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J.M. Bailiff Farm

What is a Century Farm?

The Tennessee Century Farms Program was created in 1975 by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture as part of our nation’s bicentennial celebration. The focus of the program is to recognize and document the families who have owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years.

Replacing the wishbones

Installing accessory wishbones, drum inspection, and that rear wheel

I ordered a replacement early style above axle wishbone along with an accessory below axle wishbone from Model T Haven. They arrived within a few days. I sanded them and painted them black. I included a few photos of the original wishbones that I removed. You can see the breaks in the photographs.

 

I replaced the above axle wishbone using new studs, springs, nuts, and safety wire from Smith & Jones for the ball cup. The below accessory wishbone had to be adjusted some to fit, but went into place nicely. It connected to the above axle wishbone with plates fitting both above and below the wishbone. Two bolts hold it in place.

 

With the help of my wife, I checked the drums for any cracks and scoring. I jacked the rear wheels up and off of the ground. And I cranked the engine over turning the drums while my wife inspected them. She then took a turn at cranking. I inspected the drums. The drums looked very good. No obvious cracks or scoring.

I did notice six bolt heads with copper wire running between pairs of them. This is to aid in keeping them from backing out. One pair is missing the wire. The correct terminology is driving plate screws and driving plate screw lock wire. I'm missing one.

I've also included a couple of pics of the rear wheel brake drum assembly with the gap. This concerns me.

 

A link to Model T Haven and Smith & Jones can be found on our Links page

 

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