1941 B project...

Not a huge amount to this update, although I've got the bottom end back together now & given the carb a once over. Apart from some cobwebs & bits of seed it was remarkably clean inside and from the look of the brass parts I'd say it's never seen ethanol in it's life which would add weight to my theory that it was stripped and the engine rebuild fudged a lot of years ago.

In other news, the fellow I bought her from may have located the head bolts and rocker assembly which would be a huge bonus so I don't have to fiddlefart around modifying the Ford parts I have dug out. On the magneto front, I'm not so hopeful of getting the original unit (and if I did, of it being serviceable) so with regards to that I may modify a distributor and go with battery ignition. The block has been tapped to accept a generator bracket so at least I can keep it charged easily. Even though I have no plan to fit an electric starter currently (pun intended) it'd be nice to have a reliable fat spark & some lights for winter time.

Anyhoos, will post any other findings or queries that arise as I get to them. Oh boy, there will be some when I get to the water pump and brakes believe me on that!

Cheers, Dan

I will however look into the "correct" unit as an option, you wouldn't happen to know a part number for that would you?

Cheers, Dan

I have considered a retrofit of an auto distributor before.. 4 cylinder  (VW, FORD) or any other should work.... nice little project.. You want one that you can START about TDC, then have 30 degrees centrifugal advance by 1000 RPM..

Splines on hub shaft are a problme when the nut gets loose... If not completely destroyed, you can put a thick layer of devcon ( liquid metal) and put the hub and and snug it up good.. Let it set for 24 hours, then torque to 500 ft pounds..

Newest problem (or not) is that on cleaning up the steering gearbox it was painted green, and on further inspection is actually a Fordson unit from a standard Major (especially weird, my first guess would've been JD or Oliver from the colour!)

Fortunately the seller is a good guy & along with locating the head bolts plus possibly the rocker assy. & may be able to find the steering gear with help of his father on whose behalf he sold the tractor.

For the moment I'll oil up the top end well, cover that & get to looking at the rest of the puzzle with the bracketry for the seat/tank,tins etc. and maybe look at the distributor.

Really appreciate the help and suggestions, we'll have the old girl feeling better soon :)

Also even if I was able to spend real money on the tractor, it'd be ruled out for the moment as I've just royally F'*£ed up while loading an old sofa onto our car & dropped a ratchet strap on the windscreen. Right smack in front of the driver, after all where else would it break? So I'm now working out how & IF I can even keep the tractor and afford the new glass...

If every cloud has a silver lining, I should be making superb quality solder joints for years out of this one!

Thanks anyway, appreciate the thought & will check out the website to distract myself...

Not much to report on the B for the moment, new glass for the one car is going to be around £400 or so (not claiming insurance, that's a joke for another time anyway!) hence have decided to focus on getting one of my others on the road since the work it needed for MoT (inspection) was only going to cost about £30 and a good few hours of sweat and blood.

I'm well and truly spent now, having been rolling around on the driveway for the better part of the last week welding and throwing tools! But she's about ready now & should have a year's ticket on Monday so I should at least be able to keep the old B for the moment & maybe do a bit of R&R on that in the next week whilst the welding stuff is out front. 

Need to weld a nut onto the oil drain plug that's rounder than the tyres & one of the final drive pans is rusted through, not to mention what little is left of the tinwork.

Makes sense seeing as I've found kerosene/TVO specific parts in the pile of bits.

Anyway, I've got a few photos of the tractor as it sits but will have to get them from phone to computer in order to post them. 

Also, now got a few little bits from a long dead MF65 diesel abandoned in the hills (Sadly the whole thing is returning to the earth, most bolt heads unrecognizable, 4.203 locked solid with moss growing from the exhaust and even injector lines rotted out) and it's neighbour, half of what appears to have been a 35 diesel with no cylinder head or front end.

Not huge things, just a few fine thread bolts, block drain cock & a water pump from the 65 which was somehow still free.

Why the water pump? Well the one I have is just the casing with no bearing, seal, shaft, hub or impeller. The only moving part I had was the adjustable pulley.  I was originally thinking to use the shaft & impeller from the Perkins but as that would require machining the larger impeller I've had a look and I *think* I can actually make this water pump work on the B engine.

Two of the bolt holes line up with the ones in the block, I should be able to "clock" it in such a way that the bottom hose lines up pretty good & I can make a backplate for it and block off two outlet stubs to direct flow through the block like standard.

I will of course get photos of this spectacular rig-up if I get it to fit. Just over here doing what our forefathers would'a done to get by I suppose haha

The pistons are reasonably flat-topped with a small (maybe 10-15cc) shallow bowl, combustion chambers in the head are pretty huge in comparison so not sure on CR as yet. If I'd known this whilst the pistons were out I'd have pulled numbers off them but as things are it'll remain a mystery.

Anyway the bolts & washers for the head have finally arrived, just in time for the weather to warm up and go all biblical on the rain for a few days...  Sooo, may bring the head indoors to prep that for install & God willing get a chance sometime over the week to clean the block surface, bolt holes etc to finally get the head installed.  At least have the engine sealed up properly for over winter.

Really wish the site's photo hosting was more flexible, I do have some pics but resizing them all to upload is a PITA even for a youngin like me!

I didn't even know Allis made a B with a Zenith carb specifically set up for burning alcohol until a few months ago, as one example - not that I have torn apart anywhere near the number of tractors you and some other guys have, but there are lots of neat little things I will probably never see in person on these tractors.

Caught a break in the rain & was adjusting the fan belt on the car, that allowed a neat little segue into cleaning up the block & threads, weather held long enough to do the job. Nicely!

I think I did overestimate the bowl size in the pistons, probably only hold a few cc but dished nonetheless, so most likely lower comp Kero special items.

Another potential issue I ran into though, I think the spark plugs were some old 2-piece types & the bottom part has been left in the head. Here's hoping they come out OK! Never mind though, it's the best bit of progress so far on the project & I can move onto building a rocker assembly to suit now. Love getting into the chewy redneck bits like this...

Also placed an order for some bolts to hold the front wheels on so she'll be able to roll even, once the right rear brake is unlocked...