The Tractor
Since I don’t have a real tractor, I have to use this old Jeep as a replacement. Been a few years since it has been used (~8 years) and it needs a bit of work to get it into running condition. The Rats or Squirrels had apparently been busy chewing on the wiring, so I had to figure where all the loose ends went before I could get a real start.
Not shown in the above picture is the wiring harness they had made into mincemeat. So I traced all the wiring and rewired them to where they were supposed to go. Mostly just lights and towing harness, thank the Lord. Had to replace the carburetor as the one there had some leaking problems and stripped screws.
The brakes were not working, so I had to rebuild the brake master cylinder. The rear seal was leaking pretty badly, I found, when the reservoir was filled with Dot 3 Brake fluid. It went straight through and onto the floor. Not good! Also, two of the plug wires were completely missing. I suppose the critters just ate them?
So I replaced the whole set for good measure. Don’t yet know if the coil needs replacement. First, I want to check the timing to determine if the timing chain may have slipped a tooth or two. To do that, I will place the #1 cylinder at top dead center (TDC) and see if the distributor cap rotor is pointed at #1 contact, or somewhere else.
Right now it is supposed be just past TDC. That assumes it is on the compression cycle and both valves are closed. Will check that with a straw. But first, I have to figure how to turn the crank manually. Some engines have a nut on the front, but this one seems to have the timing wheel pressed onto the crank. No Nut! So I will have to figure something else before I get cranky…
Then it is into the distributor cap to check the points. May need a new condensor and points as they both are pretty old. The points may be pitted and not making good contact. Time will tell.
By the way, getting parts for the Chevy 283 (4.6L) engine is an adventure sometimes. You can’t just walk into the parts store and say I need part X for an old Jeep, as Jeeps never had Chevy 8-cylinder engines. So what to do? Well, the 1965 Chevy Impala had a 283 engine in it, so I just use that for engine parts. The master cylinder is from a Chrysler vehicle; the seats are from a Chevy Camaro. Don’t remember where the radiator came from. Does that make it a FrankenJeep?