Project Tractor? (pics)

[Royse]

Belongs to a friend of mine, the man can't catch a break.
He just replaced the rear end because his ring and pinion broke.
Now this. He doesn't want to tear into it so he asked if I'd be
interested in buying it.
Filler neck melted (or blew) off the top of the radiator.
Inside of the gas tank still has some form of black semi-liquid
in it. Not sure how that didn't just blow up.
Left rear tire is the only one not damaged.
Steering wheel, shifter knob, battery, all the gauges and the lines
going to them, breather tube hoses, fan belt, radiator hoses, etc.
Not to mention the wiring of course, possibly the starter since the
battery cables to it are fried. Alternator too maybe.

I haven't bought it yet, he wants to see if insurance will cover
anything on it. I don't blame him for that.
Thankfully no one was hurt. Think it'll "buff right out"?

 

[Dan from WI]

That's too bad, I don't know that I would want to tackle that job. Can't be worth anything more than scrap price I would think.

 

[Ken(Ark)]

I had a fire extinguisher mounted on my bush hoggin tractor , I guess I should put it back on .


How was it running before the fire ? Looks like a coin toss call .

 

[Royse]

"How was it running before the fire?"

He said it was running and working the best it ever had.
It actually continued to run until the wires burned off of it.

 

[notjustair]

I don't know, it doesn't look like it got all that hot. I steer clear
of disasters, but I think I would take that one on.

 

[Ken(Ark)]

(quoted from post at 19:47:07 02/22/15) "How was it running before the fire?"

He said it was running and working the best it ever had.
It actually continued to run until the wires burned off of it.

Fixing it to usable wouldn't be to bad except for the tires and maybe radiator . I would bet the starter and alternator are still good . A carb kit , tune up , wiring harness .

I would buy new tires for my N and use the old ones on this . Don't think the gauges and paint would be cost effective for resale .

You can offer a low dollar cash , put a dollar value as is and fix it - sell it back to him or for cash and you both get paid ?

 

[Ken(Ark)]

Fast Times at Ridgemont High :

after Spicoli wrecks Jefferson's car (Sean Penn)

Jeff Spicoli: Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.[/u]

 

[cowdog]

It looks fixable. About 20 years ago I was feeding my cows and I burned my pickup up ( 68 chevy 4x4). I was unrolling a round bale of Oat hay with the front bumper. The pickup got high centered on top of the bale and between that and the snow I couldn't get off of it. The bale started on fire from the exhaust pipe and would have burned it completely except the snow I stuffed down around the engine smothered it out. It was touch and go for a bit but I got it out. It looked similar to that tractor. A few days of work and it was feeding cows again. It had to. Good luck, I am sure you will buy it right.

 

[KCTractors]

That does not look bad. I would not be afraid to tackle that one. If you can buy it right.

 

[Tall T]

(quoted from post at 17:25:48 02/22/15) Belongs to a friend of mine, the man can't catch a break.
He just replaced the rear end because his ring and pinion broke.

The poor guy . . .
and I thought I've had troubles!

How did the fire start?

T

 

[racsan]

Id fix that, years ago something similar happened with my dads 64 4000. I was about 3, tractor had a bad gas gap and a cracked manifold, dad had throttled down to turn into the drive, the tractor backfired as some fuel ran down the side of the tank and lit.... It was about out but burnt the short section of rubber fuel line (stock fuel line) then the fire was fed by a 1/4" stream of gas-15 gallons worth... I dont recall the fire trucks, but i do remember running off with the new parts when they came in. The steering wheel was my favorite! This tractor looks like its in about the same situation. I would make sure the engine didnt seize.

 

[old]

I would have turned it off and been throwing all the snow I could get my hand on as fast as I could.

 

[Jimmyjack]

He tried, but it happened in July.

 

[old]

Pictures seem to show snow

 

[greywolf224]

Royse I would think that shouldn't be an issue for you based on your knowledge of these machines.

Surprised your buddy is not willing to fix her back up after redoing the rear.

That fire looks to be high and towards the front. Leaky gas line or bowl or inline fuel filter?

 

[John in Mich]

About 15 years ago, I had a fire in my garage and burned up the Jubilee that I was working on. Total damages was about $14,000.
Adjuster rated the Jube as my mower and it was valued at $5000. On top of that, insurance co. did not collect it. I put $2000 into it and still use it to mow my lawn.
Have him see what his homeowners insurance will do.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Royce, You should be able to bring that one back pretty easy.
They were talking about a burned tractor yesterday on Tractor Talk.
I made the post below.
Click Here

 

[ASEguy]

One thing that has bothered me about older tractors in general is their lack of circuit protection. In this case the cause of the fire is not known. I installed a new wiring harness on my tractor and bought split loom to cover it to prevent chafing and grounding out of the wires. I also installed a fire extinguisher on my rear fender just in case. I got that idea from BruceVA.

 

[Royse]

Thanks Ultradog MN, I think I have seen pictures of one before.
I'll let you know if I get it. If nothing else I can use it for parts.

 

[Royse]

Tall T/Greywolf - I'm not sure how the fire started yet.
He said he thinks maybe a cracked fuel line.
I'm hoping to be able to tell if I get to bring it home.

Old - he tried snow, but he was cutting wood so he had a
chainsaw with him and not a shovel. It just went up too fast.

John - we were discussing the insurance and wondering what
they would say. My insurance guy has told me in the past that
since I have a regular home owners policy (not farmers ins)
that my tractor is covered only if it is on my property.
My friend here was cutting wood on his father's land.