Old Nellie- the sputterbug!!

[broncosbybart]

Old Nellie is the name my dad gave to his old Ford 8N tractor when I was little. He liked to mess around with it and occasionally tear up the yard or make me fill the bucket up with firewood. This thing sputters along just like that tractor did.

Bought this thing to tinker with. Found it down in Spartanburg. It has a 76 tub, straight 6, C4 auto, twin sticked D20, D44 front with discs and ARB, heim joint steering, PS, stock rear 9" with mini spool, Duff's long travel shock setup, and several 'budget mods'.

I don't plan to go crazy with it. It is pretty well hammered, as it is a trail rig. Going to clean it up a bit and get it back into shape. This is what it looked like fresh off the trailer.

[broncosbybart]

With Clay's help we got the nose metal torn off of it. I got some fenders, a hood, and a grille from Mike D in SC. Thank you Mike and always good to hang out with a fellow EB nut!!

Here are some pics of what was underneath it. Plenty of rust. Someone spent some money on paint when they swapped the body. Painted right over the rust and everything! Suits me just fine. I had to drill the rivets out of the door inserts where they attach to the sheet metal backing plates.

[broncosbybart]

She had a bunch of wiring nightmares going on. 2 alternators, solenoids, switches, fuses, terminal blocks, and lots more.

My philosophy is keep it simple. Planning to fit a 130A 3G alternator in place, remove all the 'extras' and put a few relays in for cooling fans. I will have to chase down some issues as both batteries were dead and several things didn't work (lights, dash gauges, ARB compressor, etc).

I removed the one alternator that was wired all funky. The fan belt it used was literally about 1/8" thick. It looked like a belt used in a R/C car. After that, I removed alternator brackets and the exhaust manifold hidden underneath. It had a bad exhaust leak as the bolts were loose and a few of the gaskets were blown.

Here are a few unexciting pics. All that rats nest of wire on the driver's side will be gone!

[broncosbybart]

I cut the lower corners off the grille. Also cut the front fenders and stripped the paint off them and the hood. The hood had about 1/4" of bondo all over it. What a mess!

[broncosbybart]

Got some more work done. Replaced the exhaust manifold gasket. Gave her a tune up and checked compression while I was as it. Had 175 PSI on all 6 cylinders. Wahoo!

The 6th spark plug had a crack in it (no- I didn't do that while removing it). It was kind of hard to get at. Easy to see how that could have happened.

Also relocated the oil filter back to the engine. Whoever put the relocation kit on it decided that right next to the front driveshaft would be an ideal location.

cratchhe:cratchhe:cratchhe:

[broncosbybart]

While I was there, I painted up the engine compartment and installed a new master cyl. This one was leaking past the piston and into the front of the brake booster cavity.

I decided on a nice shade of green. That is the color of money after all. The can of paint I used cost a whole $8.

[broncosbybart]

Got the nose metal stripped of the old paint. Then I cut and massaged somewhat into place.

[broncosbybart]

Change threads if you are weak of heart. Got the cutting discs out and had some fun. No going back now!!!!

Never did get a chance to ride Tellico, but I have some of Tellico here on my property now. Sad really.

[chuzie]

Yikes! Put the cutting disc away, please!

I think I'm going to relocate my oil filter to the drive shaft. Best idea ever. Nothing could you possibly go wrong there!

[broncosbybart]

Well, she's done. I wanted to go with John Deere green to complete the putt-putt theme, but the color didn't cooperate. Here's a few pics.