Your Winter Project

[Orangeman]

Hello Cletrac Folks:

Will be working on my 1941 HG this winter, so hope to have ready for maple syrup season in March.  New York winters can be long so should have plenty of time.

What will you guys be working on?

[chrisvdv]

Funnily enough, exactly the same as you (HG31) and for the same reason!! last year the old MF got terribly bogged down in snow and mud....ended up not bothering with syrup production.

[DukeRC51]

Where to start!! Undercarriage on a OC4, OC46. I have an OC3 bucket loader that I think might need a valve job. Have a hg with the IXK that I might strip and make another OC3 out of. Also have to take the winch off of my OC4 diesel and see why it bound up on me. I need a bigger garage!!

[chrisvdv]

My HG31 project was a non-starter, as the machine was talked-up to be much more than it turned out to be. Another eBay-economical-with-the-truth joker.
He forgot to mention that both track supports were once completely sheared-off and badly held back together with angle iron!
So I just scrapped it to get my money back...sold IXB engine, manifold, rear U bolts, seat, tank, rad, grill, final drives and front supports...still have to get the track supports apart to see what the rollers etc. are like.
Keeping the starter, carb, tracks and generator for now, just in case my OC-3 renovation needs them.

[Orangeman]

Hey Guys: Well thought I would follow up since you  were kind enough to post replies.  I dragged the HG now known as Mr. Orange 44 into the heated garage in late November. Weather was cold and nasty.   The trusty Allis Chalmers B did not like that duty but did manage to get enough traction to pull it up to the garage door from the back forty.  After that I put the machine in gear and turned the belt pulley while operating the steering clutches and click, clack, click clack, click clack, I walked into the back corner of the garage.  There he sat patiently while I got the urge to work on it during our long winter.  I did make reasonable progress.  I installed new steering clutches and replaced most of the fastening hard ware with new grade eight bolts. Scraped and degreased one side of the machine and engine.  

Also, pulled the oil pan, checked the crank bearings and welded cracks in the oil pan shut that existed toward the back end of the pan near the area where the pan mates to the bell housing.  After detail was complete I painted the pan original Cletrac Orange.  Sure looks nice!

The low spot of winter restoring was learning about the worn idler shaft and worn ID of the hub on my early style front idlers.  It wasnt until after I ordered and installed new parts, (i.e. cross shafts, bushing and oil seals that I learned that I still had deflection in the axle shaft. Thus, I had to destroy the new grease seals and pull everything out again.  Turns out I should have followed my own rules which is to take good measurements. The older fellows in my area with Cletracs have passed along their pearls of wisdom to aide me in my efforts. Great to have them around.  The lesson here is that as we age, we have a moral obligation to pass along our knowledge to the next generation.  Hopefully, what I learn can be used to benefit another young machinery man coming along and learning as I have.  Ok, enough of my digression, back to the idlers,  I still remain committed to overhauling my earlier style idlers as the wheels are in very nice shape.  Sad to say the prior owners had used grease instead of our friend Mr. Oil.  I have been thinking about two approaches to rehabing the ID of the front idlers, one involves cleaning the entire hub and repouring the ID full of molten bronze and then remachining the ID to original, the second involves slightly overboring the ID of the hub and then upsizing/welding oversize the bushing carriers and the center of the cross shaft, then turning down to new ID dimension.   Plan B seems a bit easier.  Yet another alternative is to find a new hub and wheel and mount up, but that approach also requires some welding and machining per the Cletrac Service Bulletion regarding the idler upgrade, (A Great Big THANK YOU!! to John Schweibert).  The only downside I see to that is loss of 1944 originality.  

The high spot of the winter was my son bringing home one of his College friends to visity during Christmas.  He walked in the garage on a snowy winter night and was right away fascinated by the machine.  We talked for some time about the Great Cletracs, the vital role they played in shaping American Agriculture and we discussed their role in WWII military operations while keeping our hands and butts warm next to the wood stove.  It was good to see that the younger generation is open to at least learning about one of the most pivotal point in American history, WWII.  He was surprised to see the date stamp on the block of August 11th 1944.  

Unfortunately, I missed my goal of using Mr. Orange 44 on the maple syrup tapping this year, but next year I will be set.  My focus now is on spring Christmas tree planting as the snow has finally melted.  

The block will get a bath, new seals and gaskets and paint and I need to replace one valve.  Otherwise, fresh oil and filter and crank, crank,  vroom the little Herc comes to life.  Guess, I will take short trips and patrol the property this summer with Mr Orange 44.  I plan to leave it on the yard during the beautiful summer weekends so that I can entice the Victoria Secret Models and Girls Next Door to stop by and play.  :lol:  Ok, now that dream is over and I have snapped back to reality, wish you guys a warm and sunny spring!  Orangeman