Super A restoration, back on track

After taking a month off the SA project we got it running for the first time yesterday! After two years of rebuilding everything on this tractor, we had the extreme pleasure of hearing it run again. It was wonderful to see her take off after only one revolution of the engine, and what a surprise it was too.

We timed the mag as per the service manual, installed plugs and wires, set the valve lash, and hooked up the battery. I was expecting to tinker with settings and adjustments to get her running, but she took off without a hitch.

Now it's time to finish the sheet metal work and hook everything else up. I can't wait to take the tractor to its first show/parade.

It's always a good feeling when a plan finally comes together. I like your comment about how you set everything according to the manual and the engine fired right up. This a step that too many folks totally miss and try to guess at. You have proof that following instructions DOES work, and that those IH engineers did know what they were talking about when they wrote the manual.

Rusty, you said it all....follow the book

A great feelin', ain't it! The sound of an old motor comin' back to life is just like music to me.

To my mind, folks' inclination and ability to work on motors started to decline with the the heaping on of emission and electronic engine controls (and FI instead of carbs) that started in the 70s, to the point that, at 52, I now seem to be one of the few old men in the neighborhood that understands how carbs and the old ignitions work, (Start with knowing that the spark happens when the points open, not when they close, and go from there . . .). I'm findin' more and more that if I say carburetor to a kid passin' himself off as a counterman these days, he either glazes over or starts thinkin' small engine.

Still, even bein' fortunate enough as I count myself to remember some of what I learned as a kid tryin' to keep whatever wreck I had at the time runnin', I had my big Chilton's book then and wouldn't be without the manuals then or now. All the makers took different approaches to design. I was a pretty good hand as a kid at tweakin' Ford and GM products, but never could find the same intuition in workin' on Chrysler products as I did with the others. Or my old Rambler with the GM motor and the keys that said Briggs & Stratton. A lot of that stuff is what it is, and intuition won't help ya a bit.

I have no inkling of how much you knew or what your experience level was goin' into your SuperA, but your remark about followin' the book is right on point.

Some guys around here say it more delicately than others, and sometimes more quickly than I might but, still, "Buy the book" is to my mind, some of the best advice they'll ever get. Nine times out of ten, it'll get them runnin' and they'll have learned somethin' gettin' to that point. After that, the experience they gain on their own or what the folks here can share only makes it easier to chase things down. But don't ever lose that book! My books are right up there with my torque wrenches and my 19/32" sockets on the list of things I NEVER lend out.

I'm glad to hear she's runnin'.

Congrats, and good job! Have fun and be safe with it.

Scotty, I too grew up on keeping my old distributor/carburetor cars/wrecks running as a kid. I was fortunate enough to live through the cruising days of Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena California with muscle cars in the 50's and 60's. That was back when the chrome was thick and the women were straight.

I was a mechanic most of my teenage and adult life and have built, rebuilt many cars, tractors, boats, you name it. Now days (as I rapidly approach age 60) I enjoy restoring tractors and antique engines with my son. He is learning things that are lost on many of his friends in school. I have a collection of Motor’s Manuals starting in the 30’s up through the mid 80’s when I got out of the trade; they are a great resource for our hobby.

The thread on this post has taken in interesting path (different than I had imagined this morning) but a good point has come to light, always read the manual(s)!

"back when the chrome was thick and the women were straight"

Heheheheheheh!! Those were the days. I cut my teeth tinkerin' on a '64 Beetle, a '66 Goat, a '69 Cutlass, and a '69 Ford 390. (Never mind the Rambler!)

A lot more happens over in my neighbor's garage than mine. He has better lighting and HEAT!! (We're in the central part of coastal Maine, so that's important.)

I got hung with the nickname "Wilson" after the guy over the fence on ToolTime. All because I first met the neighbor, Dave, by way of conversation under the moonlight across a ditch full of cattails where all he could see was the top of my ball cap and the bottom of my beer can when I tipped it up.

And one night, across the cattails, I hear, "Hey! Wilson! You know anything about points ignitions?" Another friend of Dave's was swappin' out blocks on a four-cylinder Chevy (OMC? OBC?) in a small lake boat he'd bought, and had no idea how to line up and time the distributor. I'll give him credit, he had a good book, but had no idea how to read it.

It was rewarding to be able to SHOW him (from experience) how to figure out how to wind the distributor back onto its gear and have a prayer of ever timing her up. Still, I got roped into the Titanic's first trip out onto the lake, tuning her up under a load. She had other problems develop, but we did make it back to shore. 8<( or is that 8^)

To be fair, both Dave and this friend (Jeffrey, to give him a name) have in the past made their livings as mechanics on big trucks, but they're young enough (mid-thirties) to have missed the experience on what I call first-generation gas engines that you and I have. So I have something to teach them. On the flip side, they've been good (and patient!) in helping me to learn with projects on suspensions and other projects (theirs and mine) that we get going on over there.

But they're good to work with. When called for, I get the books, and we share experience back and forth, as the job requires, to get the job done.

I always look at those certificates hangin' behind the service writer's counter that the techs earned. They don't make me doubt their competence, but they remind me that some of them are old guys who just went to school to learn to work on the new ones. The younger guys, all many of them know is what the OBD tells them. And there's a whole class of them in between that gets the old ways but don't have a lot of experience with it. And that last group is the bridge.

I know I have one tech that I always ask for when I need to take the Ram in for things like the 100k check on the valves on the Cummins. I trust him to run 'em and adjust those that need it and leave alone those that don't.

Glad to hear your son has the interest to look over your shoulder and get his hands dirty on the old motors. And he'll know and understand more about a motor than OBDII will ever tell him or his classmates. We can help folks on this board, whether we're givin' them specs that they could get from a book, or helpin' them wade through terms they don't know in the books, or sharing the benefit of our experience. I've been talkin' about how critical the first point is, but the last two are what will make the difference to make sure there are folks around who know how to make a machine run as it should.

I figure it's all for the good, as I don't expect the certification outfits will be issuin' any more certificates attesting to expertise in carburetion.

Again, enjoy your tractor. You earned it!