What did I just buy?

GB SISSON

GB SISSON

Well-known member
I have had 3 AA fords in the past 50 years. This one was pretty cheap for a runner and I thought it was 'cute' sorry.... I have 10 acres of woods and this was billed as a home built log skidder. Hope to pick it up this week. Just what did I buy 'sight unseen'? The seller said it was a '33 1 1/2 ton. I say 30-31 AA. Oh, I am a regular on the V8 forum here.
 

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Thanks Guys! I'm also involved in the antique tractor/one lung engine scene. Always nice to have something to drive around the large show grounds at the August Lynden Wa meet. Haven't missed it in 34 years. I am really Ford, through and through, so this is right up my alley. The folks at Lynden have seen their share of fordsons, 8ns, 9ns etc. This is something unique. Besides I have logs to drag out of the woods in the meantime. Is the winch made from ford rear end parts? I live on an island so it will be a couple weeks before I can get off to see it and haul it home. The seller is an old friend and it was cheap. Less than my last grocery run to costco.
 
Love it. Curious to know the trans/rear end set up, and what drives the winch. I might put in a bench seat, otherwise no changes.
 
Bench seat is perfect. At these shows a lot of guys drive around in golf carts or all terrain contraptions. I like to keep it period correct and cruise in something more appropriate. Those of us that camp there sometimes go on nightime excursions, so I'll need to get the headlights working. He says it has a 12 v battery and alternator. I guess I can live with that.
 
Anybody know the bolt pattern on the rear wheels? 28-29 should be worm gear, but can't tell from photo. Not sure if all AA's were the same. Thanks
 
It was made from an early 1930 (Jan to May) AA truck. Early 30 trucks had the new heavier AA front and rear axles with the 28-29 body style cabs and fenders. The headlights appear to be 30-31 commercial units.
 
Looks to have been used in maybe an auto wrecking yard or similar where things were packed in tight and full size wrecker was too big.
 
Well I got it back to the island on Thursday after work. Stayed up late working on it.... And woke up at 4am and decided to work on it some more before I had to head to the jobsite at 7:30. So far, so good. With a neoprene washer around my too small compression gauge it has a very even 75 psi in all cylinders. The clutch was way out of adjustment, but by 5am that was done, and then brake work before a test drive (I live on the side of a mountain).... Way out of time. There was a cut in the dist rod and a bolt welded in... Think I have that worked out.... Anyone have an eye to eye length of a stock rod to the distributor? I have it so it starts reliably, but runs rough. It is on 12 v neg ground and has some sort of alternator installed. I'm on my second carb (I have 3 ), but no kits. Anyways... This thing is a BLAST! I forgot how simple and accessible the distributer and carb are. All my other stuff is early V8s and with one exception in BIG trucks with big fenders. Front mount distributor .... Need I go on? With no fenders I stand alongside the carb and distributor of this model a and deal with stuff. Today I moved the seat forward, which was cut and weld and repaired the broken and slanted headache rack behind the driver position. Now it sits plumb and square. Stay tuned for some more details, perhasps a pic or trwo. With luck a video. I could use some diagnostic help on the hiccups and popping. Thanks!
 
The best part about a doodlebug is some places let you register them on the road.
Sure it's about as practical as driving a tractor. But that's the fun of it.
 
But then I'd have to come up with a title.....And in second gear it's about all I can handle. So far it has one brake. The right rear. Oh, and the band parking brake. No rods to the front. Whatever........
 
Looks just like the rig they used to use for pulling salmon dories off the beach at Pacific City back in the day. That drum load of cable proved very handy when the tide was unwilling to give up a vessel it wasn't done playing with.
 
katy said:
Sounds like a bad capacitor.
Click to expand...

Could I just wire one up from something else to see? It also had an intake leak at the carb flange. I sanded the carb flange on my tablesaw top with some stick on sanding discs. Then I made a corprene gasket. Still leaked some as the manifold is pretty rough. I switched from wd 40 to find the leaks and went to aerosol contact cement which sucks into the gap and then congeals. I fixed my oliver tractor the same way with vinyl upholstery paint and it idles smoothly still. The doodlebug runs better each time I address an issue. Maybe I'll go look for a condensor. After that, it's a manifold gasket as the exhaust leaks badly at the #4 cylinder. Welded up the boom and working on lubricating and adjusting stuff.
 
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