6000 project, update #6, almost done!

Bern

Well-known Member
Location
Mount Vernon, WA
Major advancements on my 6000 project after getting all of the sheet metal painted and the decals applied. I took it to my friend's hay field today and snapped a few pics.

It's not done yet. I still have to get the seat reupholstered and the steering wheel redone, as well as redo pretty much all of the wiring. That will take some time yet, but I couldn't wait to get the hood on and see what it looked like.

I have to say, the looks of the 6000 are growing on me, at least the Commander version. I used to think they were ugly, but I guess I've "evolved".

I've also come to realize that I really like the nearly equal balance of white versus blue paint. Think of a comparable JD tractor of that vintage - it's all green except the wheels and seat.

I promise more close ups after the seat and steering wheel are done. The steering wheel looks hideous right now. Every time I drive it a chunk of it comes off in my hand.

cvphoto37110.jpg
 
Looks great Bern though I still think they look like a tractor you might find on the Jetsons - if you remember them.
I kinda think the MFs - 135s, etc look that way too.
A couple of questions:
What kind of paint did you use?
Where did you buy the nice, clean precleaner?
Were the front weights reversible ie, up/down?
What will you use/do to repair the steering wheel?
Is the center hub still intact? Mine is completely gone.
I've been thinking about making a mold of some sort - maybe of clay - and pour a new epoxy center hub. Imbed the wheel into it before I pour. Have been looking at different epoxys but not sure what to use.
I'm sure who ever gets that tractor when you're done with it will get a honey of a machine.
 
Yes, I watched the Jetsons as a kid, and I would agree with you with regards to the rear console and the way the controls are situated. Looks like something off of a space ship for sure.

As for paint, it all came from NH. Smaller pieces were sprayed with bomb cans (not a cheap way to paint). A friend of mine (the hay farmer whose field I was in) painted the sheet metal for me. He used NH paint out of a quart can, and added a little bit of "wet look" hardener to the mix to give it the shine.

As regards to the paint, if you look real close, you can see that the white paint of the front and rear cast pieces is just a tad bit different shade than the sheet metal. I'm not sure if the difference is attributable to the different surfaces (cast versus steel), or the fact that the paint came from two different sources (quart can versus rattle can). In a perfect world I would have painted everything with a gun from the same one-gallon can of paint.

Pre-cleaner bowl came from the NH dealer. It's one of the few items you can still get from them, and I'm sure it's only because it's the same piece as is used on many different models.

The front weights are not reversible. If you look close, the bottom bolt row spacing is different than the top row spacing. In addition, I did not mount them the way the factory intended. If you look at the factory literature, you can see only two studs poking out of 6 holes of the front weight. This is because they intended for them to be mounted one at a time, which make sense at 130# each. I however did not like the look of the 4 open holes, so I got two long pieces of 3/4" all-thread and threaded them into the front bolster. I then slid all of the weights onto the all-thread and then tightened one of them down tight with a nut. I then replaced each stud one at a time with bolts. I think this looks better, having bolts in all the holes. The upper, outer holes align with brackets that attach to the front nose piece.

The steering wheel is cracked all over the place. I'm toying with the idea of simply sending it out to a guy who restores steering wheels as a hobby, because I'm certainly not equipped to repair it myself, nor do I wish to attempt it. I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet though because it will likely cost upwards of a grand to have him do it. It seems kind of senseless to do that when I can buy a round aftermarket wheel for $50. Problem is, it wouldn't look stock without the Jetsons-inspired, flight deck design OEM wheel, or without the special emblem that goes inside of it (link below). The round part of the wheel is also different in thickness between the top and bottom. It's really different.
Emblem
 
I always had a soft spot for the commander 6000 look, and that one sure looks nice! My first tractor was just like that, but the wide front was the set back style. I traded it on a bigger horse a few years later. I found it in a salvage yard 20 years later. Bought it, and brought it home to find the torque limiting spline had stripped. She doesn't look as pretty as yours, but still gets used each summer and will be here as long as I still am caption of this ship. I plowed many a field with it, and a mounted 4/16 plow. With the front tires 8-10 inches in the air from one end of the field to the other. Acre after acre. I pulled a 14 foot Keewanee disk also. No way anyone will ever convince me the select o speed trans was bad. I had the pump turned up and it would blow a 8 inch flame out the exhaust at night. I pulled her guts out each time I turned the key on. I also pulled a two row 780 Allis chopper when filling silo. Those 6000 commanders where a hard pulling tractor. I wonder how things would have played out if the early red 6000 train wreck hadn't happened. The Commanders were good looking and fun to drive. Al
 
It's pretty safe to say that the 6000 would have been a lot more popular had it not been for the issues of the original models. It's one thing to have problems in only one area of the machine, like say the transmission. But when they were re-worked at the factory or dealership and went from red to blue, almost everything was gone through and updated!

It surprises me still, to this day, that Ford was so careless with the introduction of the 6000 in 1961, after what happened to the first SOS trans in 1959, and of course the Edsel in 1957. I think management must have had more money than brains back then.
 
The precleaner bowl is a Donaldson and not specific to Ford or New Holland. There are I believe 3 sizes and the plastic bowls are available from a variety of sources.
 
I think as a whole(company) Ford was used to success stories. If their engineers drew it up it had to be good. They hadn't felt much failure. Still don't understand what took them out of business? Everywhere you look Ford tractors seem to have sold well. I know they were slow to build large frame tractors but they did build a good product. Al
 
At some point in time, the Ford Tractor Division became the red-headed step child within the Ford Motor Company, and it showed with some of the machines that they came out with, like the TW series - there was clearly some engineering laziness going on there. It's too bad that they didn't give it more support like old Henry did.

Of course, Fiat hasn't done the division any good either in my opinion.
 
Looking great!!! If your still interested in a muffler I will try to build you one once the weather turns and I get some time in the shop. Seems like I can t get any kind of tractor projects completed lately. The turkey farm is taking more time than ever and the pay is less!!
 
Yes, I am definitely interested in a muffler that looks a little closer to the stock one. Send me an e-mail
when you're ready to do it to bernatfidalgodotnet.

Thanks
 
Many thanks to my friend Tim (dopp creek) for locating another 6000 to be my parts rig. From that salvage tractor came the fenders, weights, and front axle. The original machine was a trike and had a cab with no fenders. In fact, here's a pic of it (I can't believe I actually paid money for that thing!).
cvphoto37193.jpg
 
I do, although I've been getting ready to strip the parts tractor down and dispose of most of the parts.
Your timing was fortunate, because that was going to go in the scrap pile here soon.

I'd be willing to give you the wheel and spindle if you'd like. All you'd have to pay for is the freight. My
zip is 98273. That sucker is heavy, I know that.
 
I d be interested in it if we can figure out shipping. Is there a fastenal close to you? I ve heard of guys shipping stuff through them and it being reasonable
 
Look at it this way, you got the parts you wanted without making several trips to the salvage yard. I bought two for parts, one has nearly new rubber on back. We can justify about anything if we try hard enough!!
 
Nope. If one sprung up at an auction, I'd likely try and outbid you for it! :)

I'm toying with the idea of having one made by a machine shop. My thought was to buy a 1000 shaft for a later Ford and then have it turned down and re-splined. I have the factory print spec for it already. Let me know if you're interested, and I can e-mail the print to you. In fact, maybe we could have the machine shop make 2 at the same time and save us both a little money if they make a package deal.

That said, it's not like I really need one, as I'd likely not find anything that I can pull with it anyway that has 1000 PTO requirement.
 
Yes, I do have a Fastenal close by.

I plan on having my students strip down my parts tractor here in a couple of weeks. I'll set the wheel and
spindle aside and weigh them both (you want the spindle too, correct?) so you can get an idea as to the
shipping charges.

Send me an e-mail in a couple of weeks and I should have the info you need. bernatfidalgodotnet
 
It's a good thing I'm not married, because my mythical wife likely would have filed for divorce over this restoration! Between all the money and time I've spent on this project, along with tying up a garage stall for over a year, it might not have ended well.

This one had near new rubber on it when it was parked 25 years ago. It sat outside the whole time in the hot sun, and the sidewalls look almost like new - no cracks. One has an orange rust stain on it though from the calcium leaking on it.
 
I always like the looks of the 6000, the blue looks far better than the red ones did. What part of Skagit are you in?
 
That's pretty close!

The tractor is currently at Skagit Valley College if you'd like to see it in person. My students will be stripping down my other parts 6000 into pieces. No, I'm not taking advantage of slave labor, since we'll be covering nuts and bolts first thing.
 
I got lucky and picked up a NOS 1000 shaft for $40 on eBay last week. I?ll try to get you some pictures with measurements. I jumped on it because the 2 row picker on our 63 6000 runs on 1000 rpm and the shaft I?ve got in the tractor that came with the picker is worn pretty bad.
 
I just might come up and look at it. I actually graduated from the SVC, Industrial Mechanics program in 1967. Just prior to being drafted into the Army. I was also working full time at a local tractor shop. The instructor showed me an old Budda diesel that the navy had donated, setting on a cart, said; If you get it running, I'll give you an A for the quarter, and you don't need to come back to class, or take the final. Got it running in four hours.
 

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