A Jeep By Any Other Name.... And A New Jeep Pup!

It is Spring on the farm and time to  put the farm jeep to work.  That's Robbie in his farm boots and work  gloves taking a break from helping grandpa cut and load invasive trees.  Robbie was a great help and we are looking forward to many more visits.

While Robbie and grandpa were getting the jeep out of the barn and hooking up the trailer, Robbie asked what we should call the farm jeep.  Grandpa responded that we called the jeep Ole Yeller or just Yellow.  He asked Robbie if he thought it might need a different name and what would be a good one.  Robbie immediately responded "I think Rusty might work."  A good observation, but we think we will stick with something more optimistic.

Spring time rituals

There are a number of antique tractor shows and jeep shows that take place in early May.  So every year about this time, we start scrambling to finish all the preparations we promised to do during the winter months.  This year is no different, but there are no (known) major lift problems and the 3a is running great.  We are working on our on road drive-ability and will take the jeep in for a professional alignment.  The gas gauge still isn't working, but we will just make sure the tank is full before we venture too far.  There are a couple of events where we can drive to rather than trailer the jeep.

We did work on the the lift control valve leaking down.  We believe the valve needs to be refurbished and that will be a winter project.  Since the valve has no seals or O-rings, we will need to modify it or have a replica  made.  After years of searching, we have concluded that there is no valve that can replace it and maintain the original controls.

And meet Teddy

In August of 2005 we announced a new jeep dog had arrived at the farm.  Winnie loved his jeeps and claimed all of them.  Sadly, Winnie left us a year ago.  So earlier this Spring, we found a new jeep dog.  His name is Teddy and we think he will have the same fondness for our jeeps.

Spring Midwest Willys Reunion Coming to Farm Jeep's Home Town!

The Spring Midwest Willys Reunion will be held in Columbus, IN May 19th and 20th.  We are about a 15 minute drive from the location.  We will be there with our farm jeep and hope you join us.  Take a look at the site http://willysreunion.com/swr17.htm for more information.

In other news...

While we had a mild winter with little snow, all the planned work on the farm jeep hasn't happened yet.  We did do some leak-down testing on the Newgren lift, but still have not pinpointed the cause. We suspect it is the control valve.

With days getting (slowly) warmer we are hoping to get out of the garage and on the road to do some high speed (for a farm jeep) driving.  We have taken a few short trips but are hoping to longer runs this summer.

More later.

Can I build a farm jeep using my Wrangler?

That is a common question we receive here at Farm Jeep.  A similar question was just ask on the Early CJ5 forum and it reminded us that we had intended to respond here to the email sent by Denny last summer.  Here is the message -

"Hello gentlemen,
I have a 1994 jeep wrangler 4cyl.
Surprisingly tough little jeep, and super strong in 4lo.
Have wondered if there would be any way to adapt it to cultivate my modest agricultural land. Plow, rake, till, drag, mow, level, etc. Sort of a medium duty tractor substitute.

...."
and Barry's response -
"Denny,

We have been asked similar questions many times.  This is really out of our knowledge zone.  But that doesn't keep us from offering advice. That advice would be to buy a compact utility tractor if you plan on doing anything other than using pull-type implements.

The original design of the argri-jeeps and the early CJ version didn't include a hydraulic lift.  They assumed that the small farmer, their target market, would use the implements they had on hand and had used with draft animals.  After WWII there were still many farms with 40 acres and two mules.  I won't go into agricultural history, but just say that it is safe to say that any modern jeep can be used as a tractor when using these old pull and ground driven implements.  In fact I know that many people are using their jeeps this way today.

...."

- Some more info

Denny's note got us thinking about how we might equip a modern jeep to do tractor work.  Basically, that would mean adding a lift and PTO.  After some searching, we came across this T-Point-Lift-Vehicle-SUV-UTV-3-Point-Hitch  that appeared to be a quick solution for the 3 point hitch,  We attempted to contact the company via email to see if any of their customers might be jeep owners, but never received a response. 

The search for a PTO solution was not successful,  We were assuming we would need to find a hydraulic rather than a mechanical PTO.  We assume a unit could be fabricated, but did not find a ready-made device.  

We did find a number of videos showing modern jeeps towing pull type implements, including this comparison  Farming with a 1953 Willys CJ3a and 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.  

Summer tractor and jeep shows got in our way and we left doing more to answer the question for another day.

- That day 

After seeing the note on the the Early CJ forum (in this case a 1971 CJ5) we decided it was time to revisit the question.  Barry responded to the post saying that he would invest in a Ford 8N or similar tractor for the lift and PTO work the poster wanted to be able to do.  The jeep is still invaluable for hauling and towing.  An 8N can be found for between $2K-$3K, often with a mower (one of the posters tasks).  The above mentioned T-Point Lift was on sale for $1530, but would not provide for the PTO.  The 8N and similar model tractors were the chief competitors of the Farm Jeep and, like the jeep, are easy to work on and parts are readily available.

So did we answer the question?  Sort of.   You can use any jeep to pull implements and with something like the T-Point Lift you could use any modern 3 point implement not requiring a PTO.  But without the PTO we don't believe it wouldn't be a farm jeep in the traditional meaning..

- And then

There is, as Evan often says, a reason the Farm Jeep isn't still around.  The truth is it isn't a very good tractor. The turning radius makes it hard to use in small fields.  You can't see the implement from the driver's seat the way you can on a tractor.  For the farmer of limited means, the farm jeep was a good enough tractor and much better than draft animals.

For the non-field work, a jeep. old or new, is a great farm tool.  Most modern farmers have turned to UTVs for non-field work jobs.  But in a jeep can still do things no UTV  - or tractor - can do, such as driving into town for supplies.  And you can use it as your daily driver.  Get a Jeep!

Signs, Finds and not a Newgren Mystery

We have noted here our desire to have an informative display whenever we are at a show or event.  While we like the free-standing style displays we see at classic car shows, our budget is pretty modest.  So we are searching for alternatives to the waterproof paper and magnets we have been using to display information on the jeep.

We ordered seven magnetic car signs printed with the same information we had used on the paper signs.  The goal is to answer the most commonly asked question of viewers if we aren't around.

In addition to the signs, we had a series of old ads copied and laminated, to replace the three framed ads that we displayed when we were with the jeep.  Because the frames weren't waterproof, we put them away when we weren't around.  Finally we had a neat picture found on the Web blown up and laminated showing a jeep towing a baler and wagon.  The picture is large enough to be seen from a distance and along with the plow, gives the viewer a quick visual clue about how the jeep was used.

The display was well received and certainly an inexpensive move in the right direction.  Viewers enjoyed being able to pick up and read the ads.  The third day of the show was filled with periods of rain, then sun and the waterproofed display made our job easier.  We weren't scrambling to get items out of the wet.

Finds - Our own and others

One of the joys of attending shows with the jeep is talking with people.  We always hear stories of childhood jeep memories and often find that we learn a little more jeep history.  On the second day of the show, three gentlemen approached the jeep and headed straight to the engine.  The three were recently retired from Stant, located in Connersville, IN.   Stant, we learned, is the company that makes all sorts of automotive "caps" - radiator, gas, oil filler - and has done so dating back to the beginnings of the automotive history.  The company made all the beautiful hood ornaments of the 1920s and 30s.

The guys were looking at all the caps on the jeep to see if they where Stant products.  Stant, they explained, made the L-134 oil filler cap/dipstick in a three step process, using a special rivet.  They declared that ours was an original.  The radiator cap was a Stant, but a modern version of the original.  The gas cap was not a Stant and indeed had a bad gasket.  We will need to work on that.

On the third day of the show, a young man stopped by and said he had a 1946 jeep in the barn that his father had purchased in the 70s.  He said it had a PTO and some sort of lift, but it didn't look like ours.  After hearing a description of the lift, we pulled up a picture from the Web site of a Love lift.  He said "That's it!"

It is clear that there is no interest in selling the jeep and we encouraged him to keep the lift on the jeep.  We believe he will do so and look forward to helping him with the lift.

The controls are where?

While looking over the ads mentioned above that we laminated, we noticed  a strange statement on a January 1947 ad titled "YES you can use Hydraulic-Lift Implements with  the UNIVERSAL 'JEEP'.  The statement - "Hydraulic-lift implements raised and lowered by control on the dash." - got our attention.

The ad, which can be seen here, shows the Newgren lift, that normally had the driver control between the seats.  The Monarch Hy-Lo Jeep pump did use a through-the-dash control.  We know that the Monarch pump was used with some Newgren lifts, but we had assumed that was at a later date.

So the question was is this an ad misprint or had Willys (or Newgren) started using Monarch pumps in place of the original Newgren unit. The answer appeared as we were reviewing the information we have on the Love lift.

As can be seen when comparing the ad above to this newspaper report (thanks to ewillys.com), the photo is the same.  Our assumption is that the lift in the ad was a Newgren was our error.  The earliest Love lift did use controls on the dash.

Update - Not our error

Just look at this undated announcement of the Newgren lift -
http://farmjeep.com/img/lifts/newgren/Newgren%20Lift%20Brochure.pdf

Same picture again and yes that is a Newgren lift in every picture.  But still strange timing...

Bantam plow update

In February of 2015, we posted the great news that two Bantam plows had been found. You can read the first post here and the update here.  David Tracy has just posted an article on his trip to the Omix-ADA headquarters titled "The World's Biggest Aftermarket Jeep Parts Company Is My Paradise".  Among the pictures of the company's museum is a Bantam plow.  A quick note to Omix-ADA has confirmed this is one of plows found by Ted.

We hope to visit the Omix-ADA museum one day to see the plow.

And the winner is......

Farm Jeep is at the county fair this week.  We were at the fair a couple of years ago, but without the plow attached.  We were given a blue ribbon for "best in class".  As the only jeep in the tent, we were pretty sure we could repeat that feat.

This year has been different.  We were given a prime location at the front of the display, in the center of the tent.  The jeep had been a big draw at its last appearance and the organizers want it to be in a prominent spot.  We have the same display we use at tractor shows and visitors receive a brief bit of farm jeep history.

When we arrived at the tent for our daily visit, the director of the exhibit said that judging had taken place and we had been awarded a ribbon.  We walked around to the jeep and there where 3 ribbons hanging from the mirror!  The jeep was sporting Reserve Grand Champion ribbons.  Pretty cool...

The judge for the exhibit was from northern Indiana.  He had divided the exhibit in to two classes; general tractors and agricultural machinery.  The latter class included self propelled machines and tractors with attachments.  With the plow attached. the jeep was included in this class.  There were only 5 machines in this class, so our odds were good.  Still we enjoyed the recognition.

The winner is....

Since we were number 2, we were curious about the winner.  It is a beautifully restored 1938 Allis-Chamlers WC tractor pulling a 1941 grain harvester.  This exhibitor had also provided some history and that is, we are sure, one of the reasons it received the Grand Champion.  Congratulations!

Happy 4th, a thanks and an apology to Newgren

Its the 4th of July and Farm Jeep is heading to the county fair!  We've been invited to be a part of the antique machinery exhibit, and as the only farm jeep entry, we are sure to be a winner.  We will show off our ribbon later.

Thanks to those of you who have given us nice compliments and good suggestions for moving Farm Jeep forward. Over the next few months we will be incorporating those changes.

Meanwhile - one more try

We have, as recorded here in gruesome detailed, been chasing leaks and problems with the Newgren lift. The only possible remaining leaks had to be on top of the reservoir.  That meant lowering the lift one more time.   For future reference, we took notes and lots of photos of the disassembly process. We plan to post them at a later date.  For now, we will simply summarize the process.

Removing the lift or just lowering as in this case involves a few simple steps.  You need to remove the PTO shaft and the rear gear box.  Next you need to support the lift frame and remove the bolts at the front and all the bolts at the rear.  Then lower the unit, with all the hoses still attached.

The strange looking object pictured here is the jack we use to raise/lower the lift.  We took a Harbor Freight low lift transmission jack and added a "jig" made of scrap metal.  While not pretty, it makes the raising/lower of the lift a one person job.

With the lift lowered, we could reroute some of the hoses and remake connections with thread sealer made for hydraulic systems.  The lift was then put back in place by raising the jack and replacing the bolts. But before we replaced the the PTO, we decided to test the lift.

And the good news is.

The lift worked perfectly!  It lifted the 450lb plow with ease.  No foaming or pressure build up in the reservoir.  There is only one remaining problem - the lift starts to slowly drop once it is raised.  It doesn't matter if the pump is running or not.

The bad news is that we believe we have damaged a seal in the cylinder.  During some of our efforts to correct problems, we introduced excessive pressure on the seals.  That means we will need to have the cylinder rebuilt in the "off season".  For now, we will simply place a piece of steel between the cylinder cap and the lift block to lock the lift in the up position when we need to transport the plow for any distance.

What we have learned.

Over the years, we have tried to learn as much as we can about hydraulic systems.  Because the Newgren lift's hydraulic system is different than modern systems, we questioned the engineering. What we have learned is that it is in fact a simple and even eloquent solution to a problem for single action cylinders.

Single action cylinders require a port or breather hole to allow air to escape or enter as the piston is moved in and out.  That port is normally open to the environment.  With the cylinder on the farm jeep just inches from the ground, it is in an extremely dirty/dusty area.  So how do you keep the port clean and open?  You design a "closed system" by using and reusing the air in the top of the reservoir. So the mystery "bleeder hose" that runs from the bottom of the cylinder to the top of the reservoir is a simple means of getting clean air in/out of the cylinder.   No dirt or dust can enter the cylinder.

So we humbly apologize to those engineers at Newgren who designed this lift system.  It was only our lack of a basic understanding of hydraulics that caused many of our problems.  We finally get it and look forward to years of trouble free operation.