Seeders Minneapolis Moline P3-7 grain drill

[3Lfarms]

I picked this up at an estate sale yesterday for $100. The old guy that had it passed away a few weeks ago. Talking with the daughter, he was a tinkerer and woodworker, and sounds like a guy I would have liked to have known. He had some neat antique tools. RIP.

It is unknown when this drill was last used, but seems like it was working OK when it was parked. There are no rust holes anywhere and all the important bits seem intact.
I would like to clean it up and get it into working condition (not a full resto), so it will work for another 50 years. I am planning on disassembling all the moving parts and painting it up to look nice again.
Here are the obligatory pics as soon as I got it home, after airing up the tires.






So here is the part where I need some help. First, if someone has the operation manual, I would love to get a copy.
Next I need some help figuring out what modifications he made that I need to get rid of and need to fix.
The way I understand it, originally there was a rope that ran though the pulleys and ran up to the tractor. You pulled on that rope and that tripped the unit into a seeding position. All of that mechanism besides the pulleys have been removed. It looks to me like he modified it to use a hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower. I am thinking that he had one cylinder that he swapped between implements. Since I have a cabbed tractor, I want to install a cylinder. I think I will cut off his cylinder mounts and make my own once I understand how much force it takes, and how long of a stroke. The 2x2 tube in the middle is actually bent down; I assume from the cylinder over stroking and bending it.


Right now, he has a bolt in to hold it in the transport position. Why wouldn't you just use the locking handles to hold it up?
Am I on the right track so far?

 

[3Lfarms]

I also need help identifying what a few parts are supposed to do. First, what is this thing? It seems to count revolutions of the shaft, but it doesn't make sense to me yet.

You can see the back side of that mechanism on the right side of this picture.

Also what was the big sprocket on the right used for? Was that part of the lift mechanism?
The oblong part hanging on the shaft on the left seems like it was a brake of some sort, but is no longer hooked to anything and just flops around. Should I just cut it off?

 

[3Lfarms]

As for missing parts, it is missing two of the mud scrapers and one of the funnels for the small seeder.



I know there is a member here that restored a drill very similar to this one, but I forgot his name. Anybody's have a line on these parts? I'm not having any luck so far finding a source for parts. I can always make my own versions fairly easily.

I was pleased to seed the bins are still in good shape.


Thus far, everything that is supposed to turn, does, so nothing seems seized up. When I take the feed mechanism apart, should I just clean up the rust and put it all back together, or should I paint every part before reassembly? I have no idea how the mechanism actually feeds seeds without grinding them up.

There seems to be some slop in the bearings of all the discs. They all seem to be same though. How tight should these bearings be?

 

[3Lfarms]

The chart inside the bin shows "high gear" and "low gear". How was that change made? I don't see anything that resembles a gear selector.
Thanks for any insight into this thing.

 

[Phillip w]

Well don't know how much I can be, but I'll try. When you get into old stuff, sometimes other brands interchange. Examples of this are years ago Ford, dodge and Chevy use to all have the same 8 bolt wheel pattern. My allis Chalmers tractor has John Deere combine wheels on it. A ( I will enclose pics) don't know about old drills. I know a couple no name under the radar ag salvage and repair places that will treat you right. If they cant help maybe they can point you in the right direction. I 'll see if I can't get thsir number for you, but they should be on the internet.
The first is Stauffer ag salvage and in Mayetta, ks. He has been doing this for years, use to have lots of old stuff and will treat you good.
The second is Elmer's repair in Centralia Kansas. He should be online. He used to specialize in case tractors and stuff but has expanded a lot over the years. He has a lot of stuff in his salvage yard.
Another ag salvage yard that may be able to help is all states ag salvage. They are a big player in the ag salvage business, and I know they're on the internet. Hope these leads help somehow.
Here is the allis Chalmers tractor with John Deere combine tire and wheels:

 

[flusher]

About 10 years ago a bought two MM P3-6 drills from a neighbor for $270. Very much like yours except on 48" dia steel wheels (very old school). I rebuilt both of them--one for planting and the other as a lawn ornament. Specs: 10 ft wide, 20 drops, 6 inch centers, single disc openers, small seed boxes).

Here are a few photos of the restoration.



I modified the drill by adding a hydraulic ram to raise and lower the openers.

Used the good one to plant Kanota oats for a few seasons.



Good luck

 

[3Lfarms]

Thanks Flusher. Did you have to purchase any bearings or anything, or did you just use what you had on hand?

 

[flusher]

Thanks Flusher. Did you have to purchase any bearings or anything, or did you just use what you had on hand?

Nope. Didn't purchase any bearings or bushings. Used parts from both to make one working drill.

The only new parts are the hydraulic ram/hoses and the 20 drag rings attached to the bottom of the openers to cover the seed furrows.

Most of the work was cleaning the rust and crud off the parts and recoating them. I used spray galvanize on the seed hoppers and the seed cup housings. The fluted feeds are coated with black rust converter. After using the drill for planting, I sprayed a light coat of diesel fuel on the seed cups.

Good luck

 

[Bert Anderson]

That's an acre counter. I'm a little late to this thread but I'm curious if you found a part supplier. I have a drill just like this and have used it for years - it has the double rope pull like you described even have the owners manual. I am in need of some parts like the spring that holds tension on the disc openers and also some mud scrapers.

 

[3Lfarms]

I haven’t had any luck finding parts yet. I did take apart the drive mechanisms on both sides to clean and regrease everything. It looks like the old guy had greased it at every use. Everything was in good shape once I got all the dried up grease cleaned up.
Any chance you could scan the owner’s manual and send it to me?