1946 B.F. Avery Model A Tractor Restoration

[IronCanine]

There is a BF Avery collectors' site and a Facebook page, but the collectors' page is not really one that you could share a detailed build on and I honestly hate Facebook. But I love this site and everybody on it, moreover it's robust enough that if you've got an Avery and want to find some pictures...Google will get you here. My first restoration project wasn't a K5...it was my late grandfather's 1949 Allis Chalmers G. Then when I was 20 (100 years ago) I did a nut and bolt on a 1949 John Deere MT.

My daughter just turned 7 and I thought it'd be fun to have a project to work on together. I figured I'd have a short window of time when she'd be big enough to drive a tractor in a parade but not so big she thought it was stupid. So, in hopes of hitting that window in stride, I set out to find a single front Avery Model A that was complete and reasonably priced. I found one in Maryland and got her bought and shipped rather uneventfully. Here's what she looked like the day I rolled her into the basement for the first time.

[mongocanfly]

Sweet!!!

[IronCanine]

I bought her from the second owner, who'd had her for about 25 years. The engine was stuck, but she was remarkably complete and original--down to the original tires. These tractors could be ordered right out of the Montgomery Ward's catalogue--hence the Ward's Riverside tires. She also came with a full set of cultivators and the original owner's manual for both.

[IronCanine]

Around 1939 Cletrac put rubber tires on its HG crawler and called it the General. BF Avery made implements specific to that tractor. This same tractor was marketed as the Ward's Twin Row. Around 1944 Oliver took over Cletrac's crawlers and BF Avery bought the tooling for the General and moved production to it's Louisville, KY plant and re-named it the Model A. Below is a photo from the Louisville assembly line in 1948 as well as a "new" 1946 like ours.

[IronCanine]

B.F. Avery's Tru Draft system was one of it's big selling points. You can check out this sales film strip to see the pitch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufuRps3Z_qM

While the set up may have improved depth control of implements, it was hell on the tractor frame. This is really the only thing on this tractor that had been altered or worked on. The reservoir (pictured below) hangs on the outside of the right frame rail. It has an actuator, but an external cylinder was added by a PO for power, and like many of these tractors, the right frame rail cracked where it mounted to the transaxle from being torqued unilaterally. It had been re-welded...sloppily. Both lower frame rail mounting studs had broken. Only the right side had been replaced and it was with a larger stud. I pretty quickly decided that we were going to remove the lift set up. Mainly because I really want this thing to be dry when I'm done, and I'll never show it with the cultivators.

[IronCanine]

So we got right to work taking it apart.

[IronCanine]

The '46 A was powered by a Hercules IXB3. The serial number on this engine was 1281970...which could be the "born on" date of my K5. I thought that was kind of cool. Breakdown of this little Herc yielded the first broken bolt of the teardown and then eventually the cause of her inability to turn over. She was full of soup.

[Clyde65]

Nice job so far! I used to run and old 46 Farmal M, back when I was a kid. Loved that tractor, always started and ran like a champ!!

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Sweet!!!

Originally Posted by Clyde65

Nice job so far! I used to run and old 46 Farmal M, back when I was a kid. Loved that tractor, always started and ran like a champ!!

Thanks! I just hope this one cranks!

[IronCanine]

One of the more difficult teardowns and subsequent re-assemblies was the front pedestal. It is attached to the frame with four long bolts. The two right side bolts were fully rusted/seized in the casting. It was a bear just driving them out once the nuts were off. The main rotating gear is held on by a constant section external snap ring. Trust me when I tell you that profanity alone is not enough to extricate this little rascal. Finally, the universal joint on the end of the hand crank that engages the crank pulley required Archimedes' galvanized half brother to convince it to come off.

[IronCanine]

Going back together it was a little difficult to replace those original Victor seals and Timken bearings with the overseas replacements offered at NAPA. But just the few bearings and seals that are in the pedestal and front wheel clocked in at over $300. All the seals on this tractor wear originally double walled and thick. The replacements are clearly not, and you have to take care to not ding em when you're installing them. Of course it's always a challenge when working with painted surfaces. Not on this particular sub, but later on in reassembly we put a ziplock bag between the bolt and the socket and it was very effective in protecting the finish when tightening. A lot of the gaskets for this tractor are just not available. I had to make this felt ring that protects the bottom spindle bearing.

[IronCanine]

That bottom bearing in question is another one of those moments where will and frustration and the lack of a blow torch made for some fun. It took a 20 ton press to get the new one all the way back on. Since the original snap ring was sprung on removal, I went back with a conventional round end ring. This was a concession too...I couldn't get an .10 ring in the groove and had to concede a .05 thickness ring. I can't imagine it would fail in this circumstance, but my replacement is definitely less robust again than the original.

[plainred65]

Thanks for taking the time to show this restore. I don't know much about tractors, but I've always loved looking them over at the county fairs.

[Ol Blue K20]

I just found this..beautiful thus far. Subbed to watch

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by plainred65

Thanks for taking the time to show this restore. I don't know much about tractors, but I've always loved looking them over at the county fairs.

I love following all the projects on here. Seems only fair to share what we're working on too.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I just found this..beautiful thus far. Subbed to watch

Thanks!

[Advanced Design]

Great detail work! Tagging along for rest.

[Russell Ashley]

That is looking great. I'm in Lawrenceville so not far from you. I'm going to have to make a Varsity run over to Athens for some chili dogs and then drop by to meet you and see your project. My mother's cousin had an Avery tractor back in the fifties.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Great detail work! Tagging along for rest.

Thanks for following!!! No mods or LS swaps on this one though...hope it's not too boring

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

That is looking great. I'm in Lawrenceville so not far from you. I'm going to have to make a Varsity run over to Athens for some chili dogs and then drop by to meet you and see your project. My mother's cousin had an Avery tractor back in the fifties.

Thanks. Door is always open...Eric likes Dunkin Donuts.

[IronCanine]

Speaking of the metal master himself. While I continue to be uncomfortably on the road...Eric has pushed on with the tins. He soaked the pan seat for a few days in the electrolysis tank and then massaged the dent out of the lip..

[IronCanine]

Some things are too big to go in the water and require hand stripping. Look at the grain on the grill. Any manufacturing experts want to chime in? Temperature of the metal? Type of metal? Type of press? Number of dies? Just curious.

[IronCanine]

...and now the hood. One of the hold downs in the back was broken. You can see the repair piece that was made by a previous owner. To our great fortune, the PO kept the broken end of the bracket...Eric rejoined the two original pieces and scrapped the patch.

[Ol Blue K20]

Amazing how clean that metal is.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Amazing how clean that metal is.

Eric is certainly relentless in his preparation.

These bits had a couple of things going for them...I think this was a relatively low hour, mostly shedded piece. More importantly, that dang lacquer paint was stuck pretty darn good with mating surfaces painted more times than not.

A testament to the original paint is that we actually left some in a few places. Either out of respect or exasperation. Eric can tell you which.

[OLDYELLOW]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Eric is certainly relentless in his preparation.

These bits had a couple of things going for them...I think this was a relatively low hour, mostly shedded piece. More importantly, that dang lacquer paint was stuck pretty darn good with mating surfaces painted more times than not.

A testament to the original paint is that we actually left some in a few places. Either out of respect or exasperation. Eric can tell you which.

Exasperation.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by OLDYELLOW

Exasperation.

Figured.