Starting on the '50

[bob in CT]

The new and improved alternator bracket is welded and trimmed to fit. I like the cleaner installation of the coil, which is just like the later Long Stripe setup- bolted directly to the distributor base.

[bob in CT]

Dropped the radiator off today for cleaning and pressure testing. Not many shops around anymore. Just like automotive machine shops, they have become specialty shops rather than essentials.

I slapped the wheels on so I can roll it around. Still have a lot of futzing to do. I am going to run a 1-1/4 stack out of the exhaust, so that means some work on the hood opening. Waiting for the radiator install to get some good measurements, but by first eyeball, the hood hole is no centered to the exhaust opening, so there may be a bit of work involved. The hood was painted when I bought the tractor, but is had a big fisheye flaw so it needed to be sanded and re-shot anyway. Always something.



The next project, starting very soon, is to pull the motor out of The Beast, also known as Attila the Fun. I was able to wash it and smoke the tires a bit today.

[bob in CT]

"There's always something"- Gilda Radner

Been futzing around fitting up a choke cable to operate the choke on my Zenith carb. I had one on the shelf, so I reamed a round hole in the choke lever slot for the cable. Loosely rigged it up and discovered the carb was chokes with the pull rod in and not choked with the rod pulled out. Not acceptable. Then the cable housing was not clamping in the carb, so I "fixed" that with a cable stop from my bicycle parts drawer. Then the metal sleeve that attaches to the nut and boss assembly at the dash slipped out which it probably why it ended up on the shelf. I priced out choke wire assemblies and those things run up to $60 EACH! Plan B: I glued the end stop onto the spiral wound housing with JB weld and let it set overnight. This morning I soldered the sleeve to the stop nut so not the cable was good to go.

The carb on my 77 was pretty nasty so I figured it was a good time to pull that off and take care of two carb projects and have the OEM unit available to match the linkage setup. The choke butterfly is not perfectly round. It tips a little forward or a little back when it is closed to choke the throat. My carb for the '50 was tipping back so all I needed to do was remove the butterfly and screw it on in the forward tip position and the cable push/pull would inverse to the way it should be. Re-routing the cable and setting the linkage stops differently was another option, but not as elegant.

Here is the choke as it is set up on a Long Stripe:

Open (note the lever is forward meaning the knob would be push in when running):



Closed:



Easy, right? Not so fast.
"There's always something"



That little boss prevents me from tipping the choke as it will not allow it to fully open. I need to grind it away or re-route the cable.

[tst]

You can use the old choke rod and arm on the zenith also

[bob in CT]

You can use the old choke rod and arm on the zenith also

Not the way this choke opens.

[Don McCombs]

I believe that you need to move the choke lever mechanism to the other side of the carb. Then it will work with the rod. Do you have a copy of the manual?

[bob in CT]

Don, I did that. Not the best approach for the cable but I will make a stand-off bracket to keep it well away from the exhaust manifold. There is a lot of flexibility in moving the cable stop, but it would have been easier if the choke plate could have been flopped in the throat like the OEM carb on the Long Stripe. I started on a bracket, but the material may not be rigid enough. Need something like the twisted one for the speedo cable.

[bob in CT]

STARTED the '50!

[Peter Person]

STARTED the '50!

Congrats Bob.....but what does it look like now?
Almost 10 years after you bought it!

Peter

[bob in CT]

I know, Peter. I'll put up a pic. Probably has not changed all that much, but it looks like my image links disappeared.
Been trying to start if for a few days and I finally took out the Pertonix, installed points, timed it and gassed it up. Then I had some fun plucking out Russian Giant sunflower seeds the mice stashed in the dry radiator as they burbled up.
I was going to get this going AND build a new motor for my Tiger last winter, but as usual life interrupted. We sold our last rental property in Dec but my friend that lived across the street passed away about 10 days before we closed. He died without a will and I volunteered to help a cousin to admin the estate. Aunts and uncles lived in the 3-family and all their stuff was in the basement and 4 car garage. Plus Bob was a bit of a hoarder and a major gun collector and I had to haul out at least a TON of ammunition on the QT hidden in plastic buckets because the neighborhood is really bad. We were lucky and I was able to clear it out without any break-ins. Plenty of other challenges though, like when the sewer authority cut off the line to the street. Anyway, now I am fully retired and riding my bike 100+ miles a week. My mission to to get the Cub done, Tiger sorted, and wall off a mouse-proof space in the barn for my "extra" car (registered a new-to-me car yesterday). I want to park our daily drivers in the garage this winter and I'll put the Tiger sideways in the back.

[Don McCombs]

Good to hear from you, Bob. Hope to see you at Cecil's in October.