All the possibilities...

[SmilinSam]

No I dont...

[ShaunE]

11 hours ago, SmilinSam said:

No I dont...

I made one identical to this one & it woks amazingly well!  Started by using it to refinish cast iron skillets but the possibilities are endless.  Just remember "Red Receives Rust" when you hook up the charger. & use it outside because the bi-product is Hydrogen gas.  That didn't work so well for the Hindenburg...Oh the humanity.

 

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-and-history/rust-electrolysis-tank-setup-ver-2-0-a-233851/#post1668644

[GLPointon]

Nice deal on the "Sickle" Sam!! 

I have a bag full of these "teeth" if they'll fit. I couldn't sell them on EB for enough to cover the fees & shipping so I thought I'd just save them for members to buy cheap.

[fishnwiz]

Real nice work Greg and a super kind offer to members who need these.

Thanks from the membership.

[SmilinSam]

Somehow missed Gregs post on the teeth. Will be getting to the sickle mower next week.

Got the 3415 worked over and running. mowed the yard today, and without an incident. Only thing to note is engine revs up a bit when the pto is disengaged. might try a different hole for the spring  in the governor arm.

So,  its the $30  3415 from above, with the 16hp kohler from the $5 split 716 chasis ..both bought at the same auction. Add a $15 china Ebay carb, $15 ebay kohler fuel pump , a $75 deck, $12 in paint, and around $50 in gaskets, air filter, oil, and misc small parts...plus a couple of used front tires with tubes that I have around $40 in. Likely the cheapest working tractor I have put together in a long time. Though as you all know, with more use  that figure could go higher  as the bugs get worked out.

 

Had to paint the wheels and hood. Cant stand it when people spray the original gray over with the brightest white out there.

Havnt been able to find my rustoleum chevy engine red-orange locally yet, so the chasis isnt getting painted for a while. Not doing a world class paint job as its just going to mow fence rows where my bigger decks cant go.

Got the satco headlight bulbs in. Still have to finish wiring them up.

Mowed nice, but when you are used to a 54" deck, the old 42 is a bit slow going. 

 

 

[dhoadley]

I added that up to $242. Awesome! 

[Richard Wright]

Wow, great job for low dollars. Sure wish I could do that. 

[Chris727]

Nic job Sam. I admire your ability to take piles of parts and make them useful tractors once again. 

[PhanDad]

Excellent.

Another mutt is born.

 

[SmilinSam]

On 7/5/2018 at 8:39 AM, PhanDad said:

Excellent.

Another mutt is born.

 

Bill, this one is the real "mutt"

This one went operational the last 2 days.  Engine from a 216 Deere,seat and steering wheel from a 90's Landlord, BGB case and shafts from a 3400 series, steering shaft from a 700 series, rear wheels from a Bolens, front wheels from 7000 series,deck off a 3300 series.

Got different rims and tires lined up to install here soon. Going to paint the wheels all red like the pre-Allis Deutz tractors had.. Just to be different..... Got a half gallon of DA green left from the last DA paint job. Will eventually get painted as the summer progresses.

 

Ran it for about an hour  the other day and it died from low fuel, then wouldnt crank anymore. Monkeyed around with it and got it to start by jumping from battery to starter. Got it back to the shop and after a bunch of testing found the problem to be the starter relay was loose. Something is still wrong with the elctrical system. Amp guage does not show it charging, especially with lights on, but the meter shows it running 13-14 volts while running, and around 13 v with the lights on and running.

Deck probably could use some work. A little too loud, but mows nice and doesnt act like there are problems.

Kinda fun to play with the old beaters.

 

Got to start on the sickle mower and get the prestige engine woes fixed. Ron brought down a couple of engines to look over the other day, so I need to get one of those on the stand and looked at.Loads of stuff to do yet this vacation.

This one is even at this point cheaper than the last one. $125 for the tractor - of which I sold the KT for $125 making it $0.00 for the chasis. $17 for the Deere that donated the engine, $15 for a china carb and $15 for a china fuel pump - both off Ebay 2 tire tubes for $35,  BGB bearings and seals for $52, and a transmission pump shaft seal for $8.

Might splurge and buy some ag tires for it and a rear lift setup....

Edited July 12, 2018 by SmilinSam

[PhanDad]

3 hours ago, SmilinSam said:

Bill, this one is the real "mutt"

Do you have a count of the mutts you've made?

Probably too many to count.

 

[fishnwiz]

RARE Christmas edition tractor!

[SmilinSam]

On 7/12/2018 at 10:10 AM, PhanDad said:

Do you have a count of the mutts you've made?

Probably too many to count.

 

Maybe a dozen  bonafide mutts. The rest were all rebuilt using used, but "correct" parts. Those others are the ones that are too many to count.

Of course the other way to look t it is that the numbers keep diminishing , as the older I get the fewer tractors I can remember.

[SmilinSam]

On 7/12/2018 at 1:23 PM, fishnwiz said:

RARE Christmas edition tractor!

Just ordered some rear ag tires. Got some wide rims and will be painting them as well as the front ones.....Bright red

I kinda like the look the old Deutz tractors had when they had red rims, not to mention the new Fendt tractors. Might have to get creative and make a  set of custom decals...hmmmmm

[SmilinSam]

More pictures coming soon...

A teaser for now..

My cheap $50 sickle mower didnt end up being so cheap. Tally is up to around $500 now. New drive pully, several new bearings, new pitman arm assembly, a number of used parts from a parts mower I bought from DaveBsACs and now waiting for a new spring. then its ready to throw on the tractor and play with. The one consolation is that for the $500 invested, I do have a complete bar assembly with a good cutter bar and rock guards for spares to keep this one running on down the road.

Heres where I am on the other project. This one is still plenty cheap thankfully...

[SmilinSam]

 

Ok, theres the quickie paint job and some new decals. Dont give me too much guff on using 914 decals. The objective here is  cleaning this tractor up and making it work for C H E A P.  Got the decal set off Ebay for  $25 delivered.

Paint job did not turn out so great...at least up close. Looks good in the pictures or at a little distance, but. surface is not as smooth as I would like to see it., though there are no runs. Dont think I got the paint thinned quite right. That and a bunch of gnats landed on the hood while it was drying. Though they did wet sand off pretty good.

Added new ag tires on the back and a rear lift setup. Have not found a cheap dash decal yet..

 

I really like the red wheels over the OEM silver.

Cost is pretty decent. Tally at this point is around $350.

 

Got some wiring problems and charging system problems to work through before it can really be worked. My earlier starting problems seem to be a problem with a relay  in this wiring harness. Wiggle it just the right way and the tractor will turn over.

The amp gauge never shows a charge. I works because it does show a slight discharge with the key on, and a bigger discharge when you turn the lights on. When the tractor is running if I put my digital meter on it, the volts are all over the place, constantly quickly  changing. Unreadable really. Then sometimes it will quit moving so much and alternate between12,  13,14,  15, and 18 volts. Any ideas whether it would be the regulator or the stator?

Edited September 24, 2018 by SmilinSam

[Snojetter]

Despite all your effort to make it sound shoddy, I like it!  Beautiful color combo!  Even the fuel shut off coordinates.

Edited September 25, 2018 by Snojetter

[720nut]

Christmas Tractor  love the combo

[ShaunE]

20 hours ago, SmilinSam said:

Any ideas whether it would be the regulator or the stator

Could potentially be a flywheel magnet issue also.  But you'll know that as soon as you remove the flywheel.

[Snojetter]

How do you get the tires on without marring the paint on the rims?  Or do you paint with the tires already mounted?

[gwiseman]

22 hours ago, SmilinSam said:

I really like the red wheels over the OEM silver.

Cost is pretty decent. Tally at this point is around $350.

Me too Sam. I just never cared for the silver, green & black combo. You know, maybe we should put our heads together and start a contest sometime - Under $500 make over or something. 

[SmilinSam]

3 hours ago, ShaunE said:

Could potentially be a flywheel magnet issue also.  But you'll know that as soon as you remove the flywheel.

I know its not he magnets as I had the flywheel off  while I was cleaning the engine up.  The stator  and regulator are "unknowns".. I have more stators and regulators, but fewer regulators.

I'm inclined to swap another regulator into it. Only reluctant in case a bad stator could cook the regulator.

Going to clean up the rest of the wiring harness first. But I tested the voltage coming right out of the regulator and at the battery and the problem is the same at both locations, so really assuming its the regulator or stator,

Edited September 25, 2018 by SmilinSam

[ShaunE]

I would say since you are getting a reading above 14, I would lean towards the regulator myself.  But I also understand you don't want to fry another regulator.  What is the reading off the stator?

[SmilinSam]

Stator tested at 33 volts AC while running, so that was ok. Swapped a different regulator and no results. Tore the wiring apart and  found no connection between the wire at the regulator to the wire at the rectifier tab on the keyswitch. Moved down to the rrelay and found the disconnection to be in the relay itself. Not sure they even had the right wires hooked up to the relay.  So I just removed the relay someone else had put in, or at least had messed with.  re-connected everything the way its supposed be. Test ran with a different regulator and everything worked right. Swapped the other regulator back in and found it to indeed be bad anyhow. So I had 2 problems going on at the same time it seems. All fixed now and ready for work.

[SmilinSam]

On 9/25/2018 at 9:33 AM, Snojetter said:

How do you get the tires on without marring the paint on the rims?  Or do you paint with the tires already mounted?

My method of wheel painting is to clean and brush the wheels off the wash the wheels with tires on them with dawn dish soap and rinse. Let dry thoroughly. Then I take actual duck tape brand duct tape  and start by tucking one corner of the tape up against the rim  sticking it to the tire. As you continue doing this around the tire/wheel the tape ends up standing straight up perpendicular to the tire. Get around to almost where you started and carefully tear the tape off the roll and then  finish. I use the actual brand name because its the only thing that sticks halfway decent to the rubber tire. Any good brand name would do like Gorilla etc. Its the no name copys that dont have enough stickum on their product that dont work. Not fun to get halfway around the tire and have the tape start falling off....

Then you paint the wheel keeping the nozzle inside the tape.  Rarely get overspray on the tire. If I do, then just wipe it with a paper towel wetted a little with paint thinner.. Then repeat the process for the other side.

You can paint the wheel with it laying flat  or with it standing up . If its standing up you have to hold the wheel with one hand and keep turning it. If you paint it laying flat you have to get a new can of paint  before it gets empty , as the angle you have to hold the can will make you run short of paint before the can is empty.. I always put down a cleane piece of cardboard to paint on. If theres any dust or loose material on the cardboard when painting the wheel laying flat, it will blow the debris into your painted wheel when you are doing the second side with the first side down.

The back side of the lip which is for the most part against the tire generally doesnt get much paint on it. Doesnt show much though. I have sometimes taken a hobby brush and painted the back of the lip by hand. if it shows enough..

Edited September 27, 2018 by SmilinSam