Minneapolis-Moline 445 Prototype

[@robertinscoe2379]

Another good solid plan to get a rare old tractor back up and running. Better to live on as a show queen, then as just another old tractor sitting in the weeds. I believe the builders would be proud to know it is getting saved. Thanks for the gold and red looks cool.

[@Huskiedrive361]

Lucky save! Given such a rare prototype you must do anything you can to put into running condition, saving what you can, replacing when you can't. If it was on the outside and could be seen, it might be a harder decision to use a non- 10X part. You could make a great display of the un-repairable drivetrain pieces to show the extent of the damage and show it along with the tractor.

[@cesmith4566]

How many of these prototype machines of different makes and models went to the scrap yard and didn't get any recognition for there engineering and design! Thank you for sharing not only your trials but the work put into building a prototype!

[@alanbare8319]

I think you're on the right track. I think how you are trying to restore X-231 is similar to the way The Collings Foundation keeps their B-24 "Witchcraft" flying. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to the next installment!

[@growingknowledge]

Nice work, dont stress over broken parts, you are reviving as best you can!

[@oldscout2514]

Squatch253 l don't normally say much about verbal mistakes, but at 2:25. You said this tractor had sat around without mooing. I just thought that was funny. Absolutely love your videos. Superb job !

[@bret9741]

I really love that you keep the old parts with the tractor. If someone wants to cast the original and machine in the gears etc... deep pockets.... they can. I’m a pilot. No one cares that old aircraft have new rivets or remanufactured motors. Otherwise the aircraft could not be flown still. I would kill to have the land, the finances, the time, the knowledge and the passion to jump into doing what you do with this old equipment. When I look at life..... it’s pretty messed up in many ways. In my world, the fighter pilots (sports cars) get all the glory and the cargo pilots (bulldozers) receive so little notice. And yet the fighters couldn’t do what they do without cargo guys. Tractors, dozers, graders etc are so incredibly important to our modern societies. I look at these incredibly powerful pieces of 70-90 year old equipment and am amazed at the progress made for 1890-1960. Basically all work was done by pick, shovel and sweat. Today (I’m retired from aviation) I build homes and my excavator sits in a conditioned cabin and can dig a basement in a day.

[@laneburgess1643]

I love your videos.

[@robbyschemonia3089]

What a way to start the day!!! A video on the prototype Minnie Mo!!! I'm an A.C. or Ford tractor guy myself, but, I respect all the classics!

[@robbyschemonia3089]

@@squatch253 Yep! You are correct sir. I currently have a little bitty Mitsubishi MT160 with a factory loader. No power steering, well, "manpower" steering, but other than that, not too bad in my book.

[@roadkill5333]

Sooooo, looks like there will be a part 26. And likely, a 27 too. Oh man, this suspense is killing me!! And right here at Christmas, where I've got to stare at presents, while wondering what's in them!! I can't take it!! Can you just finish this X231 by next week, and make it a hour special?? Probably not, but it never hurts to ask!! Oh well!! At least you know I can't shake it, to try and guess what's in it!

[@cambo1200]

As long as you hold on to the original parts, no worries. Production parts really are the only realistic option.

[@davidbramel9358]

Awesome as always, looking forward to assembly!

[@jankotze1959]

Great video, as long as plans do not dry up anything next best will be perfect, well done

[@stevenharpervw]

Well done

[@michiganfarming1955]

Looks like you got it all figured out! Looking forward to the next video

[@williamgarrett2931]

You have done your due dilligents. Outstanding!

[@fordtruck193]

Glad you have production parts to replace the prototype parts. At first, I was thinking how much it would cost to have new parts made. (We can make anything you want...how much you wanna spend?) Looks like most dimensions are close enough that you can make it work. Looking forward to the assembly vids. Thanks for posting;-)

[@ericcorse]

Boy you weren't kidding about the carrier exploding, what a mess. Fingers crossed that things go fairly smoothly.

[@tmack2090]

great videos ! thanks for sharing !

[@retireddriver16]

Good job finding a way to fix her up 👍

[@lewiemcneely9143]

Looks like another installment of the D-2 and you know what I said about that. I had a main shaft in a Gravely walk behind twist like your pinion. It must've been mowing and hammered because a 7/16th bolt came out of a quill shaft and locked it up, BANG! The 1st set of gears was straight off the engine, fwd and rev, the next set was up at the wheels, hi & lo and the last set was the jaw implement clutch. All 3 were splined and all 3 were twisted and all were planetaries and the main shaft ran straight through all 3. Like you said, it took some torque to pull that off. So Thanks, Toby! Stay warm and Hi 2 Pop!.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

@@squatch253 Why SURE you will! NO doubt in my mind whatsoever...........till you start stacking parts back inside. Then, as it always does, it'll get interesting and the lathe and maybe a milling machine will get warmed up and some files worn out and a few hairs will hit the floor with a THUD, BUT you will persevere. I confidense you!

[@phillipbonner5215]

We will be waiting patiently

[@1crazynordlander]

Cool, a lot of work to completely disassemble repair, clean, paint and reassemble a tractor...but you know what you got...and so do your viewers.

[@dmacwhirter]

Great series. Grew up around John Deere crawlers.

[@hymonhowell3900]

As usual, great work and great video!

[@UnitCrane514]

Great video cant wait for the next one!

[@Mark-vc7rm]

Go for it!

[@Farmallguy29]

Seems very familiar to me. I am restoring an MM RTU that had a very similar problem. Had to replace the differential carrier, ring gear, and pinion gear.

[@kentuckycowboy2]

It sounds like a viable plan to me esp hearing of the damage in the bull gear sets. After all there's only a handful of prototypes of anything out there and once they break they have to be repaired with superseded parts I would assume to live on maybe not ideal in the purest of collectors put sometimes there's not a better choice.

[@tedwpx123]

Good luck, better this way than to rust away somewhere

[@gregoryschmitz2131]

I look at it as a best as possible restored vs not at all and who is going to take the time to do that work with as rugged a condition as X231 (was) in? It would be scrapped and lost to history. In this case (pun intended) its restored and running and the documentation is phenomenal. Other reality is its had other work done and its a living bit of not just original but its lifetime when it was used. Absolutely the right and only decision. None of these has unlimited budgets.

[@icefishdaily]

This Old Tony might be one to check with too.

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

That's what we call an 'oopsie'. Yikes. Best thing to do, I think, is what you are doing. Get parts that will work, and get X231 back up and running... Will be nearly 100% correct. But it will be running and back together. Good plan, sir.

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

I can believe it! I am glad I have never heard a sound like that come from any of my tractors! When I got the M stuck in the mud hole - that was about as big of an 'oh crap' moment I ever had. I think you have a great plan of attack and I am sure it will work out well. Can't wait to see X231 up and running again - and I think the smile on your face will tell a new story for the tractor! You'll get it, yet!

[@wemedeeres4105]

I wouldn't loose one minute of sleep over using the production parts. What it boils down to is either the tractor lives on with the "non X" parts or the tractor doesn't live on at all.

[@enzo8745]

Thanks!!

[@KPearce57]

Expect the worst and hope for the best

[@pinwizz69]

Looking at the gross amount of damage those parts suffered it's surprising the case they were in didn't suffer the same amount of damage they did.

[@angrybobking5083]

It did, he just had that repaired

[@Stevestractoradventures]

At first was gonna say why not just weld up the chips cracks ect grind/ shape and have a new shaft made. But after thinking a second, if you ever got in a real hard pull and it blows apart again. Its not worth doing it twice, putting production gears in is the way to go like you said here. Make them parts part of a display with it. Showing what happened. Enjoying the vids keep them comeing

[@maggs131]

Wish i had a foundry and machine shop, id make those parts for you.

[@anmous69]

Yes, coffee and gears.

[@regsparkes6507]

I can only imagine the torque values that were inside that case when that clutch dog broke and jammed the gears. Of course, having a lower gear ratio for the ring and pinion is not a 'bad thing' is it? The only thing is it would not be original of course. We are lucky then, that you can fit the production gears to this prototype case and hopefully get this Minneapolis-Moline X-231 rolling again.

[@regsparkes6507]

@@squatch253 Yes, OK then , I can understand that, which is to say that slower IS better when precision moves are important.

[@powderriver2424]

There’s an outfit that “sews” cast metal back together I seen on a J Leno video something to look into, maybe

[@farmworkMi]

Only thing I noticed was the production spider gear housing holes are not in the same spot for the ring gear with that matter

[@farmworkMi]

Good to know thank you for telling me

[@400brian]

Been following the restoration, but have not commented before. I suspected that this was the course you were going to take, because there seemed no other option. You went above and beyond to repair the differential housing, that was impressive, but the rear end parts are just not repairable in any realistic sense. If you go to all the work to make the tractor functional, you will want to drive it in show parades or perhaps pull a people mover with it. Even if the internals could be repaired at great time and expense, you would always be scared of breaking them, and never have any fun driving the tractor. Production parts that aren't visible anyway, are the practical solution, and save time and money for more visible repairs, like that power steering unit. Waiting to see how that is made whole!

[@seniorelectrician6831]

You have plan, now you need to work towards it. Maybe the plan will come together as well

[@qfly6]

Personally I would fret over the replacements. It will be sealed for a very long time and the differences are minimal. Just mount all the destroyed parts on to a piece of plywood or something. Show it with the tractor so people have a sense of how much work you had to put in.

[@mikekell9889]

Honestly, judging off of all of the comparisons you've made between the prototype and the production, you should be absolutely fine to proceed. Even though, by the time you have read this, it will have already been done. Lol

[@rogermarshall8991]

Almost felt like playing Taps for the thing.... Someone had to have it under a massive load or doing Neutral drops to bust that differential up like that.. I've seen pumpkins spun on axle shaft housings and failed bearings that caused the gears to explode, but nothing like that in automotive type equipment. Now mill reduction gears thats another story.

[@Grandpa82547]

Judging by number of views on your various projects,it appears that more people like rusty yellow tractors than red, green, or orange.

[@roadkill5333]

THANK YOU SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?? :-)

[@ShainAndrews]

Meh... it's the game we play. There is always something that took a machine down in the first place. Sometimes you get lucky and can repair, sometimes you have to replace. I'd think that made quite the noise when it all let go.

[@SootHead]

Common sense approach to an expensive problem.

[@Mmmyess]

Why would you want to re-build/re-use prototype parts that blew up?

[@Mmmyess]

@@squatch253 Thanks for the reply. I'm fascinated by all of this stuff! Glad I found your channel.

[@Mmmyess]

@@squatch253 I watched Part 16 to see your explanation of why the back end blew up. I get the feeling there is no clear explanation of why the clutch finger broke free, but do you think it was remedied in the production version? Also, is there a way for you to test the re-assembled transmission before it, the engine, and everything else are put together as a completed and (hopefully) functioning machine, or does it need to be put under the pressures of working conditions to really know if it'll hold up?

[@Mmmyess]

@@squatch253 That anvil/mallet saying is terrific...hopefully it'll stick around somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind, just in case I need to use it. I don't anthropomorphize machines beyond referring to most of them in the feminine, but I still get a little ticked off when people treat like trash those that were built by someone who gave a damn. It's almost like they are the kind of people who harm women, children, and animals. Regardless...since I had to watch the better part of 16 videos (they were interesting -- not complaining) to get to the one I wanted to see, it seems that you frequently point out ways that the X-prototype parts are inferior to the production versions. Do you worry at all that #X231 won't be a great tractor when you're done with her?

[@Mmmyess]

@@squatch253 Thanks for 'splaining everything! It's clear that you enjoy the work, and I think your curiosity, knowledge, and enthusiasm are the reasons more than ten thousand people have subscribed to your channel. I think viewers are drawn to your competence as well as the man-versus-machine story arcs that we see in each chapter/episode as well as the overarching story arcs relating to each project.

[@jondavidmcnabb]

I would state that these can be repaired. I know for a fact that Keith Fenner (another channel) could fix this. I have seen him repair much more difficult and rare pieces.

[@robinflagg9207]

Good plan the force to bend that shaft over that small section must have been well , who would think it all the best

[@MrBugsier5]

y would not bother changing the internal one off parts for new ones iff they fit, In my opinion it will make no difference at all, Iff you rebuild a motor your also putting in non Original parts like bearrings, and pistonrings liners etc, Just use the darn parts available, and just rebuild it, even for the gears y would go for new, when available... there mutch stronger than the x parts, and way precizer build, End result anyway will be a functional old museum tractor where you will never know there are "newer"Oily bits inside... These so called purists are crazy. Thumbs up for the efford, but y would not bother, and just display the not used "Original"parts in a box As non usable.