Fred R Clark & Son Machineworks

[Nitro]

Slowly but surely the rest of the parts are trickling in for my Farmall.
The new alternator drive belt selection will be a little tricky because of the custom installation with the remaining adjuster strut parts still in transit being the only holdup to the final dimensions.
I decided to use both right and left handed heim joints like these for the strut:

I feel that this item will be invaluable to it's ownership too.

We only have about a month for the no-show show weekend, so between the Farmall and The Fat Kid, I will have to get real busy for a few days so they can make their belle of the ball debuts.

Chillax kids, we got this

 

[Nitro]

Once again, I returned to my favorite place on the planet for another Farmall H weekend.

First up was to finalize the fuel system with a street L hose barb at the sediment bowl and a slight mod to the steel line before connecting it with rubber fuel hose.
The street L was the hot ticket for proper routing and the install looks professional.
From there, it led to a machinist session to build the alternator strap and design the center section of the turnbuckle assembly.
12L14 free machining steel was chosen for the turnbuckle material and it was deep drilled and tapped with both a right hand thread and a left handed one.
Even took the time to mill two wrench flats on it.

It works like a charm and kept the alternator within the confines of the cowling.

Three drive belts were sourced, but as luck would have it, they were all too short to finish the project.
I gathered two more prospects on the way home, so wish me luck!

The second headlamp was mounted, but the wiring conduit had yet to arrive on Friday.
I sourced stainless steel shower hose to use for the conduit, so since it arrived on Saturday, it was back burnered too.

Yesterday the old gal got her electrical tuneup consisting of new spark plugs, ignition cables a distributor cap and a rotor.
Afterwards, the old gal fired right up
I held off on the points and condenser replacement until I return with a dwell meter to do it proper, but it was set ok enough to run so it can wait too.
The gauges are on hold again until I source a fitting for the oil pressure connection, but once that comes in, the rest of the install will be easy as pie.

I removed the hand starting crank pin to get to the loose front crankshaft pulley.
It was fairly sloppy, but for now I will only retorque it until a replacement arrives.
The tricky part of fixing it is that the front steering bolster will need removed just to take the pulley off.
Will require a little major disassembly that is not in the picture yet.
It can wait for now since the old gal doesn't have to plow any fields yet.
Yet

Soon I will be just another hayseed plowboy without his own row to hoe

She will get her oil changed and a lube after all of the drive belts are installed so I can run her to get her hot first.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Oh wow! This is really neat. I like the heim joint idea. Is the repair manual an original copy?

 

[Nitro]

Is the repair manual an original copy?

The manual is a reproduction of the original.

 

[Nitro]

Three more days!

Got a three day weekend in at the showgrounds.
Friday evening was spent oiling down the the old drillpress so it would fare the weather better until moving day.
This will likely involve about three of us to pull it off, but it will happen in the next few weeks.
Saturday was a rain day, so most of what got done was indoor activities.
I finished the mods on the headlamp housings and cut the stainless steel shower hose to use it for classy looking wiring conduit.

The compression fittings were female internal pipe which in turn actually fits electrical box cable clamps that will also provide strain relief on the final wiring.
Pretty cool trick by just using me head for something other than a hat holder, eh?
The actual lamps are LED fog lamps which should provide extensive light while being vibration resistant.
The cool part will be using the original light switch assembly.
Did a ton of minor repairs to the old gal too, but actually too trivial to provide details.
Sunday was spent doing some trim work on the tinyhouse and sifting thru the mess I made of the inside during our last show.
Lots of stuff just got stashed in it kind of haphazardly because of a lack of storage areas yet to be built.
I hope to jump back on the interior work next weekend.

Once again, my alternator drive belt selection wasn't spot on, but I sort of already knew that because the correct one was unavailable at the time.
Good thing every day is a Saturday in my world, so that got blown off until Monday morning.
Monday morning arrived with cool but dry weather and a trip to NAPA for the belt.
Cool, time to finalize the alternator installation.

The arrow indicates where the hood covering ends, so the install actually will never be seen as opposed to the unit I removed from her.
The wiring will be upgraded too, using the same showerhead stainless hose to doll her up.
More fancy rubberized holders will keep it looking tidy.

All belted up, including the waterpump belt.
Shakedown run time!


The hood was installed after the voltage check was performed.

Next up will be her oil change, lubrication and the finished wiring.
Might do a final drive fluid change too.
Either five or six gallons of 90 weight gear lube involved in that.

The gauges are on the list too, and since the last fitting arrived, that's a good to go detail now.

Yep, I'm starting to bleed Farmall red now kids

 

[Nitro]

 

[Nitro]

 

[Nitro]

I just got back from another three days in paradise.
It was chilly but enjoyable.
My first goal was to gather a few tools and supplies for a home project, and since it was either raining or chilly for the weekend, why no go have a work weekend involving some winterizing?
Lots of canned foodstuff got packed up and both refrigerators got a needed cleanout.
Heck, I even defrosted and cleaned the shop unit.
About a day was spent on and off de-stink bugging my digs.
Those nasty little bugs got into everything.
I emptied box after box of items in search of them.
After everything had been gone over, I figure the upcoming cold will finish off any that get back in.

Got a lot of Farmall riding time in on Sunday and today.
Didn't have enough electrical stuff up there yet to finish the wiring, but that was ok too.
Plus some of the machines need their naughty bits oiled down for winter.
Another excuse to return soon!

I managed to drag some of the park benches inside, but left enough room to put the new to us drill press there too.
If I don't, it is well oiled and tarped, so no biggie if it doesn't.

Nice rainbow effect lens flare, huh?

 

[Nitro]

 

[Forest Cat]

I was watching a program on tv the other day, called "The Last Norwegian Cowboy". It's about John Hoiland, he's over 90 years old and still running his huge ranch in Montana by himself. Guess what John was riding around on... Yep, a Farmall.

 

[Nitro]

I was watching a program on tv the other day, called "The Last Norwegian Cowboy". It's about John Hoiland, he's over 90 years old and still running his huge ranch in Montana by himself. Guess what John was riding around on... Yep, a Farmall.

As you can see, they ain't exactly little machines

 

[Nitro]

Saturday evening was our yearly banquet, our monthly meeting combined with our voting in of our officers.

Good feed plus one more chance to get together as a group before the winter sets in.

I went from the restaurant to my humble little abode to spend some time on my projects there.
Hauled a bit of new materials up on two occasions with the intention of finishing the laminate flooring, wiring the outlets, finish some interior framing and possibly paneling the walls afterwards.
The floor all got cut and the wiring pulled, but then illness put a damper on my work.

Oh well, kick back and do much of nothing was the next plan of attack.
Mulched some leaves with the mower, helped unload a trailer load of logs, helped with a Plymouth coal mine locomotive, rode the crap out of the Farmall, ate, slept, watched movies...you get the picture.
Instead of the original three day stay, it got turned into six

The rest of the stuff got put on hold until I can nurse my way back into the fold.
Oh well, Rome wasn't burned in a day, or sumpin' like that.....

 

[Nitro]

Between last weekend and this one,
another six days of fun and excitement

Not really, in fact rather boring, but got plenty of stuff done on the tiny crib.
And a few Farmall rides just to break it up.
No pix from this weekend, but a few from the one before.
(pix of interior framing and insulation are boring IMHO)

(There is nothing on the walls now but insculation kids, so Think Pink )

The wiring is now completed except for a marine grade power inlet.
That arrived Saturday, so it will be installed during my next session.
Ok, all powered up, so start caulking the seams on the other side of the room to tighten things up.
(I squirted nearly a full case of caulk into this puppy, so I hope there will be no leaks)
The flooring all got placed last weekend with the exception of one final strip.
This weekend, I ripped the final three sections of flooring and called that a wrap.
Tight and right now, so start fitting the Owens-Corning fiberglas insulation.

Got most of the wall area insulated so all that is left now is the ceiling area.
Even thought it was warm without it, it made a huge difference in the comfort level last night.
I figure another long weekend to wrap up
the last of the pink, the paneling and hopefully the trim.
Things are looking very positive from here.
With any luck, I might get to do New Years eve and day in style this year instead of in a cold shop with a crappy cramped instant up tent
(no work this year, I promise)
(well maybe a little, the May show is just around the corner)

Snug as a bug in a rug in a place I created with my own two hands at one of my favorite places on earth.
Seems like just yesterday I was filling out a bill of materials


I love it when a plan comes together...

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Wow! That's a nice flooring job!

 

[Nitro]

Did another three day stay at the showgrounds.
Day one was spent in the company of two friends who thoroughly enjoyed their time there.
We toured most of the grounds and shared a tasty lunch at a local tavern.
Day 2
Hit the insulation monster hard but was hindered by the cold weather so the progress was hindered a bit.
Only have one more wall to go though, but it needs some figuring done before I toss up the last of the "pink"

Day 3 was warm out, so I did the fitment of most of the paneling.
It actually took longer than I expected, but none the less, I did get about 80% of it cut and about 60% of it hung.
All that is left now are some crazy shaped cuts for the upper part of one wall and some other cuts for the entryway wall.
Oh, and the door too.
Easy stuff, I think

The entryway will require a slight amount of finished trimwork being made to determine the cuts needed for that wall.
Tricky stuff, but I can handle it.

I got to spend one 18 degree night in my little domicile but was quite warm in it with the greater portion of the insulation done.
Got two matching pieces of wooden furniture for it, one a small dresser for my clothing and the other a small book shelf for the pantry area.
I worked out the location for the 50 class TV and have all the makings of an uber cool surround sound system and stereo.
The bed plans are off the hook too, with a raised platform for the mattress and ample amounts of storage beneath it.
The bedding will be raised so as I age further and my body starts to fall the rest of the way apart, I won't have to rely on my knees to get me out of bed.
Plan ahead they say, and reap the benefits of doing so later.

I found a nice small stainless steel sink for the kitchen area too.
Yep, a huge bottled water system and a working drain is in my future
Can't wait til it's all done.


.

 

[Aspychata]

Very nice. You gotta dig that beautiful floor. My priorities are flooring, everything else is second.

 

[Aspychata]

Happy holidays Nitro, thank you for everything you do at this site.

 

[Nitro]

Very nice. You gotta dig that beautiful floor. My priorities are flooring, everything is second.

The paneling is simulated rough sawn knotty pine, kind of tacky looking 1970s hunting camp stuff that I ran sideways on the walls to look like planking.

 

[Aspychata]

It looks better then my home. It's nice. I am stuck trying to find 5.75 plank width to fix floor going soft in my box home.

 

[Forest Cat]

Have you thought about adding a nice attached garage for parking? And maybe a porch.