Ummm, I cheated a little- is that okay?

DB Project update 11/23/12. Okay projecteers, life has been taking a higher priority then the David Bradley project, so I apologize at the time it has taken to finish this one and get onto the next. So I cheated a little- spoiler alert- the tractor is mostly together and I am working on mounting the motor. So, how did I cheat? Well, instead of finishing the motor that is original to the tractor, I found a suitable replacement that is working from a donor power edger. I did this for a couple of reasons- 1, the old motor is extremely hard to find part for. 2, the original motor is only 1 horsepower and was commonly known to be underpowered for the more taxing tasks. 3, the donor motor fits, and is internally healthy.

Here are a couple things I learned in the process- as I went to find the parts for the old motor, there seemed a dynamic change in parts house attitudes. It used to be years ago that you could walk in with a part, and say you could not remember what it was from and they would say ‘well, let’s take a measurement and see what we have that will fit’ . Now, if you don’t have a serial number (let’s qualify that- a serial number that they have in their database) then they give you blank stares and point in the direction of the door. I don’t want to be too harsh on these folks, the can-do attitude of yesterday is harder and harder to find. But, with more clever thinking, we found what we needed and had parts made. Look for machine shops- these guys are full of passion and if you give them a little challenge, they like it even more. We had gaskets made for the old motors and a couple of other things. Plus, these types of outfits are so delighted to see an individual trying to do something that it inspires them a little.

Now, about the motors- my confession continues in that we actually have 4 motors in total. Originally, I bought 2 David Bradley tractors and 1 David Bradley brush cutter. This gave me 3 motors to choose from with various problems and parts missing. They are each 1 HP, and different models so only certain parts are interchangeable. Then we picked up an old edger with the 3HP Briggs and Stratton. So obviously, that one is going on the tractor. Now, here is my plan: I am going to continue building the old engine for the engine building episode, then I am going to just mount the newer motor in the final assembly episode. Will that rock your world, or will that be fine? After all- the folks that look for inconsistencies in TV and movies need to have something to investigate, right? Well, today I am working on mounting the motor, so we will be finishing up the last 3 episodes soon, and we will get to celebrate and plow a field. But I still have the challenge of mounting one of the old carburetors to the new engine. My buddy Dan at the airport suggested the easiest way to make an adapter, and luckily, he has a metal lathe- maybe I will get him to show us how to use it, any interest there? So, let’s see if we can get him to help us make the new adapter.