Farmer's Boy Series 2 Light Tractor

[darmic1]

I thought it was about time I revealed my latest purchase/project….. Some of you will know about it from the other site. It is as the thread says a Farmer’s Boy Series 2 Light Tractor, the machine was bought to my attention by Jim Beacon at the Tractor World Autumn event held in October 2016 at Newbury Showground. Jim asked if I would be interested in another Farmer’s Boy? He was unsure as to exactly which model it was, but….. it had a lot of attachments with it! I was completely sold on the attachments and agreed to give it a new home! It arrived in the back of Jim’s van and once unloaded I had it running within the hour! The attachments are Plough, Steel Plough Wheels, Mower, Tool Frame, Hoes, Transport Wheel, Small Rubber Wheels and Rotovator.

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[darmic1]

I’ve decided to make use of this machine as a working exhibit. I will however give it a makeover, so I made a start on the attachments due to space and storage restrictions. I’ve broken everything down to component parts, and took it all to the shot blasters. It’s been etch primed and I’ve decided to brush paint this one, as it will be easier to patch up, should it get damaged during use.

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[darmic1]

The ratchet pawls are missing from the ploughing wheels and I was fortunate to be contacted by Alan, who told me about broken and very rusty machine near Guilford, Surrey. A trip was arranged and on a very damp chilly day I took myself down to remove them from the bones of the donor machine. Unfortunately the springs were rusted away, so once I have it back together I will have to try to make some.

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[darmic1]

Another issue to be addressed was the cast wheels on the mower attachment. The cast axles had worn from 19mm or 3/4′ to about 14mm or just over 1/2′ meaning they wobbled quite badly! I asked my local welder if he could do anything with them, he suggested cutting them off, drilling out a hole of 3/4′, obtaining some 3/4 bar and make ‘new’ axles? Here’s the pictures once repaired…..

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[darmic1]

The Mold board returned with quite a lot of pitting. After using a flap disc to ‘polish’ the surface up as best as possible, it looks much better. Have been told it will ‘shine’ up with use!

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[darmic1]

I’m using brush enamels mixed to match the original colours. The green is BS282 Forest Green and the red is BS593 Rail Red. The paint itself covers really well, goes on quite thick and flattens out leaving virtually no brush marks……

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[darmic1]

Once all the bits were painted and dry I made a start putting it all back together……

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[darmic1]

The mower was missing one of the safety guards. I made a cardboard template, marked out the steel and cut it out. Rolled the steel by hand to get the conical shape, welded it together and made the mounting bracket……

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[darmic1]

Once painted and dry I reassembled the rest of the mower……

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[vhgmcbuddy]

What a find especially with all the attachments looks like your only missing the trailer.
That mower looks lethal, health & safety would have a field day. Just goes to show how things have changed.
Still, lovely bit of kit.
Would those colours have been standard across the range do you think ?

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[darmic1]

Yes! I do have an axle and wheels……. the plan was to maybe recreate a trailer for it??? Cant be sure the red is an exact match as this had been painted before, but then green is an acurate match from some original paint. My Farmer’s Boy Minor is a lighter metallic shade pf green, closest match is a Datsun/Nissan colour from the 70/80s…….

[darmic1]

I have made a start on the rotovator attachment today. Have fitted new modern nitrile seals to the rotor shaft replacing the original rotten felt ones, also fitted a new end seal to protect the shaft end and bronze bushes. Next job was to re-make the missing rotor cover. I made a cardboard template using photo’s from a ‘youtube’ video as reference. I will get the steel cut tomorrow….

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[charlie]

Progressing well, you cant beat using CAD (cardboard aided design).

[darmic1]

Made a start inspecting the MK12 engine from this machine yesterday. I wasn’t too concerned about the internals as I had previously had the head off to check the piston and valves etc. I had also had the engine running with just a squirt of fuel, enough to make it run. However, I wasn’t prepared for what I found when I pulled the sump off……. 2 rather large components sitting in the oil at the bottom! these bits were the governor gear and its shaft……. I had previously noticed the governor arm was broken where the spring connects, but didn’t associate that with anything more serious. It would appear that the governor arm has broken whilst the engine was running, the engine has then ‘run away’ ungoverned causing the counterweight gear to self destruct! Thankfully nothing more serious than a few light scratches to the crank lobes has resulted, the crank itself, con rod and piston skirt are all intact and serviceable. Thankfully I have a donor engine I can cannabalise for the required parts!

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[darmic1]

Have now rebuilt the engine using governor parts from the donor engine. stripped, primed and painted it. Repaired the exhaust, rebuilt the carburettor and fitted the new air filter.

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[Author]

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