Murray to IH 1568

[953 nut 55,189]

On 12/23/2021 at 2:19 PM, sjoemie himself said:

make it a narrow front tractor.

I did the same on a Wheel Horse 953, this thread may be helpful

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@953 nut Sweet build, I really like it. It seems we think alike. I also built my front spindle with a trailer hub and axle. Pictures will follow.

Only difference is that I mounted the steering box in the front of the tractor. Mainly to have room for a gastank but also because of not wanting to have a linkage on the outside of the tractor.

[WHX?? 48,814]

Gotta say one thing fer sure sjoemie you are one heck of a fabricator! Those weights are awesome and the rest of your pieces look like they grew there! 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@WHX?? Thank you very much!

I always try to do things right and make them as good as I can. There is already lots of garbage being produced in the world today. No need for me to add to that pile.. although the term 'garbage' is debatable I guess 😁

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

Wow, the amount of craftsmanship is up there! knap werk!

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Next up, steering console and dash. Tried to model this to the real dash while incorporating the controls and ignition switch from the Murray. Gauges will be added later when I decide what I want/need.

 

 

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

Do you have a IH 1568?

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

..in 1/16th scale, yes!

..in 1/2,5 scale, almost 

[6wheeler 603]

Good work. 1468/1568 IH. Probably? One of the ONLY IH's we would have let on the "Green" farm. Never got one. But? I did help the neighbor do spring field work one year. He had (and still has) a 1468. It worked well. Not near the tractor our JD 5020 was. But? for what it was? It did alright.  I wish I still had a picture of that tractor. But? It had the white cab and 2 saddle tanks. One on each side. It carried an extra 50 gallons of fuel on board. With duals and those chrome stacks? It was way cool looking. It needed the xtra tanks, it was a fuel hog. IMO? Yours would look better with a wide front. Also? If you have a farm store near you? The mufflers that are used for an 8n Ford are an easy size to make your upright exhaust. That is what I used on my C-160. I just got an elbow that fit and even found a rain cap that fit it. Nice work. Good Luck    Pat

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@6wheeler thank you. Although i'm an IH/Case/Farmall fan I have to admit that the 14/1568's were not the best tractors. However they are really cool and different looking and that's why I like them.

Another reason why I chose to build it is because the Murray has a flat twin in it so it lends itself for dual stacks just like the 1468.

Thank you for the tip on the 8n mufflers, those would have came in handy. Meanwhile i've built some custom exhausts for the Briggs but i'll keep them in mind in case mine don't workout.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Next up I worked on the steering box. Unfortunately I don't have too many pictures of that. It was quite a search to find a steering box that would fit my needs. First I got a box off of a Toyota 4 x 4 which turned out way to big. Then I looked at using a steering rack out of a Opel (or Vauxhall as you might know them). That didn't work and/or got way to complicated.

Finally I bought a steering box from an old VW Beetle type 1302 which was the ticket.

Started working on the mountings for it (don't mind the stack of nuts, that will be changed) and used a trailer stub axle as a pivot for the narrow front like @953 nut suggested.

Everything is setup at an angle to (hopefully) get correct steering geometry.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by sjoemie himself
Typo

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Turned down the square trailer stub axle so that I could slide a piece of tube over it.

My dad bent up a piece of 1" steel rod which is going to be the front axle. Made some spacers and tacked it all together. So far so good.

Also made the steering arm and installed the balljoints which connect the steering box to the steering arm and the front axle.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Front wheels are on and fit pretty good.

Also found a good looking steering wheel which comes pretty close to an original one. Nice fine spokes.

Now that I have something to aim at I will work on the steering shaft next.

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by sjoemie himself
Added photo

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Steering shaft installed. Quite the challenge to get all the angles right so that nothing binds up. Had to incorporate a double universal joint to get it to work. That also meant I had to make a bearing block. Came out okay..

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Since the steering is working it's time to move on to the grille. I'm both a little scared but also excited for this part.. 

Lots of measuring, cutting, grinding and a bit of welding

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Dry fit looks about right so on to the lower grille insert. This will be removable just like on the real thing. Not sure if the original was plastic but mine definately is not 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

More grille work. Above is what i'm shooting for.

 

This is what I came up with.

 

If there is any interest I can post pictures of my welding jiggamathingy for spacing the bars evenly. It's not pretty but it worked.

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by sjoemie himself
Typo

[Handy Don 12,213]

Amazing work so far. Very much enjoying the transformation

[SylvanLakeWH 25,535]

 

Beautiful work!!! 

[ebinmaine 67,422]

Absolutely agreed. 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Thank you for your kind words. Really helps with the motivation! 

[953 nut 55,189]

Fantastic.                   Just one little change that should be made.              

[6wheeler 603]

On 2/12/2022 at 1:59 PM, sjoemie himself said:

Dry fit looks about right so on to the lower grille insert. This will be removable just like on the real thing. Not sure if the original was plastic but mine definately is not 

This is an interesting point. Some inserts were plastic. And? Some weren't. On the earlier ones 66 series they were like a cast aluminum. But? If you dropped it.? It would break. The later ones were plastic which would crack when you popped them out . My uncle had a 1086 that I took it out to wash out the radiator and I cracked it. He just jb welded it and put it back in. It sold at the retirement auction and no one seemed to notice. Nice work btw.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Thank you for the info. I've seen both aluminium and plastic. I just assumed the originals were cast aluminium and the later reproduction ones were plastic. 

I thought about making the grille out of aluminium but decided against it since i'll paint it grey anyway. Not much use in going to the extra trouble of making it out of aluminium when you can't tell it from steel in the end.