mouldings best 30

[Moulding]

geting close on finishing the gas tank ,it is in good shape as far as rust so I used a good cleaner for the inside and am just about finished with the body work .Having lots of trouble with the radiator ,just got it back from the local radiator shop and it leaks worse than when we gave it to them ,all the tubes are sealed but the base plate that all the tubes are bolted to has a big crack along the middle on the inside ! I will get it bolted up and see in some stop leak will fix the problem ,if that don't work it will need a full rebuild with a new tube base plate and probably some new tubes as some will bust of during disassembly . omni track sells new tubes but they are 28 dollars ea with the nuts and o rings . The water pump had a big crack running all the way down the side so i ground a grove in the crack and used some cold weld to seal it up for now .Hoping to get the gas tank finished and install the radiator and start this thing up in the next week.wish me luck !!!

[Steve A]

Nice project, I look at others work to motivate me, Thanks for the help

[Moulding]

After A lot of frustration and some long nights it is alive again ! I got the radiator back on the best and it still leeks water but I hope some stop leek will fix the problem or it will need a new base plate and complete rebuild ,but it's on for now .Got the final coat of flat black on the gas tank and it turned out grate and installed it ,also plumbed new gas line, valves and ensign fuel strainer/filter .I cranked on the thing for ever and only had a couple of pops out of the ol gal ? I primed it ,flooded it ,checked for spark,and no go ? I am very frustrated at this time and blisters on my hands so we hooked it up to the truck to give it a pull and still no go but a couple of pops .It is not getting enough gas so the next day I adjusted the float needle tell it pored gas out and backed it off 1/2 turn and messed with the adjustment screws and pulled it with the truck again and it started . Adjusted the carb some more and it will start by cranking by hand now.I took it for a little drive and am very happy to say it turns ,brakes,on both sides and the main clutch works good .I would like to thank Ron Meeder for his help on some of the parts and info . I have a lot more work to do and need more parts but to have it running ,driving ,and steering is the hard part .

[Mike Meyer]

Congratulations on getting her going, you must be feeling pretty darn good right now. Thanks for sharing the story with good photo's because that sure does make it interesting, and I was looking at the radiator pipes trying to work out how many you had there and was figuring it must be nearly $2,000 just for new tubes at $28 a piece?? One of my Cat Thirtys has lost a lot of the washers that go around the radiator tubes, are they available do you know Moulding, or do you have to buy new tubes?
Keep up the great work, that gas tank looks a beauty.
regards
Mike

[Wombat]

Hi Moulding,

Do you think you could ship the Best Thirty up to Droptubes in Oregon for me please, I am packing a container of old darlings to come to Australia, that tractor would look nice in my collection.

Well done on your restoration, it looks fantastic, you should feel very proud of your work, rightly so.

Wombat (Neil)

[chriscokid]

Congrats on a job well done, Thanks for takeing the time to share and we look forward to your next adventure.



Neil,
Just because this one is black, does that make it easier to sneak by the dragon lady? LOL..

[kracked1]

Great job. I did notice your fuel strainer is plumbed wrong according to the arrow stamped on it.

[Moulding]

I love this club because all the info and help avalible from other members ,thanks for the help,info,and motivation . Mike -the packing at the end of the tubes can be removed and install a o-ring in place old packing , this is the method used when new tubes are installed but you my twist the end or the tubes when removing the packing nuts so you my need to use a little heat and a lot of patience and some good luck . wombat -I think I will keep this one around for a long time ,good luck on the serch of one . I am planing to go up to droptubes place some time this summer and pick up a twenty ,mybe we can meet up and talk cat . Erik - I use info you have posted on this site and your site all the time thanks for all your hard work , your post on the best 30 power unit is a big help .kracked 1 - I think the arrow on the top of the filter is showing the rotation of the nut on the top of the filter but I my be wrong,I'll take a better look . I have alot more work to do and I will try to keep posting the progress as I get things done . thanks scott

[Wombat]

Erik,

The Dragon Lady has put a very high price on allowing me to collect some vintage ladies, the tradesmen are here renovating the bathroom as I type this. I have told her I could buy a number of nice cats for the price the bathroom is going to cost. Now she tells me she wants a vintage car. Droptube has dropped me right into it, emails me and says "hey I have a nice tractor for you", and of course I have such a bad attack of the 'vintage collectors virus', I cant say no to him.

Maybe one day I will be able to afford a Best Thirty, in the meantime I will just have to enjoy Ethans posts as he takes us through his experience of bringing his tractor back to life Wombat (Neil)

[Mike Meyer]

Erik,

The Dragon Lady has put a very high price on allowing me to collect some vintage ladies, the tradesmen are here renovating the bathroom as I type this. I have told her I could buy a number of nice cats for the price the bathroom is going to cost. Now she tells me she wants a vintage car. Droptube has dropped me right into it, emails me and says "hey I have a nice tractor for you", and of course I have such a bad attack of the 'vintage collectors virus', I cant say no to him.

Maybe one day I will be able to afford a Best Thirty, in the meantime I will just have to enjoy Ethans posts as he takes us through his experience of bringing his tractor back to life Wombat (Neil)

Don't worry Wombat, I reckon there's a few Yanks reading this thread with a Best Thirty or three sitting in the barn quietly rotting away, so if you don't get knackered by The Dragon Lady for going all goofy buying old crawlers, you might get to buy a Best before the year is up though you will need to get a Export Permit signed by Tom Madden first, just leave some room in those shipping containers coming to Oz for my more common Cat. rubbish!!!
regards
Mike