Being a "parts hoarder" is part of the job description.
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:00 am
Here's a model I seldom see people restoring, the Kingsize Allis Chalmers earth scraper. It's got plenty of moving joints and an awkward pair of very short pins to hold the scraper bucket halves together. Five separate castings, two axles, four large oversize hubs, four large tires two small springs, one long biff rivet and two small pins (which are likely made from axle stock).
Pictured below is my "core" model disassembled. It's missing some parts. Two springs, two large wheel hubs and four tires are missing.
I have dug through a plastic storage box where I keep spare/extra wheel hubs organized and was lucky to come up with two of the size I needed. Same for the axle, they are stored, by length, in another storage tray.
Now I go to a larger parts tray and look for the tires I need. I am again lucky as I find six of them. I choose two that are nice, they will go on the tractor as they are both in plain sight. I choose the two worst ones to go on the scraper as they are mostly hidden by the scraper body.
Now, I need a replacement for the biff pin to join the scraper to the tractor and two small springs for the scraper body. The biff pin will be made from a small diameter machine screw and nut. The head of the screw can be ground away and polished to a smooth head minus any screw driver slots. The nut will be hand tightened to the proper tension to allow movement of the scraper and hold the tractor at the right angle. Then the nut is secured in place with a drop of epoxy to stop any further movement on the threads. I keep one original spring in a baggy so I can go to my favorite hardware source and match up a couple of new springs.
This model still needs to be stripped and the rake on the back of the scraper bucket needs to be heated and straightened. When that's done it can go to the paint shop. Once everything is reassembled, the decals can go on. Flower's decals are not suitable for this task because they are both made for the left side of the model. You have to get decals from Ian Treadgold (or make them yourself if you can print with white toner). Hopefully it will come out as nice as this metal hub model I recently did.
A couple of interesting things about this model. First is that reproduction decal which Steve Flowers and the the others get incorrect. You end up with the left side looking good and the decal on the right side upside down. The "260" (model number) should always be at the top on the decal. If the decals are incorrectly installed, you will have an error variation with the "260" on the bottom on both sides of the model. If your model has the 260 on top on the left side and 260 on the bottom on the right side, it's highly likely someone has placed reproduction decals on the model prior to you owning it.
Next, that "rake" or fence like structure on the back of the scraper bucket that's often bent and or broken on play worn models. I often wondered why it was open in such a fashion, until I watched these scrapers in action. When using these things on recently cleared land, they will pick up everything from large rocks, to tree stumps and large pieces of tree roots. If the bucket is over filled, the soil will overflow through the openings in the rake. The openings in the rake are designed to hold back anything large enough to get between the body of the scraper tail and the wheels. You don't want a large rock, root or stump jamming up a rear wheel and possibly causing damage to the tire or bucket. That "tail" is designed for a bulldozer blade to make contact with the scraper and push it along while working in rocky, muddy or difficult conditions. You don't want a large rock, stump or root falling back in front of the bulldozer and possibly causing the bulldozer to climb over it and allow the blade to override the tail and cause damage to the scraper and/or bulldozer.
Pictured below is my "core" model disassembled. It's missing some parts. Two springs, two large wheel hubs and four tires are missing.
This model still needs to be stripped and the rake on the back of the scraper bucket needs to be heated and straightened. When that's done it can go to the paint shop. Once everything is reassembled, the decals can go on. Flower's decals are not suitable for this task because they are both made for the left side of the model. You have to get decals from Ian Treadgold (or make them yourself if you can print with white toner). Hopefully it will come out as nice as this metal hub model I recently did.
Next, that "rake" or fence like structure on the back of the scraper bucket that's often bent and or broken on play worn models. I often wondered why it was open in such a fashion, until I watched these scrapers in action. When using these things on recently cleared land, they will pick up everything from large rocks, to tree stumps and large pieces of tree roots. If the bucket is over filled, the soil will overflow through the openings in the rake. The openings in the rake are designed to hold back anything large enough to get between the body of the scraper tail and the wheels. You don't want a large rock, root or stump jamming up a rear wheel and possibly causing damage to the tire or bucket. That "tail" is designed for a bulldozer blade to make contact with the scraper and push it along while working in rocky, muddy or difficult conditions. You don't want a large rock, stump or root falling back in front of the bulldozer and possibly causing the bulldozer to climb over it and allow the blade to override the tail and cause damage to the scraper and/or bulldozer.