Was told a story by my Dad over the weekend. In the general Richland-Ashland-Wayne county areas of Ohio there used to be a Super M with an M&W hand clutch that the owner was taking to shows. There should be evidence of a weld repair to the engine block on the distributor side. We are curious to know where that tractor is today.
This tractor was owned by my dad for a short period. The story is remarkable.
Story goes that a nearby family owned the Super M, had a mounted picker on it. After harvest one fall, they and let water get down the exhaust over winter. They go out to get to work the next year and the engine wouldn't crank. They do the next logical thing and try to tow-start the tractor. Rod breaks, punches a hole in the distributor side of the block and cracks out one of the blocks main journals.
My dad buys the broken tractor and brings it home, broken parts in a box. He tears into the engine and checks things out. He measures the remaining crank journals and finds he has a heavy piece of round stock in the scrap pile that is clean and fits the journals perfectly.
The broken sections fit together well. so he V's out the cracks to prepare to weld. He uses the heavy round stock with a lot of external bracing to hold everything in location. Then he builds a fire under the engine block to get hot enough to be ready to weld.
He claims to have successfully welded everything back in place and patched the hold in the side of the block. As he went through the reassembly process, he claims that all tolerances checked out and was surprised even the original crank shaft had survived. Seems almost impossible to me, considering the crank had to have moved some to allow one of the journals to crack out.
Anyway, the story goes that that he rebuilt the engine, only new parts being bearings and a new piston and rod for one cylinder. He says he put the tractor to use and never had any issue with it. He eventually sold it and said he would see it sometimes at tractor shows and that it has been a few years since he's see it. He says you can always tell which tractor by the M&W hand clutch and the visible repair in the side of the block.
Anyhow, hoping someone on here knows of this tractor's whereabouts. It's possible that someone further away has bought the tractor.
This tractor was owned by my dad for a short period. The story is remarkable.
Story goes that a nearby family owned the Super M, had a mounted picker on it. After harvest one fall, they and let water get down the exhaust over winter. They go out to get to work the next year and the engine wouldn't crank. They do the next logical thing and try to tow-start the tractor. Rod breaks, punches a hole in the distributor side of the block and cracks out one of the blocks main journals.
My dad buys the broken tractor and brings it home, broken parts in a box. He tears into the engine and checks things out. He measures the remaining crank journals and finds he has a heavy piece of round stock in the scrap pile that is clean and fits the journals perfectly.
The broken sections fit together well. so he V's out the cracks to prepare to weld. He uses the heavy round stock with a lot of external bracing to hold everything in location. Then he builds a fire under the engine block to get hot enough to be ready to weld.
He claims to have successfully welded everything back in place and patched the hold in the side of the block. As he went through the reassembly process, he claims that all tolerances checked out and was surprised even the original crank shaft had survived. Seems almost impossible to me, considering the crank had to have moved some to allow one of the journals to crack out.
Anyway, the story goes that that he rebuilt the engine, only new parts being bearings and a new piston and rod for one cylinder. He says he put the tractor to use and never had any issue with it. He eventually sold it and said he would see it sometimes at tractor shows and that it has been a few years since he's see it. He says you can always tell which tractor by the M&W hand clutch and the visible repair in the side of the block.
Anyhow, hoping someone on here knows of this tractor's whereabouts. It's possible that someone further away has bought the tractor.