As you will learn, I am not all that fond of machinery of the green persuasion.  I have never really been able to pinpoint why exactly except that I was not raised, for the most part, on green equipment.  Everything at J.C.Root & Sons was red, more or less, except for the 39 L stuffed in the corner, long retired from tomato and sugar beet cultivating duty and a very worn out disk.

I actually spent quite a few summer afternoons putting around the yard on the L as a youngster in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  The little L was the only tractor I could operate alone at 6 or so other than the lawn mower.  It was also the first time I ever learned from experience to heed my grandfather’s advice about crank starting a tractor (there is no electrical system on an L).  That L fired backward on me and the crank tossed me right on the ground, luckily with nothing broken but my pride.  I still have the L along with a complete set of cultivators and 1 bottom plow.  I still putt around the yard on it now and again, 30 years later.

I may as well get to the point of this post, the John Deere B sitting in my shop that has me eating tums by the handful.  This tractor originally belonged to my great uncle William (Bill) Root Sr.  It was sold to my father and uncle a number of years ago and had been sitting in the barn until last year when my father decided it needed new rubber and I needed more work (ie, giving it a fresh coat of paint).  What he didn’t realize is that “more work” was going to turn into an understatement.

As with every “restoration” or “refinishing” project I initially assess by thoroughly cleaning decades worth of oil, dirt and grease from the subject.  Generally I find a few leaks that need to be repaired.  All to be expected from seal and gasket technology that is 2X older than I am.  In the case of the B the gaskets are not faulty… But what I did discover was a massive loss of gear oil onto my shop floor after power washing nearly a half inch thick crust of oil / dirt off of the rearend housing.  The culprit?  The transmission to rearend bolts were all loose.  1+ turn each to be exact.  One stud broken off to boot.  The cure?  First tighten all of the bolts and refill with oil to see if the leak stops. The result?  I’ll let you know.  I hope this doesn’t turn into a Prilosec situation.

Now to the tums part.  Stripping this machine down to a paintable level.  Most notably removing the sheet metal, gauges, wiring… Who were the brain children in East Moline that thought incorporating the fuel tank and hood as an assembly was a good idea?  Or placing the temperature sender beneath the plug wire tubes… Or those flat head bolts with screwdriver slots holding the deck plate down.  After 4 hours I finally have all of these removed.  Unfortunately the blue wrench had to be incorporated to facilitate removal of the deck plate which was necessary to tighten the rearend / transmission bolts.

And so the journey has begun.  I only hope that the path turns more enjoyable and the result is as good as the red iron I turn out.  I must be hopeful, because the next one in the door is special, unique and very rare.

J.A.Root