And I came home with two dollars

[Klapatta]

Went to a local engine show today. Good thing I had a spare Benjamin tucked away, there's never any telling what you can turn up.
So this 128 wound up jumping into my Son's trailer, it came along with a solid 42" QA deck. My first wide frame. Help

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Here it is on the ground. This should get interesting.

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Picked up a K series engine, I have no idea why it is Ford blue because it is a Cub bolt pattern with the three pin driver and basket pulley. I have it soaked up with PB blaster down in the basement. Turns with nice compression. More money, duh.

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Now on to the OTHER hobby. This is a Hallicrafters S 40B short wave radio receiver that happened to come along. I have identified it as made in 1955. It covers 530 Kilo hertz to 44 Mega hertz. Too bad that it's not single side band oh well. Most commonly known as a boat anchor this thing is built like a tank. Retail price in was 1955 $89.95. Adjusted for inflation today that's $994.40.

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Like Cubs they don't make them like this anymore.

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8 tube receiver. All switches and pots are smooth as well as the dial tuner and band spread control. Like compression in a long idle engine these are good signs. Replacement tubes if needed are easy to obtain as well as the complete recap kit that it will need, and a wiring diagram will also be obtained.
It will be up on the bench for a long time. I don't even think of plugging this one in until it has gotten a good going over least the magic smoke get out. Once brought up to specification and aligned, it will take it's place on the shelf alongside the others.
And that is why I came home with two dollars. Damn, that was fun!

[Klapatta]

I attempted to remove the carb and the entire engine moved. No bolts in the oil pan at all. Aluminum pan. Someone had laced springs, wire, and blocks of wood as a method of holding the engine in place. Just amazing.

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So now's a s good a time as any to rebuild the clutch, I think it needs it.

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The clutch fingers on the front pto are mutilated too but one thing at a time.

[Klapatta]

The deck cleaned up real nice and it's been placed into storage. The center spindle has a little bit of play and the outer two are nice and tight.

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The PTO was a bit of a struggle to get off but there's been worse.

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The threads in the oil pan are much better than expected, the worst one is missing two full threads and that's all. I'm going to run it the way it is with new hardware that makes use of the most threads possible. I think they just became loose and backed out, I'm noticing loose hardware everywhere on this one.

[Tom Scott]

Ken, very satisfying to stumble onto unexpected finds like this!
And as expected, one day later, Ken is already making serious headway on that 128!

[JMotuzick]

Ken
You will find the 128 is very similar to the narrow frames, just a bit more access! Zagray is only a few weeks away, you should make the trip south for parts… put a list together and mike and I can set you straight!

[Klapatta]

The goal is to get it back together and running properly before the foul weather sets in. I have everything on hand to get the clutch and engine back in A#1 condition. The carbs and clutch discs are in my carry bag and I'll toss the 2 disassembled carb bodies into the wash tank and resurface the discs this Evening.
On another note the recap kit for the radio has been sourced. Hayseed Hamfest are great folks to deal with and the entire kit will total just over $50.
I will be asking questions later. Not quite understanding what is going on with the hood hinge and lock downs. That can wait. No doubt there are still undiscovered gremlins still left to be discovered.
My Son is fabricating up a heavy mesh grille screen to replace that missing plastic thing.
A couple of things I have noted so far though. The factory tires are in outstanding condition. The factory seat seems too good to be true. The steering is tight. The tie rod ends are covered with factory paint and show almost no slop.
I'm suspecting that in spite of the issues I'm seeing this may well be a very low hours machine, even the mower deck seems to support that.

Oh by the way can anyone tell me if this model had the PTO clutch braking system on it or not?

[JMotuzick]

Pto brakes where later s/n tractors only. IMHO they are more trouble than they are worth. Rebuild the original pto and don’t try to convert.

Hood hinge is a piano hinge they often fail. Last I checked they could be bought new reasonably, but that was a few years ago, I wouldn’t doubt that they have gone NLA.

Hood hood downs are a bit of a PITA too, I normally just rest the hood on the support and forget about it!

[Klapatta]

Thank you Joe. I was unsure of what that PTO setup was with so much smashed up.
Moving forward a bit at a time-

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[JMotuzick]

Ken the pto kit is different (mike has them) use the WF triangle spring double them up. You may also have 1 or 2 neutral start switches, one for the clutch and one for the pto. Pto switch was a later s/n thing too.

[Klapatta]

Thank you again Joe. So this one uses the dual spring, non braking center button then. It was so messed up that I was not clear with what was going on.
It can wait for now, I'm focusing on making a running and driving machine first-
Someone did put a real effort into that muffler though-

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By the way here's the sum total of what was intended to hold the engine down.

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[JMotuzick]

Ken
The cool part about w/f tractors is that you can do the pto after. No need to install the grill/hood. All of those parts are not really needed for testing. Just be aware, the grill is cast iron for a reason!

[DaveKamp]

Ken- the S40B doesn't have an 'SSB' position, nor a product detector, but it'll receive SSB just fine using the same method it'll receive CW...

Turn on the Beat Frequency Oscillator... pick RF and IF filter widths closest to the vicinity of 2.5khz then adjust the receive frequency and Beat Frequency until you hear the proper phasing of voice (one sideband will be inverted, the other will be correct).

It'll do pretty well. I use BFO on my Hammarlund HQ-140X, the R-390A, even my Gonset G50... works well... not as well as a product detector, but plenty well enough to work.

If it has 'black beauty' capacitors, replace THEM... and any others that are either questionable, or easy to determine and access. Connect the unit through a variac and bring up the voltage slow (over a day or two's time) to re-form the rest of the capacitors.

[Klapatta]

The variable BFO control on my entery level S- 120 does exactly what you talking about, it's a really nice feature for such a budget minded rig. I recently had it replaced along with the all other service work that was performed.

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I picked up the S-40B because the price was right but really this is a mid level featured unit, I'd really rather have it been a top of the mark SX 99 or SX 100. So it may wind up on eBay, I'm on the fence at this point. It is filled with the old style paper wax coated caps which are really 70 year old black beauty's without the outer shells so there is no further need to test, they all need replacing. I'd bet that half of all the resistors are out of their 20% tolerance band too, specially the larger wattage ones. I have sourced a complete recap kit for it for fifty bucks. One things for sure, this one has plenty of room to work inside with.
My S-118Mk 2 is currently my Saturday night go to rig now. It's a nice selective, compact receiver.

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It was recently restored by a professional and I could not be more pleased with it. I could of worked on that till the cows come home, get frustrated, and never have it looking that good!

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Restoration work was performed by the one and only Hallirestorer, and It is my honor to have him do this work done right for me. Check out his Facebook page, it's astonishing !

But enough of that for now. What I really need right NOW is that bushing for the three pin driver.

[DaveKamp]

Okay, here's a sample...

National NC109 general coverage reciever, partially disassembled awaiting parts

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Hallicrafters SX-101A general coverage receiver, with product detector for high-quality SSB! Sitting atop Central Electronics CE20V phasing transmitter, sitting atop 160-10m 2kw amplifier built by W9AT John in 1949

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Motorola built R390A/URR, formerly US ARMY

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[DaveKamp]

And then there's...

Gonset G50 6m tranceiver, with KW0D solid-state power rectifier mod and 8.400 crystal for 50.400 TX

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Gonset Communicator transceiver, with crystal for 50.4mhz TX

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Heathkit SB-303 general coverage receiver

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Heathkit HW-10 'Shawnee" 6m AM transceiver, and on top, a Small Wonder Labs DSW-40 synthesized digital 40m QRP tranceiver

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[DaveKamp]

Next up... the antique CE's...

Top left, a Central Electronics CE-20A phasing transmitter, and to the right, a CE 458 VFO for 160-10m
underneath a rather special example of the Central Electronics 10A multiphase exciter, atop what is supposedly a 'prototype' kilowatt power amp and power supply built by Wes Schum W9DYV...

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[DaveKamp]

And then...

A pair of Swan 250 (aka 'Too Drifty') 6m SSB/CW/AM tranceivers...

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And the 'real thing'... The Drake Twins... T-4XB transmitter, atop an R-4B receiver, all atop a Hallicrafters-built combination power supply and speaker

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[Klapatta]

A most impressive collection of short wave gear from the golden age of ham for sure there Dave! I am very fond of the old vintage rigs produced by Hallicrafters, Zenith, and Fischer from back in a time when made in USA meant something. Try finding an American made radio today, good luck with that. When I relocated 25 years ago I had no choice but to give most of all that away as I could not take it all with me. An Eico tube tester, a working Fischer 800C, A Realistic 6 meter tuner, boxes and boxes of tubes, all long gone. Of course in those days that stuff was worth almost next to nothing. Now, what was old has become new again. I'd really like to get a hold of a SX-133 receiver but they are very difficult to come across, that was right around the end of the road for Hallicrafters. I have been looking around for a long time for one and ones that do turn up are altered or abused.
It's important that these older rigs need to be turned on and used at least once a month for a minimum of a half hour or so which is why I tune in to Cousin Brucie 77 ABC New York on Saturday night!

I searched around in my collection of parts and did manage to turn up with a new 3 pin driver bushing! I fabbed up a little alignment removal and install tool for that and it did it's job well. Pushing it in does manage to crush down that bushing a bit and had to bore it out a smidgin so it would slip on the shaft.

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But now there's another set back. It seems that someone put a 1/4" bolt in the rear drive shaft connector instead of a spirol pin so now that hole is all wallowed out. I have one spare connector made a long time ago left but it is fitted to a narrow frame drive shaft so I'm going to have to knock that apart and swap them out. The classic Cub Cadet snow ball affect strikes again!

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[BigMike]

The question I have is is how did you still come home with 2.00?
Now you’re getting like Dag!
In for a penny, in for a pound!!!

[dag1450]

W3ABN.... calling BIG MIKE...W3ABN calling BIG MIKE....you got your ears on BIG MIKE? Lol. Those were my grandfather's call letters. I got to talk on his ham radio as a child and I remember it being lots of fun. We would talk I believe almost around the world. I believe he was pretty early in ham radio as he probably got into it in the 1920-30s. He had a spare bedroom that looked like a war room on a battleship...and I kid you not...an old raido the size of a small refrigerator from an old war ship. Lol. Me and my brothers would pretend we were sending messages via Morris code. He had a couple of the "tappers" and we would sit there and pound out messages ...in our own code of course. Lol. I remember a big sign on top of one of his radios said "danger 5000 watts". Lol. So all these old raido pictures brought back floods of memories. Thanks guys. W3ABN Signing off !

[BigMike]

"2" of freezing rain and a foot of snow!"
That was a common way of one of the locals to let everyone know he had his ears on. Yes Dag, I was a CB guy!.....I have to this day my peaked Teaberry, my 125 watt amp, my echo box and my dual fiberglass whips.

Sounds like we got us a convoy! I'm going start another thread for this as not to totally derail Kens rebuild of his 128.
Keep the shiney side up and the dirty side down, Big Mike'll see ya on the flip!

[Klapatta]

This is cleaning up nice. there was lots of grease and pine needles.

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Hey, I don't have to lay down on the ground to get at the drive shaft!!!

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I'm going through my spare parts to see what I have and what I need to order-

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I have the little S-120 playing and it's locked solid on WRMI from Okeechobee, Florida at 5.950 Mc. This is in a below ground basement with six inch thick concrete pour and no external antenna. Imagine what I'd pull in if I had the 95 foot half dipole hooked on
This one has a history, I've owned it since 1965.

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There's all the spare parts I may need from the donor engine if I have to.

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[Clank]

Nice score Ken! And cool radios; I collect old tube radios too!

[Klapatta]

It's a lovely day outside. Some hot soap and water, white rubbing compound, and wax can go a long way.

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Someone did a pretty decent axle bushing repair.

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This one did not wander far from home.

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And it has half a lighter.

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[Klapatta]

The drive shaft is in very nice shape. The rear connector was obliterated. This obviously was from the engine not being bolted down. The front pilot bushing was mutilated too.
I replaced the rear connector. When I make these things I like to add provision for a screw in grease fitting. I think it helps out a lot against wear.

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At first I thought that I was just going to install a nice used clutch disc. Now I see that the throw out bearing is less than brand new so now I'm going to replace everything in the drive line that shows wear. CaChing more money. Might as well make it right.

I removed the rear tires to check and clean the brakes. Their both in real nice shape. Did not even have to make any adjustment. Simply amazing.
So while I was at that I added on a set of wheel weights. Everyone likes wheel weights

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I think that's enough for today.

[Klapatta]

Today was about getting the front end proper. Clean and tighten up everything. Change out the broken zerk fitting and lubricate.

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Changed out the oil in the rear end and on both those engines. Little much else to do at this point without new parts.

[BigMike]

Ken, I’m a little jealous. Of all the Cubs I have had I never found a wide frame gear drive. I really like hydro’s but still have a soft spot for gear drives.
You are going to have a really nice tractor when you’re done.

[dag1450]

Looks great Ken! Yeah working on the drive line frome above is almost fun! I like that grease fitting idea too!
As to Big Mike being jealous of kens new gear drive ..lol. I guess I better not share some of my new toys , or I might find him at my screen door peeking in ... asking to play.

[BigMike]

At least I’m only peeking through screen doors there shrub boy

[Klapatta]

While I'm waiting on parts I'm gonna try getting this blue lump running. When rotated by hand it makes all the right blowing and sucking sounds so it just may have a chance.

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The coil, condenser, and spark wire all check out good. New points, push rod, and plug. The carb is rebuilt. The gov adjustment was WAY off. It has the studs for the gas tank mount so bolting one on is no issue. Definetly Cub yellow underneath, why then a fuel pump?
When I get the chance to I'll drag it outside, attach a starter and battery and give it a spin.