Ferrari Tractor Restoration part 2

 So, three years, a pandemic and a broken collarbone later, it's done. Not quite the blow-by-blow account I was intending when I put the last post up.

Shortly after getting some assistance with welding up the bonnet, I came off my bike, broke my collar bone and couldn't do anything for a few months. That knocked a hole in my enthusiasm. 

Once I got back to it, it was just a slow process of taking things apart, cleaning them up and repainting. It turns out that RAL6001 is about as good a match as I could hope for. Paint spraying isn't as easy as it looks, and cleaning up a sprayer takes much longer than putting a brush in water for next time, so it's only worth spraying if there is a lot to do. That means I try to get a lot ready in one morning, and end up not getting it done so it needs preparing again next weekend. On the other hand I can nip out in the evening and brush paint a small bit with minimal overheads. 

One brake pipe fell apart under the wire brush, which seems as good an outcome as I could hope for. The master cylinder was not in good shape. I assume it has been replaced at some point as the bracket looks somewhat, shall we say, after-market and it is a type usually fitted to S2 Landrovers. A new pattern one was about the same price as an OEM overhaul kit, without the risk or hassle. The brakes still aren't right, but they just about do something.  

The engine started first time, once I had fitted new batteries and fuel filter. For the record, the fuel filter is a Wix WF8156, aka Bosch A0000901151. It was fairly manky after all that time sitting.

The clutch was less cooperative. I bent the pedal jumping on it to free it off, to no avail, but eventually it came free by itself. There is almost no travel before it disengages so one day soon it will have to come apart for re-lining. New challenges await...

Overall it has gone OK, if slowly. Apart from the clutch and brakes, none of the lights work so there will be a second iteration starting soon, but it is back together and has done one show.

Ferrari Tractor Restoration

This is what the Ferrari looked like 6 years ago...

... and this is what it looks like now...

It was quite fun taking it to Dorchester Show those years ago, so now it has been relieved of duties, it's time to give it a bii of spit and polish.

First question, what colour is it? You can get Fergie grey or Massey red anywhere, but Ferrari green not so much. I taking a guess at RAL 6001 Emerald Green.

The mesh guards over the rear lights have no trace of any original paint, and i can't see them on any of the picures I can find on the web. Perhaps they are not original fit but they were on it when I got it. I'm going to guess at black. 

So, I've started. Lets see how this goes...

Easyspin Overhaul

I recently acquired an Easyspin spinning wheel, which had been out of service for a few years. The first thing to do was to give it a good clean and lubricate, with 800 wet&dry and white grease. The spindle was easy to do by treadling while holding the abrasive paper against it - once I had fitted a new 3mm PU drive belt, as the original elastic was stretched beyond all redemption. The flyer hooks needed a little attention from a die grinder.
The next problem was a missing orifice loop. I couldn't find anything about this on the web, it it seemed fairly self evident what was needed, which could be bent up out of coat hanger wire.

 

Then there was the connecting rod. The leather strap connecting it to teh treadle was in dubious conditoin, and anyway, I like a double-acting treadle. This wheel has a rigid conrod but flexible liknages at both ends. I replaced teh leather strap with a small ball joint (made to be a track ord end on remote control cars)...

 ...and put a restraining clip on the keyhole slot on the other end.

Personally ]I think that makes it much more usable, although given how few wheels have properly double-acting tereadles I assume I must be in the minority.

BT Freeway PMR dismantle

I would say repair, but I couldn't find the problem. It was a fiddly little beast to take apart though.

It starts easily enough with removing the batteries, to reveal 4 screws you can take out. That leaves it firmly stuck together at one end. What you have to do is,

Slide the silver cover on the back top down. A firm push on the raised semicircle should do it. Use a screwdriver to prise off the cover from the top, starting on the back where you have just exposed two small holes to lever in, and then on the front where you just have to work int in. Slide it up over the aerial.

Take out the final screw thus exposed, on the back near the aerial. The front now pulls off quite easily. Getting at the back however is more tricky. De-solder the tab connecting the aerial to the circuit board. Then the board should lift and pull out quite easily.

 Better luck finding any faults than I had.

Coffee Machine

The office coffee machine broke. I need coffee. It's a simple drip filter machine that only cost about 15 quid but there a principle at stake here. It was obviously blocked,.Descaling didn't help, and nor did taking the feed tube off the top, so it's got to come apart. First problem is the bottom is held on with triangular recess screws. An old screwdriver plus a bench grinder solved that problem. After that getting at the inlet was easy enough. There is a small valve in the inlet spigot. Sucking and blowing on the tube showed it was not working. After a little trial and error, it turns out to be easy to push out from the reservoir side with a piece of wire. At that point, a lump of paper towel fell out of the hole. Job done.

Rubics cube

I finally decided to get a new tractor. Well, I say new, 6 years newer than the old one. A Ford 4610 with what is colloquially known as the "Rubics cube" gear shift. Having tried randomly wiggling the lever about, searching the web gave no clue about how it worked. I finally resorted to buying a manual. Out turns out it is fairly straightforward, although completely unintuitive. There are three neutral positions. The one in the middle of where the starter interlock is. The ones at the ends allow the lever to be lifted, from where a secondary movement forward or back selects a gear.

All this is the right hand lever. The left hand reverse/ low/ high one is much more obvious.

Walking Wheel

The Lady of the House wanted a great wheel or walking wheel, a type of spinning wheel that predates the modern flyer-type wheels. Actually I think a great wheel is slightly different from a walking wheel, but the idea is much the same.
Basically it's just a big wheel driving a small spindle, so surely that must be easy enough to make from a old bike frame...
This idea was to use the rear triangle and bottom bracket. The spinner has to turn the wheel by hand, and keep in contact with it, so half the rear triangle had to go. To get the wheel to align reasonably with the spindle pulley (or whorl as spinners seem to say) I had to crank the chainstay over considerably, which needed some hot forging. More hot forging to draw out a spindle from a bottom bracket axle. This comes to a fine point (it's what Sleeping Beauty is supposed to have scagged herself on). A 3D printed pulley finished that part off.
Now, it needs to stand on something. It needs to be at a convenient height to use standing up, so my first idea of using the headset and seat tube was out. I cut the front tubes off, and used the top tube to extend the seat tube to the right height. A flat handlebar forged into a smaller angle makes a reasonable tripod base, although not as robust as it might be. Still, it works.

And here it is...

And a detail of the spindle