Current Project: 1944 MM ZTU

Hello all! Well, I have been posting a little bit over in the MM forums on the latest tractor project I picked up... A 1944 MM ZTU. Had to get myself an MM as grandpa used to work for them down in the assembly division here in Hopkins, MN for about 25 years. This makes #6 in the stable.
Little bit of a back story on this one - Gentleman I got it from bought it in a 5-tractor deal to obtain one specific tractor he wanted. It came from an estate where grandson wanted nothing to do with grandpa's tractors. Rumor has it that it was rebuilt shortly before being parked. Good compression, Oil is black, and radiator is holding coolant. Tires are all up with good tread, rears are checked but ok. Everything is there (even the battery box lid) - only thing missing is the front mounting bracket for the toolbox. He never did attempt to start it when he got it - just pulled it down around back and put it in his lean to when he got the 5 tractors home. We did put it in gear while pulling it out and the oil pressure comes right up.
Currently have the carburetor off and rebuild completed (including a repair I made to the inlet elbow screen). Cleaned up and re-packed the original sediment bowl, spin on oil filter conversion kit is ready, and am going over to Rudy Calin's tomorrow to chat a little and pick up a magneto (had a WICO distributor on it).
Just have to finish cleaning out the fuel tank, and then run a new line and we should be ready to test-fire. Looking forward to hearing this one run and learning something new. It will be a little different than dealing with the typical overhead valve engines I am used to. (JD, Case, IH)... Anyhow.. Here are some photos and also a link to the video series on it! Stay tuned!

On a side note - we have been working on selling our townhouse and moving to a new home with a little land and space for a pole shed... You will all be happy to know that our townhome is sold, and we have found a new home on a little under 3 acres (Photo included). Closing date is set for March 30th... So, whenever anyone wants to donate a little time and labor to help me with a barn raising.. Just let me know!! :-D








MM ZTU Episode 1

Looks like you are living the dream!
Ben

If we could talk tractors and build barn I'm in. Wait......how far from Alabama are you?! Seriously looks like a nice place y'all got.

Talking tractors is required... As a matter of fact, I think raising up the trusses with the '47 Farmall M is a necessity as well!

Hmmmmmmmm sounds like a plan. Still don't know how long a road trip it is?

From Alabama? Let's see... From Muscle Shoals to where I am at in MN (25 miles NW of Minneapolis), it is a good 14-15 hours minimum!

Yikes!! And I'm a couple hours south of muscle shoals... Don't guess we will drop by and help....

Consider possible weather, traffic, speed of different drivers and season of year your 14 - 15 hours means nothing as to distance.

(quoted from post at 08:46:16 03/05/18) From Alabama? Let's see... From Muscle Shoals to where I am at in MN (25 miles NW of Minneapolis), it is a good 14-15 hours minimum!

Click to expand...

Didn't realize you were a Minnesota guy. I'm about 15-20 miles east of Mankato.
I've been following some of your posts over the years. You have some nice tractors. I'm sure you will love this one too when you get it going.

Thanks Rich! Yup, born and raised.. I'm about 25 miles NW of the cities. Been a long time coming, but 11 years in a townhouse is long enough
(especially with this hobby)!

No worries! I am not even sure when I will be able to put a building up. My goal is to have posts in the ground this year, but you never know. At least if the posts are in I can start banding it in and get ready for trusses.

Did I mention that when we go visit my grandkids in NC, it's only 500 miles up there and it usually takes us 12 -14 hours to go one way! Yard sales,junk stores, tractor salvage yards, Darlington race track,the list goes on. Why take an interstate when a back road goes to the same place!!?

I agree! I am a back road kind of guy myself, but when time is in short order, I pretty much have to stick to interstates during those times. When I went down to Muscle Shoals, though... I did take some back roads. Passed a place I wanted to stop at in SW Tennessee I believe that had a row of old IH tractors. Even saw what looked like an 8-16 Mogul! But, being from out of town, I have no business knocking on someone's door.

Did you come down and pick up a couple old tractors? And around here it's normal to stop and knock on strangers doors!

I did. A friend of mine is a trucker and spotted a mid-60's Cub LoBoy sitting in the back lot of Tri-County International in Muscle Shoals. He stopped in and wanted to know if they were interested in getting rid of it... Naturally the price was too good to pass up, and he needed a pickup driver. I drove down last spring to pick up the tractor. New cylinder head and a tune up and she runs like a top!

Sonuvagun.

My wife and I are good friends with a Lutheran preacher and his wife in Mankato. Jim and Claudia Pragman. He was our pastor here in Nebraska at one time. We stayed overnight in their house in Mankato a few years ago.

I think I would have looked for a place with a nice shop already there.

We tried. We have been looking for a long time. We have been getting outbid, even when submitting offers as soon as home hit the market. Home prices in our area have been climbing significantly, and interest rates are going up as well. In a matter of 5 days, our projected interest rate went from 3.875 to 4.625... That really hit us when it came to looking for a place with an existing outbuilding. We got this home for a decent price, with a good amount of nice, private land, in a good neighborhood for our future children. Also has a LOT of updates (appliances, siding, windows, roof, furnace, newly finished basement, water heater). I can build a shop. I am hoping for 32' X 56'. 16' X 10' overhead door, and service door. Gotta get the shell up for starters, and go from there. I plan to use the building for storage at first, and then use the attached garage as the 'work area' until I can get enough money saved to keep going with the shop. Gotta start somewhere.