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1967 Sears Suburban - getting this project started

8K views 60 replies 13 participants last post by  Alien5044 
#1 ·
Hey everyone -

I acquired this 1967 Suburban 12 about three years ago. Best part was that I was paid to haul it away.

At that time, I did just a little tinkering with it and found that it ran and I drove it around a little bit. Then I put it away for future restoration.

Well, the "future" has now come.

My wife and I are moving from a 0.4 acre suburban lot to a 7-acre semi-rural lot, with about 2 acres of open yard that's going to need to be mowed. So now I'm moving this project to the front burner.

It's going to need four new tires, all new belts, a carb rebuild, new battery, possible a starter rebuild (as I recall, it was pretty sluggish), general cleaning, some repair to the seat, new axle seals, and clutch and brake repair (the clutch barely worked and the brakes didn't work at all).

I'd really like to do a full restoration, including disassembly, strip and paint, but I'm more likely going to just get it working well so I can use it before the grass gets too tall!

Just figured I'd start a thread to document and share my progress.
 

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#2 ·
Looks pretty good already! Looking forward to your progress!

Mike
 
#4 ·
Nice tractor! We restored my Sub 10 about a year or so ago. I found a set of great condition wheels and tires from a SS12 I got along with a steering wheel and center cap.
Looking forward to your progress.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
I have its twin in my fleet...I'd leave it as-is,its only original once!..
You'll like it once you get it running good and new belts,etc installed..a beefier machine can't be bought today for less than 4 grand and it'll probably out pull and plow better than the new one..I have mowed an overgrown field with mine that had weeds 4 feet high,had to use first gear low range but it walked right thru it like nothing..
 
#6 ·
Me too on leaving it original.

Sounds like a beast if it will handle 4' tall weeds, I could use one of those! The web indicates Roper made them? The same Roper that made appliances etc?
 
#8 ·
Yes,Roper made the Suburbans & Custom tractors for Sears back in the day,from roughly 1965 to 1978 or so..

I have 5 running Suburbans and a SS-16 carcass for parts..once you get one of these tractors they seem to multiply like rabbits..

One I have,a '67 SS-12 that is blue,I got for $50 with no engine--I put an old tired 6 HP Briggs on it,and have used that thing a lot ,to pull big trees I cut down out of the woods,push snow and clear paths in the woods with the plow,and despite it being low HP,the low gearing makes up for it--its slow,but in first gear it will pull my 3 ton pickup truck,and in low range first you can practically climb a wall with it..

With fluid in the rear tires & chains,wheel weights,and 280 lbs more piled behind the seat,plus me weighing 180 lbs,it can move a lot of snow & dirt,I was pretty impressed with it once I got the weights and fluid on it..

The other three tractors are Suburban 12's,a '67,'68,and a 1969 or 1970,those I've only used to mow with so far,but one I have built a scoop/bucket out of a John Deere plow blade that uses a winch to lift it--still in the build stage,I need to get a winch contactor for power up & down for that one..

Some things on these tractors are a pain to work on--replacing a drive belt can take awhile and isn't a walk in the park,but I've seen much worse..the starter/generators are not fun to remove "in the chassis" ,some take the engine out instead..but they were built rugged and take a lot of abuse before anything fails,especially the six speed transaxle with hi & lo range..
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the interest guys!

I would really love to make it all shiny and gorgeous and like new again - including new decals and such. The old plates, for the gear shift pattern, dashboard, etc. area really worn and faded. And I'd love to give it all new paint and make it look sharp and crisp.

But the reality is more likely that I'll clean it up a bit, probably paint the wheels so they don't get all rusty, and get it running so I can just use it. I don't know - we'll see.

But I definitely have to replace the tires - they are totally shot. And the belts and whatever else is just plain broken. So it won't entirely "original", in any case!

I'm hoping things might slow down a little bit with work, and maybe one day next week, I can pull it out into the sunshine, hose off all the dust that's accumulated on it and get a bunch of new pics to share. Then I'll start doing some wrenching.
 
#11 ·
The ST models those years had a Tecumseh HH series cast iron engine ,that had overhead valves,a later version of the older flathead ones..the OHV ones have been noted to have the valve seats come loose ,and the guides wear and allow oil to drip into the combustion chamber..they are good engines,but those two things are their downsides..
But not every engine has or will have those issues.mostly its the ones that were not cared for that had the valve seats come loose,mostly due to overheating when the cooling fins were not cleaned regularly..
$450 for that tractor with the attachments is not a bad deal at all,it appears to be well maintained..
 
#12 ·
So here's my first question (of what I'm sure will be many).

Looking at the old tires on the beast.

The rear tires are marked 7.5-12. Looking online, I'm not finding any tires that are 7.5. I'm finding 7-12 at Miller Tire - but they're $135 each! What tires are you all putting on yours?

Thanks.
 
#16 ·
I have a pair of originals for that with nearly no cracking, and very little wear of you'd want to keep it original. Otherwise, I would go 23x8.50-12 or wider. If you go wider, you need a wider rim too though.

you may want to check your local craigslist, or facebook marketplace. Often you can get wheels and tires off newer machines for cheap money. All 5 lug wheels for garden tractors have the same bolt pattern so that should not be a worry for you
 
#19 ·
I have a pair of originals for that with nearly no cracking, and very little wear of you'd want to keep it original. Otherwise, I would go 23x8.50-12 or wider. If you go wider, you need a wider rim too though.
Thanks for the offer - I think I'm going to go with new 23x8.50-12 shoes. I think I found what I want on Greater Cleveland Tires.com.
 
#17 ·
I have a 1968 SS 12, but the mower deck is long gone due to rust out. Just curious, is the mower deck in your picture considered an original to the machine? I seem to recall that the mower deck on this vintage had all squared and welded decks, not really stamped with rounded bottom edges.

You have a great looking and complete machine. Congratulations and good luck on it.
GB
 
#46 ·
that's not the original deck for that year machine. That's a 1969 or newer deck, but the nice thing about sears is, you put the newer deck brackets on the frame, and it's interchangeable. These style decks I call the "scissor lift" style due to the lift mechanism, and in my opinion are much better.
 
#21 ·
Here are a couple more pics. I discovered that the front flange on the carburetor, where the manifold from the air cleaner attaches, is cracked off on one side.

My initial thought is to get it good an clean and JB Weld it. I've had great success with similar repairs in the past. Also wondering if these carbs are still available, in case I wanted to just put on a new one?
 

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#22 ·
Just a few more pics. I discovered that the PTO pulley on the side of the engine must have taken a hit some time in the past - you can see where a chunk broke off and someone welded it back on.

Also - in the third pic, you can see an empty bolt hole in the middle of the pic. Does something get mounted there? Or is it just a bolt that vibrated out or something?
 

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#23 ·
Looks like the mounting ear of the carb is broken off. I wouldn't expect JB Weld to hold that on for very long, maybe use it to get the machine running in the short term, and have a new carb ready to swap on when it fails again.

And from pic 3 in post 22, from the worn off paint, it looks like something was mounted there, perhaps a cover/shield that could be rotated out of the way for maintenance?
 
#26 ·
Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like your threads are buggered up. Hopefully you can fix the port threads with a tap. Not sure that I'd try to save that muffler, LOL...

Mike
 
#25 ·
I've had limited success using those "aluminum welding rods" they sell at Northern Tool & Harbor Freight and other sources,that are used with a propane or MAPP torch to "weld" things like carb castings and other die cast stuff back together..
That may work better than J-B Weld..

Some guys in my area are good with TIG welders and can weld up things like that carb,cracked bell housings,etc..

You might be able to just put a large thick washer on the bolt (or a longer bolt if need be),to clamp that side of the carb on that has the broken ear..it doesn't require that much torque to hold it on and keep the gasket from letting air in..some RTV will help "glue" the carb on some too..
 
#29 ·
Some HH Tecumseh's used a "straight" pipe thread instead of tapered...but you can use a NPT tap to clean the threads,just dont go overboard with it..

I don't think any aftermarket carbs are available for the HH Tecumseh's,there was a few around a couple years ago but the supply dried up,I read here that its not that hard to make one for a Kohler engine work on the HH engines though,and those can be had for low cost on E-bay..
 
#38 ·
Some HH Tecumseh's used a "straight" pipe thread instead of tapered...but you can use a NPT tap to clean the threads,just dont go overboard with it..
I just semi retired from a German machine company and all their pneumatics were straight threaded, caused me no end of heartburn with customers. Just look for a "G" tap rather than NPT (G-3/8 versus 3/8 NPT) and it should be a straight pipe thread.

In other news, I think I just found one of these sitting out in a yard a few miles away. Doesn't look complete or in nearly as good of condition.
 
#30 ·
Well I went ahead and took off the carb yesterday, took it apart and gave it a good cleaning. Everything came apart very easily - it looks like this machine must have been kept in a shed or garage or something, because it's not all crusty rusty and weather-beaten. All screws came right out easily.

The carb actually is in very good condition, other than that cracked tab.

I used "steel weld" epoxy to stick it back on, and I plan to reinforce it with an aluminum plate. We'll see if it holds.
 

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#31 ·
That might work on the air cleaner end !--I thought the mounting bolt ear on the engine side was what had been busted off..there isn't that much strain on the air filter end of the carb,and an additional brace from the air cleaner to another bolt like a head bolt will take a lot of the strain off it..
 
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