Ferguson engine is back!

With cracked block repaired, new crankshaft (old one was irreparable, worn to >+.50"). I'll have to get a picture to post this weekend.

work was done by Farmland Tractor Supply; they had a very reasonable turn around time.

I've been deeply tied up by moving, so the "projects" have not received much attention of late. Power company is starting next week with a 700' trench to bring in electric power; which I've been without since the property was acquired in '99.

Mystery of the safety switch

Purpose of:



T0 keep engine from starting under all circumstances?

Mystery of the 3-Way Valve

Manual has instructions about the 3-Way Valve but this seems to be all there is:



wondering if that is because there is a seperate control for the external hydraulic system?

Alton Generators

Well, had to bookmark this; the weakest link in the old m/c was the Lucas dynamo. apparently the market has risen to the occasion.



I've had good service from the Vincent's Miller electrics, but the Lucas E3N on the Matchless was a never ending source of aggrevation; even worthy of spending £295.00 to replace it!


Alton Generator link

Start this sequence of posts from the bottom

I hope if you've found this series of entries you might be able to help me make sense of what I've got here. If you would like to tell me to go buy the book, I'd be delighted to; and if you would be so kind as to tell me where and which ones, I'd be ever so grateful. thank you.

Right side

On the right side:



I find the raise/lower control I'm familiar with from the Ferguson, and two additional hydraulic controls which I assume are for the aux lines. Here's a top view:



But I'm baffled as to the purpose and use of the little knob with three settings; this control seems likely and obvious that it's purpose is as it says, rate of change control;




But as to the purpose of this item, haven't a clue.



by the way, I had the CASE shop look at the 3-pt and they said it works in extended mode but not in draft mode. I have no idea what that means. They also said $3-6K to repair it. I know what that means!

Left side

On the left side:



there are four hydraulic lines which appear to be controled by two levers on the right side), a long lever which connects rather low,



which based on the sticker, I take to be the PTO control (with a high and low speed?);



and a short little lever on the back side.



which I have no idea what it does or how it's used.

What is it?

OK, according to the plate on the fender,

Reduction Ration 11/49
Tractor # 990/1 851530
Engine Serial # 449001 30110

I bet someone can tell me that this means!

I notice that, in addition to the custom flat tires and leaking fuel tank, it has power steering, secondary hydraulics, and controls for which I have no idea what they are or do. So I took pictures and I hope someone will tell me what I was looking at!

Introduction

Since I bought my first Matchless (a 1955 G80CS) in 1968, I have had a love/hate relationship with wheeled products from England; which have included a 1937 Velocette KTS, more Matchless and AJS singles than I can even remember, Triumph tiger cubs, spring hub twins, BSA Bantam to Gold Star, and the last one, a '53 Vincent Rapide knicknamed the "the sagebrush harvester" after an unfortunate tumble off the road. Cars? Midget, Morris Minor, Austin America (ugh), and the Austin Healey 3000 ended that run (the healey burnt out the electric system on the way home from the dealership (only 20k miles on it).

I'd thought I'd bought my last British iron when I traded in the garage for a wife and family, but what an interesting surprise when I bought a '49 Ferguson TO-20 to run a bush hog and keep the roads open; surprise to discover that I was back to British engineering again! Well, I like old stuff, and I like stuff that is easy to repair. Unfortunately, the block cracked on the Ferguson, and the weeds have grown tall, waiting for no man.



The Ferguson engine is off to Farmland Tractor in Oregon for a rebuild; they repair blocks with furnace brazing and offer a service. However, the little Ferguson is really underpowered for the job I wanted it for, and without live hydraulics or a low range gearbox, I wanted something that was more suitable. So along comes a friend who left the land for town, and had a tractor to get rid of... So now I seem to have this beast in the paddock; and wonder of wonders... another Brit!




The purpose for which I've created this blog is to document the progress of more than one project to breath life into the odd bits of machinery which seem to cling to me. The first out will be the David Brown 990 pictured above. One thing I'd like to be clear about, is that I have a form of Muscular Dystrophy so I will not be doing the work myself; I am still good with computers and the camera; Bill is good with machinery (if you drink Bigelow Tea in the US, his machine folds the bags) but not computers; he's my hands with the tractors. Eric, my son-in-law, is gung-ho to make one motorcycle out of the hundreds of bits that once were a complete Vincent. Since I was once pretty handy with Matchless and Vincent, I won't be begging much help there, but as I know nothing about diesel engines or the David Brown tractor, I hope that this blog will be found by those who can provide answers.

All the best,
Mark