64frd4000ind
Member
Just a little I thought I would share.
About 8 years ago I had been borrowing tractors to take care of our landscaping and gardens every year, and every year I would have to replace a hose, fix a tire etc etc... well the last year I was going to borrow one Dad went out to pick it up and called me telling me the clutch was slipping, I told him to take it back, I don't mind a small fix, but wasn't going to replace a clutch.
So I went on the search for a tractor.
I wanted a gas tractor, and a loader. A friend of ours said he had one for sale, and the price was right.
So we got it.
1964 Ford 4000 Industrial (Light Industrial or All Purpose Industrial)
The tractor has run great, we used the bucket to do a lot of landscaping at both my house and my Dad's.
When we hooked up the tiller though, we found out why we got such a good deal. Every time we kicked in the PTO with the tiller in the ground it would die, or try to. A little investigation and we found that the fuel line was pinched in the middle section. So under a load it was starving for fuel. $60 later and a new fuel line, and we had a perfectly running tractor for $1900.
Fast forward 8 years, lots of food plots, several 30 mile road trips until we finally got a trailer to haul it, and the only thing we had to do was fluid changes, oil changes, and the annual set of points... I did buy one new front tire. But at least the annual money spent on it was spent on MY tractor, not fixing someone else neglect.
This last fall we noticed the oil pressure was not holding, and it was leaking some from the rear main. Removing the cap, we discovered that the rear main bearing was bad, and it had worn on the crankshaft.
There was no decision to be made, I have grown very attached to the tractor, so it was time to split it, and fix it. I had always been nervous about splitting the tractor, but with the encouragement of my daughters boyfriend who is a mechanic and after watching a dozen videos on youtube, I decided to tackle it with his help.
First was to remove the bucket.
And find a good spot in the barn to do the split.
Then came the split.
Check out that deluxe seat!!
Then we had the decision to make, the crank was worn to the point it would have to be built up and turned in order to even use .030 bearings. So I opted for a used crank that was still at STD spec. The crank was out of a ford power unit with low hours and looked awesome. Also with this came the ordering of parts, lots of parts, mostly to fix those small things I hadn't gotten around to yet. And while we wait on parts... we paint...
The paint wasn't intended to be a restoration quality paint job. More to make it look decent and prevent future rust. So along with paint, there are the 50 shades of gray... so to speak. So I took my boy to the store, to let him choose, since the tractor will more than likely one day be his. And I hope to not have to paint it again for a long time.
The worst of the rust that I had.
And Repaired.
And you see his choice of gray. I know its not 'correct' but as the project goes along, I think it 'should' have been correct hehe.
Here are a few pictures of progress and paint.
I did hand paint the lettering on the fenders, it doesn't look bad from a distance, just don't get too close...
Along the way, I had problems with the oil pump suction, and trying to locate a side suction, finally I gave up and got an updated pump, with the bottom suction.
And I still haven't managed to get the side cover off of my SOS shifter.
I may just have to paint it in place, mask it off and paint the shifter.
I did manage to get the seat frame cleaned up and painted, but still looking for cushions, haven't decided as to whether we are going to have a local upholstery place make them for us, or whether we will go with a modern style seat, like I said its not a restoration, its just fixing what was broken, and that old seat was past due for replacement!
Learned from Tony that I was supposed to have a foot throttle.
I am however missing the pedal and the lower linkage... which I hear are the hard if not impossible parts to find.
And here is where I am at now.
Still scraping and cleaning, getting it ready to paint, before we start putting it back together.
Once its back in rolling condition I will move it back around to the front of the barn, and take the rear tires off, which are filled with fluid, so that I can paint them, and see about putting on some new brake shoes.
I did have a friend of mine coat my gas tank while it was off, so that we won't have to worry about rust in the future.
All in all its been an awesome experience, I have gotten to meet and talk to several great folks here on the forum, and I learn something new every day, even if its not me asking the questions, I learn from the issues that others are having.
About 8 years ago I had been borrowing tractors to take care of our landscaping and gardens every year, and every year I would have to replace a hose, fix a tire etc etc... well the last year I was going to borrow one Dad went out to pick it up and called me telling me the clutch was slipping, I told him to take it back, I don't mind a small fix, but wasn't going to replace a clutch.
So I went on the search for a tractor.
I wanted a gas tractor, and a loader. A friend of ours said he had one for sale, and the price was right.
So we got it.
1964 Ford 4000 Industrial (Light Industrial or All Purpose Industrial)
The tractor has run great, we used the bucket to do a lot of landscaping at both my house and my Dad's.
When we hooked up the tiller though, we found out why we got such a good deal. Every time we kicked in the PTO with the tiller in the ground it would die, or try to. A little investigation and we found that the fuel line was pinched in the middle section. So under a load it was starving for fuel. $60 later and a new fuel line, and we had a perfectly running tractor for $1900.
Fast forward 8 years, lots of food plots, several 30 mile road trips until we finally got a trailer to haul it, and the only thing we had to do was fluid changes, oil changes, and the annual set of points... I did buy one new front tire. But at least the annual money spent on it was spent on MY tractor, not fixing someone else neglect.
This last fall we noticed the oil pressure was not holding, and it was leaking some from the rear main. Removing the cap, we discovered that the rear main bearing was bad, and it had worn on the crankshaft.
There was no decision to be made, I have grown very attached to the tractor, so it was time to split it, and fix it. I had always been nervous about splitting the tractor, but with the encouragement of my daughters boyfriend who is a mechanic and after watching a dozen videos on youtube, I decided to tackle it with his help.
First was to remove the bucket.
And find a good spot in the barn to do the split.
Then came the split.
Check out that deluxe seat!!
Then we had the decision to make, the crank was worn to the point it would have to be built up and turned in order to even use .030 bearings. So I opted for a used crank that was still at STD spec. The crank was out of a ford power unit with low hours and looked awesome. Also with this came the ordering of parts, lots of parts, mostly to fix those small things I hadn't gotten around to yet. And while we wait on parts... we paint...
The paint wasn't intended to be a restoration quality paint job. More to make it look decent and prevent future rust. So along with paint, there are the 50 shades of gray... so to speak. So I took my boy to the store, to let him choose, since the tractor will more than likely one day be his. And I hope to not have to paint it again for a long time.
The worst of the rust that I had.
And Repaired.
And you see his choice of gray. I know its not 'correct' but as the project goes along, I think it 'should' have been correct hehe.
Here are a few pictures of progress and paint.
I did hand paint the lettering on the fenders, it doesn't look bad from a distance, just don't get too close...
Along the way, I had problems with the oil pump suction, and trying to locate a side suction, finally I gave up and got an updated pump, with the bottom suction.
And I still haven't managed to get the side cover off of my SOS shifter.
I may just have to paint it in place, mask it off and paint the shifter.
I did manage to get the seat frame cleaned up and painted, but still looking for cushions, haven't decided as to whether we are going to have a local upholstery place make them for us, or whether we will go with a modern style seat, like I said its not a restoration, its just fixing what was broken, and that old seat was past due for replacement!
Learned from Tony that I was supposed to have a foot throttle.
I am however missing the pedal and the lower linkage... which I hear are the hard if not impossible parts to find.
And here is where I am at now.
Still scraping and cleaning, getting it ready to paint, before we start putting it back together.
Once its back in rolling condition I will move it back around to the front of the barn, and take the rear tires off, which are filled with fluid, so that I can paint them, and see about putting on some new brake shoes.
I did have a friend of mine coat my gas tank while it was off, so that we won't have to worry about rust in the future.
All in all its been an awesome experience, I have gotten to meet and talk to several great folks here on the forum, and I learn something new every day, even if its not me asking the questions, I learn from the issues that others are having.