Finally my 1206 Resurrection

[Dzldenny]

Hello All,

  I've been lurking here for years and absorbing the info I learn here. Now, just for fun I thought I'd share my progress on my 1206.

First I'll give some back story. Around the age of 7 or 8 (1981-82) I was riding along with my dad in the cab of his 1026 plowing some hilly land we rented. The farm across the fence line was run by my god-father. He was out working his field with his 1206. Open station, duals, and that straight pipe stack puffing away as he climbed his hills. I knew at that young age I wanted one. Fast forward 10ish years. As a senior in High school, I needed a project for shop class. My god-fathers 1206 had been sitting in a field for about 3 years with the MCV and misc parts in 5 gal pails. It seems it had broke down and after inspection, it was found the gear for the hydraulics on the main shaft was shot. He wasn't interested in splitting the tractor in the field and had no shop to work in so it sat. I told him I'd take it to school and do the work if he could get me the parts as I needed them. Done! The 12 was put back to work until he sold it off at his farm auction. I was crushed when I heard it got sold. I didn't even know he was having an auction. I know who bought the tractor and still owns it now. He is a neighbor of mine that I get along with very well. So, I am on the long list of people waiting for him to sell it.

I couldn't wait any more so I started watching c-list and auctions for my own 12. Turns out one popped up half way across the country that I was the first to call on. It had been sitting in a fence row for 20+ years but it ran and drove. I hooked the trailer and rolled out 5am the morning of Good Friday 2017. The wife and I arrived at the spot early Saturday morning. We met with the daughter of the previous owner who had passed away. She didn't know exactly what she had but the neighbors had told her it was very a desirable tractor. She was great and we loaded up, headed for home, and I unloaded it Easter morning.

Here's the pictures that were in the ad when it was listed. Yup. I drove half way across the country to spend my money after seeing these. I had been bit bad all those years ago. I'll add more later on and share my progress. I hope you all enjoy.

Thanks, Dennis

[hardtail]

Great story Welcome to RP!

[1480x3]

welcome,  we love pictures

[bitty]

Matching rear tires I like to see . Looks like a great one to start with

[FarmallFan]

I'm sure @red_reaper would like the serial number. He has been tracking 1206 serial numbers. Welcome to the forum!

BJ

[nepoweshiekfarmalls]

Welcome!  Looks like a nice project.   We will enjoy watching your progress.   I love mine, just finished planting with it last night.  

[Dzldenny]

Okay, so, a little more on my 1206.

When I got a hold of the gal selling the tractor, she told me her father had bought it from the bank as a repo. Seems when he got it, it was a non-runner. After he left it sitting in a fence row for more than two decades, A neighbor who worked for Caterpillar gave him enough crap to get him going on the project. Said neighbor was able to help him get parts and perform some of the work along with the owner and the owners brother. It was reported to me that they did clutch, T/A, hydraulic pump, and an overhaul. I don't know. It's possible I suppose but the gaskets and such all look original to me. Whatever. It was a 1206 that ran and it was in my price range.

I had to jump start it when I got there but it drove up on the trailer under its own power. After strapping it down we walked the property (over 100 acres) that was littered with literally hundreds of unfinished projects from an IH half track to a MINT Studebaker survivor pick up looking for the parts that were missing from the 1206. Saw a lot of cool stuff but no luck on the parts hunt.

5 AM Friday morning. All fueled up and just rolling out.

 

 

The Mrs. got bored on the 17 hour drive and crocheted me this coozy for when we are on tractor rides.

 

After a long day of parts hunting, its time to make the drive back home. I pulled off what was left of the stack to clear the covered bridges in the area and taped off the manifold so the turbo wouldn't spin without oil supply from the road wind. Was it overkill? What do you guys do?

 

Once we arrived back home Easter Sunday 9 AM, I backed MY big tractor in the shed next to Dads big tractor. 

 

The rear tires on the MX240 make those 18.4-38 on the 12 look puny and the mismatched tires up front drive me nuts!

The goal for this old gal is not to restore it but to resurrect it. Make sure everything works as it should and more importantly as I need it to work. So. Nope. I have no plans for an automotive paint job with 9 coats of clear. Far too many leaks to put any paint on it now. Besides, I like her in her overalls. I don't want to leave the first two turns out in the hay field because I was afraid of a scratch from a tree branch. That being said, I'm leaving the dented up fenders with the 26 holes drilled in and the welded up cracks on there because it's the original set with no grab handle on the right. I've looked VERY close at the hood to see if the Turbo stickers were painted over. Can't tell. Maybe a little rub and shine to see if they are under there but I'm in no hurry to make it pretty.

Thanks for the welcome guys. More later.

     Dennis

[hardtail]

Too bad no pics of his other treasures, I've got a buddy that is a Studebaker lover, 17 hrs is a long day, the turbo part has been discussed many times personally I see no point in it but for the time it takes it removes any doubt

[Dzldenny]

Sorry. No pics of his other treasures. I will dig a little deeper on my old phone. This fella had a thing for bull dozers and school buses for sure. If he didn't have 50 dozers, he didn't have one not including the dismantled ones. 50 plus buses. Each one piled floor to ceiling, front to back with parts from dismantled projects. There has to be more pictures somewhere because I found a cast iron grill for a dozer (IH) leaning against a tree. It had to be more than 6 feet high and nearly that wide. I thought I took a picture of it. There were three Farmall H's and an F14 dismantled and piled in a box truck. Same went for dismantled dozers. Semi van trailers full of them. I don't know how many. There were 20 plus tractors. Case, Oliver, IH, Allis, even a Hart Parr. 

I tripped on this cool Oldsmobile Super Rocket air cleaner in the woods and she told me to take it home.

I could have spent weeks walking those hills. My wife spent a good while in the house too with all the antiques.

[B.B.]

Following I love a good tractor story!

[red_reaper]

On 5/27/2022 at 10:00 PM, Dzldenny said:

Okay, so, a little more on my 1206.

When I got a hold of the gal selling the tractor, she told me her father had bought it from the bank as a repo. Seems when he got it, it was a non-runner. After he left it sitting in a fence row for more than two decades, A neighbor who worked for Caterpillar gave him enough crap to get him going on the project. Said neighbor was able to help him get parts and perform some of the work along with the owner and the owners brother. It was reported to me that they did clutch, T/A, hydraulic pump, and an overhaul. I don't know. It's possible I suppose but the gaskets and such all look original to me. Whatever. It was a 1206 that ran and it was in my price range.

I had to jump start it when I got there but it drove up on the trailer under its own power. After strapping it down we walked the property (over 100 acres) that was littered with literally hundreds of unfinished projects from an IH half track to a MINT Studebaker survivor pick up looking for the parts that were missing from the 1206. Saw a lot of cool stuff but no luck on the parts hunt.

5 AM Friday morning. All fueled up and just rolling out.

 

 

The Mrs. got bored on the 17 hour drive and crocheted me this coozy for when we are on tractor rides.

 

After a long day of parts hunting, its time to make the drive back home. I pulled off what was left of the stack to clear the covered bridges in the area and taped off the manifold so the turbo wouldn't spin without oil supply from the road wind. Was it overkill? What do you guys do?

 

Once we arrived back home Easter Sunday 9 AM, I backed MY big tractor in the shed next to Dads big tractor. 

 

The rear tires on the MX240 make those 18.4-38 on the 12 look puny and the mismatched tires up front drive me nuts!

The goal for this old gal is not to restore it but to resurrect it. Make sure everything works as it should and more importantly as I need it to work. So. Nope. I have no plans for an automotive paint job with 9 coats of clear. Far too many leaks to put any paint on it now. Besides, I like her in her overalls. I don't want to leave the first two turns out in the hay field because I was afraid of a scratch from a tree branch. That being said, I'm leaving the dented up fenders with the 26 holes drilled in and the welded up cracks on there because it's the original set with no grab handle on the right. I've looked VERY close at the hood to see if the Turbo stickers were painted over. Can't tell. Maybe a little rub and shine to see if they are under there but I'm in no hurry to make it pretty.

Thanks for the welcome guys. More later.

     Dennis

What is your serial number? I'll look it up and see if I have any past information on it or the next or previous in line, and I can also tell you what month it was built. Awesome save!! 

[Dzldenny]

Well, I've already stated it was my intent to put the 12 to work instead of hauling it to shows, so... When I got it home there were a few things that had t be taken care of before she got used. First on the list was fluids and filters.

The air filter was like new and dated December of 1975! That supports the sitting for decades theory.

Fuel tank had a little crud in it so a flush was in order. The fuel filters looked okay but changed em out. 

The engine oil looked fairly clean with no excess soot or grime and more importantly, no water.

I bought a full 55 gal of Hy-Tran so I could over fill and prevent any priming issues before they began. Here's where things went south. After pulling all the plugs including the axle bells, I had 11 gal of oil and 20+ of water! Yikes. Makes me wonder how anything worked and so glad I had only run it up and off the trailer before servicing. While I had the plugs out, I pulled the platform and trans cover to flush out what I could with a weed sprayer filled with clean diesel. Rebuilt, the cover with new parts like shift cam, detent and even bored the cover and turned a bronze bushing to tighten up the shifter slop before reassembly. I also got the parking brake adjusted and working before filling it back up.

Next was the obvious exhaust leak at the turbo. Yep, it's a Solar.

Think I found the issue.😵

I ordered two different turbo sleeves (one from online and one from the stealership) and they both came wrong so I cleaned everything up and turned a new sleeve fit to the Solar and the elbow.

Because none of the parts I was ordering would fit the Solar, I stopped by the local Harley shop and got a used set of piston rings from the shop owners Harley drag bike. I don't know the specifics, but I know they measured close enough to get them to work for sealing up the sleeve.

All sealed up. The turbo is on my list to pull off and service. Hopefully in winter.

More later...

[Dzldenny]

Whew! Been busy for a while... Just a few more notes on the 12. One of the things that became obvious as we got it home was it leaked. EVERYWHERE! So many leaks. Gaskets, o-rings, lines, you name it. One of the big ones was the line for the left brake that runs under the platform.

I used some 3/8 steel tubing to bend up a new one.

I cut the old line so I could re-use the fittings. One leak cured...lots more to go.

The steering seemed a little stiff but the char-lyn valve was leaking so bad it was running down out of the dash so a trip to the salvage yard to grab a used one and a new steering wheel. The kids got me a center cap for father's day and the Mrs got me a seat kit.

The injection pump was puking as well so a few gaskets for the covers and seals for the throttle shaft. Someone has clearly been in there before me.

the hose from the filter base to the pump might have been the only thing not leaking but it was so cracked I replaced it anyway.

[nate]

You are doing a nice job fixing the old girl up!

[Red666]

Looks like a fun project. It will be a lot of time and work but worth it. If you don't mind me asking where you at in North east Wi?

[Dzldenny]

Well, after a very busy summer and a beautiful wedding for my daughter and new son in law, I should have a bit more time to play with tractors... Back to the work I've done on the 12. 

After fixing a bunch of the leaks, it was time to move to some other needed repairs. Wiring. Most of it was missing and what was there had first been cobbled together before being chewed up by chipmunks or whatnot. I tore into the dash and got all the gauges working. A new key switch was in order.

Not only did it not work but was wrong on many levels.🥴

When I replaced the lights, I used 100 watt halogens as an upgrade.  

In order to help the light switch survive, I spliced relays into the harness and added a fuse panel to protect it all. Instead of fuses though I found some breakers that fit the automotive panel and pressed them into service. I tucked the relays under the kick panel by the voltage regulator and the fuse box is just under the T/A handle. Easy access from the ground right at the steps. ( I'll have to snag pictures of them.) It killed me to drill even more holes in the fenders but I wanted work lights out back that shine on more than just the draw bar. I also added a flasher to the right fender as well. Arg! More holes.

If you look closely in the last picture here, you can see the AG plug I added just under the left rear of the seat base. There was a small plug here but this one will feed tail and flashers for the equipment when traveling the road to rented land.

More to come...

[Dzldenny]

Snagged on a couple of pictures while I was at the farm today. 

The first shot here is just to show where I tucked the fuse panel up near the T/A lever.

The second one here is just a little closer pic. There are two 20 amp breakers installed. One covers the relay for the forward facing lights. The other feeds the second relay for the rear facing lights. There are still 4 open slots to add more fuses or breakers should I choose.

Here is a shot of the relay panel I put behind the kick panel. There is room for one more relay should I need it for something else.

Visible on the left side you can see I used some four flat trailer plugs when building my harness. There is one at each fender and one here under the dash. I figured it would make for easy work if I ever had to pull a fender or work under the platform again. Unfortunately these have proven to be unreliable. After one season of use, they need constant wiggling to make connection. Those will be getting swapped out.

Here too is a better look at the plug for rear lighting. It serves a a bit of a junction point also to feed the flasher and divide power to feed both left and right sides from one flasher. No signals but I figured it was better to have functional flashing lights on both fenders and a plug to feed the lights on equipment being pulled.

Got a few pictures of the fenders too. At first glance, the left one doesn't look the worst.

Until you get closer and see hole torn into it and how it was ripped like 8 inches along and 4 inches across. Looks to be a gas weld repair. But still left a torn hole in the center. Perhaps a burn through?

The right fender. No grab hole.👍 Notice all the drilled holes? One of the holes near the front had a toggle switch for the light bulb under it... Yes the left fender had a toggle too. So much that should be done to this old girl yet but each of those holes has a story and had a purpose at one point. I think I'll leave them there for now. Something to look at and ponder as I make rounds in the fields...

[mrfred54]

Wow, got yourself quite a project going. Great to see old iron come back to life, especially a red one. 1206 are a great tractor, I'm sure you will enjoy. Welcome aboard😀

[Dzldenny]

Time for another update...

So after using the 1206 very sparingly for a while, I figured it was time to actually put it to some honest farm use. We decided last winter that we were going to hook the 12 on the grain drill for spring planting. It is always a pain to switch the MX110 from the drill to the corn planter and then the sprayer over and over. It made sense to put the 12 on the drill and leave it hooked until we were done planting since the 110 has the GPS for spraying and the monitor for the corn planter. It was one less implement we had to switch back and forth. That and that no-till drill is Gosh Durn heavy. Its a pain to hook and requires a hammer strap on the draw bar. 

When I first started running it a bit, I noticed coolant weeping from the head gasket just aft of the injection pump. Great, just great.

  

I got the engine up to temp and let it cool down before running it through another heat cycle a few times. Each time working it a little harder and putting a little more heat into it. After just a few cycles, she sealed right up. Huh. I'd heard that gaskets could dry out from sitting and be brought back around like that, but never tried it before, much less seen it work before. 

The more I ran it, the more obvious it was that the steering was getting stiffer and the brakes were getting harder to push with less result. I threw a set of gauges on the MCV and sho-nuff. Time for a rebuild.

Even though I had changed the oil and filters, there was no doubt that I was doing the right thing. The MCV had a bunch of grime in it. Not sure if it was sand and oil or metal filings and oil. I didn't run a magnet to it. I ran everything through the parts washer and rebuilt the whole MCV. New springs, seals, pump and all.

Once we had everything reassembled and set back to specs, steering and brakes had returned to the show.

Now I had rewired for lights and the rear plug for implement lighting, but in order to run the drill, I would need four rear hydraulic ports. One set to raise and lower the drill and a second set to raise and lower the roller. The tractor was fitted with dual hydraulics but only had one set of ports out back. It does have the ports on either side of the steering pedestal. Now, we looked for a parts donor for the tubes to run out the back. We even purchased a set from a secret salvage yard that we thought would work. Thought would work... Nope. So instead, I hoped to T into the lines under the platform and run hard lines out the left side and around to the back. Wouldn't you know it, the lines cross under the seat. The lines I needed to tap into were on the right side. Between the parking brake linkage and the brakes on the right side, It wasn't happening. One small project was leading to another with this old girl and by this time, the snow was melting. Time to get down and dirty and just make it work.

I was able to fit a couple of T fittings into the right side pedestal ports and sneak some hoses out the bottom behind the battery tray.

I looped them around the bottom of the brake housing and back up to the rear of the housing right next to the existing rear ports.

I modified a cheap parts store bracket so I could use holes drilled and tapped from the factory to hang the ports out back. All in all, I think it looks pretty clean. Except for the droopy hoses anyway. Most importantly. It works. Nuff said. Maybe I'll re-visit lines under the platform at a later date or swap out the hoses for hard lines in this configuration??? Just putting it to work for now. It's not a restoration.

In order to pull our Krause drill and home-made roller, a set of duals was in order. Cant remember if it was C-list or Marketplace, but I found a set for $100! They are not a matched set but for $100 they don't have to be. I also found a set of 9 hole DMI hubs from an 806 for $150. Someone had torched the nuts off of the U-bolts but I was able to find some new nuts and chased the U-bolts with a die to clean up the threads. Some of the 5/8-18 holes for the wheel studs were stripped out and some were drilled and tapped for 3/4-16. 3/4 studs didn't even fit through the rims I bought. Time to Drill 'em out again and tap 7/8-14 and install inserts.

Installed. Ready to plant.

[Dzldenny]

Tried to edit some video from spring. Not much of a fan of my video editor or my editing skills for that matter.🙄

https://youtu.be/eCpt-dwWX6s

[jimw]

Nice  work , 

[JDpartsman]

It is really coming together nicely. While like you said those hoses are not factory, they got the job done and this is what counts!

[hillman]

this is a great thread. I am glad I found it!

[Dzldenny]

  So, we've used the 12 for spring planting, cutting and baling hay, grinding feed, and chopping straw this year. It seems like the leaks just won't stop. Every time I seal one up, two more spring up. The valve for the brakes is past dripping and has a full on flow of oil to earth. It seems like it's just coming from the cover but once again I've been bamboozled by a previous owner of this thing.

  Notice the difference in the washers? Probably explains why the right brake works as it should and the left brake has a hard pedal and minimal grip. I believe it is suffering from spring bind before I get enough travel. I'll have to take the correct washer off and machine a duplicate for the other side. Looks to have the correct screw. I'll have to make a gasket as well. They want to sell me the entire seal kit when all I need is the cover gasket. Seems like an expensive waste of seals. If I ever re-seal the whole thing, I'll need another cover gasket.

  The rock shaft for the trans brake in the bottom cover is marking it's territory as well so that is on the list to attack next fluid change.

  I would have liked to use it for plowing last fall but it's a bit young for the chisel plow and my moldboard plow is semi-mount and the 3 point attachments are missing. I know it's been brought up on RPM before but add me to the list of guys looking for a set. If I had a factory set to measure up, I could make a set with the equipment I have available to me but nobody in my area seems to have a set to go off of.

  I'm pretty sure I know where there is one more 12 squirrelled away in a shed. I've stopped by there a few times but haven't caught them home yet. I go back to the day we picked the tractor up. We walked and walked. I looked high and low for those things because I knew how hard they are to come by, but there was so much ground to cover. There was so much stuff to look through. We don't even know if they ever had them or if they disappeared before he took ownership. If I ever get a set to measure, I'll make more than one set because I know of a few 1206 in the area and all of them are missing so far.

In order to finish planting I had to swipe the weight bracket off my 706 and used the weights from the 1026 in order to navigate the hills. By the time fall plowing came I had found a 12 hole bracket that matches the patina of the 12 pretty well and on the cheap. So, the 10 hole bracket and weights went back on the 7 for plowing and the "new" bracket made it's way to the 12. Shouldn't have to play musical brackets anymore. Now I'm on the hunt for a matching set of early weights for both tractors. They are out there but I'm tighter than the skin on a hot dog. Lots of stuff two and three states away but fuel  plus purchase price adds up!

 

[Drysleeves]

What's your serial number? Guessing it's a '66 with no grab handle on the right hand fender and serial number plate.