Case SC #5522543 was built June 25, 1951 and shipped to the
J I Case Co in Des Moines, IA on july 3 1951. My dad, Dean
purchased this tractor in New Virginia, IA in the early 1980s and used
this tractor to farm with. It mostly was used to mow hay and
cultivate. He kept this tractor after retiring from
farming. I needed a larger tractor to pull my plow so I got it
and restored it in 2005.
This was the condition of the tractor after it was retired from
farming. The rear tires had been replaced in the 80s, although
the fronts were mismatched with one on a cast rim and one on a steel
rim. The engine ran really well and overall the tractor was
nearly complete and in decent shape, but many parts would need to be
refurbished to bring it back to like new condition. In order to
get the tractor running again after 10 years of sitting, it took new
plugs, wires, and points. The carburetor would leak anytime the
engine wasn't running. The float was full of gas. This
tractor tractor has the larger carburetor off of a 54 model (maybe it
has the larger 54 pistons also?) and parts are non existant for the
carburetor. I was quoted the price of $60 for a USED float, so I
ended up fixing the float myself. The hard part is removing the
gas. The trick involves boiling water and a little
solder. Email me for details. The carburetor works
perfectly now.
I can't stand oil leaks and this tractor had several major leaks.
The worst were the axle seals, hydraulic pump, and engine oil pan. I
started off by removing the axles to replace the seals. Of
course, on a Case to remove the axles, you must remove the rear cover
to take the chains off. To remove the rear cover, you must remove
the PTO, so you have to take the top cover off. Pretty soon you
almost have a bare transmission case. This is when I learned that
tractors under use for 40-50 years are worn out! Tractors that
were parked a long time ago may be rusty, but they likely have a lot
less hours on them. The chains were so loose that grooves had
started to wear in the bottom of the transmission case. I ended
up replacing the countershaft because the drive gear was pitted, every
oil seal, and 3 out of 4 axle bearings, and 4 transmission
bearings. The transmission and engine was wire brushed to remove
paint grease and rust. Many of the other parts were sandblasted.
While working on the engine, I discovered it had one broken valve
spring and 2 of 3 clutch return springs were broken. I replaced
every gasket and seal that might leak. Even so, it still has a
couple of places that weep oil a little bit. I am sure it is more
oil tight that it was from the factory.
The tractor was painted with flambeau red acrylic enamel. It was
painted in stages. I first painted the parts that were going to
be covered by other parts later that I still wanted to paint after they
were in place. The flambeau almost glows in the dark in these
photos. Because it will be used for plowing, the factory weight
was reinstalled under the radiator and both front wheels were changed
to cast. I had an extra wheel weight, wo it was added to the land
side. The 2 plow tractor weighs over 5000 lbs..
I wanted the tractor done in time for Antique Acres in Cedar Falls, IA,
where Case was going to be the feature. Final painting was done
the weekend before the show and the decals were installed on the next
Wednesday. The next night I was going to load it up to take it on
Friday. I was still touching up some of the paint on the trailer.
Here it is at the show with my 2-14 Centennial plow. 5 minutes
after these pictures were taken, we were plowing in the field, covered
with dust and dirt. I still have to wire in the lights and a few
other minor details.
