Project "Bantam" - easy rust removal through chemistry and electricity

I was going to media blast the rust off, but I recalled an electrolysis process which might work well.  Since I just lent out my media blaster, I figured this was an easy enough thing to try on a sunny afternoon.  I rigged up a variable power supply with ground fault protection, and overcurrent / short circuit protection.  Its not fancy but it works.  The autotransformer (variac) feeds an isolation transformer which has a huge 24vac secondary.  I put a 5 amp breaker in series with the variac output to protect it.  The limiting factor is the rectifier which is protected by a 10 amp fuse.  I also put a ammeter in series to watch the action and adjust the variac as needed.

I got a plastic tub, which I estimate to hold 12 gallons, and filled it with the appropriate mixture of water and soda ash (sodium carbonate).  The grocery store had a nice box of Arm&Hammer Washing Soda in the detergent isle.  I applied power, and watched for smoke!  It was eventful enough to get some nice bubbles form on the electrodes as the variac was dialed up to 3 amps DC current drain from the tank.  Now I just watch and wait while chemistry takes the labor out of rust removal.

Process Started 

Witches brew of ions and oxides

Unfortunately, its going to be too hard to get the whole tractor frame in a tank big enough.

The results were rather good.  The old paint and rust just came right off after about 24 hours of electrolysis.  The anodes needed scraped clean every so often as the current dropped off due to the increased resistance.  After removing the grill from the tank, the smallest pits of the original casting were free from rust.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The wire brush took care of the rest of the residue with a minimal amount of scrubbing.  The resulting "black rust" magnetite conversion scrubs right off.  I shot the grill with a quick coat of primer to avoid any more red iron oxide rust.  The whole surface will need to be glazed and sanded with a fine grit to eliminate the appearance of any pits once the top coat is applied.

Project "Bantam" - a protective layer of filth

With every oily rag machine there is some aspect of "filthy protective layers".  This is where one layer of filth is covered by a subsequent one and preserves the original paint where no rust forms.  I took the frame out and power-washed it this morning to discover original paint peeking out under where the engine mounts, and inside the transmission tunnel.

Also the worst of the rusty spots were uncovered.  These will require cutting, patching, and welding.

The transmission and diff were so covered in filth that the power washer didn't even touch it.  I got out the high strength (non water based) parts cleaning solution and scrubbed the affected areas.  I'll have to let it sit, and come back and do it again.

A concerning issue is that the input shaft diameter has been affected by a locked up pulley bearing.  I'll have to figure out how to deal with that.  The U-joint seems to be awfully dry, but still operational.  The zerk fitting is rusted beyond all hope.  Not quite enough protective filthy layer there.

The serial number plate is fairly well preserved.  The model number and serial can still be read.  There was some corrosion behind the plate.  I ground off the rivets from the back and punched them through.  The plate came off without any problem.  I did the same with the Poyter dog plate.  Its not quite so good condition.  Its faded, and has got some Rustoleum primer on it from +20 years ago.

Finley was out helping a little bit this morning.  He quickly tired of the tedious operation of scrubbing off the filth.  He insists that the tractor be painted red, instead of the original orange.  The decision is yet to be made.

Next operation will be to continue to scrub the filth off before administering the sand blasting.

Project "Bantam" - Parts

There's nothing worse than starting a project to find that you can't get something that you need.  So any parts that are truly unobtainable, must be treated with the greatest care.

Here's a list of what I think I'll need and where I might obtain them:

• Rear tires 4.8" wide by 8" rim (herringbone pattern) - Miller Tires
• Magneto Coil
• Refit of modern coil
• original Magnamatic coil - 290880
• Standard ignition coil if I'm going for electric start mod... hmmmmm
• Engine parts from Sears Parts Direct
• Seal 290932 
• O-ring 66648
• Seal 291106 
• Governor Spring - 26643
• Condenser - 291369
• Parts from Rare Garden Tractors
• Bantam Hood decal $8.00 pair
• Bantam Rear Tunnel decal $6.00
• Bantam brass clutch fork $35.00
• Bantam upper steering gear $35.00
• Bantam 5000 steering shaft bearing $20.00
• Bantam shifter lever w/ball $20.00
• Bantam rear axle sleeve bearing (#5354) $20.00 pr
• Bantam rear axle seals (#5351) $20.00 pr
• Bantam 5000 cast alum. steering wheel $45.00
• Bantam 5000 rear fenders (covers tires) $90.00 pr
• Bantam gas tank $85.00
• Differential parts - (from restore process here)
• Bearings
• 2 ea Cluster Gear Bearing Front and Rear #B-1212 Torrington USA
• 2 ea Spline Shaft (and worm) Bearing Front #88504 ND USA
• 2 ea Rear Axle Main Bearing #3206 New Departure USA
• 2 ea Rear Axle Sleeve Bearing #21 GP Johnson Bronze - [not sure about this one]
• Rear Axle Sleeve Bearing 2 ea. 5354 BRBU 1418-08
• Main Drive Gear Bearing 1 ea. 8306 Truck Kraft TKK-TK470954
• Seals
• 2 ea Oil Seal- Rear Axle Federal Mogul 254287
• 1ea Oil Seal- Splined Shaft- Frt. Federal Mogul 470954
• Throttle Cable
• Various fasteners

Project "Bantam"

The year was 1978 and my father's friends needed a mowing machine for their airfield in West Fairfield, on Sweeney's farm.  Karl found a well used Bantam 5000 from a golf course, and paid a whole $50 for the tractor and gang mowers.  The Bantam was used to plod up and down the airfield for the years that they rented the corn field.  At the ripe old age of 4, I learned to drive it and also avoided hitting any airplanes.

After the interest of flying in West Fairfield was over, the renting of Sweeney's field ended.  All the equipment was hauled away.  John took the huge roller and wind sock.  The airplanes were either sold or stored.  John sold his, Karl kept his for years, and my father's was stored in our garage at home, with the wings removed and lashed to the ceiling.  The landing reflectors, the Bantam and the mowers lived in our woodshed for years.  The Bantam was outfitted with a belt-driven pump and an 80 gallon tank.  I was able to fill the tank by tossing the suction line into the creek.  The purpose was to provide convenient irrigation of the LARGE vegetable garden we maintained.   When it wasn't pumping and hauling water, it was occasionally used to haul wagons of wood.  We also fitted a makeshift snow plow to it for winter duty, but it was never really used for mowing anymore.  It began to fall into disrepair, and sat in the woodshed from the late 80's until yesterday.

Fits nicely in the back of a Chevy Equinox

Wrong front wheel.

My first ride is a bit rusty.

I don't want my own son to miss out on the joy of driving his own pint-sized tractor, so we began the restoration process.  Actually we started the tear-down process.

The FB14 5.0 HP engine turns over, but it has no compression, or spark.  The magneto died years ago, and I'm sure the valves are stuck.  Luckily there is a small following for the Bantam series of garden tractors, and I should be able to get some technical support (and maybe even some parts) for the restoration.
www.bantamtractor.com

 

Problems include:

• Rusty fenders
• Broken steering pinion
• magneto shot
• shroud rusted through
• tires shot
• front wheel missing
• broken steering wheel

Watch for more action to come...