farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Here is the restoration of my 1944 Farmall A. I purchased this tractor from my neighbor for 100 dollars. I saw the tractor go by when I was 10 and saw it sitting at his house for ever. I have always wanted it. I did some scrappin for him last year and was able to buy it as well. I let it sit for some time before I tore into it because I wanted to get my H done but finally got into it a few months ago. Well I got it home, took off the shot mower and broke it down. My dad has a C135 engine out of his old 91 combine that no longer exists. I wanted to keep that engine so I decided to put it in my A and have a 40 hp A. The engine was stuck so I tore into it and found that the no. 3 cylinder was stuck. I pounded out the piston and sleeve. I then found a new sleeve and put it in. I need to get a piston and rings for it. As this was a power unit engine it had no pilot bushing. I had the crank out and had it machined. I put the crank back in and after buying a full engine gasket set I put it back together. I then tore into the head as there was three stuck valves in it. I need to get that machined and cleaned up. Well here are some pictures of the build. This tractor will be fully restored and painted. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Day I brought it home. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 When I brought it down to the farm to store it when I worked on other projects. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Sitting down at the farm in the barn. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Day I brought it home to restore it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Combine engine being worked on. Notice the red neck chain down method to try and get it unstuck. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Engine in the tractor and it sitting in the shop. Its not much but I get a ton of work done in it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehammer Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 That was some exhaust on it when you brought it home. Always liked the little rigs like that but haven't spent any time on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanton Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks for posting all the pics. Looks like you're well on your way to having a nice tractor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarmaker Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Chris, Very nice pictures! Thanks for posting. I had the chance to mow grass at our local tractor show grounds this summer with one of these and a Woods 5 foot belly mower. Nice little tractors that run well and drove good! You have done a lot of work on the tractor! It will make a nice addition to the family. Looks a lot like the things I bring home. You did good on the initial price also. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Thanks guys. I was super lucky and blessed to get the tractor as well as how cheap I got it. This will be a long process as I am a busy guy and dont have all the money in the world. Im gonna do it right though. I love these little tractors. I want to get a woods mower for it so I am able to mow with it in the future. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Very impressed with your project. Good to see such dedication in a young individual. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clydethe142 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Heck of a deal you got on a cool setup can't go wrong with a belly mower on an A, I have logged several hours on an A mowing the yard, fence rows, and the depleted fall pasture at dads.. After of course he got tired of raising tobacco and pulled the cultivators off, awesome documentation by the way that's where I usually drop the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckchevy9 Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Looks like a straight tractor. Get some tires & mechanically sound & it would look cool with that patina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTO Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Bought an A 15 yrs ago in buckets. Paid $400. My first Farmall and still mow the yard and pastures with it. She has a special place in my heart. Super handy tractors imo. Crank start and I tuned it when I built it and haven`t had the cap/wires/plugs/points off since. Maybe shouldn`t have said that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckchevy9 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Bought an A 15 yrs ago in buckets. Paid $400. My first Farmall and still mow the yard and pastures with it. She has a special place in my heart. Super handy tractors imo. Crank start and I tuned it when I built it and haven`t had the cap/wires/plugs/points off since. Maybe shouldn`t have said that... Mark, you just jinxed yourself! I have always wanted to go smaller & bigger than my C - so looks like an A & H - Rick wont sell me his M He finds it far to useful to get rid of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTO Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Bought an A 15 yrs ago in buckets. Paid $400. My first Farmall and still mow the yard and pastures with it. She has a special place in my heart. Super handy tractors imo. Crank start and I tuned it when I built it and haven`t had the cap/wires/plugs/points off since. Maybe shouldn`t have said that... Mark, you just jinxed yourself! I have always wanted to go smaller & bigger than my C - so looks like an A & H - Rick wont sell me his M He finds it far to useful to get rid of Can ship you a SA, an H with 3 pt, a 140 with 3 pt but I`m keeping my worn out A!! The he!! with Rick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Finally an update on this topic. I took the head down to harts machine in ohio. Full redo. New valves and all new guides. Decked it. And cleaned it. Always super impressed with their work. Got the head installed. Put the push rods in and torqued it down. Rockers also got installed. Gonna lash later. Now just have to replace some seals. Bolt the front cover down good and paint paint paint Jumping between this and my farmall m (brake seals. Checking fluids. Fixing grounds on the lights) and getting my beet cultivator ready for a local show. Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 A little update on this project. I removed the belt pulley and pto assembly to drain the old nasty smelling gear oil and replace gaskets and seals. Ran into a snag with the o ring on the pto housing but I just sourced one so I will be cleaning up the parts and installing them again. Then I'm gonna replace the final drive gaskets and seals. Getting closer to paint. Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbfarmall Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I went thru my mowing B last summer. Engine turned up stuck, I assumed it was because of a bad manifold. I was stunned to drain 3 gallons of coolant from the oil pan. One new sleeve, a good manifold, rings and rod bearings...I have an easy to hand crank B. Enjoyable to work on, plenty of parts, not so heavy you need special stands and hoists and won't break the bank. Chris B. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Did a little more work on the little bugger. I'm replacing all the seals and gaskets in the tractor. They are all leaking. Just ordered the rest of the seals today. Need to get a lot of parts in the parts washer. Next I need to remove the transmission. Dont worry. I will be reinstalling the front end and blocking it up better. You can see the one brake was shot. The other is full of oil. Chris. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitty Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 17 hours ago, farmallman77 said: Did a little more work on the little bugger. I'm replacing all the seals and gaskets in the tractor. They are all leaking. Just ordered the rest of the seals today. Need to get a lot of parts in the parts washer. Next I need to remove the transmission. Dont worry. I will be reinstalling the front end and blocking it up better. You can see the one brake was shot. The other is full of oil. Chris. You will be glad you are replacing the seals before it will run oil down over the new paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmallman77 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Yeah I'm kinda bummed I have to tear it this far down but there is nothing worse than having new paint and having oil run down it. I know itll be worth it plus oil seals aren't that expensive. Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbfarmall Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Look the shafts over where the seals touch. Those old leather seals can retain moisture and cause significant pitting to metal. You may need a speedi-sleeve and or jb weld to repair the shaft--worst case welding and turning or replacement. Otherwise, it will start leaking all over again. Chris B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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