Ford 140
...Water Wagon & Sickle Cutter
As a consequence of the barn being dropped I
started to run out of places to stash the piles of junk that I'd been
accumulating over the years, so I bit the bullet and scrapped out a couple of
old cars and jammed them to the roof with scrap metal (even going so far as to
remove the seats to fit more in).
Since I was at the scrap yard anyway, I couldn't pass-up this old Ford 140
lawn tractor.
Beyond re-wiring the ignition system, the issues of contaminated fuel were
addressed from the tank through the fuel pump to a complete tear-down and
cleaning of the carb.
The piston was hydraulically locked with water and the crank case was
similarly flooded with water as evidenced by the brown globs that were replaced
with fresh 10W30.
With the addition of a reliable battery this engine is a testament to Kohler
(the manufacturer) as the model 321 14hp single cylinder runs like a top now.
This is a heavy Cast Iron engine with enough of a flywheel that it can idle
at close to 200 RPM (judging by ear only).
The 140 is equipped with a Hydro-Static drive that only needed to be
topped-up with fluid.
The speed and forward/reverse controls required some creative fabrication to
make it utile, as the factory linkages were missing.
After running a quarter of a tank through the 140 and putting about the farm
(where ever I formerly used to walk) I felt comfortable that it was in good
working order.
Water Wagon
As there are a number of conveyances that I can plant my lazy ass on to get
about, I decided to revisit a project that was started last year, of a similar
lawn tractor refurb.
A water wagon that could be hauled down to our vegetable garden, or where
ever else water might be needed.
The images below are of the sealing up of any potential leaks or holes that
existed, and a test filling of the tub.
To keep the water contained during transport, a plywood cover is attached.
The pump shown is a 12V DC unit typically found in camper trailers or RV's.
This unit had to dis-assembled and sealed a number of times as it had a leak
from being allowed to freeze while holding water.
The pump is shown with a set of scavenged UPS batteries wired in parallel
and a simple On/Off switch. The pump is equipped with a 5PSI cut-out switch as
well, so the unit really doesn't need to be powered off while moving along the
length of the garden.
The sprayer & hose were scavenged from a pressure washer that also was
caught in sub-zero temps with a belly full of water.
McCormack Deering #7 Sickle Cutter
At this point the grass has grown-up so tall around the sickle cutter I was
inspired to pull it out and see what it needed to be returned to serviceable
condition.
The drive train is in immaculate condition, though it was bone dry.
The fluid added was generic hydraulic fluid for now and will be drained and
replaced with 90 weight gear oil.
After much putzing about with the drive train and determining that nothing
was seized, I made a couple of attempts to free-up the cutter blade and promptly
broke the pitman arm.
Broken arm...
One of the 2 (two) replacements I made out of a white oak board recovered
from the 1926 barn noted at the top of the page.
So the replacement pitman arm may very well be of a similar vintage as the
actual mower.
Since the arm was off anyway the blade was removed and cleaned-up.
The cutting edges are just lightly dressed with the angle grinder to get a
razor sharp edge.
The final touch was to add a hook to the chain and an eye-bolt to the cutter
for quick and easy transport.
The Ford 140 has plenty of grunt, but the hydro-static drive has just enough
slip under load to allow the cutter to slow and bind-up with grass.
The JD1050 is perhaps over kill, but the ability to raise or lower the 3pt
hitch makes clearing a stuffed mower easier and also offers the ability to vary
the height of the cut on the fly. Thereby reducing the number of times the mower
clogs significantly.
Beyond having to tighten some bolts and re-greasing (just to be on the
safe-side) the mower works like a champ!
The ideal speed seems to be about 5 Km/h or 3mp/h (1st gear-high) @ approx
1,500 to 1,700 rpm. The tractor isn't labouring regardless of terrain or density
of the material being cut.
So in closing, I couldn't be happier with the mower and get a chill at the
thought that if I hadn't come-up with the scrap value of the unit it would have
been smashed and shipped off to make some useless piece of shit merchandise that
definitely won't be working 5 years from now let alone in 80 years.