Thelma and Louise - Newbies

[OldSchoolGirl]

My sister (Thelma) was recently widowed and is now responsible for a pretty big ranch with a bunch of equipment she either needs to get rid of (my vote) and get something built in this century, or get the old stuff running well enough to be able to use it (her vote.) mostly to drag a mower around. I figured out the skidsteer so she thinks I (Louise) should be able to start an antique tractor....

So, now we're trying to start an 1953 JD Model 70. Serial # 7000905. No manual, of course. I've used tractors for years - a 1985 1050, a 1972 3020, but this 70 doesn't have a key...

She also has a Farmall M and an H - but first, the JD70. I'll be lurking and looking for info, and posting questions if I can't find what I need somewhere in an existing thread.

Thanks!

T&L

 

[groundcover]

Welcome to TBN ! Good luck getting eveything going . Not much help on the green stuff, grew up on the red ones ! Had one of them going just after I got walking on two feet figgured out. Dad left a Farmall C by the edge of the garden, I had been watching this tractor stuff pretty close so I climbed on board and pulled the starter ring, thought I was doing a stroke of business till dad sprinted across the garden and got me stopped !

 

[deerseeker001]

Welcome from Wisconsin,the farmall h,m pull the switch out,press Starter and she is running.

 

[3930dave]

Welcome, from Canada !

You may have found this already, but a good location for your questions is:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-vintage-tractors/

Somebody on there should be able to point you at a source for a manual for your JD.

Best of luck, and if luck isn't enough, there are all sorts of old tractor fans on here to help you out.

Rgds, D.

 

[OZisKTB]

Welcome from VA

 

[tcreeley]

Welcome & good luck with the tractors!

 

[mguitas]

:welcome:

 

[Paul Thornton]

Welcome from New Hampshire!

L2800 w/FEL - 72" Land Pride rake

 

[OldSchoolGirl]

Thanks for the welcomes! It's intimidating to try to be learning all this stuff now, but when there's not a lot of other options.. ya do what ya gotta do! Fortunately, we're both relatively mechanically-inclined, considering we took home-ec and not shop back in the day. It's a comedy show watching us, I'm sure.

I'll head to the vintage JD link - thanks for the suggestion. Will try the M & H and see which one wants to be nice to us, and will let you know.

T&L

 

[3930dave]

So long as you stay out of the Front Porch, or Friendly Politics forums, most folks here are polite, friendly and helpful when discussing tractors.

There is a great depth of How To Do _________ , and Where to Find ____________ Parts knowledge on here.

When working on tractor "challenges", don't be shy about posting pictures of the problem spots.... sometimes the problem comes from missing or damaged/modified parts - it can be easier for the brain-trust here to help when looking at pics.

Rgds, D

 

[jerrybob]

Welcome from the Pacific Northwest!:thumbsup:

 

[OldSchoolGirl]

Success on the Model 70! Going to need some work, which we will post in the vintage tractor section, but thought I'd do a quick follow-up here since you were all so welcoming Removing the old loader took some time (her skidsteer has a bucket and forks, so the old loader is not essential), and now she has a more agile utility tractor for mowing around the buildings and fences.

T&L

 

[newbury]

Good you got it running.
A couple of pointers -
Your going to need to grease everything. There's not much new in grease guns but there is the Lock n lube coupler - http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/307933-review-locknlube-grease-gun-coupler.html, most of us here that have bought one or more really like them.

And the "search" feature on the board is poor. Use either the little google custom search box in the upper right corner or "<search terms> site:tractorbynet.com".

Good luck and good tractoring.

 

[tcreeley]

- Just being picky- vice grips usually don't do the job when you really need them, dig up some more wrenches. Some nice machinery there, and great gloves!

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for the update.

Good thinking with the FEL..... somebody on here posted a (mock) rant about being lied to by the salesman, about the real cost of his FEL....... then went on to list ____ feet of siding, coupla truck mirrors, quarter panel on the car, several gates and fences he'd managed to hit/damage with his "affordable" FEL !

Don't mind the feedback on the pics..... it's not just you........you should see the safety police get rolling around here when somebody posts a pic of a tractor on a trailer, with anything less than 1000' of chain tying it down ! :laughing: (Although I always have VGs handy.... I agree with tc's point).

Good to hear the JD is rolling along..... I'll throw in my :2cents: by passing along some good advice I got when first looking at used tractors....... 2 fluids that often get neglected on tractors are coolant/antifreeze, and hydraulic fluid - good things to get to after grease and motor oil are addressed.

Rgds, D.

 

[OldSchoolGirl]

I detest that loader and was delighted to get it off. Vise-grips...again with the vise-grips! I sent that pic to a friend and that was HIS only comment. So that made us laugh! The reason...we were afraid to shut the tractor off, because it's SO fun lying on your back under a tractor pushing in that starter switch....NOT! The loader support-arm was double-nutted to the tractor and the inside nut was stuck good and spinning the bolt. So, rather than stick my hand inside the tractor chassis next to the spinning fan blade to get a wrench on that bolt head, I opted to hold the bolt shaft with vise grips. Don't worry, we have lots of tools. Knowledge...not so much. Thanks for the reminders...didd do the antifreeze, and there's leaks everywhere on all the fluids, particularly the power steering.

I'm sure I'll post pics that raise eyebrows, and that's ok. We like the feedback and it's how we learn. It's funny...being on a good-sized ranch...your perspective on risk and danger changes. We try not to endanger anyone but ourselves, and try to keep THAT to a minimum, but we can't not do the things that need done or the place would fail. And tucked away in the corner of this ranch is a cemetery filled with headstones from 1918 (it's an old ranch) to remind me that no matter how careful we are, there's always a pandemic lurking....


T&L

 

[3930dave]

Sounds like you are getting things done, and retaining a sense of humour. Kudos on being able to do both.

Anyone who has actually worked on a farm understands the balancing act you are talking about. In business circles, "mitigated risk" can be a popular phrase - you get perspective on that real fast working on a farm.

Any machine, and esp. the high speed rotating parts, deserves respect...... We all need to watch our personal limits while Getting Things Done.... Working Tired, Sick, or ****ed Off is usually when we are the most susceptible to incidents.

Somebody's tag on here is something like "A bad accident is one that money won't fix".... pretty much sums it up....

Keep having fun, as you move forward on the ranch.

Rgds, D.

 

[tcreeley]

You are moving along- what a great place to be!
What was that loader for- loose hay, brush?
You have the great opportunity to lean by doing it,,,while many of us just dream of that chance!
Goodluck!

 

[OldSchoolGirl]

What was that loader for- loose hay, brush?
You have the great opportunity to lean by doing it,,,while many of us just dream of that chance!
Goodluck!

Those grapplers are used for moving the big round hay bales around - they can weigh anywhere from 800 lbs to 1500 or so.

It's a great opportunity, for sure. But with great opportunity comes great responsibility...or something like that, anyway.

T&L