The first tractor I bought was a grey market 16hp Mitsu. I drove it for 20 years. Got $1500 more than I gave for it in trade on new Deere. Was a great little tractor that I’m sure is still serving somebody well today.

Keep us up to date on your project. Some of us dont have much of a winter for such things.

Link to original video: https://youtu.be/8-BdA2_jXqw

Fixed some minor wiring issues under the dash and reinstalled it. Dropped a new battery in and fixed the battery cables. As soon as I touched the ground to the negative post, it started cranking. WTF?

Thought the solenoid might be stuck so pulled the starter off and checked it out and lubed the bendix armature bearings while I had it apart. Put it back on - same issue. Then I pulled my head out of my nether regions and realized the ring terminal on the battery cable was touching the lead to the starter brushes. Doh. Rotated it a bit and all is well.

Spent some time bleeding the injector lines but once it got fuel there it started right up.

With your affinity for fixing tractors, have you ever read any of the books Roger Welch wrote about repairing vintage tractors? As I recall, he was an Allis-Chalmers man.

quote:

Originally posted by M1Garandy:
With your affinity for fixing tractors, have you ever read any of the books Roger Welch wrote about repairing vintage tractors? As I recall, he was an Allis-Chalmers man.

Indeed, I read 3 or 4 of them. Funny guy! He was on a web site (Successful Farming, IIRC) and I chatted with him off and on for a while.

Enjoyed the update

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by M1Garandy:
With your affinity for fixing tractors, have you ever read any of the books Roger Welch wrote about repairing vintage tractors? As I recall, he was an Allis-Chalmers man.

Indeed, I read 3 or 4 of them. Funny guy! He was on a web site (Successful Farming, IIRC) and I chatted with him off and on for a while.

I figured it was highly likely. I read them all 15 years ago or so as well. He has a way with words.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: M1Garandy,

Anxiously looking forward for updates on this. I love old Iron.

That's the one good thing about diesel engines, the fuel acts as a rust preventer and the engines generally can sit years without rusted cylinders, and will generally start right up and run, unlike their gasoline brothers.......interesting project.

Well, shit. Got the axles rebuilt and put back on, fired it up and got some jerky motion out of the left axle. Thought it might be the differential action, so held the brake on that side and no motion on right axle. Plus some seriously disturbing noise out of the rear end.

Pulled the top off the rear end and it's shelled the ring and pinion. No way no how I'd ever find parts for it, and even if that particular Unicorn decided to take a dump in my garage, it'd cost more than the tractor is worth.

Time to cut my losses and part it out. Engine runs great, rear tires are decent, tin is good.

Sigh.

Sad, but time to start another before Spring.

Dang!

I was looking forward to your progress throughout the winter. Hopefully you’ll find another project.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

A friend on a motorcycle board (!) found a source for Shibaura parts right here in Maine. WAAY the hell up North, but in Maine.

He lists what certainly appear to be the correct parts at a very reasonable price. I just need to jerk the old parts out of the rear end to verify part numbers if possible, or at least dimensions and tooth count.

It's a Christmas miracle! (from some old black and white holiday movie. Christmas miracle maybe?).

Good luck with the ring and pinion. I goofed once on my 59 Impala, thinking I knew what I was doing, and destroyed the R&P. However, my GM stuff is readily available.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
It's a Christmas miracle! (from some old black and white holiday movie. Christmas miracle maybe?).

Good luck with the ring and pinion. I goofed once on my 59 Impala, thinking I knew what I was doing, and destroyed the R&P. However, my GM stuff is readily available.

Yeah, I'm more than a little nervous about that. I know just enough about setting up a rear end to know that I have no idea what I'm doing. I know pre-load and gear mesh is critical.

Looking at things, I about half suspect someone else has been in there and screwed it up. Not enough preload and the first time they lugged it, it shelled the pinion.

Poop. He doesn't have those parts. Apparently the tractor is something of an odd duck even among Shibauras.

Maybe I'll put it back together sans ring gear so I can use the PTO to power.......something.

If I had an enclosed garage I'd be doing the same thing. I have an Allis Chalmers B 1943 tractor that needs a lot of work.

Yes, it is possible to weld up broken ring & pinion teeth.
Back in the early 1980's I did it, just not as neatly as in the above video.

I built, owned and campaigned a 181" wheelbase front engine rail dragster. 10.18 quarter mile time at 131 MPH. All by one motivated guy. Me!
Small block Chevy, 2 speed Powerglide transmission with 8" B & M 5000 RPM high stall speed torque converter.
I got a super deal on a narrowed complete rear end. From a 1956 Oldsmobile Holiday 88. It already had 4.88 gears in it. Basically a bolt in ready to use rear axle.

That affordable axle worked great, right up until I shifted the transmission into reverse at well over 100 MPH. I had a sliding "gate" on the transmission shifter that prevented the shifting lever from being pushed past drive. (leave the line in low gear, and manually "bump" the shifter one click into drive when the tachometer hit the red line)

Anyway, I forgot to move the sliding gate into the proper position after my burnout. I launched the car and when it was time to shift at redline, I hit the shifter.
It went through drive, neutral, and ended up in reverse. Nothing appeared wrong until getting out of the car in the pits, I shifted it into Park and it rolled.
The car had no cooling system other than water in the block and cylinder heads. It would overheat trying to drive the car from the end of the track back to the pits.
It was always towed back from the end of the track to the pits with a "chase" vehicle.

Subsequent disassembly revealed several broken ring & pinion teeth, twisted splines on the axles, and a broken input shaft on the transmission.

I replaced the broken transmission input shaft, bought a set of axles and had them shortened and re-splined.
The ring and pinon teeth got welded and re-shaped. (VERY much a time and labor intensive project)
After I got it all back together, I bought and installed a B & M ratchet shifter which would only shift one transmission range detent with a full stroke of the shifting lever.
I had considered getting one of those B & M ratchet shifters during the initial build, and decided to NOT purchase one due to the expense.
That flawed decision ended up costing several thousand dollars and several months of rework.

Anyway, PHPaul, those ring and pinion gears CAN be welded up, reshaped, and reused.
But from what I can see in your photos, they are VERY WELL trashed.

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
Anyway, PHPaul, those ring and pinion gears CAN be welded up, reshaped, and reused.
But from what I can see in your photos, they are VERY WELL trashed.

Yup. The pinion is basically bald. Reconstructing the teeth would cost more than the tractor is worth.



Still contemplating various uses as a portable power unit. I did rig up a hitch so I can tow it around with Guido.

I acquired this gem today for scrap prices - which mostly it is.

I've worked on this wreck before and kept it on life support long after it should have been put out to pasture. John Deere 455 which is a diesel hydro. 3 cylinder Yanmar engine is toast, there isn't an intact piece of plastic on it and the wiring is a rat's nest.

However, the last I knew the transmission/rear end were still good and it has full hydraulics and a front PTO, the frame is good and the tires hold air.

Plan A is to transplant the Shibaura engine into it. If that turns out to be impractical or too much work, I'm confident I can part it out for more than I gave for it.