[Flatland Fox]

These are the threads. Probably you all are quite used to do these things with perfect results, but my performance doing threads up to now was rather miserable...

 

[Flatland Fox]

This is the tank cradle upside down. Amazing the amount of dirt that came out of it.

 

[Flatland Fox]

This is the oil pan with the welding scars.

And this is filled, sanded and primed.

 

[Flatland Fox]

And this is the fuse, Still needing attention.

 

[Flatland Fox]

And here is the fuel tank before cleaning.

Now it is clean outside, but the inside has to be cleaned yet. As you can see, it has two outlets as these tractors had initially a reserve tank.

 

[Flatland Fox]

The oil pan primed.

 

[Flatland Fox]

Next task was to do the oil pan seal. I like to make my own seals. It is fun and much cheaper than buying the seals. I have found out a little trick to make the holes in the seals. I use dies and I have tried putting the seal on rubber, plastic and whatever soft and flat I have got around. The best results were using a wooden block but in line with the grain, not perpendicular.

 

[Flatland Fox]

When I was starting to restore this tractor, and started stripping off the paint, I uncovered the covers of the clutch and the gear. Both are beautiful aluminum castings. A friend of mine, a great tractor collector, saw it and said that if it were his, he would leave those castings in varnished natural metal finish. I have been thinking about it since then. I also remember having read that some of the first Fordson 9N had an aluminum hood which some owners polished instead of painting it. The castings have a grainy surface but once cleaned they look too great to be painted. So I decided to go ahead. This is the result with the clutch cover.

 

[BigDaveinKY]

From the photos of the covers all cleaned. I think you made a good choice.
It may not pass the "correct police", but it's not their tractor.
It makes a unique look.

 

[Flatland Fox]

Yesterday I installed the tank cradle together with the regulator plate.

 

[Flatland Fox]

And most of the fuel lines.

 

[Flatland Fox]

I have already cleaned the inside of the tank. There was a pine seed, a sort of roller of a bearing and some grit inside. I extracted both with the gripper of the fireplace and a flashlight. I would love to further rinse the inside, but now we are suffering very cold weather and all the water pipes in the workshop are frozen. I will try again in some few days, but in the mean time, I cannot paint the tank

 

[Flatland Fox]

Pepe thought that the dynamo was suspect because it had a lot of endplay. I had not realized that. So we decided to open it and the rotor was like this:

Obviously, this rotor is going nowhere anymore, so we discarded it and after much fettling, we decided to install another Lucas dynamo. Slightly more modern, but in working order.

 

[Flatland Fox]

The fuel tank had a two way in, one way out tap. The handle was broken, so I bought a tap with a similar handle and replaced seals, handle and nuts. Now it looks like new.

 

[Flatland Fox]

Then it was the turn of the throttle handle. Now it looks like new with a new cork washer. I suspect that it had a rubber cover for the tip of the handle. I have to check it.

 

[Flatland Fox]

The oil pan was fitted with a new gasket and a bead of silicone just in case...Now the engine block is sealed and ready for oil.

 

[Flatland Fox]

And once I was lying under the tractor, I cleaned the front axle bracket and the whole underside.

 

[Jim in NC]

Great progress! Very impressed with your attention to detail.

 

[Flatland Fox]

I have been a bit idle with the Cropmaster due to an excessive workload for some days. I had no time for fun even on weekends. But I managed to do some few little things. This is the main fuse cleaned and ready for service and installed in the tank cradle.

 

[Flatland Fox]

This is the tank filled and primed And ready for paint. I am very satisfied with the result.