Goin' to the Carwash. . .

Not much has been happening with the OC-3 since it was stacked in the shed for winter. I've been struggling to get the appropriate regulator installed on the spare air tank. The first regulator I bought was defective right out of the box. I never opened the box on the second regulator. Upon getting it home I noticed it didn't meet the max PSI for my compressor. I'll get it right eventually.

In mid-October, on a relatively warm and sunny day I loaded the crawler frame into the back of the mini-van (I really need to get a hitch on that thing) and took it to the car wash. I invested in the "unlimited wash" option. I rinsed, washed, foamed, degreased, rinsed, foamed, degreased, rinsed, washed, and rinsed. The frame cleaned up rather well. It should make the paint stripping process a little cleaner and a little easier.

Engine Stands are a Good Thing

My co-worker George is a very skilled and experienced mechanic on many different levels. It took me awhile to realize, "Hey, I bet George has an engine stand." He sure did and he was kind enough to loan it out to me. It is a slick set-up. It will make it much easier to work on the engine with the ability to rotate it 360 degrees. It also makes it much easier to move it out of the way. . .I just wheel it around. Thanks again George.

A Two-Car Garage?!?

Yep, that is a picture of two cars in the garage. Something that hasn't been seen since last April. The garage is close to original condition. The work bench still needs some organizing, the shelves need to be tidied up, and there is an oil stain on the floor that will probably never go away.

However, the main goal has been met. We stayed one step ahead of Jack Frost. No one had to scrape car windows before work.

Packing the Shed for Winter

Just as you can fit a fully assembled OC-3 into a 12x16 yard shed. . .you can fit a fully disassembled OC-3 into a 12 x 16 yard shed. It just takes a little cleaning and organizing.

The cleaning and organizing actually took the better part of two afternoons last weekend. It had been quite some time since the shed had a good going through. I did have help, my 5 year old daughter was my "helper". She kept track of her breaks in the shade. I lost track after she announced, "I'm going to take break number 8 now."

When we were all done I was able to pack away the OC-3 without using much more floor space than what was occupied by the formerly cluttered version of the shed. In fact, I was able to tell my wife that we had room to park one more OC-3 in the shed if we happened to come upon one. She was not amused.

ANY PICTURE THROUGHOUT THE BLOG CAN VIEWED UP CLOSE BY SIMPLY CLICKING ON THE PICTURE. . .

3,860 Pounds Later. . .

Based on the "operating weight" listed in the manual, I have removed about 3,860 pounds of parts. All that remains is about 100+ pounds of bare frame. If you look back to my first post in April, the OC-3 came into the garage for a change of fluids and some basic maintenance.

Well, six months later we are down to the frame. It wasn't the original plan, but in it will save me years of constant fixing and in the end I think I'll be happy with the final product. The garage will be cleaned up and readied for winter. I'll also be able work on one manageable piece of the crawler at a time in the heated comfort of my garage over the winter. Spring time should be a time of reassembly and painting.

Back to the 50's Night

In 1955, Bill Haley and the Comets were a radio hit with "Rock Around The Clock". Eisenhower was President. The Brooklyn (Not Los Angeles) Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series. James Dean was killed in his Porsche Spyder and McDonald's opened its 9th restaurant. A little bit of time has passed between 1955 and today.

It is probably safe to say that the old Hercules Engine has not been out of the OC-3 frame since it was it was first installed in 1955. I say that because it did not want to leave. It was literally rusted into the frame. All engine mounts were loose but it would not come out. The engine hoist was picking up the engine and frame all at one time.

I couldn't believe it so I crawled all over the frame and engine looking for a bolt that I missed. No bolt was missed. The rear portion of the engine that houses the clutch has two 3"x3" pads of metal that meet up flush with the frame. These tight and flush mounting pads were causing all of the problems - fused by oxidation to the frame. I finally had to bring in my floor jack. I wheeled it under the clutch housing and chained the frame to the floor jack frame - thus creating a modified press. It worked, I was able to press the engine loose.

I re-hooked the engine hoist and I still had problems. The frame still wanted to come with the engine, so I chained the frame down to the engine hoist frame. Out she came, one 1955 Hercules IXB - 4 cylinder engine (about 300 pounds of iron).

Transmission / Differential Housing Out

The next step in the tear-down was to remove the transmission/differential housing. It will be much easier to clean and prep the frame with the housing removed. It will also make it much easier to clean the scum and sludge that still remains inside of the trans/diff housing.

Dozer Frame Off (thank you engine hoist fairy)

Well, my wishes were answered by the Engine Hoist Fairy (my dad). It proved to be the right tool for the job. The dozer mounting structure came off quick and easy. The pictures below are before and after shots (left=before & right=after). I'm sure the engine hoist will be great asset in the future. Thanks again, engine hoist fairy.

She was a working girl. . .

As I spend more time with the OC-3 she reluctantly reveals more of her sorted past to me. My OC-3 was "a working girl", asked to do things that she didn't want to do by bad men who didn't care about her welfare. As I chip through the layers of abuse and neglect I find more evidence that this old OC-3 has lived a hard life.

Sunday was again a very rainy day. I decide to go to the garage to scrape and wash some parts that have not had their turn. With a masterful pitching performance by Johan Santana in the background I took a puddy knife to the final drive housings. After giving the left housing a bath in the parts washer I found a small but significant crack in the housing along one of the bolt holes (the first set of pictures below).

The right housing had an interesting surprise as well. Hidden by massive amounts of dirt and grease, I found a huge braising job from what only could have been a hellacious crack. The braising bead is about 3/4 inch wide by 4.5 inches long. It is found on the outside and inside of the housing (last set of pictures below).

I believe the small crack on the left housing can fixed in a similar way as the right housing. Neither crack should cause any problems with the functionality of the crawler. However, they will be scars that will be with her forever.

More Needle Scaler Work

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and that made it perfect for some more needle scaler work in the back shed (can't needle scale in the garage during the boy's nap time).

I tackled two of the biggest parts from the crawler - the track frames. They are about 5 feet long and weigh about 250lbs. a piece. They are made of heavy steel and are perfect candidates for the needle scaler. My compressor is still waiting for its parts so the process wasn't exactly fast. I would scale an 8"x8" section at a time and then the compressor would need to catch up. During this time I took my drill with a wire brush attached and went over the section I just scaled. It was a fairly efficient and effective process.

A New (old) Bull Gear!

I paid a visit to a fellow OC-3 owner in Burnsville, MN last night. His name is Les and he is a real nice guy that owns three OC-3's. Les was referred to me by Mike *see my "Parts Progress" post on 6/5/07.

Anyway, Les happened to have an extra final drive bull gear that he was willing to sell. The price wasn't bad and the bull gear, although a little worn and rusty, at least has all 72 of its teeth. *See my 5/31/07 post called "Oh Tooth Fairy!"


So, Les and I got talk crawlers for awhile. He shared some stories, tips, and advice.


After my visit, I got to have a great dinner in the big city with my wife. We then stopped by the Mall of America and I stopped by Al's Farm Toys. This was the first time I've been to Al's. It was okay. A small selection of Oliver toys. Way too much John Deere stuff. Overall it was a good night.

Behold the Needle Scaler (wanted: one large air compressor)

I've read several times on forums like http://www.ytmag.com/ that a tractor restorer's best friend can be this odd air tool called the needle scaler. Many swear it beats getting sand in places where the sun doesn't shine - a common hazard of sandblasting.

So, I finally picked up a needle scaler at Northern Tool & Equipment. It was a cheapy but I figured it would do the job.

It is fantastic! It is three times as fast as the little sandblaster I'm using and it is a lot cleaner. It is made up of 19 hardened steel rods that are about 1/8 inch in diameter. The air-gun portion of the tool works like a air chisel. Aparently it very quickly vibrates the needles and off comes the dirt, paint, and rust. . .

One problem I have is my little 15 gallon air compressor. I am able to needle scale for about 45 seconds before it kicks in again. This wouldn't be too much of a problem but my air compressor is dying a slow death right now. It has a worn vinyl sleeve and o-ring (a hazard of the new oil-free air compressors). I ordered the parts at Sears today and they should be here in a week. Anyway, it takes about 4-5 minutes to reach full pressure again. Hopefully the new parts will bring that down to less than a minute in the future.

Anyway, below you will see some of the work of the needle scaler. You can compare the difference between the old yellow paint and areas stripped by the needle scaler.

Overall it was a good three-hours of uninterrupted work in the garage.

Darwin Award Nomination (wanted: one engine hoist)

The Darwin Award is a reoccurring Internet folklore award given posthumously to fools that kill themselves in creatively stupid ways. It was a night with big OC-3 plans. The kids were at grandma's and the wife was out shopping. First step, remove the remaining dozer mounting structure and attached hydraulic system.

Well, I eyeballed it and thought, "It can't weigh that much?" Well, without the proper tools you improvise. I hooked up some tie-down straps to a few eyebolts I had in the ceiling for the kids' wintertime swings. I've sat in the swings, they seemed sturdy enough.

I got the mounting structure about 4 inches off of the crawler and I knew this wasn't a great idea. The straps were creaking and the structure was moving around with a mind of its own. I could keep lifting it hoping the straps wouldn't snap AND if I got it up in the air. . .what was I going to do with it? It was too heavy to muscle to the ground while running the come-a-long with one hand. . .So I gave up my potential Darwin Award and put it back on the crawler.

Wanted: One Engine Hoist. . .I may have to look into renting one of these things - apparently they are designed to safely lift heavy objects up and then roll them out of the way - fascinating.

The Goal

There is certainly a lot of work ahead in the OC-3 Restoration Adventure. And I'm sure there will be a lot of frustration ahead as well. I'm posting this picture as reminder of where I want to go. I certainly will not achieve this level of restoration but I hope to have my OC-3 roll out of the garage looking good enough to make a rather dramatic "before and after" picture.

Going For It. . .

I was sitting on my little shop stool one night peering into the empty transmission/differential case when it occurred to me. . .I don't think I want to tear this thing apart again. Yet, I do want to see the OC-3 restored to a respectable level. So, this is my one shot to tear the old girl down all the way and do it right.

With that mental conclusion made I have been stripping the OC-3 down a bit more. I have been tearing it down with mechanical restoration in mind and now I've been turning a wrench with cosmetic restoration in mind. How can I get this part cleaned and ready for paint? That is the question in mind these days.

This weekend I disconnected and pulled the gas tank. The tank is sizable - 13 gallons. Of course I wasn't able to disconnect the gas line and drain the tank without getting a little bit of a gas bath.

I also pulled what was left of the grill and side tin. This area was butchered by previous owners as they made room for the front mounted hydraulic pump. I might look around for another grill. But as one person posted on http://www.cletrac.org/ "yeah, you and 1000 other guys are looking for that same grill."

I did find out recently that there are alternative parts sources available. It seems that Cletrac (the company that Oliver merged with in 1945) built a wheel tractor that was basically the HG or OC-3 crawler on wheels.

The tractor is called The General http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/tphotos/a34367.jpg and it has the same transmission, an earlier version of the Hercules engine (lots of matching engine parts - like the much needed air cleaner), and the same gas tank, hood, and grill. And to add to the parts possibilities, Cletrac sold the General tractor design to Avery in 1945. The BF Avery Model A is another parts source http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/tphotos/a104086.jpg. The Avery Model A was also sold as the Wards Twin Row http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/tphotos/a17143.jpg. So, when looking for parts I have a few more avenues to seek for results.

After pulling the grill I drained the radiator (and engine block) of its coolant. I then removed the radiator. The radiator seems to be in good/working condition. I'll probably take it in to a local radiator shop to have it flushed, pressure tested, cleaned up, and painted.

I also removed the generator. I knew a long time ago that the generator was not functioning. However, when I opened an inspection cover a bunch of burnt and crispy flakes fell out of the generator. The generator is certainly on its way to a local generator/alternator shop for overhaul.

One last picture of the drive shaft/clutch area. It is now visible because I removed the battery pan. The next item on the list is to remove the remaining dozer blade structure and all attached hydraulic systems (hoses, valve, reservoir tank). After that I go after the clutch.

Peek-A-Boo

It has been awhile since I have posted on the blog and I can't say I've done much on the OC-3. There are a number of things that have slowed things down a bit. First, this is the first time in 5 weekends I've been home. A wide variety of activities have kept me busy the past 5 weekends. However, one weekend was Oliver related. I spent about 8 hours in the seat of my other Oliver, the 550, raking the second crop of hay. I may post a few pictures of Oliver haying in the future.

It is also a bit of a crossroads in the OC-3 restoration adventure. I don't have too much more to tear down and I need to make some decisions about how far I want to go with the restoration. I also need to figure how I'm going to resolve some key issues. How am I going to deal with the broken tooth ? Should I replace the trans/diff case with the extra one I bought or should I repair the old one and "let her buck"? And how am I going to rebuild those rollers?

And then I need to figure out the most cost effective way to order all the parts I need. I'm guessing I'll end up ordering parts from a variety of sources. All of this requires some time and effort to do a bunch of comparison shopping.

I have made some progress recently. First, I was reading in my manual about putting the final drives back together and figured out I need to take the final drive housing/axles off before I can put them back together. So I pulled the axles (washed them up in the parts washer) and turned a wrench to take off the housing. The OC-3 is getting lighter with each step. Notice the before and after.

When talking to fellow OC-3 restorer (and parts source) Mike he said that taking the differential out is relatively easy. I had nightmares of taking it out and having it fall apart into a million gears. Mike assured me that the differential stays together just fine.

So, I decided to go for it. It came out with ease. Now I'm able to give the differential a good scrubbing in the parts washer. It sure beats squirting diesel at it while it sat in the housing. I'm also able to give the trans/diff housing a good scrubbing too.

Next up? I've been thinking about pulling the clutch and installing some new clutch plates. I'm not sure how good the clutch is right now and I cringe at the thought of tearing it down in in the future to re-do the clutch. Right now I'm not too far away from accessing the clutch. It might be worth the time, effort, and dollars.