Went out to look at it the other day, all worked well and the price was right. Left a deposit and called my hauler. He reached out to me and said he is free this afternoon! Going to do a full restoration, and convert the hood/body to look like the 77 ag tractors. Have plenty of sheet metal, should be a nice and fun project. Going to keep it industrial yellow, add a ROPS cab, and hopefully convert to hydraulic brakes as the mechanical ones don't cut it with the added weight of loader and hoe.
More pictures.
Sounds like a cool and ambitious project. Good luck and keep us posted as you go.
Brought her home yesterday. Was an uneventful trip. First started to load, but the back of the hoe bottomed out, so we backed it on. Turned out being a better idea, since it had no brakes, backing off simply by rolling would have been terrifying, rolling forward off was terrifying enough. System is 6v, but been using a 12v starter, which I'm sure has been hard on the starter so I have to convert that. The bucket doens't want to dump. It's really slow like it's binding somehow. I think one of the cylinders needs repacked. There's leaks everywhere! But for the most part it all works.
Old girl sure looks clean. The binding on the linkage could be a frozen pin, besides the grease gun go around with an oil can.
Starter won't start it now, was running fine yesterday. Took the starter off and hit it with voltage and it spun fine. Trying to find where I can put a wrench to turn it.
Took the start off and fiddled iwth it, took the plugs out, put it back together, and it fired right up :beatsme At least it's runnign like a champ again.
Your starter will not care if it has 6 or 12 volts to it. Just do not crank to long with out letting it cool.
When I took off the starter the teeth were a bit chewed up as well as the teeth on the flywheel, but only in that area. I think it was binding, and removing it and reinserting it fixed it.
It fit! Can't believe it, had to take 2 tractors out to get it in, but now I'll have a well lit area that is dry to start taking it apart. The battery compartment barely holds up the battery it's so rotted. All the sheet metal is shot and needs replaced, so I'll have to start on that asap. New dash is in order too.
I would try just cleaning up the brakes and making sure all the pivots and linkages are rust free and lightly lubricate before going through the trouble of converting them to hydraulics , I worked for years on old 7C Lulls , they were built on that same industrial Oliver tractor and could pick and carry around five thousand pounds plus the weight of the mast and counterweight and stop very well . Sorry to say that I scrapped a couple of those backhoes over the years just for the front axle parts , the Lulls had a bad habit of stripping the castle nut off the spindle in turn ruining the spindle and spindle carrier . Good luck with your project they are tough old tractors and those Waukesha engines are pretty much bullet proof too.
Got one side of the brake off. It was worn pretty bad and had excessive play. Getting it back together was rough too. One of the 3 springs involved was broken, two were stretched, so the brake would drag if it was adjusted properly and pressed. Also made a video of the first dig. Mainly to familiarize myself with the machine, and see where the leaks were. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzwhufDtELc
Trying to clean up shrubs and stumps and smooth things out. This machine has been a heaven-sent. Up until now I've done it all by hand or with a garden tractor, but they can't hold a candle to this machine. Don't get me wrong, I love my other tractors, but it's about time I got the right tools for the job. My 1952 Oliver 77 with 55hp super 88 4.3 liter 6 cylinder gas motor. Starting to grade stuff. And the azalea/weed bushes that have been there 30 years.