TRACTORS
From page 43
corner of a field, there to quickly become overgrown with brambles and weeds, hence appearing to have become part of a hedge. Parting with a few hundred quid, the new owner will be allowed to extricate the machine from its dank and leafygrave, loaditontoa trailer and cart it home, there to discover the full magnitude of the restoration task ahead. First off, the wet English weather will probably have claimed the“ tinwork”( bonnet and mudguards), which will need replacing. These are often available as newly manufactured items, or reasonable quality ones can be sourced from other restorers who may have bought tractors simply to strip for sought after parts. Any fluids remaining in the machine, such as sump oil and hydraulic fluid, will long have turned to sludge, so these cavities will need stripping off and cleaning out. The big question in any restoration, of course, is the condition of the engine, gearbox and hydraulics. Hopefully, the engine can be cranked by hand, showing that it is not seized. Either way, a true restorer will strip it and replace pistons, rings, bearings etc. And when all is cleaned, painting and rebuilding will be carried out.
True restorers will want to paint their tractors exactly as the manufacturers had them, even to the extent of using the original paint formulations. In any event, the paint jobs achieved with modern equipment and care often far surpass the sheen achieved on the originals. Next, the electrics, and here comes a decision: On older tractors( and cars) the electrical system was 6V. It was only in the 1950s that tractors( and cars) began commonly to use 12V electrics. To be true to the restoration, therefore, one must decide whether to remain with( or revert to) a 6V system, which is less reliable and for which parts are harder to come by, or to go with a more common and“ modern” 12V system. Whichever way, one need not worry about the wiring looms. These are available for some makes in kit form, with the wires already cut to length and fitted with the correct lugs and connectors. All one has to do, therefore, is fasten the loom to the tractor and plug the wiring in. After many months of work, and not a few skinned knuckles and sprained muscles from undoing frozen bolts and stripped nuts, the restorer ' s pride and joy will be complete and after a little running adjustment will be purring sweetly and ready for the road. But what is a tractor without an implement or two? If the intent is to use the tractor for road runs, the most popular item to hitch up behind is load box. In essence they acted as a wheel-less trailer and enabled the farmer to cart feed, soil, manure, fencing material etc about his farm. On a road run this enables the UK restorer to carry his lunch, drinks, rain gear, etc.
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