expeatfarmer

Oh yes it is took me three days to clean it up ! Now I have made a right mess in the other one ! Engines and gearboxes and oil all over the place.

I wish ! Had a good day today though, gear change cable on 310 had snapped so took the one off 311 only to find gearbox end was 5/16 thread not 1/4,managed to grind it down and re thread it to fit so fingers crossed I can change gear. The flexible coupling on the petrol engine off the ITW was shot so stripped out the clutch to change the coupling, clutch is brand new as is drum. Then went on to strip the engine just to make sure all is ok, removed the head, bore and valves are absolutely perfect. Gave the valves a spin just to take off any surface rust. The chap who owned it before was an ex Massey Ferguson engineer and as such I expected it all to be good but needed to make sure looks to me as if it has only run for an hour or so since a complete rebuild albeit 25 years ago ! I have removed the mag again brand new inside, condenser is non original and not fixed well so will change that , points are new but furry so a clean up should be all that is needed. The engine is fitted with an Amal 356 carb. Again great condition but full of white powdery corrosion due to having been left dry for so long I will polish it up and should be fine. I am just hoping that the Drayton engine for the ITW is in the same condition as it came from the same guy, we will see in the morning! This machine will be displayed at Malvern come what may complete with 25 years of chicken poo in parts I have not reached yet, it will move under its own power but that is all there are loads of bits missing and aprt from the magic seat it will certainly not win a concours prize and neither will the ITW or the MG40N but these machines are rare and special and I would like as many people as possible to see them and hopefully others will feel inspired to bring along their machines in whatever condition they are. So inspiring that I have even got a Wheelhorse fanatic as number two !

I wish , when are you coming over?

Getting bored with tracked machines so today I have made a start on the four wheel drive skid steer tractor number 11734 dating from 1957. This machine is ex British Rail Brighton Yard and was used for shunting trucks, it is equipped with a Boughton cable winch driven off the pto and drop down sprag at the rear. First job was to remove the petrol engine which is destined for the skimming tractor. I then towed it down to the workshop and winched it on to the lift ready to refit it's original Drayton diesel engine which has been fitted with an electric start cleverly mounted to drive a flywheel ring gear. Plan is to get it running and mobile for Malvern, I have some new tyres to fit and the drive chains should ideally be replaced as they are very stiff but may recover if I take them off and soak in plus gas and diesel for a day or two. At some point a large girder has been welded across the back as a big bumper, looking at the welding it was fitted by some incontinent sparrows so I have cut it off, fortunately I have its original tow bar. My lift mounted winch worked a treat I towed the ITW down with my mower to the workshop door and then hitched up the winch cable and pulled it straight on to the lift ramp, easy peasy!

Think I may have found some !!

Rob Virtually all of the mechanical operation parts are missing. The main thing is that all of the original framework is present and I have an original pats manual from which I can either find or make the parts. Neil has sourced a substantial quantity of NOS parts nd I know where there are more so I may be able to re fit . Main thing at the moment is to sort the transmission and refit an original patrol engine so that it is mobile.

Which seal do you mean Rhys? Managed to swap the three speed gearbox over from 311 to 310 today discovered that the two bearings on the pto output shaft were shot hopefully Neil will have some spares. Gear change cable from 310 is snapped, cable from 311 has a 1/4" tail instead of 3/16" as 310. May be able to trim it down and cut a new thread to fit. Both gearbox sump plugs are seized solid so had to dismantle with oil in boxes hence the mess!! In the photo you can see the double final drives of the skimmers which reduce the travel speed to 25ft/min 1st gear, 50ft/min second gear and 1mph third gear. Could take me about an hour to get from the car park at malvern to the stand!!! Next job is to swap the petrol engine from the ITW to the skimmer and fit original Drayton back on the ITW.

It looks as if there are going to be at least 30 machines exhibiting at Tractor World Malvern on 27th / 28th February. We have a large stand along one wall of the first hall and space in the centre so there is no restriction on numbers for anyone who would like to display a machine. The plan is to set out the machines in age order from the left of the stand, if you are displaying it would help if you know the year of manufacture. As I have said before it is not about having a shiny machine it is about taking part and meeting other owners so even if your machine has the patina of decades or a fresh coat of paint please do register and come along. It is an excellent show with hundreds of tractors, loads of trade stands,used parts stands and a massive auction so plenty to do see and buy.No charge for exhibiting and free entry passes if you do. The idea is that there will be at least one of every model of MG tractor that Ransomes produced from 1937 to 1965 including the very rare industrial machines. Currently we are light on MG5 models and the later MG40 machines, a Sachs engined MG40 would be good. Over the years machines have been modified for special purposes ( three wheel shunter ) or just to keep them running engine swaps etc. Such machines are also part of the history of the MG tractor and as such are just as welcome as the machines in original order. Rebuild restorations and projects in progress are very welcome as long as you have the means to move them around on site. If you are going to attend but not display, do bring along any photos of MG machines and implements that you may have, we are setting up a display board with pictures of tractors from all over the world provided by enthusiasts who are too far away to take part. I look forward to meeting up with you, I am the shy good looking white haired bloke with a pipe!!!

Thanks that would be good, I will line up some jobs for you bring your boiler suit.

Thanks

Fortunately it is just a standard three speed box so not too hard to find.

Great looking machine looks as if it will have some grunt!

Struggled on today trying to split the gearbox on the skimmer. In the end I removed the original three speed box and the Ford box as one unit only to discover that the modified 3 speed box had most internals removed and a big shaft that went through both boxes with a large nut on the diff end hence the reason the box would not split. I thought I had a spare three speed but turns out I don't so having to remove the box from 311. The combination of sand and presumably sewage effluent has not done the nuts and bolts any favours so have resorted to cutting most of them off with a battery angle grinder ( wonderful tool Milwaukee )

Are you going to bring a Ransomes or two to Malvern?

Does anyone have a part number for the hydraulic filter mine has been painted over.

Are the game bag, labrador and cocck pheasant a clue or just a handy tablemat?

Might trade a skimmer against the canal tractor!!!

I think Chris has first shout on it James but will let you know if he has changed his mind.

Set to today to remove the Ford engine and gearbox from 310 tractor, engine came out ok but struggling with gearbox, whoever fitted it at Bristiol Waterboard made a very good job of it and unfortunatley removed most of the original Ransomes 3 speed gearbox internals, hopefully I have a spare one in my store but if not I will have to rob the box off 311 which will be a shame as whilst I have been looking at it today it would make an excellent platform for either another digger /crane or possibly forklift. I have also removed the Kohler engine from 311 my what a lump that is I would like to hear it running.It certainly looks as if it would be powerful.

Did not go quite to plan today thought I would finish fitting Steiner loader so that I could use it to move stuff around. Managed to get it all lined up and slotted on to the front mounts only to find that the back mounts were an inch short of the fixing point, tried all sorts with ratchet straps and jacks to get it to slide back but it seems that the front mounting slides are an inch longer on my tractor than they are on later models I will have to contact Steiner and find out what is wrong before I make any modifications. Gave up and removed the loader during which I managed to gouge a hole in the hydraulic filter casing and burst a main pump pipe which will be a real pig to change. Left it all in a big heap and got on with other jobs.

A few weeks before Christmas my front end loader arrived from Ohio apart from unloading it off the wagon I have not even taken off the stretch wrap until today when I needed to move it to get to the skimmer. Turns out the machine has never been used from new although it must be ten years old at least, not a scratch inside the bucket. Decided that the easiest way to move it was to fit it . It comes with a built in oil tank pump and filter driven by a vee belt off the front electric clutch pulley. I will post some photos on Saturday.

You can feel the blast from the exhaust about ten feet behind it.

Any more pictures? Is it an electric fence power unit?

you will have to clean up the striper Nigel I dont want pink stripes on my crawlers! Looking good

Talk to me Nigel I love gadgets.