B to industrial B

Couple of questions:

-the front axle on the B I was looking at was the wishbone, non-adjustable style. I saw in a picture here that for converting to IB you could just turn the axle upside-down. I don't know if this would be strong enough to handle a light loader. Has anyone ever made their own front axle or used that out of a different, bigger tractor?

-front mount pump - how do you connect it to the crank shaft?

It's a little questionable whether the crankshaft or the connection between the crankshaft and crankshaft pulley can take the torque for very long. Usually, you'd need a splined coupling instead of a simple key and/or set-screw. My brother did this sort of modification to his D17, and it is done regularly on small Fords. On more modern tractors the hydraulic pump would be run off a shaft permanently engaged to the rear of the crankshaft and running back through a hollow clutch shaft. On the later Fords, it is attached to the side of the engine and run off a gear train in front of the flywheel. Other possible connections could be to the front or rear end of the camshaft. The governor is usually there, though. The small power steering pumps are run by belts from the front of the engine.

The channel supports the front axle on the IB? So it doesn't pivot anymore?

How were you planning on making a front axle? I was thinking like a peice of rectangular tube 1.75" x 4" or something with a tube on either end for the spindles.

thanks