RR #1, Atlanta, IL 61723
My Oliver ’80’ 1941 Wheatland tractor was found right
here in my neighborhood, with stuck pistons, flat worn-out tires,
banged up fenders the usual condition of an abandoned tractor. The
first task was to strip the tractor of all sheet metal. Then I
sandblasted and put two coats of primer paint on. I was lucky to
find a local dealer who happened to have a new set of sleeves and
pistons. After getting the pistons replaced I was ready to
reassemble the engine. I ground the valves, put new gaskets and
seals on and put the engine back together.
The radiator was pulled and checked and found to be in good
shape. I located 6 volt light sockets in Kansas and rebuilt the
entire wiring harness as well as the generator, magneto, starter
and of course the carburetor. My local Oliver dealer also was able
to find a new push pull light switch (original part) and an oil
pressure gauge with Oliver name on the dial. The sheet metal was in
pretty good shape except the fenders. I had a sheet metal shop in
Dubuque, Iowa build me 2 new fenders and make a battery box with
cover. After all of that work I gave the tractor 3 coats of Oliver
green, bought 4 new tires and I was ready to go. It took about
eight months of working between my shop jobs to get it finished.
While it is not an extremely old tractor1941it is in original show
room condition and attracts a lot of attention at local shows. This
tractor is in a good enough condition to go into the field and put
in a good day.
The 25 HP type ‘Y’ Fairbanks-Morse oil engine pictured
was found in the Bearsdale Elevator just outside of Decatur,
Illinois. The elevator is owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Trump and
Mr. Trump used to run this engine when he was 16 years old. I sent
a letter to the Fairbanks-Morse Company in Beloit, Wisconsin, and
gave them the serial number. They told me their production records
showed the engine being built May 10th, 1919 and shipped to
Decatur, Illinois. They also photocopied their only file copy of
the operators’ manual and installation instructions and sent it
to me.
The shipping weight on the engine is 7600 pounds and one
’60’ flywheel weighs 780 pounds. The engine was located in
an engine room mounted on a concrete base. The elevator had been
destroyed by fire several years ago but the engine room was located
far enough away and isolated well enough that it wasn’t
damaged. It was connected to a long line shaft which ran through a
small window out and under the elevator proper where it drove the
elevator and a conveyor. It also drove a corn sheller located in
the elevator basement.
The engine was cooled from a cistern located just outside the
engine room, with an upright piston water pump which was belt
driven from the line shaft.
The water pump was made by the Gould Pump Company. The pump
mounted on the engine platform in the photo is not that pump. The
water pump in the picture was found in an old farm home basement
where it was used to fill a water tank located in the attic to
provide water pressure to the household.
It required a day to get the engine ready to be moved. First I
slipped both flywheels off and rolled them outside the building.
Then I removed the exhaust pot and pipe which extended up through
the roof and was 14 feet long. The exhaust pipe is 7′
diameter.
I then removed the nuts from the anchor bolts and placed a jack
under the cylinder and raised the front of the engine enough to cut
the bolts off flush with the concrete. Then I placed a section of
3′ pipe at the center of the base and let the jack back down.
This raised the engine at the rear end and I cut the bolts at that
end. Then I placed two or three more pipe rollers under the engine
base and let the jack down leaving the engine resting on the
rollers.
The next day I went back to the elevator with lots of wood
blocks and scale planks. I formed a ramp wrapped a chain around the
engine base and very easily rolled the engine down the ramp and out
the door with my come-a-long anchored to the railroad tracks
outside.
After getting the engine back home and in the shop, I knew the
piston was stuck. I disconnected the rod at the crankshaft, removed
the head, then unbolted the cylinder from the crank-case and
hoisted the piston, rod and cylinder up and set it on blocks in an
upright position. I let it sit that way soaking in penetrating oil
for about 3 months. Periodically I would go over and place a 5 ton
hydraulic jack on the piston but was never able to move it. I
finally made a quarter inch steel plate to fit over the
cylinderdrilled and tapped a hole in the center and installed a
grease zerk. I first filled the cylinder cavity above the piston
with gun grease, then placed the steel plate on and bolted it down
with the head bolts and using an ordinary hand grease gun forced
the piston down and out the bottom of the sleeve. This was a
10′ diameter piston 23′ long with the rod still in it.
I tried to remove the 4 rings from the piston but they were so
brittle they would break trying to get them out of the ring
grooves. So I found a ring manufacturer in Texas and ordered 4 new
rings.
I took the cylinder over to Peoria, Illinois and had it honed.
There were, hanging up in the elevator engine room, 3 or 4 new
cylinder head gaskets, an extra injector nozzle for the fuel and
various other spare parts. I put the engine back together after
having the parts all sandblasted and gave it a coat or two of
primer paint then two coats of New Idea green. Before doing that I
had to make a new pin and bushing that the governor weights pivot
on and press it into the hub of the flywheel.
Then I had to build a set of engine trucks heavy enough to carry
the 7800 pound engine because I wanted to be able to exhibit at
some of the area shows.
I found a pair of wheels and axles in this county that had been
used under an old Minneapolis corn sheller. I bought those and
welded up a frame from 7′ Channel iron and mounted the engine.
I had a sheet metal shop construct a screened water cooler tower
and tank with some scrap sheet metal I had and mounted it on an oak
platform on one end of the engine; trucks and then mounted the
water pump just to the side. Locating this particular water pump
was important to me because it had a built-in jack shaft to cut the
rpm’s down and not damage the pump.
The engine is rated at 325 rpm but I have it cut down to around
215 rpm. To do that I turned an adaptor on my lathe to fit a 4 inch
pulley I had on hand. I’ve got the pump running at about twenty
strokes per minute There is a thermometer located in the water
return pipe above the cylinder and I can control the water flow
through the engine with the two pipe valves in the water line just
above the pump. The pump is always pumping. If the engine
doesn’t need cooling I adjust the valves and the water bypasses
the engine and is returned to the supply tank.
Since the fuel supply tank at the elevator was underground I
mounted an F20IHC tractor tank on the engine for its source of
fuel.
I did the painting and pinstriping on the engine and have had it
out on exhibit one time. It sure attracts a lot of attention.
My next project is to clean up a 22 inch Advance Rumely
separator I have that is made of wood and bell the engine to
it.
