Allis Chalmers Model A- FOUND!!!!

The long search....

Well some of you may have read my previous post on Allis Chalmers tractors in our family, in particular about a Model A Allis Chalmers that my grandfather(Gordon) and his brother(Neil) bought new in 1935 after trading their team of 10 Clydesdale horses to obtain the first rubber tyred tractor in the Sea Lake area. The tractor stayed in the family and was restored by Neil until 1990 when Neil passed. The tractor was then sold to a collector in Romsey Victoria, name unknown. After more than 20 years asking around at Vintage Tractor events and even through car related people in the Romsey area a chance meeting at the Lockington Vintage Tractor Rally in April helped us narrow down the search. Another enthusiast from Romsey knew of a collector but was hazey on a name, a few weeks later he called after remembering the collectors name, but no other details. A bit more asking around and we finally had a contact number. A few attempts were made before finally tracking the person down and amazingly it was the person who bought the tractor from Neil's estate and even better he still owns the tractor. After a great discussion a meeting time had been set and on winters morning we collected my grandmother for a surprise reunion!
It was a foggy morning that greeted us on Sunday and after collecting my grandmother along the way, the mystery tour was in full swing. The fog seemed to get thicker as we progressed so the drive in the Victorian countryside idea was quickly becoming a real "fizzer". We decided to stop for a lovely lunch in Lancefield at a rustic café, The Apsy. With warm food we ventured back into the fog and headed towards the property where the Allis was know located. The owner guided us around to the shed where my grandmother was told we were visiting a private collection of old tractors which made her eyes light up. I told her there was a very special tractor there and she commenced guessing what it may have been but a Model A never crossed her mind. So upon entry to the shed an old McCormick Deering caught her eye, and she asked if this was the real special one we had come to see, of course I said no, it's this one over here.....

My grandmother then told the owner how we had one exactly the same, and I said to her, this IS their old tractor! Silence then tears followed as the enormity finally hit her (and the rest of us that were with her!). The photo above is of me, my mother(Gordon's daughter) and my grandmother with the A Model so dear to my grandfather.

Given we had no record of the serial number and only very limited information on who may have purchased this tractor I am still amazed that it has been relocated, largely due to the help of others listening to my queries and helping join the dots particularly over the past two months.

AP6 Safari update

Well since my last post there has been a hell of a lot more time put into the Safari, special thanks to several people for their help in trying to get the car ready for Chopped, sadly at 10pm on the Thursday before Chopped it was decided the wagon would not be up to the task.

So Ian Cook finished off the exhaust and helped out with a few other odds and ends in the lead up before the car was dropped down to good mate Clive Polidano at Old Time Auto's where the front suspension was all checked over and reworked as the previous workshop had slapped it all together. Many more hours were spent by Clive sorting out a lot of little odds and ends along with making new brake lines and getting the car to a drivable standard.
In the meantime Rob Simons got to work making a good tailgate out of the three I had plus a repo skin.

Time was running out, the week before Chopped we had found an issue with the engine not firing on all 6 cylinders, the tailgate hadn't been finished, the front end needed aligning, we needed a roadworthy and registration, plus lots more little non critical stuff I wanted to do before Chopped. Priorities meant that getting the car running, booking a roadworthy and rego would at least get us to Chopped.
Tuesday night before Chopped the tailgate shell was returned and fitted to the car. Thankfully Rob's guys at Paintcraft had done a pretty good job with some minor hinge alignment the fit was pretty good. Next job was to fit all the mechanisms back inside the tailgate, once again Cookie dropped around to help nut out a few issues with the glass winding mechanism and it was all done. Thursday I had the car booked for a roadworthy first thing, thankfully it passed although on the drive there I noticed the engine still wasn't running awesome even after borrowing a new 600 Holley from Cookie's XM Falcon Coupe. After the roady it was back to Old Time Autos to try and do some further diagnosis where we discovered number 1 was the issue, we tried changing back from Electronic Ignition back to Points, but there was still loads of spark, took the rocker cover off and apart from a lot of condensation all the rocker gear seemed to be working OK. Compression testing revealled good pressure both hot and cold, pressure testing the radiator found no issues either. Gun Engine builder Jamie Bourke from Engine Action was called on and dropped around in no time to help nut it out. We figured it may have had too much moisture in it and a good run out the road may clear it out, after more than stretching it's legs no real change other than discovering when the engine was warm and you ease in the throttle it fires on all 6 cylinders. More changes and diagnosis revealled no fix. I took the car to the Vicroads office where it was issued with a new set of plates in the hope we could trace the issue. After a few more good drives out the road there as no change but it did seem drivable and likely not to do damage before we checked the radiator, all but dry.
So now it looks as though the engine will be pulled out to find what quirky issue lurks.....

 

OK so after getting the AP6 Safari back a year ago, after a 4 year stay at a "Restoration Shop" I have discovered a lot of shortcomings with the work that was undertaken, everywhere from the bodywork to the mechanicals, even some items that were in good condition prior to ''restoration'' are now damaged beyond repair. Despite all of the negatives in recent months work has commenced on getting this vehicle back on the road. The photo above was taken late last month after removing the ''rebuilt'' engine to strip it down and look into some strange issues including a lack of oil pressure. Good friend, expert engine builder and fellow member of the Rich River Rod & Custom Club, James Bourke offered his expertise in diagnosing the issues, and boy did he find plenty! The oil pressure issue was due to a wasp nest that had jammed the rotor inside the oil pump, a burr was also found on the rotor that didn't make it very easy to turn. The upside to that issue was the oil pump drive gear span on the shaft eliminating any camshaft damage. A quick summary of other engine issues include;
The head studs not tensioned, the alloy rocker cover required machining to sit flat, the exhaust valves were all worn out, welch plugs not fitted tight, there was a lot of dirt etc in the cylinders (post machining and bottom end assembly) one manifold stud had been put into a damaged hole (and crooked at that!) and the list goes on.....

After a busy day's work the engine was stripped down, the head hot tanked and new Bronze K Line valve guides were inserted, new exhaust valves fitted and the remainder of the head reassembled. The bottom end was all carefully reassembled before the head was reunited with the block. The engine is now back to the original red and looks more or less as a factory Hyper Pak should. More progress this week has included refitting the water pump, fuel pump, thermostat housing, distributor, intake manifold and headers in preparation for dropping it back into the wagon.

At this point a huge thanks to James Bourke from Engine Action Echuca for his time and expertise!

It's been a while

Well I have been more than slack on the upkeep of the blog, but are happy to report there has been a lot of work done on all our old toys.

Fiona has had a full restoration and will star here shortly, the AP6 Safari has returned to Echuca in less than satisfactory condition and has undergone a complete tear down and start again. And just last weekend we attended the Lockington and District Vintage Tractor Rally with two of our Allis Chalmers tractors on display.

So buckle up as I do some catching up!

Fiona

Here are a few shots from our only ski for the year. After a seemingly successful trial run with the tube, followed by a knee board we pulled out the big guns, I jumped on a Slalom Ski and Belinda slid behind the wheel. We spent Australia Day hanging out with our friends the Bakers at Greens Lake. All we need now is our old wagon to tow the old boat to create the perfect vintage look.







Once home for a cleanup afterwards we discovered things didn't end up all that rosey.....

One very swollen sump tank!

Airflow progress, or lack there of

Sadly there hsas been little to no progress on the Airflow of late, it has basically sat for the last 6 months untouched. I have however sorted through many of the components that I have to see what is going to be servicable and also start planning the steps forward from here. I have also attempted to do a quick mockup of the ride height however it seems I going to have to do some frame modification to get it as low as I would like. I also now have the original spare wheel cover which is very good condition and will be retained after looking at how small the luggage compartment is!

Cars I have owned (or still do)

1970 VG Pacer Sedan as purchased in 1997

1970 VG Pacer Sedan, as it is now in original color, Bondi Bleach White

1970 VG Pacer Hardtop, Thar She Blue

1971 VH E38 Charger R/T, Hemi Orange

1977 CL Drifter Van, Vitamin C

1977 CL 770 Charger, Impact Orange

1970 Hillman Hunter Hustler, Hemi Orange.

1970 Hillman Hunter Sedan, Capri Blue

"Clifford"
1965 AP6 Safari Wagon, Medium Green

1934 CU Chrysler Airflow Sedan, Black