A/C Model B newbie

Just wanted to drop a line and say Hello. I've been reading almost every post on this site and others trying to gain some knowledge about my 1940 Model B. I have a ton of questions, and I think Jeff Z can attest to this. Jeff, thanks for all your input via email. I think I've worn you out with all my questions. :lol: :lol: So, I'm gonna take some of the pressure off of you and throw some of them out here. I think I have the loose rear wheel figured out after talking to you and reading on here. I'm gonna take a look this week and see if the eccentrics are rusted out. It is down at the farm.

1. Belly mower vs brush hog. I'm looking to do some mowing of our property. It has high grass,green briars and some saplings, lets say < 1". Will a belly mower work for me?? The concern I have is that some of the areas to mow have some off camber rolls to it. Now, I'm not planning on mowing hillside, but rather hill tops and lower areas that are in and amoungst hills. My thought is that the belly mower will eliminate the extra wieght on the back of the tractor and will cut down on the tractor wanting to wheelie. But, if the belly mower isn't gonna fill the bill, I will go with the brush hog and try and add some wieght to the front of the tractor.

2. I read somewhere (and I may have misunderstood) that you can not be turning the tractor while the brush hog is engaged or it will shear off a pin. I can't remember if it was Old or someone else who had posted this. Could you expand on this. Does this mean sharp turns or does it include "sweeping turns?? Is this a problem with a pull behind mower vs a 3pt hitch mower or both??? My take home message, from what I remember, is that you can only have the pto engaged with the brush hog ONLY when going in straight lines.

3. What size is the pto shaft on the model B???? 1 1/8 or 1 3/8???

4. What is the device called that will keep the brush hog from pushing the tractor forward after disengaging the PTO????

5. Couple of items I am looking for:
1. wishbone wieght
2. engine side wieghts
3. Choke cable
4. Belt pulley and nut to attach it to side of PTO.
If anyone has some sitting around in the way, I could be interested.

Anyone located near Canton, Oh who wants to help a newbie out. Send me a pm.

Well, that's it for now (I told you I have a lot of questions, right Jeff). Thanks for listening and helping a newbie out.

Blessings,

#4. Overrun clutch (google it)

#5-1. Ebay- I only recall seeing one wishbone weight for sale, but my B has an adjustable front end so I can not use this weight.

#5-2. Ebay- Get ready to pay $300-400 per set to purchase and ship them to you. Usually there is a set that comes up every 6 months.

#5-3 You should be able to get a choke cable anywhere. Try an AGCO dealer or Napa

#5-4 Watch Ebay for someone parting out a Belt pulley and contact them through Ebay and see if they have the nut.

If you knew of a salvage yard they might have some of the parts too.

A 3pt brush hog usually has a single wheel on the back, so the mower weight would only come into play when transporting. It is easy to turn corners with a rear mower, you just have to careful in tight quarters so you don't hit anything. You need the stabilizer chains to eliminate side sway though. A mid mount finish mower is not suited well for tall grass and brush, whereas a brush mower takes it in stride. With sharp blades you can even get a decent cut on shorter grass, but is not really designed to do lawns. And you need an override clutch on the PTO. I believe your pto shaft is 1 3/8. With your 40 B I would go with a 4ft brush hog if you have the 116ci engine.

Choke cable? It should have a rod that goes to the choke. As for a brush hog you need to get a pull type, or you will have to add a three point kit to the tractor. Also you deffinitly need an over running clutch on the pto.

Woods made both the single spindle and the three spindle belly mowers for under the small tractors like the B. I have both. The single spindle is built like the bush hog or rotary field chopper/mower with the heavy kick back blades. It sounds like the single spindle would be a good choice for your application.

I have a whole belly mower setup on a 47 b that i am trying to sell, i am going to be using mine with cultivators. I am in Cincinnati Ohio .

I have a 5' bush hog on a three point hitch on a C. I have a 6' woods 3 blade finish belly mower on a B. Anything more than lawn mowing is just too hard on the B, the belt, and the mower. So I would go with the "bush hog" type whichever way it's mounted.
I imagine the pto shaft on that vintage B is 1 1/8, unless someone has changed it. You can accomplish two things at once with an over running pto shaft adaptor.(1 1/8 input, 1 3/8 output)
The very early B had a smaller tapered belt pulley shaft and used a solid cast iron pulley. Most of them used a pressed steel pulley, and had a bigger shaft. The Woods mower drive pulley fits the bigger shaft. Depending on what you do you may find you'll be using that shaft and don't want the original flat belt pulley.
I have a pressed steel pulley surplus to my needs here in central NY. I also have a B cultivator, and a two bottom two way plow complete with split rockshaft and selector valve for sale.

I solved the belt problems by not buying the woods belts and getting industrial belts. They cost half as much and will last many times longer.
I use my three spindle to mulch horse manure down in my hay fields. Been doing that for close to ten years. I also mulched weeds down that was hood high with my B and woods mower. Only problem is keeping blades sharp for the lawn one of which is 4 acres until this year and I am fencing about an acre for pasture. Probly have to buy another new set of blades very soon.

trhod, there is anallis chalmers scrap yard over north west of wooster. Wengers or something like that. I have the info at home but I'm out of town till saturday.I live just outside of Canton. Iwill lookup that yard when I get home and let you know if somebody on here doesn't beat me to it. Mike

Man....thanks for all the responses.

I've been keeping and eye on ebay for the things I'm looking for, I'll continue that.

Mike, whenever you get a chance shoot me that info on the allis boneyard in wooster. Hopefully, they have some some of the stuff I'm looking for.

wagshall in cinn--is your mower a single spindle or a 3 spindle like Dick L was talking about. I'm wanting to use it more as a brush hog type mower that a finish type mower. If you have some pictures, shoot me an email [email protected]. I wouldn't mind travelling the 5hrs to cin, if it ends up being what I need. let me know.

Bob--I could be interested in your 2bottom plow and cultivator, just not right now. Momma thinks I went overboard with the tractor purchase as it is. I'm looking to get a brush hog or belly mower first. But I will definately keep you in mind. I would love to have all original A/C implements, just gotta make sure I don't upset momma :wink:

w/r to the choke cable. I have seen the aftermarket ones for sale at agco, I just wanted to try and keep my B as original as possible. I see one is up for auction on ebay right now. I just thought 9.99 + 15.99 shipping was a bit high.

Sounds like I will need to get the tape measure on the pto shaft. I had seen different possiblities of sizes 1 1/8 and 1 3/8 on several post and from the mixed responses, it could be either/or. Maybe I'll just get 2 overrun clutches 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 and a 1 3/8 to 1 3/8 and take back which ever one doesn't work. I was gonna call around to a couple of rental places and see if I can rent a brush hog to use some time this week, since I haven't really decided what is the best way for me to go yet.

I should have mentioned, the tractor DOES have a 3pt hitch. I believe it is a category 1.

Thanks for all your responses and comments. Keep them comming.

Blessings,

Just to give you some piece of mind, I have a 39 B and pull a 5 ft brush hog with slip clutch installed and have never had a problem. Cleared brush and saplings up to 1.5 ". As far as turning radius with the PTO engaged, no problem, as long as you don't turn to tight. Listen to the PTO, if it starts clicking/knocking, you're turning to tight. Good Luck