Fueled by hot sun, a pasty for breakfast and Pimms, we have achieved a lot today!
To start with, while I was lying in bed, Dan had got to work rebuilding the brakes. Both rebuilds went well and all parts went back together nicely. Other than the bit where the pliers on one of the springs slipped and hit Dan in the forehead! His usual genius showed through and he created a wire loop, that he used to stretch the spring easily. Fantastic! A good tip here actually! - maybe the first one :)
While Dan was finishing off the brakes, I got to work attaching the cleaned up manifold and venturi assembly. This went on easily. When I was taking it apart I was worried there was an order to this. As long as the exhaust is in place, the manifold went on nicely. I also now understand the ki-gass connection point - above the heater coil. I inserted and tightened up the new coil so everything is in place.
I won the new cross shaft on ebay, and can't wait to get it on so I can connect the throttle linkage!
As we were testing the brakes, I also tested the connection of the new radiator. This has a slight issue- I have replaced the whole front end of the cooling system- and the connection between the top f the radiator and the thermostat housing is not quite lined up, unless I lift the radiator up about an inch- which means the bottom bolts barely reach the base connection. The rubber hose goes on fine, it's just not a nice fit as I had hoped. The breather pipe is also fitted to the top of the rocker cover. The old pipes tend to try and kink at every opportunity, so I heated it with the blow torch.
Below you can see the radiator from the front. It's starting to look like a proper tractor!
I also got a new set of jubilee clips from Agriline which look, and operate nicely. Another tip here - again from Dan :) When you put the jubilee clips on - make sure you check the direction and access to the bolt. It makes it a lot easier to tighten and take off if you give it some forethought. In the photo below, you can see what I mean by the top hose doesn't quite fit properly.
You will also notice that there is no cowl on the radiator! It is relatively easy to get new radiators, however getting a cowl is a nightmare. I have managed to find one in Ireland, and hopefully it will be here by next week! It won't effect the first run and testing of the engine- but I will get it on, before I take the first drive.
I have also seen, a later fit to the tractor and additional part to the bonnet that protects the driver from the spinning fan. I am considering getting these- although I don't want it to look rubbish in the search for safety!
I have taken the below photograph to show how nice the set spring came up, and the completed brake assembly. We do have a minor issue. The brake pedal on the left hand side is seized to the linkage, we hoped that we wouldn't have to adjust it- but it interferes with the new/original battery box. I have sprayed it and am hoping to adjust it down, in line with the right hand side- as long as I can get a socket on the worn nut.
As well as a cowl, the guy in Ireland had the original Lucas battery covers for sale. I couldn't resist and have ordered one to go over the batter once it is installed. They look very cool, and had the original stamps and Lucas names on the top! Please, if you are considering restoring a TEF, do not underestimate the cost. Also, even as a fairly practical adult- I'm still attracted to shiny things and bling! I have already seen sticker sets and other bling-age for some of the connections and linkage!
Once the brakes were tested- which is three tests... Left pedal, left wheel- right pedal, right wheel and foot brake - both wheels, we decided to remove the blocks and put on the front axle stands. This will give me a chance to clean and prime the underside of the tractor. This went well, and has revealed a whole load of paint stripping, grinding and priming that is required. I am also considering removing the sump and cleaning it out- in fact, i'm definitely going to do it..
You can see the radiator overflow (?) pipe hanging down the side- I have now tucked this behind the inside of the radiator, so it doesn't get caught by the fan. Dan has also tajen the dynamo bracket to work, to grind of the extra part bodged on by the previous owner. It still will be gash- and IO am looking for a replacement original part. We had a laugh at the terrible quality of welding of the part and that Dan's friend Andy - who is a stickler for quality would just throw it away, in disgust!
I must ask Dan, to teach me how to weld!
Dan went, as he had an appointment with the cinema. He also goes through boots at an alarming rate- primarily because he works hard and on his feet all day. I have decided to order him a pair of Oakley Standard Issue assault boots- as I love them, but it would be good to see how they really are under proper stress!
Back to the tractor! I put the clutch pedal back on. It wasn't as bad as I thought, and just loosening the foot-peg bolts and shifting the radius rod out a cm, allowed me to squeeze the pedal back in place. This will need to be adjusted, but at least it is on the spline. I also have some new rubbers for the track rods, which will go on after the grey spray!
Dan tried to trick me with a question regarding why Harry Ferguson chose grey for the Little Grey Fergie. Fortunately I had been doing my research the night before! I had discovered that Harry Ferguson sourced the paint cheaply from the Navy- battleship grey! So there is no one standard colour for Fergie's- they were painted with the paint supplied by the military.
Quite cool- but I need to start looking for the right paint pretty soon!
After a break and some Pimms in the sun, I started feeling edgy- edgy that I wasn't working on the tractor!!!
I decided to plan the fuel pipes and see if I had what I needed. My plan was to lay them out on the ground, then compare against the fuel lines in the parts manual. The tractor had been butchered, before I got it - so I am constantly looking at buying new parts to get it back to original - how ironic!
I laid out what I have and have bought on the grass:
I felt confident, and lying in the sun isn't my thing- so I got to work!
This took some time, but I attached the fuel pump to the body and made sure the new gasket was in place and scratched around for some temporary bolts- I need some help here - what is the correct fixing for the pump to the body??
I managed to secure it, and started by connecting the pipes that connect the injectors. After some fumbling, I found the easiest way, was to take all the injectors out and loosely connect them to the mani piping- then with some bending and swearing I got all the injectors connected to the body. I then bolted the injectors on properly, and tighten the pipe nuts. I have previous cleaned up the injectors- and I have added new copper washers where required.
Once on, I then laid out the pump- injector pipes. The easiest way seemed to be to connect the pipe to the top of the injector, then bending/swearing line it up with the pump connection. Then screw it on, and tighten with the spanner. Some re-alignment was required to make sure none of the lines were touching, I then connected the line that connects up to the fuel tank- this is new and wasn't on the tractor when I got it!
After all the injectors were connected I lined up the main fuel line to the filters- you can see I had replaced the original connection with the flexible fuel line. DISASTER! Obviously I was getting cocky, and the pipe just sheared- I knew it was rusty, but I hoped it would be ok. You can see just under the bracket where the pipe has broken. I need to search for a replacement! :(
I have left it on for now. I finished off with the tube that goes from the pump to the inlet manifold- I have no ide what this is for- i guess it;s either air tio the pump or fuel to the inlet?? This took a bit of heat and reshaping to get it to run under the injector pipes- but I got it there. You MUST connect this to the pump first- as once it os one, it is easy to flex and line up with the manifold.
The results are below- i'm very happy- other than the broken bit.
I'm a curious person, and couldn't help unscrewing the plate on the pump- I also unscrewed the oil runoff- which loads of milky oil ran out of! The springs and pump inside look in great condition. I gave it all a good spray with wd40. I also read the plate which says the pump should be filled with engine oil during install. I must remember that there are loads of different points that need to be refilled with oil!
So, its been a good day- or has it? I won't know until we try to start it.
An extra bonus was that last night I was reading the ploughmyfield blog and I now understand that my tractor is missing all of the decompression parts. The bloke who I won the cross shaft off told me he has combined two tractors into one, I asked him about the decompression- and he has the shaft and front lever! YES! He is sending it with the cross shaft on Monday. That is great news...
right..
Pimms!
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