More Ferguson Work

So far I’ve added the following to the list in the previous entry as I discover things wrong:

• New manifold, my old one is cracked
• The front pivot pin and axle bushing need to be renewed–they are really worn
• The front wheel bearings on both sides and the bushings in the front uprights

I found a lot of the old governor in the sump, broken into nice little pieces–that might explain why it didn’t work!

Quite an expensive little overhaul, but the tractor should be ready for another good number of years afterwards–and without looking like it was pulled from a scrapheap.

My shipments of goodies will be:

• Nearly everything mechanical from Yesterday’s Tractors, out of Port Townsend. I use their forums a lot and their prices are in line with other suppliers
• Most of the remainder of the mechanical items from tm tractors, a seller on eBay. I’ve ordered from him in the past and had good service. He had a few things YT did not.
• All new wiring and electrical stuff (minus the starter and generator, which seem in OK condition) from Agri Services in New York. They use original materials and their harnesses are indistinguishable from what was originally on the tractor. We’ll see, but I have high hopes.
• A new used disk for one of the rear wheels, which is currently incorrect. This came from Helm’s Farm Machinery in South Carolina. They were helpful and if YT wasn’t handy, I would have ordered the bulk of my stuff from them.

The remaining big spendy item is going to be new tires. I’ll be picking those up at the local Les Schwab, who will mount them for free, with a small fee to transfer the fluid in the tubes from old to new.

Add in a visit to Autosport Seattle to do the machining on the axle bushing and swivel pin uprights, plus some welding from Mark at Britsport, and my summer fooling around with cars budget is exhausted. I must say I enjoy working on the old machine, though. Pretty nicely engineered and built to last.

Finally, I’ll be buying a new propshaft for the mower, it no longer has a shield and that’s an unnecessary danger that can be fixed for $100 or so (a shield by itself is as much as the entire shaft with shield). I don’t want myself or anyone else getting caught up in the rotating shaft…there is no escape if you get caught.