This Winter's Project

[bwillett]

Started this fiasco last December 10th.

On Friday Dec. 18th it looked like this. I work slow and was by myself for this much.

December 23rd was warm enough I pushed the frame outside and pressure washed what was left of it.

I could not get the bolts out of the rear axle that hold the frame rails on, so I got the scissors jack out of my car and used it to spread the frame rails wide enough to get the bell housing out of the frame. My friend that is helping me is a just retired Automotive/light truck mechanics that had his own shop until nnalert struck. He considers it "tinkering" when he comes to help, and will not accept anything in return.

We got the new to me bell housing in the frame yesterday, and I need to take the flywheel out to get the new ring gear put on it and we need to put a new front main seal in the engine before we re-install it in the frame.

 

[rrlund]

Dad always wanted on of those unstyled WCs. He had a lot of tractors in his life, but he never had one of those.

 

[4wdtom]

That one looks like it is a fairly early one with the spoked front wheels and old style steering wheel. You have the power lift too. A nice one!

 

[Cheesehead Fred]

My Dad started farming the year after I was born in 1950. He got an International 10-20 with the farm he bought, and bought an unstyled Allis WC that looks a lot like yours. Front wheels weren't spoked, but the rears looked the same as yours. No lights, crank start, with the belt pulley and lift assembly for the 2 row cultivator. Still had it when he retired in the early 70's. Pulled 2-14's, a 6 1/2 foot disc, a two row John Deere planter, a one row New Idea picker, and a 7 foot steel wheeled drill, and powered a 40 foot elevator with the belt. It was an impressive line of machinery for 40 acres.
I got my start on an Oliver 60 when I was in the third grade. Dad was trying to get some fall plowing done on some corn ground on Thanksgiving day, so he borrowed the Oliver for me to drive to disc the stalks while he plowed with the WC. We had to quit about noon when it started to snow.
We sold the farm and bought more acreage, added tractors and corn ground, and taught my two younger brothers how to drive tractors. Needed to do a lot more cultivating (before Atrazine), so we put 2 row cultivators on our WD, our WD-45, and pulled the WC's cultivator out of the scrap pile, and my Dad was quite please when we could cultivate 6 rows at a time. No power steering on any of them, so I got to drive the WC because I had enough muscle to steer it and crank start it.
I'll have to look for the photo my Mom took, so you and see what a beast that WC cultivator was.
Thanks for the memories!

 

[lfnel]

Thanks for all the photos and to CheeseHead Fred too for his remembrances too. You must roll it out of the shed whenever you want to work on it. That'll work. Those of us who no longer have the strength nor facilities to do projects like this anymore have to live vicariously through others

 

[bwillett]

That is the garage in my house, and the WC is living in it for the winter, it did last winter, too. I hope to build a lean to on the side of the house for the WC, or the Car, soon.

 

[bwillett]

This is my inspiration. This is my Dad standing behind his WC on the Day before I was born. Mom took the picture. I am not going to put lights on it, tho', because I do not plan of having to farm after dark like Dad did.

The summer after I turned 10, we moved into town, and Dad sold the WC. 30 years later, after I got a job milking cows for the people that owned the farm next ours, he said, "If I had known you had an interest in farming, I would not have sold the farm." I was flabbergasted.

 

[bwillett]

The early steering wheel bit the dust. The plastic or whatever the grip is made of was cracking and falling off and it was turning everything that touched it black. I do have all the power lift, and 2 belt pulley assemblies. Also came with a pair of rear steel in real good shape. Never had them on, but just rolling them around I can tell it would not be a smooth ride......

 

[bwillett]

The only 2 reasons I have the WC is because Dad had one, and I can't afford Green. LOL

 

[rrlund]

A friend of mine has one that belonged to his grand dad. He restored that one a few years ago. His uncle wouldn't let him do anything with it for a lot of years, I guess he wanted it left original or something, but it's sure a pretty tractor now.

 

[charles Leddy]

I have a Power Lift that probably came off a WC. Is it good for anything else? I am not sure why my Dad had it as we never had a WC. He did make a Power Lift for a Farmall Regular out of Model "T" for differental's so maybe that where the idea came from. I have old Farmalls but no WC that I can put it on?? Cleddy

 

[bwillett]

When I bought it I was going to leave it as it was and let the next guy redo it, but things happen.....First the rear rims were rusted out, then the Monkey Ward rear tires developed tumors. Leaving it sit outside made the paint on the hood, gas tank, and fenders fade so bad it looked brown. And then, last summer I broke my wrist trying to crank start it, and I had already adjusted the clutch for the last time and it was not good enough to stop the belt pulley from spinning. There are a couple of other things that I am fixing on the way back to being in one piece.....But, NO REGRETS.

 

[bwillett]

I have no idea.