Okay, I'll play

[PHPaul]

Took this wee beastie in on a barter deal. Satoh S650G with a Mazda 4 cylinder gas engine. Hasn't run in years, but it's loose and the tires are decent.

Missing the distributor and I forgot to grab the hood. Called the guy and "the distributor is around here somewhere" and I'll go back and get the hood tomorrow. The wiring is a disaster which I suspect is why it quit running. Having re-wired a couple of motorcycles from scratch, I have all the tools, connectors, crimpers and other paraphernalia to build a new harness.

Included in the deal was a 3PH wood splitter with a Prince PTO pump. It all looks good and should be usable with some fresh fluid and a couple of hoses. I spent a couple of hours getting it off the tractor as all the hitch balls were rusted to the lift arms and the mounting pins.

 

[bird dogger]

That looks like a very nice project! Will be fun to see your progress, PHPaul.

 

[Roadworthy]

Congratulations on your new "toy". If you get stumped at any point check in with Valley Power. They were a Satoh and Mitsubishi dealer or something. It would not surprise me of that tractor had a Mitsubishi engine, not Mazda as Mitsubishi owns or owned Satoh. http://www.satohparts.com/

 

[PHPaul]

Things are moving along.

Changed all the fluids and flushed the radiator. Radiator is tight which is a relief. Tranny fluid was about half water due to a completely disintegrated shifter boot.

Sourced a new alternator and a carb kit from Amazon of all places. Quite reasonable too. Got the carb rebuilt and reinstalled. Still waiting on the alternator.

Pulled the wiring harness out of it today and it wasn't as bad as it looked. All the wire is fine, most of the individual connectors are good after a little buffing. The multi-pin connectors for the voltage regulator and the alternator were completely trashed, the plastic housings basically turned to dust as soon as I touched them. Ordered a new voltage regulator and found the replacement connectors for the wiring harness. Replaced all the vinyl harness wrap with split loom and retaped it.

Still haven't sourced a distributor, sure hope I can find one.

Popped the tie rod off as one end is bent about 15 degrees out of true. I'll get after that with the torch tomorrow, Maw is frying up a batch of wings and I ain't about to be late for suppah!

 

[PHPaul]

Found a distributor via a junkyard locator service. Coming in from Ohio. Pretty much everything else should be just a matter of assembly and tuning. I will run compression checks before I get too carried away tho. Couldn't see putting a lot of time/effort/money into it until I was sure I could find a distributor.

 

[cliffboyer]

Curios...was distributor from similar era auto?

What size or model of engine?

My old Mazda B2000 2.0l has about 370k on it. They made some tough, durable engines....trucks too.

 

[PHPaul]

It came via a tractor/ag junk yard, so I assume it was from a tractor. The engine is a Mazda PB aka a M4-71G. 984cc 4 cylinder OHV.

 

[PHPaul]

Little update:

While waiting for the distributor to arrive, I rebuilt the wiring harness, replaced the alternator, voltage regulator and ignition switch, and built some new battery cables.

Got all that stuff installed along with a new set of points, rotor and cap for the distributor.

After playing around a bit getting the distributor timed right, I now have it starting and running for a few seconds. Problem now is the carburetor. It looks like the inlet needle valve isn't seating and the fuel pump is pushing fuel past it and flooding the engine out.

Weather has been unseasonably hot (for Maine...) and I packed it in at that point. I'll pull the carb back off tomorrow morning while it's cool and see what I can do about the flooding situation.

All-in-all, I'm encouraged.

 

[PHPaul]

Found a jet hiding behind the bowl drain plug that I didn't realize was there as it was covered in hardened sediment. Cleaned that out and it starts and runs very nicely.

Now on to some front tires, a battery and a seat.

 

[Lil Foot]

Man, that sounds great! Nice job, keep us informed.

 

[Henro]

Very nice thread.

I keep thinking when I read threads like this that I wish I had less on my plate so I could do more things like this.

Of course my plate size has reduced after turning a few years over seventy this year.

 

[PHPaul]

I'll be 70 this fall, don't let a number stop you Henro!

Reconditioning the front rims at the moment, when I had the old tires peeled off they were NASTY. Chipping hammer, knotted wire wheel, electrolysis tank and a little sandblasting cleaned them up pretty good.

Had some really bad pitting on the bead surfaces, filled that with JB Weld and sanded it back smooth. Just need to TIG a washer over one valve stem hole and squirt some paint on them and they're ready. Hope to get the new tires mounted first of the week.

Took the left front king pin and spindle apart to see why the steering was so stiff. 40-odd years of dried up grease will do that apparently. Decided to clean out and repack the hub and wheel bearings but got to looking at the races and decided to put a fresh set of bearings in while I was in there. Waiting on those to arrive.

Once that's done, it should be pretty much finished. Or at least as finished as it's going to get on my watch.

 

[SidecarFlip]

You going to refurb the tin?

 

[PHPaul]

You going to refurb the tin?

Not beyond pounding it roughly back into shape and hitting it with a spray bomb of Rustoleum. My tinbending skills leave a lot (pretty much everything...) to be desired.

I did cut out some rot at the base of the fenders by the mounts and welded in a patch on both sides.

 

[PHPaul]

Finished it up yesterday. Don't need (or even want...) another tractor so put it on Craigslist. First person to make a decent offer takes it. If I can't get what I want for it, I'll keep it for a while.

 

[Magicman]

Wow Sir, you made good time bringing that ole girl back to life.

 

[Lil Foot]

Well done, hope you get what you want for it.

 

[Russell King]

Needs a nose to complete the face on the front end!

 

[PHPaul]

Needs a nose to complete the face on the front end!

Hah! Maybe one of those Minion smiles below the grille! Might just do that if I wind up keeping it.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Yesterday I was driving down a nearby road and saw a tractor similar to that one or maybe closer to my old Ford 8n since it was painted grey and red. It was pulling a mower type Ive never seen before, a row of 4 reel mowers. Doing a really nice job on about 10 acres of lawn.