They do take a lot of time and money for sure. I have been working on my 60 that had the bearing come apart on the inside of the input shaft. By the time I got all the bearings and gaskets it was about 900 dollars. I didn't try to cross reference the bearings may have been a little less cost but I was worried about fitment. Enjoy watching your videos keep up the good work.
Sounds really good. On my '39 A I roll the flywheel back a two or three turns, then roll it forward two or three turns, choke it until it fires (usually the third turn), then roll it a couple of times and she starts right up. Only took me twelve years to figure it out, but as you say every tractor is different. Thanks for sharing.
Great series of videos. I just bought a 49 model A. It's a basket case, but I like a challenge. Your videos have given me a great overview of what it takes to put one of these back together right. On the painting side, don't be intimidated. It's not very hard if you have good tools and use good products. Learn to spray doing the underside of your parts, then once you're good enough, do the surfaces you see. JD's paints are easy to spray if you use a quality reducer and hardener. A tractor isn't a show car, so doesn't have to be perfect. Based on how I see you do your mechanical work, I'm sure you're more than capable of doing decent prep work and spraying. Go for it...
If you look in your owner's manual for that A, the starting assist is recommended, which is a FARMALL M and a stout log chain. Dad bought a '40 B about 1968 just to pull our Deere "R" spreader thru our Hog House so he could shovel about 4 loads of hog manure every winter. Skid Steer loaders were an odd and very expensive alternative, Dad did price a DANCO loader to put on our 1963 IH Cub Cadet, the loader was more expensive than the Cub Cadet. Anyhow, your A sounds great, it will loosen up, start easier and better. Sounds like you put a new muffler on it. I pulled our '40B, our 63 4010, only Deere we never tried pull starting was the 1949 R diesel we had from Christmas 1964 till about April 1st '65. The 2 cyl Pony was gutless, somebody should make a kit to put the later V-4 Pony in the R. Township road commissioner bought the R, absolutely had to have it. Not sure who experienced the first pto drivetrain failure on it running a 5 ft wide rototiller, the Commissioner that bought it or his replacement that I worked for a few years later, but it failed FOUR TIMES IN FOUR YEARS. commissioner that I worked for traded it for a 770 Oliver diesel that ran the tiller fine, pulled the big drag, the 770's road gear was almost as terrible as the R's 11 mph gear. Yep, just what every 10 year old Farm kid needs for Christmas, a Deere R, that won't start, pulls every implement 2-3 mph SLOWER than the IH tractors did, and an expensive live pto that fails once a month. We NEVER hooked anything to the pto, we just engaged it to get live hydraulics. DAD did put Charlynn power steering on the R, it helped steering a little, I had to get out of the seat and walk over to the proper side of the platform to apply the brakes, had to stand up to push throttle to wide open. The R actually pulled about equivalent to a decent Farmall M, pulled IH #8 3-14 with the R most of the time. Pulled the Deere 4-14 plow with the R in old used alfalfa hog pasture and old alfalfa hay ground, in 2nd gear, there was one clay hill I had to stop and shift to first gear. Dad was pulling the IH #8 3-14's with our Super M-TA in 3rd gear, 5 mph, He rounded the corners off AND lapped me about every 3-4 rounds. Neighbor had a 730 diesel, NFE, I think it would have out pulled our 4010 diesel with a 4020 kit in it. Anyhow, Great job on your A, keep up the good work, hope your next project turns out as good.
Nothing in the world compares to the barely running A! Outstanding project ride along! And for heavens sake DO NOT SELL THE G! You would hate that decision!
Great video. Runs great. Ever try taking another tractor and putting a belt on instead of cranking. Dad did this often instead of pulling or hand cranking.
Yesterday about noon 25°. I fired up the 1938 AO I'm working on with the flywheel for the first time, all the other times it was pull start. Ran the thing about 30 minutes on the small tank before it ran out. The large tank leaks so I got to take care of that and numerous other things. Come to think of it that is the first time I've ever started anything on the flywheel it was fun.
I have come to love hand starters. When they start by hand you can just tell how well everything is timed. Plus I love the slow sounds of it turning over slowly and the compression releases.
I am waiting on the machine shop to finish machining work on my JD 420. It is insane how much this rebuild is costing. (They are doing everything, decking, head rebuild, crank turned and oversize pistons) I get 100%where you are coming from. I enjoy working on it, but boy it's an expensive hobby and you can't even break even on it, much less get paid for your time. But I keep telling myself I am still way under what new 30hp tractor would cost
I shop around. Lind Brothers is typically my go-to. I also go to Sharp's Antique Tractors, Martin's Parts and Repair, Wagner Ag Sales, and Shumaker Tractor Parts seems to be taking off.
