[Ingersoll444]

I've been seeing ads for those scopes. Might have to get one now that the prices have come down.

Ellis.... here is a fix for that pesky shaft.....

 

[tiretrx]

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone.

That's nuts cool, Paul. I've been to a couple big foundaries and seen some mammoth lathes. None up to that task though :tango_face_surprise

I guessed you would have trouble with the flex shaft at higher speed.

DonF

I had enough confidence to try, Don. Glad I did. Early in my machining career I questioned altering a part in the hopes of making it better. It was a part that had a long run, and a very successful one. When I shared my reservations with my now partner, he replied "With that approach our Navy would still have wooden ships". That stuck with me.

We run indexable inserts in our CNC's. Nine out of ten machinists I've worked with stick with the first set of feeds and speeds that work, regardless of cycle time. It works, the inserts don't fail. It does the job. I gradually ramp up the feeds and speeds. I do that till the inserts fail. Then I dial the feeds and speeds back 5%. Over the course of a year, times multiple machines, that saves weeks/months of machine time/money. And my customers get much improved lead times/pricing. The shaft attempt was a microcosm of that approach. Plus, man, that would have been so cool to put a '28 Model A Doodlebug under "Applications" on our website :tango_face_grin:

 

[tiretrx]

The old fuel spigot on the gas tank had no handle. Being it gets opened and closed a lot, that was a hassle. Removed the spigot.

The boss the handle fit over was a single D shape. I took a scrap of 1/8" x 3/4" flat stock, broached a 1/4" square and filed in the rest of the shape.

Welded a small piece at 90%, and cut, bent, ground the final shape. The tab is for the two stops on the spigot.

Installed. Works good.

 

[BOSOX]

Cool handle for that spigot, Ellis. Being able to turn the fuel on / off is a good thing.

 

[KWDAILYD]

Henry would be proud of you making that handle Ellis

 

[tracktortag]

Nice! It looks like you even thought to make a pointer at the end. The bronze polished up nicely too. A nice antique touch.

 

[tiretrx]

Cool handle for that spigot, Ellis. Being able to turn the fuel on / off is a good thing.

Yup, especially since these A's can be finicky on occasion, fuel delivery wise.

Henry would be proud of you making that handle Ellis

Coming from you, Larry? Means a lot, thanks my friend!

Nice! It looks like you even thought to make a pointer at the end. The bronze polished up nicely too. A nice antique touch.

Like to keep original when possible, thanks Dave!

 

[lt230s]

Nice work you two are doing. Glad to see it come back to life.

My son got one of those scopes. He can also us his laptop to view the insides of things. Times sure have changed!

 

[tiretrx]

Thanks John. And yes, I hear you, as a kid I thought hi tech was a torque wrench.

Put off working on the brakes till this weekend, so piddled with a couple more small jobs last night.

Cleaned and installed the spigot/fuel line. The line was painted red, but the cleaning revealed a beautifully toned brass.

Made a u-bolt out of a scrap piece of 3/8" SS. I have an old Di Acro bender that did the bending.

 

[Canary Al]

Just checking in Ellis. I see more artistry. Love that spigot/fuel line look. Nice detail.

Kudos to Mike. On the cutting edge of the newly possible.:fing32::congrats:
I'm thinking a few guys on here are scrambling to catch up to one of those.

 

[Ericjr16]

Wow Ellis! You to are making a lot of headway!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jet-A]

It's funny, I've read numerous books and articles on the history of tractors. Little to no mention of doodlebugs. IMO, that's incomplete history. They occupied a pretty big page, and filled a pretty big gap, when options were few for many.

Any details about your dad's tractor?

I just know it was very similar to yours. My Dad mostly told me about it, it was used as a tractor on the farm pulling trailers for sure. Not sure if it was used for plowing, I imagine it was as there were a few trailer plows on the farm. I think I saw a picture of it once, but finding that picture again would be tough.

.

 

[tiretrx]

Well, if you ever find a pic Alex, please be sure to post it up.......love to see it.

Waiting on a couple parts to come in. Did get a new set of rear motor mount pads that I need to install. Got them from a local guy new in package for 7 bucks! The old ones reminded me of peanut brittle.....except they just didn't taste as good. :tango_face_surprise

One thing I'm learning is that these old castle nuts with cotter pins are a pain in the dupa. Rusted on, and painted over. :tango_face_sad: I'll be going with lock washers and nylon lockers as replacements.

 

[tiretrx]

Some progress to report. When we moved the rear end back, it didn't match up with the tail pipe bend. It was off 3-1/4". Nothing fancy, just cut 3-1/4" off the end and welded it in after the muffler.

Also when the rear end was repositioned, the brake linkage needed to be altered. An inspection also showed the sorry state of the pivot arm bearing hangers. I fabbed up two pillow blocks out of steel scraps and pressed in a couple 7/8" ID oil impregnated bushings, with a zerk fitting added. These were bolted on the frame channel bottoms.

Lengthened the linkage rod from the pedal to the pivot arm. This is adjustable.

Then lengthened the connecting rod from the pivot arm to the brake actuator. This isn't adjustable, but I may add a turnbuckle if needed down the road. I've got a lot of pedal now, and the brakes work very well. And you know, that is pretty important when attempting land speed reecords :thumbs:

Also discovered something that took me back to growing up in the scrap yard. We sold truck parts. Used trannies were a fair seller for us, I'm talking in the 50's and for me, the late 60's, early 70's. My dad was always adamant about storing them inside, because if water gets in around the base of the shift rod.........

Then it will freeze in the winter and you get this.....

Looks to be a pretty old repair. And a solid one. Pop's been gone 41 years, but he's still around in ways, made me chuckle a bit.

 

[KWDAILYD]

Glad to see you are still at it and making progress Ellis. Everything is first class so far.

Sent from my SM-T377V using MyTractorForum Free App mobile app

 

[BOSOX]

Nice fixes, Ellis, progress is always good!

 

[tracktortag]

More good progress, Ellis. I can see how eyeing the old trans. housing repair would have given you a chuckle. Reminders sometimes happen when we least expect them.

 

[Ingersoll444]

Also discovered something that took me back to growing up in the scrap yard. We sold truck parts. Used trannies were a fair seller for us, I'm talking in the 50's and for me, the late 60's, early 70's. My dad was always adamant about storing them inside, because if water gets in around the base of the shift rod.........

View attachment 2135321

Then it will freeze in the winter and you get this.....

View attachment 2135329

Looks to be a pretty old repair. And a solid one. Pop's been gone 41 years, but he's still around in ways, made me chuckle a bit.

I find I get my most chuckles when I find myself doing something stupid that I was always warned about when young... Ill catch myself and either laugh. or thank him for the help even from the beyond..

 

[tiretrx]

Glad to see you are still at it and making progress Ellis. Everything is first class so far.

Sent from my SM-T377V using MyTractorForum Free App mobile app

Nice fixes, Ellis, progress is always good!

Thanks guys. I spend good time with the old girl. This is different in that I'm not so much designing/creating. It's more of a rescue, if you will. Just fixing, little upgrades, etc. Easy on my brain stuff.

More good progress, Ellis. I can see how eyeing the old trans. housing repair would have given you a chuckle. Reminders sometimes happen when we least expect them.

I find I get my most chuckles when I find myself doing something stupid that I was always warned about when young... Ill catch myself and either laugh. or thank him for the help even from the beyond..

I'm thinking I need to get a proper rubber boot for the tranny.......just in case Pop's watching :tango_face_glasses:

 

[tracktortag]

I think you'd better, Ellis!:tango_face_smile: