Re: restoratoin

Posted by Jeb2N on April 17, 2005 at 06:02:41 from (68.101.4.135):

In Reply to: restoratoin posted by Mark Hogberg on April 16, 2005 at 21:09:55:

Cowman is right. Everyone's idea of "restoration" is different....to some, it's a complete tear down and rebuild of every single part nut and bolt and then painting it with automotive paint and never using the tractor in the field again....to others,it can be as simple as a couple spark plugs and a can of paint and a roller brush.

The questions people generally ask themselves are "How far do I really want to go with this?", and "Am I going to use the tractor when I'm done or is it going to be a show/parade only tractor." Answering these questions up front goes a long way to establishing a timeline for how long the restoration will take and how much money you will be willing to put into. It sounds to me like you will still be using your tractor when you're done so you are probably not incredibly interested in A-1, 100% originality and correctness for all the parts, or in putting on a $1000 paint job.

I would start with the obvious mechanical problems. EVERY tractor that is used has problems. If it hasn't been used, it STILL has problems because it's just been sitting there. Could be anything from a stuck linkage, lift not working properly, worn out/sloppy steering box, to leaky seals....find these problems and fix them first. You will find other problems as you go along to fix, but once you are satisfied that all is mechanically sound on your tractor, then you can tackle the issue of paint and how far you want to go there. Everything after mechanical rebuilding is just cosmetic and is completely up to you.

That said, i inherited my grandfather's 1947 Ford 2N tractor (so it was free) and i've dumped almost $7000 in it and I did all the work myself. This tractor will never again do field work and is a parade tractor. Never mind the fact that it's barely worth half of what I have in it, i did it because it was important to me and as such, expense was no issue. Neither was time. I have a little over a year invested in my restoration and that's working a few nights a week and on weekends. Do some serious thinking on it because you are your own work director. What will satisfy you and what really isn't all that important.

Jeb

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