has needed the brakes worked on. I do not like the drop the implement method of stopping.

I don't know much about the fuel economy of farm tractors, but it should have enough capacity for at least a days work when the tank is full. My WD will hold 15 gallons, not that I have ever had need to really work it for a full day. I would imagine all other brands were the same. The Ford 9N I grew up driving had a two gallon reserve when it ran out of gas, so you didn't have to leave it in the field and walk for a gas can.

One thing about it there is no mistaking the sound of a two cylinder JD going by.

Robert

I never had one with a tank big enough to go all day, filled every noon and maybe more when working 16 hour days like in harvest, haying etc.

[bedbugbilly]

My vote would be for a restored JD Model B with an electric start. We had two Model Bs when I was a kid - a '35 and a '36 - both started by turning the flywheel. If tuned well, not an issue to get started but if flooded, could be a real PIA - especially if you are shut down to wait for the parade to start and then have to get it going in a hurry to keep the line going - don't ask me how I know about that!

[redneck1]

I am a Inveterate tinkerer .. If something is broke i usually can't help myself from tearing into it .

So yesterday afternoon I pulled the carb ('s). Off and let it soak over night .
Gave it a good cleaning this morning and put it back on .
Played with it for about an hour , low side adjusted easy and again would run fine at up to a high idle but try as I might I just couldn't get it to run on the high side .
So I checked the timing which seems right .
Even went so far as to dig up a couple plug wires that are in better shape then what's on it .
Still no luck ...
Finally I got smart ... Started it back up and gave the governor a couple wacks with a mallet and bingo it revved right up .

So now it runs . actually it seems to run fairly well .
The tires have held air for the couple days its been here so I guess that's a win . I'd put them 2 notches up from bad , but still a few notches away from being good .

I'll have to look up and see how much oil the crankcase holds .. If I have enough on hand I'll change it .

The gas tank ... Eh its pretty rough inside . I have some muratic acid , if get ambitious enough I might see if it'll loosen up some of big stuff .
I have a tig welder so I can patch up a few pin holes if its necessary .
Well provided I can get the 10 gallons of sludge that's in it out .

And again I have no plans on keeping it around but at least now it runs and I can move it around if needed . it would be nice to be able to do that without a two gallon can bungied to the hood ....
If I can fix a few things without spending any money I will .

[Mal Paso]

You're Hooked. LOL There are worse things to spend time on.

[curdog007]

I have a 52 A Model that is the work tractor on this place - brush hogging and skidding firewood out of the woods mainly.
It looks just as bad as the day I found it in a field behind a farm house 20 years ago, but the old girl still fires on the first spin.
I have the wheels set on the ends of the axles so the axles don't catch a tree in the woods, and it's a little more stable on the hillsides with the row crop front end. I've never had a close call on a hillside with this tractor, if you look at a 2 cylinder JD almost all the weight is below waist level, the rest is tin. They're like a crab, but like everything else, you have to go slow and careful. Speed will catch you out every time, I don't care what piece of gear it is. Same with the hand clutch, get used to it on easy going first, and pay attention (this seems to be a problem for too many folks nowadays, I'm afraid).

[redneck1]

I wouldn't say I'm hooked , I do enjoy tinkering with stuff though .
I also won't be spending any money on it . truth be told I shouldn't have spent the $300 on it , my finances are still rather shakey .
But I'll at minimum get my money back , if the church group doesn't change their mind I'll probably do a good better then that .

If I had a building to put it in I'd consider keeping it around , having something bigger for dragging out firewood would be handy , but my little ford tractor has been getting the job done for 23 years now

[Mk42gunner]

There used to be quite a, let's call it discussion, on the safety of tricycle front end vs. wide front end tractors on many of the old tractor websites. Something to do with the tip over angle being at least close to the same, and the inherit stability of a tripod, IIRC.

My take on it is maybe so, but the wide front at least adds a form of outrigger. Giving the illusion of more safety.

Personally, I'm not changing the front end on my WD. I have came closer to tipping wide front end tractors than I ever have with the WD, maybe because I'm more mature and pay more attention to safety these days.

Robert

[fecmech]

If you keep it around to use I would suggest moving the Ign switch to the column that holds the steering wheel from the panel. In the event the implement hooks on something immovable and you start going over backwards you can shut the tractor off. Your hand clutch is forward and you're going backward, you may not be able to reach the clutch. I had a "Kill" switch on my 52 "B" that saved my butt one day. The bush hog caught on something and in an instant "Johnny" was going over backward. Holding on to the steering wheel I slapped the "Kill" switch off and the front end dropped back down. I don't think I could have reached the clutch in that situation and surely not reached ahead of the steering column to where the ignition switch was. One other item I would suggest is an overrun clutch for the PTO if you use the tractor.

[redneck1]

As they say ... No good deed goes unpunished .

Yesterday I had coffee with a couple members of the church group that started this .
Now let's keep in mind that these are " town" guys .
They have their new tractor at a fairly decent back yard mechanics shop who has gone over it a bit and given the engine a clean bill of health .

His recommendation is to simply fix a couple minor oil leaks , give it a new clutch and brakes tune it up and send it off to get painted .
His exact words to me was ... I looked as hard as I could and couldn't find a single thing wrong with it .

The compression is right where its supposed to be , he stuck a bore scope in it and both cylinders look great .
The valve train looks good with no undue signs of wear , valve seals look brand new . oil pressure is right about 20 psi like it should be .
He even pulled the top cover off to check end play on the crank and its well within spec , and the crank case is spotlessly clean without any sludge build up .
He thinks its has a very good overhaul within the last few hundred hours of use .

Sooo... Now these guys a grumbling at me for finding them a tractor that is and I quote. " to good ". I kid you not .

Now I'm not one to take offense for doing to good a job , I guess that's their problem not mine
The conversation took a strange turn when I jokingly told them that they are welcome to drop it off at my place and take the tractor I kept in its place and they seemed to like that idea .

[gbrown]

[/Quote]The conversation took a strange turn when I jokingly told them that they are welcome to drop it off at my place and take the tractor I kept in its place and they seemed to like that idea .[/QUOTE]

Sounds good to me.

[Petrol & Powder]

Redneck1 wrote, "I'd put them 2 notches up from bad , but still a few notches away from being good ."

That describes a LOT of the equipment I've used in my life !

[Mk42gunner]

As they say ... No good deed goes unpunished .

Yesterday I had coffee with a couple members of the church group that started this .
Now let's keep in mind that these are " town" guys .
They have their new tractor at a fairly decent back yard mechanics shop who has gone over it a bit and given the engine a clean bill of health .

His recommendation is to simply fix a couple minor oil leaks , give it a new clutch and brakes tune it up and send it off to get painted .
His exact words to me was ... I looked as hard as I could and couldn't find a single thing wrong with it .

The compression is right where its supposed to be , he stuck a bore scope in it and both cylinders look great .
The valve train looks good with no undue signs of wear , valve seals look brand new . oil pressure is right about 20 psi like it should be .
He even pulled the top cover off to check end play on the crank and its well within spec , and the crank case is spotlessly clean without any sludge build up .
He thinks its has a very good overhaul within the last few hundred hours of use .

Sooo... Now these guys a grumbling at me for finding them a tractor that is and I quote. " to good ". I kid you not .

Now I'm not one to take offense for doing to good a job , I guess that's their problem not mine
The conversation took a strange turn when I jokingly told them that they are welcome to drop it off at my place and take the tractor I kept in its place and they seemed to like that idea .

To paraphrase my Dad: "Some people will gripe about being hung with a new rope."

Robert

[redneck1]

Your dad had it about right

I had a conversation this evening with the fellow writing the checks , he says the guys who are grumbling also happen to be the ones who put up almost all the money for the endeavor , so let them do what ever they want without feeling guilty .

No one has actually come out and said they want to swap out the nicer tractor for the worn out junker yet , I'm not gonna try and talk any sense into anyone if they do , I'll just sell it and donate the money back to the church .