Vintage and Classic Tractor Restoration E-Book

Richard Lofting

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Vintage and Classic Tractor Restoration is a complete guide to the subject, looking at how to initially purchase a tractor, through private means or at auction, and then how to restore it back to its former glory, as it would have looked when it left the factory. It is even possible to preserve a classic tractor in its working condition, which has a unique appeal to some tractor collectors and in some ways is harder than a full restoration to undertake. Practical techniques have been amply illustrated throughout the book, ranging from the simple use of a lathe or milling machine to the making from scratch of various tools useful in restoration work. Rather than just replacing items such as carburettor, starter motor or dynamo, practical advice is given on how to test and rebuild these compondents back to full operation. Fifty-two practical picture spreads show techniques suitable for restorers of all levels of skill. Contents: Setting up the workshop and making specialist tools; Finding a tractor to restore; Engine and fuel; Electrical systems; Transmission and brakes; Wheels, tyres and steering; Hydraulics and the three-point linkage; Metalwork; Painting and finishing. Aimed at serious tractor enthusiasts and agricultural machinery engineers and fully illustrated wth 1100 colour photographs.

Leseprobe

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2017 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2017

© Richard Lofting 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 267 0

Disclaimer

Safety is of the utmost importance in every aspect of an automotive workshop. The practical procedures and the tools and equipment used in automotive workshops are potentially dangerous. Tools should used in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s recommended procedures and current health and safety regulations. The author and publisher cannot accept responsibility for any accident or injury caused by following the advice given in this book.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my late father, Richard William Lofting, a kind, quiet and gentle man, one of life’s natural enthusiastic teachers, my inspiration.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank friends and family who have helped me in many ways with this book from start to finish: the long hours at the keyboard, tea supplied by my wife Pam, and the friends who have suffered the intrusive lens of my camera while doing certain tasks to illustrate how things are done. And above all else I thank my children and granddaughter who have cheered me up when things have been a struggle and I thought I would not reach the end.

contents

introduction

1 workshop practice

2 making specialist tools

3 initial purchase and restoration

4 the engine and its refurbishment

5 tractor fuels

6 distributors and magnetos

7 clutch, gearbox, back axle and brakes

8 hydraulics and the three-point linkage

9 tractor electrical wiring

10 tinwork and other metalwork

11 preparation and painting

12 wheels, tyres and steering

13 finishing touches and unobtainable parts

14 gallery of finished tractors

appendix

useful addresses

index

introduction

The original concept of this book was to act as a bank of knowledge for anyone interested in restoring or indeed keeping an old tractor running, as there is little in the way of a comprehensive work covering all topics. There are books available on specific topics such as painting, but I wanted to explain the whole process from start to finish, and what can be achieved with a little knowledge and guidance. There are many vintage and classic tractors still working for a living, for example mowing cricket pitches, and many a stableyard still runs an old tractor for tasks such as dung carting and raking the manège – and of course there are many old tractors stuck at the back of farmyard barns, superseded by modern machinery, all begging to be restored before they are weighed in at the scrapyard, as scrap-metal prices are ever on the increase, with countries such as China and India expanding their industrial activities.

You may well ask, who restores tractors? The answer to this is people from all walks of life: farm workers who had an old tractor of the same make and model on the farm in years gone by, through to the accountant or bank clerk who has a mechanical bent, and enjoys nothing more than to get his hands dirty at the weekend, enjoying a hobby that gives him a complete change from the clean, clinical environment in the office. And it is not only country folk who restore tractors, though they are at an advantage when it comes to driving their pride and joy, with more space and gardens for test drives: many a suburban garage door hides a vintage or classic tractor.

This book covers all the techniques that can be used in the restoration of a tractor – and many other types of vehicle, come to that. All stages are explained, along with the basic theory as to how things work, giving the budding restorer a better insight into his new-found hobby – and indeed there is much information for the experienced restorer, who just requires reference to vital data while adjusting things or doing a rebuild.

A thread file can save the thread on a damaged bolt.

THE AUTHOR

I have had an interest in engineering and all things mechanical for most of my life. I come from a background of ‘make do and mend’, with both my parents being children during World War II: nothing was ever thrown away, and everything was mended if possible, unlike today, where so many things are discarded and binned without even being looked at. My father was a first-class mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, working on aeroplane engines. Luckily the war was over as his training finished so he never saw active service. I was lucky in that when I was at secondary school, metalwork was on the curriculum along with technical drawing; we were taught to use the lathe and forge, amongst other tools, and learned not only how to draw, but how to read a technical drawing – this was all long before health and safety regulations curtailed these valuable lessons, and of course with drawing programs now available on computers, actually using pencil and paper has become more or less redundant.

I was brought up in the Kent countryside, and visited a local farm from an early age, where my mum picked strawberries. Although it was a relatively small farm they had a Ferguson TE20 tractor and a Massey Ferguson bagging combine, and it was here that I had my first encounters with tractors and other farm machinery. Once I had reached the age of fifteen I was working in the school holidays bale carting at another local farm, and here I had my first tractor-driving experiences, on a Mk 1 Massey Ferguson 65 and a tatty Fordson Major, although at that time not on the public highway.

The first tractor I owned was when I was eighteen: my girlfriend Pamela’s father had an old TED 20 Ferguson in his garage with a stuck clutch; I fiddled around with it and got it going, and freed the clutch by starting the tractor in gear and driving it round the field for about twenty minutes with the clutch pedal held down. I was told that as I had got the tractor going, I could have it! I still have this tractor today, and it is featured in some of the restoration photos that feature throughout this book; incidentally I still have the girlfriend, too: I married her twentyeight years ago, and now we have two grown-up children who both enjoy old tractors, probably as much as I do!

Although I still love the Ferguson TE 20 tractors, of late I have discovered the virtues of the hot-bulb, semi-diesel-engined tractors, in my case SFV tractors built exclusively in France, so popular on the vintage scene in Europe – and I make no apologies for its inclusion in the book. These tractors – some say quirky! – are becoming popular in the UK in the tractor-collecting world, though they never became ‘mainstream’ in their day. When single-cylinder tractors were used on the farm, the British-built Field Marshall tractor became established, without the requirement of lighting a blowlamp to start it, as with the hot-bulb engines. I would argue that a hot-bulb engine, although it has to be pre-heated with a blow lamp, is easier to start than a Field Marshall because a hot bulb is bounced against compression, whereas a Field Marshall has to be turned over several times until the decompressor closes. Others may disagree!

The first three chapters of this book cover basic workshop practices and the skills needed for restoration work, along with the relevant health and safety information for a safe working environment. Chapter 2 contains various tools that are easily made for restoration work, given that my ethos has always been ‘why buy when you can make it’; sometimes things can be made that are better than those on sale, and the satisfaction of making it yourself is always a bonus. Furthermore in the restoration world the threads used are now extinct, so the only way is to make the tool yourself.

Chapters 4–13 cover every item requiring restoration work, from the engine through to the tyres, illustrated in practical spreads with references back to the first three chapters where needed. I have started with the engine and worked through the whole tractor almost from front to back, but this system needn’t be followed religiously: you can dip into the book where you like and have your own working order. Chapter 14 presents a gallery of restored tractors, some of them photographed specifically for this book; these are not based on any one make or model – I have tried to cover the differences on various tractors, so whatever you go for, whether a Fordson or a Ferguson, the peculiarities on various tractors will be covered.

At the back of the book you will find various appendices covering basic data for some of the more common tractors, and this could be viewed as ‘tune-up information’, allowing the restorer to carry out maintenance and adjustments all from this one book. There is also a list of suppliers of parts and spares: it is by no means comprehensive, but for the more common models it should enable parts to be sourced without too much difficulty; for the more obscure or rare examples, parts will need to be made.

Once you have undertaken your restoration, I can hear you ask the question ‘What can I do with my tractor?’: the simple answer is, drive it. There are many things you can do with your vintage tractor, whether it is restored or not. For example, up and down the country on most weekends during the summer months there are steam rallies and country fairs that welcome entries from these very tractors, allowing the public to peruse your work, and often prizes are awarded for ‘best tractor’ and suchlike. Vintage ploughing matches are also popular, most being in the autumn, and of course you will need a plough. If you have a large garden or paddock a mower deck will enable you to cut the grass with your tractor. I use one of my tractors to cut logs for the woodburner, and I cultivate our pig enclosures as we produce our own pork – but that’s another story.

I am currently chairman of the Kent Agricultural Club, whose members are like-minded tractor and stationary engine owners; however, it is not a requirement to own any vintage machinery to join the club, and in fact many of our members just enjoy the camaraderie and the social evenings that the club offers. Local clubs can be a valuable source of information about vintage tractors, where most members are happy to pool their knowledge and help newcomers to the hobby. And you never know, you might have a unique skill that can be shared with fellow club members, such as IT skills that can be put to good use in the club.

1

workshop practice

Although this book is primarily about tractor restoration, to achieve this aim, unless all operations are to be outsourced to professional firms, then some understanding of the tools and their safe use needs to be understood. And even if the work is to be outsourced, a basic understanding of what will be going on will be beneficial, as more informed discussions can then be made, rather than just having blind faith in whichever firm is chosen for the work.

A workshop can be anything from a garden shed to a purpose-built building: it is home to all your tools and keeps them locked up out of harm’s way, and gives you somewhere to work.

My philosophy in life, and the whole point of the book, is this: why get someone else to do the work when most people, with a little guidance and some background information, will be able to carry out most tasks? Back in the 1970s during my time at secondary school, the curriculum was very different from what it is today: practical lessons were the order of the day, and not only did we have metalwork and woodwork lessons on a regular basis, but technical drawing was all but compulsory. This gave us an insight into how to make things, and also how to produce the drawings of what we were making. Admittedly times have changed, and now computers are used for all types of drawing, including technical drawing, with many CAD programs available – and now the CAD drawing file can be fed into a CNC lathe or milling machine directly, without it ever having been on a sheet of paper.

This is all very clever, but it doesn’t help in the practical restoration of a tractor – unless, of course, a vital part is broken or missing, in which case the part could be drawn and produced accurately in a short space of time. I am not saying do not use these services, but rather, with the right knowledge a more informed decision can be made as to what avenue to take during your restoration. CNC operations will not be discussed in this book, apart from a brief explanation, but as said already, basic lathe turning and milling will be covered.

SETTING UP A WORKSHOP

A ‘workshop’ can be anything from a garage to the garden shed, through to a purpose-built, fully kitted-out building. Before the consideration of any tools, the first thing to install will probably be some form of bench to work on: the major criterion when working on tractor components is strength, as most tractor parts are heavy by necessity – so it follows that to carry out operations on these components, they will need to be well supported. Although useful, a workmate-type portable bench is really only suitable to place hand tools on while working, and something with heavy section wood or steel angle legs will be required to support engine and gearbox components. The last thing you want is the legs on the bench to give way, because quite apart from the health and safety implications to your personal wellbeing, expensive damage may occur to your tractor components.

Fundamental to any workshop is a good sturdy bench, especially when working on parts of tractors that are heavy.

A large vice is a useful asset when fitted to the workbench: items can be held while they are being heated or undone.

TOOLS

Twenty to thirty years ago most men – and indeed women – would have had a fair selection of hand tools, as simple tasks were undertaken regularly on their vehicles, such as oil changes and servicing; also service intervals were in the order of 2–3,000 miles, unlike today, where they can be up to 12,000 miles apart – so people either never bother with servicing until their vehicle breaks down, or they employ a professional to service it for them. The same applies to tractors and farm machinery: where once the average farm had its own workshop, now things have become very technically advanced, with breakdowns being diagnosed by satellite links direct with the machine! This information is then downloaded to the local main agent, ready for when the machine arrives at their premises for service work. In fact much farm equipment is now operated on a lease/hire basis, with all the service work included in the package.

HAND TOOLS

So where do you start? If you have just bought a wreck ripe for restoration, or have a vintage machine needing some TLC, then a set of spanners would be a good start, along with a set of ½in drive sockets. There is no need to spend a fortune these days, as most budget tools are better made than their earlier counterparts: at one time ‘cheap’ meant soft or brittle tools, which either bent or cracked with mild force, but now even the cheaper brands sold at some of the discount supermarkets are approved by German TUV standards; the down side is in the finish of the tool itself, but it will get the job done. The more money spent means a more professional tool with a better finish, which makes handling them all day and every day a more comfortable task – you pay your money and make your choice, as with most things in life.

If you went out and purchased every tool that you thought you might require for the completion of a restoration project, the bill would probably be more than the value of your finished tractor. The best approach is to buy the tools as you need them for any particular task, and once this is completed, move on to the next task; tools do not necessarily need to be new, and second-hand ones will still do a good job for less money – and if you don’t expect to carry out the same task in the future, the money saved can be used to purchase tools for the next job on the list.