No wonder John Deere overtook the Lanz company. I worked in the Mannheim factory in 1967 as a student to earn some Deutschmarks during the summer holiday. My job was cleaning the blacksmith parts. No such thing like this Bulldog was anywhere in the factory campus.
All long gone by '67 I'm sure. Lanz seemed to have been a victim of their own success. They built an outstanding machine for its day, and thought that it was the last word in tractor design. if it aint broke, don't fix it. The head engineer is quoted as saying "A tractor cannot be single cylindered enough". They just could not get out of that mind set. But they did have some major hurdles too and it is amazing how long they lasted. WWI about destroyed them, then the great depression, then WWII, but each time they did get going again. Finally John Deere happened.
Actually, the piston goes horizontally back and forth. Where I stick the blow torch is the head of the engine. But yes, the tractor does bounce on its tires when idling. It looks like it is having a little dance.
The Lanz Bulldog was the ONLY machine that would start reliably in the shocking cold conditions on the eastern front in Russia during WW2. Because it had a dry sump, there was no frozen oil to thaw out, and the blow torch system ensured a start. These tractors would then tow start all the other vehicles, since their electric starters and batteries were useless in the below zero conditions. The coldest temps recorded in the worst winter year was 1941/1942 at the Demyansk pocket it reached -55C. Both sides at that point, were unable to conduct operations.
The Russians built an unlicensed copy called the Ursus. And you are quite right. There is almost no such thing as a cold start for a bulldog. There is a little fitting that you can pore a spoon full pf petrol down to loosen up cold oil and lubricate the piston in very cold weather. The book also recommends draining the water over night, and then preheating it before you pore it back in in the morning. And the blow torch gets it going.
I got a hand written piece of paper and over the phone instructions. But it started first pop for me first time. The book was very helpful too when I eventually got hold of one. I would say that this is where you tube is good but there was no clip on how to start. Hence I made this.
I would wager that "in the day" the drivers didn't actually do that every morning to start it ! 😊 On a different note, In the 50s one of our local farmers had a Field Marshall tractor that was similar in design with a large cc single cylinder engine, that one was easier to start that with an explosive cartridge that was inserted into the cylinder head.
My wife told me the story about the Lanze bulldog tractor her grandfather brought for the farm in Tapanui Otago He said he was away to Dunedin to by a bulldog for the farm his wife said to the children that a bulldog won't be any good with sheep .
We had a neighbour in black river Tasmania who set up a bulldog on the side of a dam to run an irrigation pump. He left it running all day and when he came to shut it off that evening the thumping had turned the ground to jelly and it was 3/4 underground. But still running quite happily
Thankyou Mr. Gresham. That tractors engineering is meant to run for a life time but starting it looks scarry as hell. Good that people like you keep knowledge of the old tech alive. We might need it someday.
Parts are all available from Germany. but there is very little to go wrong. and very little maintenance. It does have a PTO and a pulley. Some later ones had three point linkage. This one doesn't. It pulls surprisingly well although I am not sure I would like to spend a day on it ploughing or something. I have considered using it to run a generator. Particularly as it will run on just about anything oily.
It’s really not that bad. Light torch. Go have breakfast. They were very good in cold weather when most other machines simply would not start. There is no such thing as a cold start with a Lanz. Reliable. !!
A legend in Germany too. 10 liter displacement. 1 cylinder. No valves. No camshaft. No spark plugs, no carburettor. Turns any hydrocarbon mixture into work. A real agricultural horse. Absolutely unique.
Just about anything oily will burn in a Lanz. I'm told that melted butter works! This tractor has a second little fuel tank that is sometimes used for starting the tractor with petrol and warming it up. (with the optional coil and spark plug) This tractor was never set up for petrol starting but the tank is still there. Some day I will plumb it in and experiment with other fuels. Canola oil, chip fryer oil etc. If I can rig up a heating mechanism I will try melted butter.
Glad you liked the video. And glad your son liked it too. Get him interested in vintage stuff. we need people to learn about this gear before all the knowledge is lost. I have also made a video of me demonstrating a 100 year old Blackstone crawler that you might find interesting. I should do a proper video on the Blackstone. It is amazing. fuel injected, dual ignition, overhead valves and air start. The video I made was to help other museum staff start it if they needed to. Your profile pic: is that the front of a Rallye? I used to fly one a bit years ago in a former life.
@@jamesgresham2030 Thanks, yes I was brought up playing with a Ferguson TE20 tractor and learnt so much about engineering from it. Must look at the Blackstone. My son gets involved in all my RU-vid stuff and so gets a great grounding on all things technical/electronic. Yes, well spotted, that was our Rallye! Engine needed replacing so sadly, being so expensive it was cheaper to scrap the aircraft. Shame as I really loved it but it was quirky to fly. I have a video of me flying our 1963 Piper Cherokee if you are interested on my channel. Thanks again, Anthony.
@@AnthonyFrancisJones A hershy bar Cherokee. ! good stuff. The Rallye probably had a Franklin? So I can imagine the issues with the cost of maintenance. I have flown several Rallyes. Fun aeroplane, but quirky as you say. If you get with someone who really knows how to fly them, they are stunningly capable.
@@jamesgresham2030 Yes, loved ours. I have previously done quite a bit of aerobatics so even though not with the Rallye I very quickly got the hang of the fact that it was really forgiving and you could do lots of cool things with it! Slats banging takes a bit of getting used to and the unusual drag curve that would cause it to sink rapidly even if you had good airspeed on approach. Caused one of my group to leave... Nose down, power on and off she went fine! Pain in a tight hanger with that nose wheel as it would dip wings and the like in a tight space! Ours had the Continental O-200-A engine and it was just too pricey to replace. We got our lovely PA28 Cherokee for less than a replacement engine! I think I felt more 'at one' in the Rallye than any other plane I have flown and , being quite small the PA28 is right on the limits of anything I can drag around on the ground and in the hanger but all good fun! You must get airborne again sometime!
