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Empire Model X ?

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briggs model b empire
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11K views 23 replies 8 participants last post by  Mike Unwin  
#1 ·
After the local engine show a fellow told another exhibitor that his Dad,s old walk behind was available,when my friend said he had enough a buddy and I went down and picked it up. The old Empire is in really tough shape the plow and the cultivator too,the cylinder head and other parts were found in the ground around were the old tractor laid upside down.According to the plate on the engine it is a Briggs Model B built in 1945 so I am assuming so was the tractor.Really the worst of of it is the one rim which is completely rusted away,if I can find another the implements I can fix up and the engine replace.The rim is 16 " with about a 13 1/2 " center,might be possible to use another car / truck / tractor rim .I believe it is a Model X,the tool box lid is there with the Empire name and Windsor on it but the model part is too faint to make out.I am going to save this unit even if I never find a rim really hate to see this stuff scrapped. If anybody in Southern Ontario has a decent rim for sale drop me a line or if you have more info that would be great. Still waiting to see about another on a Waterloo Model 20/ Cheers Mike
 

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#3 ·
Spent the afternoon with it and got some stuff freed up like the wheel dogs,part of the forward shift,PTO pulley and linkage yes the top of the gear box is a large cast iron tool box the lid is safe in the garage for now.The tool box formed the lid for the gear box which I unbolted to take a peek inside,the oil has long drained off the gears and they are starting to rust.Shot some oil in and put in motor oil to stop it getting worse.Removed the 3 grease cups and put oil and grease inside to force some lube thru.For a 3 horse power machine it is just massive,two large cast iron rear swing arms to mount a 8 " plow or cultivator to.No wonder the old stuff lasted so long just so wildly over built .

Compared to my John Deere L130 tractor it is completely backward the JD is all engine no real chassis to speak of while the Empire is all cast iron, huge 16 " tires, cast iron I beam type hitch but only 3 horse power . Cheers Mike
 
#4 ·
A lot of times one find that the walking tractors were built of common stuff. Finding a running briggs B engine should be fairly easy and usually not hard on the pocket. Im sure with a little looking you can find something else that used the same rim. It amazing what a month in the shop will do for a tractor in that shape. I'd like to be able to find one of them.
 
W
#5 ·
Miller tire does sell rim blanks without the center.
 
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#6 ·
I always had a soft spot for the walk behinds,they define the line between "old" and "vintage" . Our local show has fell on hard times,people who do bother to show seem to think the 80,s were ancient times stuff showed up looking like it just cut the grass ! Think the rim is the tough part the engine and wood handles should be doable,don,t want to sink to much into it as the shows here are in a decline.Would really like to do a old time plowing match in the fall just like the IPM. How are you shows faring ? Cheers Mike
 
#7 ·
Our shows are pretty hit and miss. you never know who's coming anymore. The hot weather seems to be killing off most of the summer ones the last couple of yrs.

I have enough stuff of all kinds to do my own show, so I don't really worry about whether or not they have people at the ones I go to. I go to several shows just to see people, I've know for many yrs in the hobby. Always nice to see people, but in the end I don't let a declining show decide on if I will restore something. I buy them cause I like them, I like doing the research on them, I like the rebuilding part. Always great to bring a dead object back to life. Most times I just park them back in the shed or on the shelf after a season of showing. I don't usually take the same tractors to a show that I took the year before. Actually its boring to go to shows sometimes, as most don't let you do anything with the tractor other than park it. They just want you to come and be the draw for there bank account.
 
#8 ·
If you want parts for that original engine, contact Will Woodard of Will's What Nots. He knows all there is to know on Briggs.

Ben W.
 
#11 ·
Millers does sell a 16 x 4 rim blank with the correct 13 1/2 " inside diameter so that would be another option. Thanks WilberJ . Think this must have been a tough engine to start in the frosty weather as the transmission was always turning with the engine,you would think that older heavy oil would be quite a drag on a engine trying to start. The engine sump was cast into the front frame instead of a normal engine sitting on a frame.
 

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#13 ·
Neither, it sat outside for so long there is no paint left just bare metal,a little hard pack grease near the axles. Made a temporary set of handles today so I could get the shift lever mounted and out of the cultivator and the PTO linkage completely freed up. It is going to take a long time , trying to keep the cost down sometimes patience is the key. Really envy you guys in the US so many parts suppliers and reasonable, the rim new is 55 bucks Stateside 125 for a new 6.00 x 16 tractor tire . Cheers Mike
 
#14 ·
Well today I filled the transaxle unit up with diesel fuel and belted the input shaft to the Simplicity to spin the trans over and flush the case clean.After about 10 minute I drained it again and it did a lot of cleaning,you can see the rust where the oil drained off the gears over the years it sat. For it,s time it was quite advanced shaft drive no belts or chains,cast iron case with integral engine for precision alignment. A ring gear and drive pinion like your car or pickup truck to start with and a side full time PTO pulley. It had a 2 part sump the upper main sump for the ring and pinion gears and a lower sump for the dog gear clutch and bull gears.Cheers Mike
 

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#16 ·
By way of a update to the Empire project I would like to thank some people who without their help this project never would have happened, Robert Campbell who helped me drag this heap out of a overgrown lot and Bill Prior who got me a replacement Briggs Model B. Yea ! Robert also had a blank rim so I remounted the old cast iron hub on a Firestone 112-48 16 x 4.5 center less rim.The steel rim was a tight fit and a bit of a problem to figure out where to drill the 4 bolt holes,manged to save 3 of the bolts.They are 3/8 x 1 1/4 with a round head and serrated shanks and the square nuts of course. I have not give up on the original engine which I manged to dismantle with the help of a mini sledge ! These are one tough little engines I have ordered new head gasket and mag gaskets new exhaust valve and valve lifters.I took the long trip to Bills last week and was amazed at his collection and wealth of knowledge of air cooled engines he removed the engine from another Empire to get mine going again. Thanks you guys, with out help really this hobby would for most of us grind to a stop. Now looking at a new tire to finish up for this year,hoping to have it rolling next year and at Cookstown for the next International gathering. Cheers Mike
 

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#18 ·
Today I got some real progress the new tires came from Lorne Koch at Huron Tire they are the 7.50 x 16 lug tires this size was the optional larger size the standard being 7.00 x 16 ". I had spoke to Miller Tire and they were great but we were concerned about the duty so I called Lorne great place to deal. A friend of mine Martin Pope made a call stateside and got me the necessary valve lifters to complete the original Briggs Model B and that worked great ! Thanks Martin. After cleaning the points and adjusting the point tension I got spark,now to do the same on the replacement motor,for those of you who have seen the Model B mag the points are a little different to adjust you use a small wrench and move the stationary contact point.So on to the fuel system where I was having trouble with the sediment bowl so I got a new one from ebay,take a look at the sediment bowl cup on the original.It is a very old rifle cartridge cut down ! To save the crankshaft I polished it with toothpaste as I figured it had just enough grit to remove the rust and staining and would wash off easy seems to have worked okay.Well on to the cultivator. Cheers Mike
 

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#20 ·
Should call this the slowly but surely venture,ended up having to buy a second rim to finish the wheels and make it mobile again. Good thing I got this old tractor for nothing as I did nor foresee the expense two tires ,tubes and rims for the tractor had a hard time coming up with enough parts to build up a spare Briggs Model B in case the original motor failed.The cultivator is back on after a long search for a 9 1/2 inch support wheel with small bore lucky when I found one I got two so one can go on the plow next winter when I try to repair it back to working order.Soon as it gets warm I just need to paint the transmission and reassemble the tractor and try to start the motor.The height adjuster on the cultivator is still locked up so I need to free it somehow as the tractor is nose down.This beast is turning out to be a bigger and longer than I thought makes the Waterloo and Simplicity look small.Going to take up a lot trailer space. of Pray for spring.Cheers Mike
 

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#21 ·
Well the weather has been great and got a chance to get back to the old walker painted the trans axle unit Staten Black and got a coat of green on the gas tank.The controls were a little hard to mount up as the wood handles came from a different source and took a bit of figuring to connect the optional PTO and drive levers. Saved the old throttle lever and connected it to a new cable getting down to the very last bits just finish up the carb and hook it up. Went with the non standard blower housing for now as I was a little concerned with the crank at a show.If the weather holds by the weekend should be done and back to the hit and miss engines for the first show in Keene Ontario at Lang Pioneer Village June 14. Cheers Mike
 

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