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Latest update: 11:35pm Friday, April 16th 2010
I've decided to call my tractor "The Essex lily", not very witty but it's a tribute to where it's born...
The article is somewhat re-arranged, from wednesday 31st march 2010 everything new will be posted at the top...
Latest update: 09:35pm Saturday, April 11th 2010
Anyway, here we go:
Videos!
This clip is shot when I picked the tractor up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGurQL16jEk
First test drive on the road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2SIXZhmY-Q
Trying out the hydraulics and the re-designed stop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pan_9IuR9c
A first test of the newly built thermostart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9r3wiHJIhQ
Starting him up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwj3tuhQZv0
This is what the old man looked like when I got 'im, on November the 1st 2009
This is not far from home, during the "bring him home" tour(which was 90km and took the best part of the 1st and 2 hours of the 2nd november)
New home, sweet home... In the old barn at my father's farm
Christmas gifts anyone? Since I'm relatively poor my father bought me some goodies(all except the truck starter which I got from dad's cousin)
Ford world series Force exhaust.
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Friday April 16th 2010
Got the "right" seals this time and now they are mounted, since I bought these from a seal manufacturer they were thinner than the originals and I fitted two on each side...
My neighbor works as a laser operator, so after some measuring and drawing in solidworks I ended up sending him drawings of these things, to the right are the parts for an alternator mount, utilizing the alternator found in a Volvo 240
The brushing and painting goes on... Yes, I cut off the hand brake lever, there's nothing left on the inside and if I want to rebuild it someday I would have had to get a new lever anyway since some smart-o previous owner had wrecked it 
This is the 3D-model of my drawbar and upper 3pt lift reinforcement
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Removed all the clutch linkages and the steering drop arm, had to cut off the old steering link, it was in pretty useless shape and was going to be replaced either way
Amongst all the other things that got stripped off
Got some radiator-grog for my tractor aswell, 25 litres of de-ionized water and 8 litres of etylene antifreeze
December 8th 2009, a bit naked...
And here they are, brake actuator springs for Massey Ferguson 165 with dry brakes, they fit without modification! (Huzzah!)
Paint really makes a difference
This replaced the original Temp/oil/gen clock, the orange indicator is my turn signal indicator.
?width=676&height=400
Wednesday April 13th 2010
Well, I said that I wouldn't paint the rear end of my tractor but my dad influenced me by saying things like "It'll look like it has scabs if you don't paint it" and then sponsor me with more paint if I actually painted it...
The "scab" part took and today I attacked the rear end with the angle grinder, rotating wire brush and lots of "cleaner", the results are on display in the following pictures.
If all you have is two wrecked front cowls and a MIG-welder, sure you could make one that's acceptable?
The wire brushes used
Twisting, bending, welding and forming sheet metal is one of my favorites... The "bulge" is where my turn signal switch will reside.
The result after brushing and cleaning
Painted, "grill"'ed and lit up, since I would never put a loader on this tractor I placed the headlights wide apart, high up...
And a hour or so later, primed up
A severe case of "frost bite" perhaps?
Dis-assembly of the hydraulic system... or part of it, getting the flow control valve, spring and the "plug" out using a piece of wire loom through one of the bores inside.
Saturday April 10th 2010
I got myself a pair of better looking brake housings and some other assorted goodies during the week and here they are in all their splendous glory
A new steering wheel, new radiator cap and new brake linings, the steering wheel feels quite "plastic" compared to the old one but won't cut my hands like the old one did 
The original spindles looked like this, no wonder I thought it was hard to steer straight...
The brake housings, pre pressure wash with degreaser, wire brush and patience, it's even growing moss on one of them
Dad bought me this, the "universal fits all majors hydraulics kit", it lacked a few parts but those weren't that hard to get(and I got lots of O-rings leftover that actually came to use a little here and there)
The older type steering rod and a neato steel pipe to add extra leverage when undoing(or tightening wheel nuts)
The hydraulic pump with new seals, waiting to be re-assembled
Re-threaded U's for the cab that's going to get installed, looks much better with new nuts and washers don't you think?
Drilled and tapped a 3/8 pipe thread for my return pipe
Hot water, degreaser and a wire brush can work miracles, this is before the rotating wire brush and paint
Assembled and painted stuff
Somewhat later... In a day or so it's time for the second coat...
Raised PTO in place
The pump and the plumbing is back where it belongs
Tuesday April 6th 2010
The plan was to remove the old fenders and get started with the internals of the brake housings but first I just had to hitch up the old Transport Box and take a test drive, my dog just had to come along 
If you don't have a gasket set, you make them
Stripping off the rear wings and the old cab supports
Re-assembly of better looking parts
My current right brake housing, the actuator lever support ear broke off during disassembly, found out why after I took a good look at it, someone broke it off earlier and then welded it back(but doing a less than stellar job)
"New" old spindles, in much better condition and picked from a power major that had led a much better life(with an owner that knew to maintain his machinery properly)
And here's the left one after some time spent swearing and sweating together with dad who operated a iron bar lever on the wheel shaft while I tried to lever the inner brake disc off the shaft
I got myself the proper SPE4A75S model pump and gave it a little love
Drive shaft housings, these will be scrubbed with a rotating wire brush and either painted or oiled with linseed oil(as will all non-painted metal to inhibit further rust)
Proper hydraulics, at last...
The brake components, waiting for degreasing and new brake pads
And with good tools the work is a breeze
I'll have to weld some fresh metal into the "new" old wings, the supports were filled with mud
Changing the pedal shaft seals since they weren't weeping but rather "bleeding", no obvious play in the bushings tho
This is how I left it Tuesday evening, disassembled while waiting for parts
Changed the PTO seal before filling the rear up with oil
The original seat had seen it's share of action and I had another seat in mind and constructed this
?width=676&height=400
Friday April 2nd 2010
Today is my dad's birthday so we all went there to celebrate and enjoy ourselves, got a bit bored after dinner when everyone watched TV so I went out and fiddled for a few minutes, this thing is going to be a linkage for the raised pto lever, hack about three fours of it off, weld the small "ear" onto it and then place the actuator on the floorboard next to the lift lever.
The parts for it
Welded up and testing the fit out
Thursday April 1st 2010
Went to dad's cousins farm and picked up my pair of less rusted rear wings from a power major, they have a few bulges more than the current ones but they haven't rusted off near the rear axle
Regardless of how battered and bruised this seat looks, it's very comfortable and also has electrical heater elements in both the seat and the back rest
Quite some possibilities... and it came off an old golf-course lawn-mower, got it for free, me like lots :D
Wednesday March 31st 2010
Dad picked me up these
Drawings of new knobs for the valve chest(for those that wonder what "hitta på en bra radie här" means, in english it would be something similar to "figure out a good radius here")
?width=720&height=417
?width=720&height=417
And my friend Martin had dropped this package off in my post box
And about a week later, machined by one of dad's old work mates
A local firm called Industry Service let me use one of their mills, for as long as it took me to mill the inward facing surface on the inlet manifold flat
Sometimes buying these connectors can be a royal pain, if you find one that fits the cable you can be sure the screw-hole is abnormally large and the head of your screw will fall through it, that's why I made my own ones from brass and soldered the cables to it
This is what it looked like after I drilled the holes and mounted the flange
I did off with the broken pipes and replaced them with hard and reinforced rubber hoses instead
I also just happened to have another cracked inlet manifold to salvage a less worn throttle plate and shaft which were quickly transplanted into my inlet manifold, the picture of my old throttle plate is the second one here and I think you all can spot the wear quite easily
3D-model of the trailer outlet bracket
?width=671&height=400
This is what the thermostart system looks like on my tractor now...
Laser-cut, bent, welded up and painted
Part of the electrical system's innards
Upper connection for my engine heater
And the lower one
This part will likely not see any re-arrangement at all, below are everything from where I got the tractor up until March 30nd 2010
A sensible start button, turn the key on and the button lights up, press it to start the engine and once the alternator starts charging it will dim indicating "Do not press me"
This is what the old man looked like when I got 'im, on November the 1st 2009
The view from the seat
This is not far from home, during the "bring him home" tour(which was 90km and took the best part of the 1st and 2 hours of the 2nd november)
Paint and a bit of sanding later
New home, sweet home... In the old barn at my father's farm
The circlips didn't want to stay put and the throttle shaft moved up and down rather than increasing or decreasing the engine speed, so I fixed that up with split pins instead, now it won't budge
Christmas gifts anyone? Since I'm relatively poor my father bought me some goodies(all except the truck starter which I got from dad's cousin)
Ford world series Force exhaust.
?width=300&height=400
Also took the time to fix my leaking return line up, one of the brass banjos was entirely loose and all were leaking, number four injector was also leaking between the "foot"(lower that is bolted to the head) and the "head"(upper hexagon bit) part, so while having all of the pipes and connectors off anyway I torqued it down and it seems to have worked just fine
My neighbor works as a laser operator, so after some measuring and drawing in solidworks I ended up sending him drawings of these things, to the right are the parts for an alternator mount, utilizing the alternator found in a Volvo 240
Reinforcements to withstand forest (ab)use
This is the 3D-model of my drawbar and upper 3pt lift reinforcement
?width=676&height=400
CNC-machined bolts for the upper part of the 3pt lift...
Amongst all the other things that got stripped off
The heart of the electrical system completed, relays and everything is fused off
December 8th 2009, a bit naked...
Corrected what I regarded a design flaw in the stop control, now it is firm and exact rather than "flimsy"
Paint really makes a difference
After being taken for a little trip I shot this photo outside, engine idling, my dog badly wanted to ride with me
This replaced the original Temp/oil/gen clock, the orange indicator is my turn signal indicator.
Hard-to-melt-candy, we took a good look of the original stabilizer chains and dad and I ordered these instead
If all you have are two wrecked front cowls and a MIG-welder, sure you could make one that's acceptable?
Well, steering wheel knob and a "flamethrower", I am equipping my major with thermostart
Twisting, bending, welding and forming sheet metal is one of my favorites... The "bulge" is where my turn signal switch will reside.
The rear end is beginning to look like something
Painted, "grill'ed" and "lit up", since I would never put a loader on this tractor I placed the headlights wide apart, high up...
A small handmade fuel valve instead of the outlet bleed screw on the filter(previous owner had wrecked the threads anyway), the outlet from this one will be used to fill up the heater tank if necessary
A severe case of "frost bite" perhaps?
And here's the heater tank as well, two pipes at the top; one from the valve on the filter and one from the fuel return, pipe on the side goes to fuel tank and the long pipe going out the bottom goes to the heater plug
Dis-assembly of the hydraulic system... part of it, getting the flow control valve, spring and the "plug" out using a piece of wire loom through one of the bores inside.
Now we're getting somewhere...
The original spindles looked like this, no wonder it steered wherever it saw fit...
Well, this wednesday(march 31st 2010) dad picked me up these
Dad bought me this, the "universal fits all majors hydraulics kit", it lacked a few parts but those weren't that hard to get(and I got lots of O-rings leftover that actually came to use a little here and there)
The very same morning my friend Martin had dropped this package off in my post box
The hydraulic pump with new seals, waiting to be re-assembled
A local firm called Industry Service let me use one of their mills, for as long as it took me to mill the inward facing surface on the inlet manifold flat
Drilled and tapped a 3/8 pipe thread for my return pipe
This is what it looked like after I drilled the holes and mounted the flange
Assembled and painted stuff
I also just happened to have another cracked inlet manifold to salvage a less worn throttle plate and shaft which were quickly transplanted into my inlet manifold, the picture of my old throttle plate is the second one here and I think you all can spot the wear quite easily
Raised PTO in place
This is what the thermostart system looks like on my tractor now...
The pump and the plumbing is back where it belongs
Thursday the 1st of April I went to dad's cousins farm and picked up my pair of less rusted rear wings from a power major, they have a few bulges more than the current ones but they haven't rusted off near the rear axle
If you don't have a gasket set, you make them
Friday, April the 2nd was my dad's birthday so we all went there to celebrate and enjoy ourselves, got a bit bored after dinner when everyone watched TV so I went out and fiddled for a few minutes, this thing is going to be a linkage for the raised pto lever, hack about three fours of it off, weld the small "ear" onto it and then place the actuator on the floorboard next to the lift lever.
Re-assembly of better looking parts
What happened on Tuesday, April 6th:
The plan was to remove the old fenders and get started with the internals of the brake housings but first I just had to hitch up the old Transport Box and take a test drive, my dog just had to come along
"New" old spindles, in much better condition and picked from a power major that had led a much better life(with an owner that knew to maintain his machinery properly)
Stripping off the rear wings and the old cab supports
I got myself the proper SPE4A75S model pump and gave it a little love
My current right brake housing, the actuator lever support ear broke off during disassembly, found out why after I took a good look at it, someone broke it off earlier and then welded it back(but doing a less than stellar job)
Proper hydraulics, at last...
And here's the left one after some time spent swearing and sweating together with dad who operated a iron bar lever on the wheel shaft while I tried to lever the inner brake disc off the shaft
And with good tools the work is a breeze
Drive shaft housings, these will be scrubbed with a rotating wire brush and either painted or oiled with linseed oil(as will all non-painted metal to inhibit further rust)
Changing the pedal shaft seals since they weren't weeping but rather "bleeding", no obvious play in the bushings tho
The brake components, waiting for degreasing and new brake pads
Changed the PTO seal before filling the rear up with oil
I'll have to weld some fresh metal into the "new" old wings, the supports were filled with mud
The original seat had seen it's share of action and I had another seat in mind and constructed this
The parts for it
This is how I left it Tuesday evening, disassembled while waiting for parts
Welded up and testing the fit out
Saturday April 10th 2010
Regardless of how battered and bruised this seat looks, it's very comfortable and also has electrical heater elements in both the seat and the back rest
I got myself a pair of better looking brake housings and some other assorted goodies during the week and here they are in all their splendous glory
A new steering wheel, new radiator cap and new brake linings, the steering wheel feels quite "plastic" compared to the old one but won't cut my hands like the old one did
Quite some possibilities... and it came off an old golf-course lawn-mower, got it for free, me like lots :D
The brake housings, pre pressure wash with degreaser, wire brush and patience, it's even growing moss on one of them
Drawings of new knobs for the valve chest(for those that wonder what "hitta på en bra radie här" means, in english it would be something similar to "figure out a good radius here")
?width=720&height=417
?width=720&height=417
The older type steering rod and a neato steel pipe to add extra leverage when undoing(or tightening wheel nuts)
And about a week later, machined by one of dad's old work mates
Re-threaded U's for the cab that's going to get installed, looks much better with new nuts and washers don't you think?
Sometimes buying these connectors can be a royal pain, if you find one that fits the cable you can be sure the screw-hole is abnormally large and the head of your screw will fall through it, that's why I made my own ones from brass and soldered the cables to it
Hot water, degreaser and a wire brush can work miracles, this is before the rotating wire brush and paint
I did off with the broken pipes and replaced them with hard and reinforced rubber hoses instead
Somewhat later... In a day or so it's time for the second coat...
3D-model of the trailer outlet bracket
Laser-cut, bent, welded up and painted
Wednesday April 13th 2010
Well, I said that I wouldn't paint the rear end of my tractor but my dad influenced me by saying things like "It'll look like it has scabs if you don't paint it" and then sponsor me with more paint if I actually painted it...
The "scab" part took and today I attacked the rear end with the angle grinder, rotating wire brush and lots of "cleaner", the results are on display in the following pictures.
Part of the electrical system's innards
The wire brushes used
Upper connection for my engine heater
The result after brushing and cleaning
And the lower one
And a hour or so later, primed up
A sensible start button, turn the key on and the button lights up, press it to start the engine and once the alternator starts charging it will dim indicating "Do not press me"
The view from the seat
Paint and a bit of sanding later
The circlips didn't want to stay put and the throttle shaft moved up and down rather than increasing or decreasing the engine speed, so I fixed that up with split pins instead, now it won't budge
For convenience I'll post all movies here below all the picures
Also took the time to fix my leaking return line up, one of the brass banjos was entirely loose and all were leaking, number four injector was also leaking between the "foot"(lower that is bolted to the head) and the "head"(upper hexagon bit) part, so while having all of the pipes and connectors off anyway I torqued it down and it seems to have worked just fine
Reinforcements to withstand forest (ab)use
CNC-machined bolts for the upper part of the 3pt lift...
The heart of the electrical system completed, relays and everything is fused off
Corrected what I regarded a design flaw in the stop control, now it is firm and exact rather than "flimsy"
After being taken for a little trip I shot this photo outside, engine idling, my dog badly wanted to ride with me
Hard-to-melt-candy, we took a good look of the original stabilizer chains and dad and I ordered these instead
Well, steering wheel knob and a "flamethrower", I am equipping my major with thermostart
The rear end is beginning to look like something
A small handmade fuel valve instead of the outlet bleed screw on the filter(previous owner had wrecked the threads anyway), the outlet from this one will be used to fill up the heater tank if necessary
And here's the heater tank as well, two pipes at the top; one from the valve on the filter and one from the fuel return, pipe on the side goes to fuel tank and the long pipe going out the bottom goes to the heater plug
This clip is shot when I picked the tractor up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGurQL16jEk
First test drive on the road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2SIXZhmY-Q
Trying out the hydraulics and the re-designed stop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pan_9IuR9c
A first test of the newly built thermostart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9r3wiHJIhQ
Starting him up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwj3tuhQZv0