Buying a CA

Hello all-
I am a regular on the Ford board , but I am buying a CA for nostalgia. My father was around AC tractors on his uncles dairy before WW II. He passed in 2009 and I have wanted to find one and clean it up in memory of him. He spent his time on a B but I thought a CA might be a bit more practical for parade wagon duty.
I found a CA on CL for 500, comes with some implements. It has been sitting in a shed for 12 years. The owners weren?t comfortable driving it on their sloped property so they parked it. From the pictures the tin looks straight and the tires hold air. I?ll pull it on to my trailer with a winch. I plan on changing fluids when I get home, install new ignition parts...what else should I do? Any concerns about moving it when it has been sitting so long? I?d appreciate your advice. I?m looking forward to this.
Tim
 
Great little tractor. Hope it works out well. I wouldn't be in a big hurry to replace ignition parts. What's in it is probably better than the junk you can buy today!! Speaking of ignition- one little thing that usually gets overlooked is lubing the dist- shaft/bushing, and advance, and then making sure the advance works.
 
If the engine turns over easy with a crank, which would indicate the valves are not stuck, get fuel in it and fire it up. 12 years is not all that long when they are under cover. It wouldn't hurt to put a couple table spoons of motor oil in each cylinder as soon as you get it home before any other work. Before putting a new oil filter on fill the stand pipe with motor oil to prime the oil pump. Leave the spark plugs out when you first crank it with the starter to build oil pressure and lube the cylinder walls. Put a half can of Seafoam in a couple gallon of gas and the other half in the crankcase. If it smokes after start up not to worry much as it would be common on an older used tractor setting for that long causing the rings to be sticking in the pistons and not wiping the cylinder walls dry. Stay with the Seafoam and run it. The smoke should get better the more it runs if it was not in need of an overhaul when last used.
 
Yes and some distributor drives have grease in a little gearbox that can get dried out. If I remember it is behind a plate behind the coil mount. And when changing fluids don't forget the final drives on the end of each axle. They can be nasty if they still have the original oil in them. And keep a good boot on the shift lever, especially if the tractor might get rained on. Water can get into the transmission if this boot is cracked or missing. The CA is a very nice tractor. Hope you enjoy it.
 
If I was buying it I would fill the cylinders with ATF before doing any thing else to it. Also if it has a vertical exhaust pour ATF down it till you could not add any more. That will free up valves and rings and clean up rust in the cylidners
 
I have two, for their size they have all the power you can imagine. Without the step they are a pain to get on and off when you get older. I use one with a 6' finish mower, the other for breaking gardens etc.
 

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