A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

Post pictures and stories about your cars both present and past. Also post up "blogs" on your restoration projects - the more pictures the better! Note: blog-type threads often get few replies, but are often read by many members, and provide interest and motivation to other enthusiasts so don't be disappointed if you don't get many replies.
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tractorman
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Location: Wigton, Cumbria

A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#1 Post by tractorman » Sun Oct 09, 2011 10:33 am

Seeing as this is "Members cars and Projects", here are my two tractors!

The first, a 1969 David Brown 780 has lived here for 8 years. Some around here went through the midlife crisis and buy a TVR or fast motor bike. I bought a "scrap" tractor!

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I got it relatively cheap as it would hardly steer and the clutch seemed about to go (not cheap on tractors). However, some ball joints and new ball bearings in the (recurculating ball) steering box and adjusting the clutch properly sorted the immediate problems! Unexpected problems led to new pistons:

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As an aside - David Browns pioneered the crossflow head (and the name!)

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This summer's work was to remove the safety frame (again) and sort out some rust - it's illegal to weld a safety frame...

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Once that was sorted (early last month), I set to on the "cladding" that I had asked a neighbour to make three years ago. There's a tale of four sprayguns here: my original and quite expensive gun doesn't like warmed enamel paint (I heat the paint rather than add thinners). After losing a vital bit, I bought a cheap Screwfix gun - which I was going to use for spares. However, I used it for about six years and it was great - until the handle cracked when I put new fittings on it! I robbed it for parts and used the original - with no success, so bought another cheap Screwfix gun. Srewfix have changed suppliers and, apart from the paint container being plastic, it is identical to the expensive gun (and just as useless for me!). They are great with cellulose though!

So I bought a Clarke "professional" HVLP gun - and run it at nearly 50psi to get the paint to flow!

I fitted the new cladding to one side three days ago and to the other yesterday.

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The other tractor is a 1972 David Brown 995. Relatively speaking, a beast; but only when compared to the 780! I bought it four years ago thinking I had nearly finished the Fergy and the 780 would only take a year. The Fergy took until last winter and there's another year's work on the 780! The idea was to "add value" and be able to sell it at a profit in ten years or so. It seems to absorb money with little to show for it!

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Believe it or not, it had already absorbed about £300 when the picture was taken!

Although not officially being restored until the 780 is finished, it has had various running repairs - including rebuilding the PAS to full power steering (I got much of the money back by selling the PAS ram etc on eBay!). The great thing is that it has had a newer engine fitted - from an "industrial" version that has had little use. It starts on the fourth compression even if left a month in winter (and it lives outside). That's better than my Mk 4 Golf diesel (that lives with the 780 in the garage)!

The worst feature was the cab roof - the back of the tractor looks as if it's been reversed into a wall (though the wheels stick out more than the cab). A local sparrow family took vacant posession between the two skins:

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This summer's job was to buy a new outer skin (with money made from selling the Fergy) and, with advice from members of this forum, I painted the new skin with etch primer and stonechip paint. That worked well - thanks folks!

The new roof was fitted two days ago - the weather was quite warm up here! I noticed yesterday that the front of the roof has a different angle to the back (the back of the old one jut hung down, so it wasn't at all obvious). Of course, if there's a 50-50 chance of doing it wrong, 60% will do it wrong - and I am no exception! I'm not going to take it apart though!

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The digger (also bought with Fegy blood money) was most useful when I needed a platform to work from. That's the project after the 995, but it needs a certain amount of work to make it fit the tractor properly - at the moment, it's too far back and I can hardly steer when the fore loader is lifted!

It's nearly the end of "Tractor Season" for me - when it gets cold, the model railway in my loft gets attention! There will be a little more tractor work before the season ends!

3xpendable
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#2 Post by 3xpendable » Sun Oct 09, 2011 1:10 pm

My friend had a David Brown, used to drive it to school everyday! Great little things.

Tell me more about the model railway? I have a set including 5 Wrenn's
2013 Dodge Durango R/T
1965 Ford Anglia 106e Estate (Wagon). LHD.
1964 Ford Anglia 105e Saloon

rich.
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#3 Post by rich. » Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:16 pm

you seem to know your tractors, what would you reccomend i use as an engine oil for a 1986 jcb 3cx non turbo??

tractorman
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Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#4 Post by tractorman » Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:01 pm

Well, I did an update this morning and changed a picture when the internet went daft and the page expired - I was not amused!

Rich, I'm not a tractor expert, but the JCB would probably use what's commonly known as "Tractor universal oil" - which was a BP brand name I think! However, it's now something like 10W-40 mineral oil - though beware: the modern stuff is semi synthetic and not suitable for older machines (I can't remember if JCBs had Leyland engines in those days!). You can still get mineral oil though - just remember to check!

Welshie - the model railway is in a major rebuild as I realised that, after 25 years and still not having the control system sorted, I was never going to get it running! So I sold forty odd locos on eBay and bought one or two better ones, so I now have about 20 locos of various ages from a 1961 Triang 0-4-0 to a 2010 Bachmann something or other! Similarly, I sold over a third of the rolling sotck and various other items to pay for new track etc. This winter's task is to finish laying new track and get some wiring done!

Pictures are on my Flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cumbriantractorfan

I managed to get the 780's safety frame finished last week, though there was a delay when I discovered the new sidelights had thinner wire than my model railway does - and the bulb terminals were blobs of solder on the ends of the wires! Some decent bulb holders from AES fixed that problem and some Evo-Stick "Serious Stuff" is holding them in place! The only annoying thing was that I hadn't realised the plough lamp was a different shade of white! I checked the sidelights and sprayed them, but forgot the plough lamp. Oh well, I'll be spraying the 995 sometime - I'll do the plough lamp then!

I put the cables in "conduit" - thin walled stuff went through the brake pipe that I bought for the job and, where more wires go, a friend supplied me with some 3/8 copper pipe (he uses 10mm nowadays, so the coil was redundant and taking space!). I bought some edge trim from Woolies (very quick service and decent people to deal with), but should have bought some for the bit that sticks above the wings - and more wide black stuff for the braces on the frame. I'll be buying some for the 995 sometime, so I will add to that order! The problem is that it may be a few years yet!

A picture of the back:

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Front view (note front axle is the last main job to do and that the front wheels are the wrong shade of "white")

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Detail of nice new white edge strip with the (wrong) white edge trim on the bonnet. The bonnet trim should be smooth, but that is rather difficult to come by. I have some for the 995, carefully stored in the shed - somewhere!

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I mentioned earlier that I use warmed enamel paint, the photo shows the shine - this is "as sprayed" - no polishing or cutting back!

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You may have noticed that there's a bit of dust on the rest of the tractor - that will be washed off sometime. The really annoying thing is that there are at least four different shades of brown! The new stuff will fade a lot - it's the only one you notice is different now!

So it's back to trying to fix the car for a day or two - there's a "door open" warning light on (even though doors are closed), interior lights do strange things and the central locking only works from the controls inside the car - not from the door locks. If I'm lucky, a bit of contact cleaner wil sort it. If not I gather it's a £400+ job for a main agent to fit a new "Convenience module" - it's coded to the car and steering lock!! I said to the local garage owner that, now I'm not doing many miles, a classic may be my next car - because he and I can fix anything on them without computers etc. He reckoned I couldn't afford one!!

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JPB
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#5 Post by JPB » Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:54 pm

Nice. Much better in the winter than its sister vehicle the DB6 I reckon. :)

Quite a few of the make are still at work locally, here's one:

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J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

tractorman
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Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#6 Post by tractorman » Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:21 pm

You could be right John - there's plenty of weight over the back tyres!

BTW - the 885 in your pic probably came from West Cumberland Farmers' Carlisle branch. The "AO" was usually used around Carlisle and Penrith ("RM" tended to be West Cumbria) and Penrith branch (where I worked at the time that tractor was sold) had stopped putting front number plates on tractors some years earlier! While "HH" was Carlisle registration, it was used around the county - mother bought her first new car from a garage near Penrith and it was "HH".

I'm jealous of the sidelight/indicators on that tractor - they are what my 995 should have, but I've seen them go for £150 a pair on eBay, so it will be along time before I can afford some!

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JPB
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#7 Post by JPB » Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:20 pm

Next time I see that one out & about I'll ask the owner whether he's aware of any reasonably-priced source of those lamp units. I suspect that they'll be shared with some other vehicle of the period. :)
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

Oldcarnut
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#8 Post by Oldcarnut » Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:12 pm

tractorman wrote: Some around here went through the midlife crisis and buy a TVR or fast motor bike. I bought a "scrap" tractor!
Why the hell would anyone want to look at that other rubbish, when you have an old tractor to enjoy (and hate in equal measure :P ).

Here is how our old DB 885 used to look with the indicators/side lights.Bit of a mish -mash I know.Most I see are either totally broken, or not there at all, now that you mention it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/59682227@N ... 7613452039

tractorman
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Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#9 Post by tractorman » Fri Oct 28, 2011 8:21 am

OCN - I remember that tractor from the DBTC website (I am the moderator there!).

The nearest sidelights I can get to the original are Britax ones - though they are slightly smaller and a bit more rounded on the ends. I bought a full set for the 995 four years ago for about £30.00, but I see they have almost doubled in price since then - and a lot of factors sell them almost as if they are the original part! One day, I will get the 995 to a state where I can fit them!

The contact cleaner failed on the Golf, but an expert on the VW-Audi forum reckons I should check "Measuring Block Data" before buying a new "Comfort Unit" as the unit rarely gives problems on Mk4 Golfs. So I now have to find someone (apart from the main agent) who knows what the heck "Measuring Block Data" is!

It's all rather annoying as I want to sort the mounting for the digger - it was butchered to make it work on the links and is so far back, I have to keep the loader down when I want to steer the tractor!

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The chopped box sections should extend under the tractor and mount in place of the linkage on the back axle (and reach to the front of the cab). Luckily, the original mounting plates were used to convert it to three-point linkage and can be reused - when I work out how long the box section needs to be! I like the top link - the front part is from a Massey Ferguson (165 I think) and the back bit bolts to the platform support - and has pulled that out of shape!

rich.
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Re: A couple of tractors - a slow restoration thread!

#10 Post by rich. » Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:02 am

we used to have a db880 selectamatic with a front loader, had new tyres fitted & the gearbox blew up.. later we had a db 885 with a proper cab.... luxury :D
my diggers got a perkins engine, ill see what oil i can get at the local dealership.. i need to change the rear oil seal..oh joy, i only fitted the rebuilt engine last year..

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