[Lovesthedrive]

Some tractors had them some did not. As mentioned above the reasons for having them. Tractors that have them these days for the most part have stopped functioning. It is an accessory that many do not bother to use anymore. Only people that have them are what is known in many hobbies as the "rivet counters". These are people whom live and breathe the complete originality of something to the minute disgusting detail. As you may realize I find rivet counters irritating.

The 60 I had, still had its shutters (non functioning). They didnt hinder the operation nor did it help it. I left them there as there was no point really to remove them. Quite some time ago I did have a styled B with functioning shutters. I used it in the winter and yes the engine warmed up quicker with the shutters closed (manual to operate). Yet there was no real gain using them. If anything it cut down on the heat that the engine would blow back on the operator on a chilly day. So I left them open all the time. Having shutters or not doesnt really affect the value of these tractors.

Overlooked by many yes, except maybe a rivet counter. Available maybe. You might find them with some one like McGrew Tractors whom has a junkyard that could possibly find you some. Spendy? Apparently you missed the previous post about getting a tractor for the love of it and not the dollars vested in it. Any hobby will require money to be spent on it. Tractors, trains, autos, whatever. Dont get into this hobby if you are thinking about how much it is going to cost. Get into this hobby if you have an affection for that tractor and you want to show it off or use it.

 

[Lovesthedrive]

I am not trying to be mean here. I am however trying to point out if you are looking at this hobby as something you can get into then jump out of later with out losing your shirt in the process, your in for a nasty surprise with any hobby.

3 tractors ago for me was a John Deere 420 crawler. I bought it for 1500 and it needed alot of work to make it right. I am including before and after pictures below.

then after 3 years of making it over with a 6 way blade and redoing much of the mechanical like new brakes for the steering and other issues. I eventually had this after $4500 total investment.

The biggest problem with a crawler is that they cant be used in parades or tractor pulls. Great for slow races! lol

So I moved on. I went to a John Deere 60 that I traded flat out. It was supposed to only need a fan clutch. HAHA! Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. NOT. Fan clutch, drive clutch, seat, battery, front tires, head needed to be planed for trueness, manifold also had to be planed, wiring, charging system, and all sorts of other heartaches. Another 2 grand would disappear into it.

Eventually it turned out to become this.

I sold this to a gentleman in NJ for $2700. Its a losing game that money will disappear into.
Well now I am changing gears once again. Now I feel I need something more practical that I can actually work. No longer a deere. A Ford 461. Here we go again. I love to tinker. A $1300 purchase and just to be able to get it right for use with out falling apart there will be about $700 more in parts alone. At least it is inside and out of the open air now.

 

[Lovesthedrive]

You might tell us where you are. Who knows, some one on the board here might be able to point you to a sweet deal. You threw me when you were expressing concerns about cost with out the history of above. Thankyou for that. I suggest if you want to know more about what you have questions on, I suggest posting pictures. We love to drool over other tractors. We may even see something that you were not aware of with the pictures that you post. Another item is to find out if there are any clubs in your area. They may have a member that is weeding out some extras or may have some good leads on others?

As to the engine that spat out the black oil. If you notice in my tractor vid where I drove my 60 uphill here in Sorrento, Maine. There is a rain cap (flapper) on the exhaust. Having been a live steam train enthusiast I full well have had my fun in black showers from wet starts. The flapper helps stop the condensate in the exhaust.

Steering isnt too bad to deal with. On my 60 the steering was sloppy until I put a gasket in (where the steering shaft enters the gear box is a plate) under the plate made of brown paper bag. The owner before me thought it needed a gasket from a inner tube, this made the gears be too far apart and the steering was sloppy. Another item if the gasket is already thin is there is a screw with a nut on the outside of the threads to the screw. This is in the center of the aforementioned plate. Loosen the nut, and very lightly turn the screw in, DONT FORCE IT! This screw nudges the gears closer together. Usually it is better to have a friend with you to gently turn the steering wheel back and forth. The front wheel(s) should be off the ground. The friend wants to tell you when the steering starts to feel stiff. Back that screw off from stiff about a quarter turn, then tighten the outside nut. The steering should be ok now. If the tractor has a wide front end (like my 60 above), you should check the rod ends for play. Grab the steering arm (less than a inch in diameter) and see if it wiggles in a linear direction. If these are tight you should get a measuring tape and measure the distance between the forward and the rear of the front tires (applies to wide ends only), the distance should be the same. On some wide ends the width is adjustable, sometimes the owner will narrow the width or increase the width and not bother to adjust the drag links.

12 volt and 6 volt is up to you the owner. Alot of owners convert to 12 volt as it will start quicker. Dont change it just because it isnt original. Change it only if you want to and have the parts laying around. Are you looking at tractors that are manual start? Or are they with electric starters?