This tractor is going to be modified into a yard and garden tractor. Like a big lawn mower with a snow plow (blower?)attachment. I don't realy want a lot of horsepower, or speed. Just something a bit more durable than a riding mower.
I am trying to get a J I Case VAC tractor. The engine is torn apart and there is no front axle. A piece of 1/4" plate covers the belt drive pulley, no 3 point hitch provisions. Oh yeah, and a beer bottle for a gas cap.
9/21/2008. I will post some pics as things get closer.
I brought this tractor home 10/31/2008, my wife wasn't very impressed with her birthday present. It has no rear wheels or tires basically it is just a transmission/differential assembly and parts. The block is cracked, there is a broken valve, and some pretty worn rod bearings. The "flyball" gorverner is intact, some 3/4" balls in a cup on the end of the camshaft, they work against a spring.
I will try to find some suitable "modern" engine. Something less obsolete, maybe only 20 years out of production.
I had a bizarre vision about this thing. I wanted a Dodge slant 6, but they seem to be in short supply, around here. So how about this- I will replace the torque tube that connects the engine to the transmission with an old 727 TorqueFlite. This will allow me to use any relatively modern MoPar engine. I have a 318 magnum and an older 360. Yeah I have the 500HP 440 but it is slated for some other project. Using a 727 will shorten the tractor by approximately 10", using a 3.9V6 will further shorten the length by about 5". Removing that length will help with my proposed usage. If I use a 727, the tractor will not have the side mounted belt pulley however.
A couple of other engine ideas, a 3.9L V6 from a early 90s Dakota, or a V4 made by Ford and used in old Saabs. The V4 is also sold in the USA, as a Ford Industrial engine, into the 1980s, they range in size from 1.2L to 1.7L. This engine is referred to as the Taunus V4. The Capri V6 is a big brother version of this engine.
The TorqueFlite and adapter will be just a few inches shorter than the old torque tube. It would be nice to have a brake on the trans output shaft. Once the thing was moving you won't be able shift the manual trans without going to "park".
The front axle is coming from a 1955 Chevy PU. If I turn it upside down it should be ok, since it has minimal kingpin inclination. With a top speed around 10MPH it probably won't be detrimental to the handling. The Chevy front axle is not as heavy duty as the old tractor axle, but I have it. Plans are to use a power steering from a full size GM vehicle, I have both inside and outside the frame type of boxes. Maybe I'll offset the seat to the left a bit.
New axle collars that pinch the drive axles like the old stuff but have an 8 hole 3/4 ton bolt pattern. There are 2, 8 hole, 9.75" X 16-5, American Mags left over from the past. I need to scrounge a pair of 32"-35" tall off road tires. I have collected a piece of steel big enough to turn these collars from. Maybe I can get them turned this winter.
