GiBSON MODEL D IN EUROPE

2638 Views 18 Replies 8 Participants Last post by hddlh, Mar 31, 2016

Devanton

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2016

Good morning everybody,

I am new on this forum, have only registered this morning.

As an "enthousiast for things mechanical and unconventional" I bought last week a Gibson Model D 1947 tractor.

(As the wife said : another addition to your other useless (albeit all in working order) colelction of old iron.. (Consisting of some Russian made Ural sidecar motorcycles, a SAMOFA Dutch-made stationary engine and other assorted "interesting" things)..

Never seen a Gibson before and apparently not many of those have been sold in my country.

It is in running condition (pull wire starter) but needs some TLC.

I have managed in he tmeantime to download the Operation Manual (which does not provide an enormous amount of informatio anyway) as well as the Service Manual for the Wisconin AEH engine.

This is where the enigma starts to develop :

On all pictures in the tractor manual as well as the engine manual the fueltank(the small round version) is mounted on the left hand side of the engine, exhaust and carburettor are on the right...

Mine is exactly the opposite, i.e. fuel tank to the right and carb/exhaust to the left (view from rear).

Also in the (little) documentation I found on this model the carburettor is either Zenith or Stromberg.

Mine is Bendix.

More of a problem and the real reason to start this topic, I am now in need for a SERVICE manual for the tractor because I need to :

- Change wheel bearings (all shot) and manual does not specify which bearing type

- Adjust or replace brakes on rearwheels (22" by the way)

- Adjust or replace all V-belts on clutch

- Find out the shift pattern of the gearbox

- Replace the aircleaner assembly (missing).

So questiontime :

- Does anybody know where I can find a service/repair manual for the tractor

- Can parts such as brakbands etc still be purchased or can the old one be re-lined

I would appreaciate any feedback to help me on my way with this project.

Looking forward to hear / read from you,

Devanton, The Netherlands

PS. Now off to the last ice speedway races of this hear (hope I don't get tempted to buy one of those too....)

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Reactions: 5

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

KennyP

· #2 · Mar 13, 2016

:wave: Welcome to the forum!

Alc

· #3 · Mar 13, 2016

Welcome to GTTalk ! Maybe some pictures of your tractor will help others .

TomLGT195

· #4 · Mar 13, 2016

:welcometogttalk: and a few :camera: would help .

glgrumpy

· #5 · Mar 13, 2016

Those are rare tractors in US, much less in Europe!! Good luck on it. Pictures needed as noted. Bearings might be common and not hard to find here at least. Vendors on here have some parts for Wisconsin engines and carb kits.

Reactions: 1

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 14, 2016

Good morning

Thank you for your reactions.

Attached some pictures that may help you to shed some light on the "wrong way round" engine.

Hopefully this will confirm this is in fact a Model D.

Can somebody provide a Service / Repair manual ?

Looking forward to hear from you guys.

Thanks in advance,

Devanton

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Bmerf

· #7 · Mar 14, 2016

Don't see the pictures.

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 14, 2016

Now with pictures attached (I hope).

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4

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Alc

· #9 · Mar 14, 2016

I love all those belts ! The front engine pulley looks like it was for something else maybe ?

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 14, 2016 (Edited by Moderator)

Alc,

Front end pulley is to start the engine with pull cord.

Devanton

Reactions: 1

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 14, 2016

Pull cord not pull corf.

Reactions: 1

KennyP

· #12 · Mar 14, 2016 (Edited by Moderator)

Devanton said:
Pull cord not pull corf.

I fixed it. You have a short period you can edit your posts. Just hover the mouse in the lower right of the post and the edit button should show.

classic

· #13 · Mar 14, 2016

I too picked up a Gibson model D recently. It looks like your engine may be a Wisconsin AEN. Look at some pics on the net to compare. These are great little tractors. I just hauled a load of wood to the house with mine. Repro brake bands can be had for 250.00 a pair. If your bands are good, you would be better off relining them. The guy I bought mine from installed one of the bands, and gave me the other one to install. My T96 transmission is a later replacement from 1952. It has the threaded studs sticking out of the side for the shiftier linkage. I have a T96 top loader shiftier only case from 1948 that I will be building to replace the one in the tractor.

classic

· #14 · Mar 14, 2016

I noticed some chipped teeth on the low reverse gear in my transmission when I had the top cover off. I'm willing to bet that my cluster gear and reverse idler gear have chips out of the teeth, also. Grinding the transmission into gear is the culprit. Luckily, I found an NOS cluster gear, NOS reverse idler gear, NOS low, reverse slider gear, and a small parts kit for a great deal today. I paid 157.34 for all of these parts. Just the cluster gear alone usually starts at 145.00 and can be as high as 299.00 from what I have seen for sale. I'll also be replacing the brass synchros, case bearings, seals, and I'll make new gaskets. I'll have to check the reverse idler shaft and cluster gear shaft for wear once I remove them. I'll round up the part numbers for the transmission parts for you in case you need to replace anything.Here is a pic of the inside of my transmission, pics of the parts I found on ebay, and a pic of my Gibson.

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Devanton

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 14, 2016

Thank you,

Could you share the address or site where you purchased the parts please?
Any idea of where to find a service manual so I can actually see what to do?

According to the type plate on the engine it is AEH but I will have a good look again as it it slightly corroded.
If it is an AEN would that be typical or a later replacement ?

Devanton.

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 14, 2016

Another question if I may, are Bendix and Zenith carbs the same?

Thank you.

classic

· #17 · Mar 15, 2016

You're welcome. I just search Ebay for parts, and most times the seller only has one for sale. It's pretty much luck when you come across NOS parts for cheap. Someone may have taken the engine tag off of an AEH and put it on the engine on your tractor.The AEN was made from '49-'57. I'm no expert on the Wisconsin engines, but if you Google Wisconsin serial number dates, you can find what year the engine was built, or the date that the engine tag was stamped. The T96 transmission will have a date code with raised cast numbers on the side of the case. You can just remove the four bolts holding the transmission top cover down, remove the top cover, and inspect the internals. I think I saw Gibson manuals on Ebay, too. Here is a link to the source for the brake bands.

Reactions: 1

Devanton

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 26, 2016 (Edited by Moderator)

Good morning all,

I am well on the way with dismantling the Model D.
Most parts seem reasonably OK.
Sprockets and chain have to go, as the V belts too.

The previous owner has welded securing rings to the bottomend of both steering "pins" to which the wheel hubs are connected.
There is a lot of play on these pins and i want to fix that.
Problem is, if i grind off the welded securing rings the whole assembly will fall down but will i be able to put it together again?.??

I can,t see too much details in the manual.
Anybody has any experience with that please ?

Looking forward to hear from anybody who can help.

Anton

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hddlh

· #19 · Mar 31, 2016

Yahoo has a group for Gibson tractors with lots of information including manuals. There is also a guy named Joe that sells brake bands for about $125 with some hardware and are very nicely made. His contact information can also be find on that group.

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