For the past year I have been working on restoring a John Deere 3hp Model E engine. I have spent about 5 hrs each week working to restore it. Like most projects I have done, it seems like the closer to the end I get, the more work there is to do. I was going to wait to the end to write up the restoration story, but the longer I wait to write it up, the more I am likely to forget what I did. To start things off, I will give a short history of the engine followed by an overview of what has been put into this project to get to the point where I am now.
History:
The John Deere Model E was manufactured from 1923 to 1946 (as far as I can tell) and came in three different sizes. The smallest and most widely available engine is the 1-1/2 hp version. The next size is the 3 hp, which is harder to find but shares a few parts with the 1-1/2 hp. Finishing off the trio is the 6 hp, which is the most sought-after of the Model Es. The engine I am restoring in these articles is the 3 hp. I already have a 1-1/2 hp, but I am not so lucky as to have one of the rare 6 hp engines. I do not know the origins of my engine past receiving it from my grandpa as a Christmas present a few years back.
Overview:
The engine appeared to be in pretty good shape when I pulled it out of storage, considering that most of the parts were with it and nothing seemed to be broken. The rust was not extensive, and everything came loose with little trouble. The only missing parts were the push-rod and igniter trip assembly (which attaches to the push-rod), so it is likely that they were lost somewhere and I will find them in a few years after the engine is restored. I was able to fabricate a new push-rod without too much trouble, but I will need to purchase the igniter trip assembly. I did end up breaking a few parts during disassembly, which probably could have been avoided if I had paid more attention to the parts themselves.
The biggest setback has been the left side flywheel, which turned out to have 3 broken spokes. It seems the engine fell on the flywheel at some point and 3 of the spokes cracked right next to the hub. I was able to straighten the flywheel, but welding the cast iron back together without it cracking has proven nearly impossible. I have welded it a grand total of 8 times now, and even though I thought I had a technique that worked on this last attempt, I just had part of it crack again.
As of this moment, the engine is nearing completion. Most of the parts are ready for assembly, and all but the flywheel and the top side of the rocker-arm are repaired. Over the next few weeks I will start at the beginning and trace my steps through the restoration in detail. I took pictures and a few videos through the entire process and will post them on my gallery along with links in the articles.
