C-120 Automatic restoration

[wheeledhorseman 574]

I bought my first Wheel Horse a couple of months ago as a non-runner for spares or repairs. Despite being a rather sorry looking example it seemed pleased to see me when I turned up to collect it, realising perhaps that it would be restored come what may rather than be broken for spares. I normally restore cars or military vehicles but this is the first tractor project and it will actually be used on the land round the barn where I keep my collection of vehicles etc.

Having cleaned the points and wired up the ignition correctly I got it to run in the barn but it took a few minutes to realise that it was splattering oil over my son's caravan - oops! Please remember I have no experience with a Kohler engine and discovered the core plug next to the governor cross shaft was missing. Hmm, had a look and yes the shaft had no tab which must be down in the sump somewhere. Undeterred I ground a penny washer down to fit the hole as I was determined to have a first ride on it come what may. Despite having a small hole in the centre the oil stopped flying out but there was a bit of unhealthy crankcase pressure to add to the investigation list. It chugged along up hill then raced away with me going down hill (no governor action) and refused to do anything close to an idle.

Googling led me to discover Meetens where Paul Child surprised me with the fact that the cross shaft is a stock item. Paul also confirmed my theory that despite its position you can replace the shaft without dismantling any engine components other than removing the sump. It actually turned out to be a pretty easy job. The crank case pressure turned out to be a matter of dismantling and cleaning the vent valve system which restored a negative crank case pressure and the idling issue was down to the large amount of play in the carb butterfly shaft which I bushed. If anyone is interested in how I did this using a part available in the UK I'll explain in another post.

Having got the engine to run I'm now at the stage of being surrounded by tractor parts being stripped back, repaired, primed and painted ready for reassembly. The decals have arrived from Mark at restorationdecals, and good they look too, though it will be a few weeks yet till I'm ready to put them in place. I've resorted to shipping in some parts from the US namely a new OEM headlamp lens, rear light unit, and a couple of new dust caps for the front axles.

And here she as purchased but actually running before disassembling for painting.

Andy

[Anglo Traction 761]

Hi Andy Always good to see another Euro Member to spread the addiction. Nice Auto there. I admit I did have a Flutter on it, being an Auto , which are uncommon here. You've obviously done some research and have it all under control. This is one Forum that is overflowing with information and good , helpful and experienced people from all across the world. Looking forward to pictures as you progress.

Regards.

[meadowfield 2,570]

Andy,

good to see you have joined the forum! you will learn loads and make some good 'virtual' mates.

My top bid on that was 200 - I was prepared to go that far for a good project!

Looking forward to the pics...

good luck

mark

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Thanks Richard and Mark for the welcome to the forum. Sorry to have outbid you both on the tractor but it was fairly local to me so not much by way of fuel costs to factor in when bidding although I guess if there

[sorekiwi 761]

Looks like a nice project you have going Andy.

As for your exhaust, take a look at a Gravely muffler.

The side entry (or exit, depending on how you mount it) takes care of the 90 degree bend, which tends to be a bit ugly on most stack systems.

(Still havent finished the stack on this one, I'm looking for my round tuit!)

I'm going to use one of these in the stock muffler configuration (across the front of the engine) in the next month or two, its short enough to fit between the "cheeks" of the hood.

The pepperpot type mufflers are cheap and easy, but really are pretty noisy.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Thanks Mike, that's really helpful.

I like the way it looks on your tractor so I'm going to try and source one here in the UK as it has the advantage that I can experiment with both configurations before deciding on a final position (stock or stack so as to speak).

I'm getting towards the end of stripping back parts to bright metal and refinishing them so I must be making progress.

Andy C

Hampshire in the south of England

[farmer 1,075]

Hello Andy and ,

I agree with the others, nice to have another member in our time zone.

All the help wise you'll ever need on this forum, welcome aboard. :thumbs:

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Again, thanks for the welcome to the forum Rex.

These red things are kind of addictive so I bought another! Its a Kohler twin 216-5 in need of a bit of attention. Basically, I was getting tired of keep taking the deck off to pull a trailer or roller over rough ground then putting it back again to cut grass so as the C-120 won't be up and running for a while yet a second 1980s 200 series to do daily tasks seemed logical (or that's my excuse)!

Andy

[Stigian 1,234]

Hi Andy , it's always good to have another "local" on the forum

Are you going to post any "work in progress" photo's?

It would be good to see how the restoration is moving on.

[Irv 115]

Andy, are you sure the 215-5 is a Kohler? I have one, bought it new in 1985 and it's got a briggs twin on it. :thumbs:

[wheeledhorseman 574]

I haven't actually collected the tractor yet Irv, it was an e-bay purchase and described as having a Kohler twin but having spoken to the owner to arrange collection he has confirmed that it actually has a Briggs so it hasn't had any transplant surgery. No idea what year it is though at the moment.

Put another few hours in on the C-120 project today and that should be the last of the panels stripped back and the welding done - Hurray!

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Sorry, forgot to thank Ian for the welcome and I'll try and take a few pics to post tomorrow. I'm not good at keeping a photographic record of restorations - I tend to get stuck in and forget so it tends to end up as just the before and after.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Ok, so here's how far I've got.

The tractor had been hand painted just once so there were plenty of places to find the original factory colour. It had too much of an orange tint to the red for my liking so I decided on IH red (as many do I gather). The wheels were original and having cleaned back through the oxidised layer I thought - that looks like Land Rover Limestone to me, so that's the colour they are and its very close indeed to the original.

I'm using tractor enamel for the red, it's laced with stuff that's harmful to the environment according to the warnings on the labels so I guess the tractor won't be growing any green stuff if its left outside. I'd best make sure young children don't chew on it though! The Limestone is standard synthetic enamel - didn't use much of the litre I bought so maybe I need to buy some more projects to use it up.

Judging by the dried clippings in everything it did once have a cutting deck but not for many years now based on the need for a blowlamp to free off the tension adjuster thread.

The odd object centre top is a battery connector - didn't spot its presence when I took the photo.

Not sure what to do with the Forward / Reverse lever yet. The PTO lever cleaned up well but the galv has gone on this one so I'm thinking about it. Must get round to replacing the transmission filter.

Must also remember to paint the bolt heads but they're only finger tight and will have to come out again before I finish. I've replaced the ammeter with a voltmeter that gives a much clearer indication that all is well on the charging front and added an hour meter in the hole that was blanked off. I believe some models had these hence the hole. I'll need one to keep track of use as it will be doing work rather than being kept for showing.

So that's about it for progress to date. Famous last words yesterday about having seen the last of the welding. Cleaning the drive belt cover back to bright metal revealed two more stress fractures so it was back to welding and grinding today.

Andy

[neil 2,408]

Welcome to Euro horse Andy , like the other guys have said , its good to have another member to join us on this side of the pond.

Tractor looks really nice , will be a shame to get it dirty.

youi seem to have been bitten by the wheel horse bug ,it is very addictive in collecting these tractors. I now have 13 to date ,and i live in a flat without a garden. Only kidding . i bet you will end up with more than two within the next few months.

glad to here youve met

Mark

Richard

Rex

Stigian

from the UK

We look forward to watching the rest of you restoration.

You would also do well to read up on some of the postings of the past ,theres some great reading in there and some fantastic restorations from our American Folk.

you dont mension what part of the country you are from

Regards Neil from Somerset

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Thanks Neil, and yes I'm picking up the third tomorrow I hope.

Andy (in Hampshire)

I'll add that bit to my signature.

[neil 2,408]

see i told you its addictive, and it probably wont be your last that you buy.

dont forget

oh and where did you get your red paint from

[meadowfield 2,570]

Welcome to Euro horse Andy , like the other guys have said , its good to have another member to join us on this side of the pond.

Tractor looks really nice , will be a shame to get it dirty.

youi seem to have been bitten by the wheel horse bug ,it is very addictive in collecting these tractors. I now have 13 to date ,and i live in a flat without a garden. Only kidding . i bet you will end up with more than two within the next few months.

glad to here youve met

Mark

Richard

Rex

Stigian

from the UK

We look forward to watching the rest of you restoration.

You would also do well to read up on some of the postings of the past ,theres some great reading in there and some fantastic restorations from our American Folk.

you dont mension what part of the country you are from

Regards Neil from Somerset

we've not met...

but had dealings!

and a pleasure it was too!

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Not much to report on the tractor front as I

[fordsonmajortom 1]

Its a 1975 C120 automatic with a sundstrand 90-1136 gearbox.

Michael

[wheeledhorseman 574]

:thumbs: Michael - impressive stuff, much respect!

[Anglo Traction 761]

ENGINE: Kohler K301S Spec 43421 Serial 7337822

TRACTOR: model 1-0491 serial 151563

Thanks also for the offer of manuals and I

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Again, much respect Richard, you guys really know your stuff. So it was a 'd' - I couldn't make out the charater or digit at the end of the number as the Kohler label has taken a knock in that area at some point. I guessed it wasn't a last digit from the number as the spacing between it and the main number is slightly larger than the digit spacings. I thought it could be a damaged 0 or 6 or even a mark left by whatever donked it but its a 'D'. Hope that solves the mystery you identified.

Re Kohler parts manual, I don't discount having to rebuild the Kohler at some point or at least change the rings. It doesn't produce any real smoke but it's not exactly worked hard yet and I can smell that she's burning a bit of oil. For the moment though I'm learning the ways of the Kohler by trial and error to see how good it can be got without resorting to taking it out again. I manged to find a bit of time today to hook all of the electrics up and ran the engine for a while for the first time since the tractor started to come together again. It seems to get a bit better each time I run it but that could be wishful thinking - only time will tell.

[meadowfield 2,570]

...It seems to get a bit better each time I run it but that could be wishful thinking - only time will tell.

Mine seems that way, my brother spent

[Anglo Traction 761]

These Kohlers sound so nice on 'Tickover'.

Only thing to remember is that the ACR (Automatic Compression Release) operates up to about 600 rpm then drops below the Cam Profile (Exhaust) after that. If you run it too long below that speed, the ACR Tab may wear out quicker.

I set mine to idle at 1185 and max speed of 3580...just to test how well it can be set on the Laser Tacho.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Laser tacho - now why didn't I think of that? I've just ordered one online. I'd picked up the fact that a Kohler has to tick over pretty fast from the manual but being electronically able my mind went off on ways of using a standard 4/6 cylinder automotive tacho on a single cylinder engine. So I'll save my cunning plan to develop at a later date as I fancy fitting some dialage including a tacho to the 216-5 which has definitely become a 'keeper' and the next project when I finish the C-120.